Page 15 of K-9 Justice

Max shifted on all four legs. Her bark echoed off the cars surrounding them as Carson got his bearings. The junkyard stretched several acres in each direction. With any number of hiding places. She just had to disappear until he could neutralize the threat himself.“Pass auf!”Sebastian didn’t speak German. There was no way he’d be able to understand the command for Max to protect Ivy.

The K-9 bolted straight ahead and into the dark. She would do whatever it took to keep Ivy safe. “Split up. She can’t get far without a weapon,” he said to Sebastian.

In reality, Ivy’s survival training had readied her to thrive in the worst circumstances. It was her way of protecting herself, of being prepared for any situation and coming out on top, and she’d ensured each and every single one of her operatives could do the same. Including Dr. Piel.

“You find her, bring her to me. She’s mine. Understand? Those Socorro sons of bitches are going to pay for what they’ve done.” Sebastian split off to the left as Carson followed after Max.

“We’ll see about that.” His boots suctioned into soggy dirt as the land failed to soak up the last of the winter rainstorms. The ground had acclimated to extreme dryness over the decades. A single storm could wash out roads, flood towns and trigger mudslides without warning.

He shouldn’t have brought her here. Ivy was out here, forced into a position of self-defense because of him, but there was no point in shaming himself now. There was no way in hell Sebastian would give him the intel they needed now. Not unless Ivy was dead at his feet.

Carson maneuvered through the maze of vehicles, keeping low and moving fast. He searched each one, but Ivy had taken thisgame of hide-and-seek seriously. A low whine called to him from the right, four rows from the warehouse, and he picked up the pace.

Max’s tail set a new speed record as he approached. She danced in excitement of seeing him and to show off her expert skills of protecting the woman at her back.

“How’s the leg?” Ivy pressed one side of her body into the rusted-out sedan she’d taken cover behind. Mud caked up her shins and covered her boots, most likely leaving a trail straight to her. It was going to take them working together to get out of this mess.

“I’ll live. Thanks for not going for the full monty.” Carson struggled to catch his breath as he surveyed the junkyard. Cars stood as silent soldiers all in line, ready to serve. No movement between them, but the moon had disappeared behind a cloud overhead, and his vision had yet to adjust.

“Can’t have you slowing me down, can I?” She leaned back to get a view over the rear end of the vehicle. “Where’s your friend?”

“South side of the lot. I can give you a head start, but I’m going to have to sell my part.” Carson turned on his heels, staying low enough to avoid drawing attention. “I’m sorry about this, Ivy. I failed to account for the cartel recognizing your face.”

“It’s not your fault I’ve got such a pretty face. This is God-given.” Her attempt to lighten the tension closing in worked, but it didn’t last long. The cars in this lot weren’t stacked on top of each other. Any move on their part would give away their location. “Still think Sebastian will give us the information we came for?”

“As long as we put you in the position of power.” He scratched at Max’s head to get her to settle down. “Until we have every last soldier and contact inSangre por Sangrein custody or buried,I’m not sure it’s smart to risk my cover. Including Dr. Piel’s killer.”

“What if we just ask for his identity nicely?” she asked.

“Sure. Let me know how that goes.” He caught movement out of the corner of his eye. A mere two rows to their left. Damn it. Carson reached for his weapon, but he’d left their sidearms where he’d tossed them. “Think you can get to your gun if I distract him?”

“This mud isn’t very forgiving.” She hiked onto her heels, bracing both hands against the sedan. The car wobbled and groaned under the leverage, and he realized all four wheels had been scavenged. The metal body had been suspended by blocks. “But I can make it.”

They had to try. Carson wrapped one hand around her arm and pulled her in. Not unlike when he’d crushed her against his chest a few minutes ago. Only this time, his mouth came down on hers. This kiss was quick and desperate, but it was enough to reenergize his nervous system and keep his head in the game. “Take Max. I’ll draw him away. Be careful.”

Ivy rolled her lips between her teeth in the dim light given off by the moon above. “You, too.”

He crouched low and headed farther back in the lot, the opposite direction of Ivy and Max. This would work. It had to work. Because losing her once had nearly killed him and had taken one of his kidneys. He wouldn’t recover if something happened to her again. His breathing shallowed as he tried to listen for squelching footsteps, but there was nothing. No sign of Sebastian. No gunshots. No insect noises coming from the desert spanning out on every side of the junkyard.

Everything had gone dead silent.

A barrel of a gun pressed into the back of his head.

Carson froze.

“I knew there had to be someone on the inside. It was the only explanation for how Socorro and the feds managed to find us time and time again.” Sebastian’s voice no longer held that mentor quality Carson had associated with him. Instead, this was the cartel soldier who would do whatever it took to survive. “On your feet, Rojas.”

Without a weapon of his own, Carson didn’t have a choice. He failed to catch sight of Ivy or Max as he shoved upward. There was a part of him he’d had to hide from her these past two days. A monster he’d fed with every innocent life taken and order fulfilled within the cartel. It clawed to the surface now, changing him, pushing out all emotion and feeling. “Call me dirty one more time, and I’ll feed you that gun,amigo.”

He didn’t give Sebastian a chance to counter. Dodging to one side, Carson grabbed for the gun, ripped it from the man’s hand and took aim. All in the span of a blink of an eye. “This right here? This is what those Socorro dogs want. For us to turn on each other, but we’re smarter than that.”

He relaxed both hands around the weapon.

“These people have driven us out of our homes and into the ground. They’ve destroyed our futures, ourfamiliaand murdered our friends.” Carson offered the weapon back. “Don’t play into their mind games. Don’t give them what they want.”

A smile creased Sebastian’s mouth, one of pride, as he accepted his weapon. “You always were my favorite, Dominic. Out of all my soldiers, I knew you had a bright future inSangre por Sangre. Come.” His mentor navigated down the row of cars, toward the gate blocking Carson’s SUV. “Thegringaisn’t going anywhere.”

He scoured the visible layout of the junkyard for any sign of Ivy, but all had gone still. A sick knot twisted in his gut. “What do you mean she isn’t going anywhere?”

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