Page 73 of Savage Sin

“Rage. Good to see you, man. You dragged our asses all over this state. I can’t say I appreciate the gas bills or my numb ass.”

Wolfe is careful to avoid touching the bandages when he comes in, and they do that bro shoulder tap thing guys do because they can’t just hug it out.

“I had my reasons.”

“So I was hearing from upstairs. You got everyone in an uproar with your…reasons. Did you know Ares can binge eat a dozen donuts in six point five minutes? It was fucking wild, bro.”

Ares mouths off something in Russian that has Rage chuckling. I mentally add the language to my to-learn list so I can be in on the jokes.

“The idea, Wolfe?” Ares breaks in, looking a little sheepish, if I’m not mistaken.

The new guy turns black eyes on Ares with a stiff nod. “Nutshell plan is I do it, Prez.”

I cock a brow high. “Do what?” I have a bad feeling I know what he is going to say.

“I infiltrate thishacienda; kill the heads of the snake and we are done.”

Arrogant much? I drag my heart off the floor and try to beat life back into it. What the hell did he just say? He must be as mental as Rage. The machismo of dudes on bikes with larger-than-life attitudes blows my freaking mind.

I look at everyone’s faces and all of them are actually thinking it over. Like my father didn’t spend decades rigging the twenty acres of ranch land with mines, traps and escape routes. But how would they know?

I take a couple of seconds and let them think they’ve actually got an idea to work with before I break up their huddle. Nova looks at me as if to beg me to step in and she’s right. Going up against people you know is one thing, but no one knows how my family works except me. And maybe Rage’s brother, but he’s dead. So it falls on me to kill this plan before they can breathe life into it.

I throw my hands up before I cross them over my chest. “No offense. You look as capable as the rest of the guys here, but a one-man army isn’t enough. Don’t forget you’re going up against someone with decades of experience avoiding the law. Thehaciendais a fortress. But before you can get to it, the mines and traps my father placed will kill you. I can’t speak of what Cortes has done. The tunnels are there, sure. Okay, I didn’t mean to make it sound like a walk in the park. But you’ll die before you get to them.”

“We’re listening.” Riot scratches a thumb at the stubble over his chin. “You do the talking and we’re all ears. We’ll do this your way. Prez, you agree?”

That surprises me. I expected some push back. Actually, a lot of fucking push back.

“Oh, um, okay.Gracias.”

“Da,malyshka, we do this your way.”

A wave of heat slaps me in the face and tightens around my chest. I close my eyes and push the sound of that word from my memory. It’s just a word.

“Did I say something wrong?”

“Silas used that word on me right before giving me this.” I pull up the side of my shirt and show the room the puckered wound having a hard time healing since I keep busting the stitches. “Or it could have been my step-father with the knife. I don’t know who, but one of them decided I was useless after all and Silas has a way with words.” I leave it at that.

“And then put you in the bottom of that ship.”

I nod and confirm what Nova says.

“We have to be careful how to go in. It will take planning or I would have already done it the first time I got away from Rage.”

“Hermosa,” Rage quietly murmurs and with that one word, there are a million apologies buried amongst so few letters.

I’m not so sure I want to accept them, but for reasons that might surprise the hell out of him as much as they do me.

I shudder through a hard breath and push on for my sister when I rather curl into a ball and cry. I knew going back alone would mean certain death for my sister, her baby, and me. My heart races and a sheen of sweat breaks out over my forehead. It takes some breathing work, but I get my jittery nerves to calm down so I don’t look weak in front of all these people willing to help me.

“Can I have that?”

I point to the bag at Wolfe’s feet, and he passes it to me. I settle it over Rage’s lap, pull out the book of maps, and flip to a page I want them to see.

“Before I show you this, you have to know this is one of the highest kept secrets. My family has killed to protect thehacienda.”

I turn the book around and show them the patch of land that is my family’s compound. “Deep pockets, crooked government officials, and strings connected to some powerful senators have kept this place off any satellite maps. Not even the FEDs know where the Castelhaciendais. It’s a ghost. A myth. Nothing but whispers amongst the underground.”

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