Page 30 of Hunting

“We need to know where they are taking the girls. The last warehouse was burned to the ground. Once I found it, they weren’t going to bring their next shipment there. We need to find out their new location, and we need to try and save anyone already there, and take care of the rest of the scum stealing and selling them.”

“You’re right.” Fuck my girl is smart and crafty. We’ll need to talk more about her messing with the last shipment. I’m willing to bet she put herself into danger to do it, and I won’t tolerate her doing that again. Her safety is top priority.

Sure enough, fifteen seconds have passed and the girl stumbles on her feet. Blue shirt grabs her, black sweater comes to help and gray pants grabs her coat. If I hadn’t been watching them, I absolutely would have thought nothing more of a drunk girl getting helped home by her boyfriend.

I grab Liv’s hand and pull her along to the back door. There are three SUVs waiting for us in the alley. Luca and Elena in one with guards, Val and his guards in another, and Livianna and I bringing up the rear.

We work as a team keeping them off our scent as we tail them. We have one car at a safe distance behind them while the other two loop a nearby block. Then the tail car splits off and one of the others takes its place. We repeat this play until we near the shipyard. Fuck. They are keeping them at the docks. It’s a smaller port than the one we control.

We give the men we are following a few minutes before Luca calls to strike.

“Stay here.” I tell Livianna as I pull my gun out and open the door.

“Seriously? You wouldn’t even be here without me.” I press a kiss to her lips.

“I know. You’re amazing. But I won’t risk you getting hurt. We have enough men to take care of this. You stay here.”

“Mass…” She begins to grumble but I cut her off.

“For me. Do this for me.” Her arms cross over her chest and she leans back into her seat.

“Fine. Hurry back.”

I smile at my girl and nod before running to catch up with Luca and the men.

There are more men than we predicted. Bullets are spraying everywhere. Crates of unknown product are being ripped apart. The men we are attacking aren’t good shots. They seem to be shooting at an area and not a person. It’s a waste of bullets.

We didn’t have time to circle around the building and secure all the exits. Luca decided to move fast. Hoping to take them off guard enough to take them down before they could run.

Hope wasn’t enough. There are men fleeing the back door. A second wave of gunfire is happening. This one beyond that door. Is there a third party here? Who are they attacking, or being attacked by.

Luca and I each drop one last man. The room goes quiet. A few more shots ring out outside. I take off running without another thought. I stop before the door and look out the window. I stay mostly hidden to avoid being shot at.

It only takes a second for my eyes to land on her. Livianna. She’s still in the car. But the car isn’t around front. Sneaky girl.

Luca and I run outside. Val and Al hot on our trail. Before I can get to her, another car is ramming it into Liv’s driver door. “NO!” I scream. My legs carry me as fast as I can across the lot. I’m nearly too late. The driver of the other car gets out, gun in his hand. He rips Liv’s door open. She is lumped against the wheel. A gash on her forehead and the start of a bruise on her cheek. It looks like she beings to stir when the man grabs her and drags her from the car. He gets her on her feet, then slams the butt of the gun down on her head. She collapses to the ground right before I tackle the dead bastard.

I pound my fists into his face over and over. I hear the crunching of bones. Still I continue to pummel his face.

I feel a hand on my shoulder. I shrug it off and hit the now unrecognizable man again. “Mass, enough. He’s dead.”

My first pauses mid-air. He’s right. The fucker isn’t breathing. His nose has been ground to fragments, and their is brain matter seeping out of his broken skull.

“Liv needs you.” Says Luca. That does it. I snap out of whatever trance I was in.

I crawl over to her. She is awake. Barely. “I’m so sorry sweetheart.” I pull her into my arms and rock us back and forth.

The rest of our men surround us. There is a group of about fifteen woman huddled by the back hatch of one of the SUVs. Our field medics are looking them over and addressing the injuries we can. Luca is calling for transport and the staff at the hospital we own under the Caruso name are being prepped to take us in.

Val is helping their latest victim, the girl in the blue dress sip water. The drug is already leaving her system.

A series of screeching tires has us all tensing and drawing our weapons. Even my Liv, whose practically asleep in my arms pulls out her gun from her purse. I would laugh if I wasn’t so concerned with our new visitors.

“Where is she?” Growls a man in a fresh pressed suit from the third car.

“Who are you?” Asks Luca as he steps to the front. Elena is at his side, her gun pointed at the man in the suit.

The man in the suit stops walking. His eyes flicker around to each of us, then to the bodies scattered about. “Looks like you had a hell of a party.” He takes a step closer to one of the fallen. He gives him a kick with his foot until the body rolls to reveal the face. “Cartel?” He asks, looking back at Luca.

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