Page 47 of Born into Darkness

“It’s all right, Max. We’re getting you out of here,” I tell him, hoping that some part of my son will register my voice and know everything is going to be okay.

Sasha walks over, and even with the mask, I can tell he’s furious at what he sees. The bloody skull he’s wearing slowly turns to where Mateo is still standing. He points the bloody knife at the man who’s now the head of the Amaya Cartel, and to Mateo’s credit, he doesn’t appear to immediately shit himself.

“Why is he still alive?” Sasha asks.

“He gave my daughter a knife and your cousin medicine,” Vasily tells him. “He protected them, and they’d be dead if it weren’t for him.”

Sasha slowly crosses the room to stand in front of Mateo. At six-five, Sasha has a few inches on the man, but Mateo tips his chin up, refusing to back down. My nephew doesn’t seem to care that Mateo’s still holding his gun. It’s held down at his side, finger off the trigger, but we all just saw how fast he is, and if he didn’t care about dying, he could easily shoot my nephew.

“You let them do that to his hand?” Sasha asks.

“Max volunteered for that,” Mateo says.

Sasha lets out a harsh laugh from behind his mask. “My cousin, a fuckingpianist, volunteered to have his hand ruined?”

Mateo doesn’t back down. “He did.”

Sasha steps in closer. “What the fuck did your family do to him to make him willingly do that?”

Mateo briefly glances at Talia. “He did it to save her. He was given a choice. The entire cartel could have their way with her, or he could give up his hand.”

Even though we’d suspected this, it’s still hard to hear. Vasily lets out a curse in Russian, the raw anger in every word is exactly how I feel at hearing the news, but my chest also swells with pride. I know what it took for Max to offer himself up like that, and I’m so fucking proud of him. He willingly embraced his worst fears to save a young woman from being abused in the most horrific ways imaginable.

“And they call me a monster,” I hear Sasha mutter before he raises his blade and slices a long line on Mateo’s face from cheekbone to chin. The skin splits easily, and blood pours out, dripping onto the floor as Mateo gives a grunt of pain but holds his ground.

“That’s for hurting my cousin. Be thankful I’m not allowed to kill you.” He gives a soft laugh as Mateo uses his hand to try and keep the skin on his face together. “I think I killed your mom, though, so that makes me feel a little better.” Sasha turns his head so he can see his dad as he adds, “She tried to shoot me, so she was fair game.”

Lev nods in agreement, letting his son know he hasn’t broken any rules. The bloody skull mask turns back to Mateo. “If we ever run into each other again, you’ll be fair game. Understand?”

Mateo nods, still trying to staunch the blood and looking a few shades paler. Before we lift Max up, Tony grabs a few supplies from the bag and hands them to Mateo, who gratefully takes the gauze and suture kit. When the bloody mask turns to him, Tony meets the light blue eyes behind the mask and says, “I’m a doctor, Sasha. I can’t help it.”

Sasha gives a soft laugh and pats Tony’s head as he walks back over to where Lev and the others are waiting. I don’t miss the relieved breath Tony lets out when Sasha is a safe distance away.

“Are we ready to move him?” I ask.

Tony nods and slings his medical bag back over his shoulder before grabbing the canvas beneath my son. “Yeah, as soon as we’re on the plane, I can start an IV.”

“Let’s get the fuck out of here,” Roman says, and then relays the message to our men outside.

With the lights back on, we don’t need to worry about using our goggles, and Niki will let us know if he sees any cartel men headed our way. They’ve taken a hit, though, and my guess is any remaining Amaya men have run off into the jungle. Mateo may be able to bring the cartel back, but it won’t be easy. I’m not comfortable leaving him alive, but I can’t kill a man who saved my son. I can only hope that he’ll be a better boss than his father was and that he’ll stay the fuck out of our city. If not, then like Sasha said, he’ll be fair game. This was a one-time pass. If he comes up against us again, he won’t be spared.

Matvey and Vitaly each grab an end of the canvas stretcher while Tony and I get the other corners. We lift him, making sure his injured hand is secure on his chest as the others get in line ahead and behind us so they can secure the group for the walk back to the boats.

Aside from the pile of dead bodies that Sasha and Volodya left, the hall in front of us is empty. We step over them, and I hear Talia give a soft gasp when she sees deep gashes along their throats and the amount of blood we’re stepping into. It makes a wet squelching sound under our tactical boots, and when I look back behind us, I see Dima leaning down so he can piggyback his sister out of here. It’s for the best, the poor girl looks like she’s going to pass out from exhaustion, and I’m not sure she would’ve had the strength to make the hike to the waiting boats.

Val leads us out the way we came, and when we get to the marbled hall in the main part of the house, Mateo veers off, disappearing further into the mansion, and I genuinely hope it’s the last time I ever see the man. We keep going, managing to get outside without encountering anyone. Niki turned the security lights back on, illuminating the bodies that litter the nicely manicured lawn. More of our men line the property, watching and giving us extra cover as we carry my son down the path to the shore.

“What was that?” Sasha asks, stopping to look off to his left.

“I don’t hear anything,” Luka tells him, but right after he says it, we hear a whimper, too high-pitched to come from a man.

Sasha pulls his mask back up, takes a few more steps, and then kneels beside the tall brush that lines the jungle side of the property.

In a very un-Sasha-like tone, he murmurs, “Hey, pupper, what happened to you?”

There’s a low growl before he pulls his hand back sharply and lets out a laugh. He turns to look at us and says, “He tried to bite me.”

Instead of being pissed, we can all hear the awe in his voice.

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