Page 43 of Savage Hunter

“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.”

I try to keep levity in my voice. If I come in hard and hot, everyone will wonder why. I’m here to help them as far as they know. Not me picking them for information for where to find my enemy. Not that I don’t trust them, but yeah. I need to be the one to put a bullet between the eyes of the trio of evil autocrats.

Missing his bandages, I come in and give him a quick tap of our shoulders.

“I had my reasons, man.”

“So I was hearing. 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.”

That gets everyone laughing and loosening up.

Ares mouths off something in Russian that has Rage chuckling.

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

I turn to look at Ares and give him a stiff nod. “Nutshell plan is I do it, Prez. I’m the only one with no connections. No worries and nobody has seen my face. In. Out. Done. Move on to the next problem.”

Persi cock a brow. “What? That’s crazy.”

“I infiltrate thehacienda; kill the heads of the snake, save the sister and we are done. Next.” I can't make it any easier to understand.

I look at everyone’s faces and my idea seems to sink in. Persi, on the other hand, looks mortified.

“I’m confused. Do you not want him dead?”

“My father spent decades rigging the twenty acres of ranch land with mines, traps and escape routes.”

“So tell me how to get past them. Are the tunnels rigged?”

Persi throws her hands up before crossing them over her chest. “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. Getting to the tunnels will be an art form. 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.”

“Seems worth the risk to me. How good are you at drawing a map?”

Persi mumbles something in Spanish that sounds a lot likea arrogant assholebefore turning her face back up to mine. “Listen to me, or you’re going to end up dead.”

“Ok. You can come with me.” I don’t have a death wish. I don’t care if I have to take her along. I’ll get us both in and out.

“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?”

“Can I have that?”

Persi points to the bag at my feet. I pass it to her. She settles it over Rage’s lap, pulls out the book of maps, and flips to the page I snapped a picture of.

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

She turns the book around and shows us a patch of land

“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.”

Dragon flips the map in his direction. “We know. The Castel name is well known, as are the whispers of power among the underground.”

“My family moves over one hundred million dollars’ worth of heroin and other drugs a year. And now Cortes, the greedy bastard, is adding this Euphoria to the list. He’s after money and Silas has promised to show Cortes just how much money can be made in trafficking.”

Fuck. That is what I feared. I knew it. But now that I hear it I have acid gurgling up the back of my throat. The more power the Society amasses the harder it will be to get to the queenpin. I know another snake will slither into place after she’s dead, but that doesn’t change the fact I want her dead by my hand.

The muscles in my jaw tick. I could tell them, get a good team going and have backup. But the way Harmonia looked at me earlier told me she hasn’t told these people everything.

I keep my silence for now.

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