Page 157 of Shifting Hearts 1
“Nothing, we just got the location, so our car will pass yours and drive in front.” Antonio seems nervous, but it could also be the situation. While they are no stranger to these types of missions, they are typically placed out of harm’s way. I am the one they send in first to assess the situation. Which makes it even more strange to hear them charge into the fray voluntarily.
“Fine, but be on the lookout for a trap. You can never know with Alvarez.”
He simply disconnects the call, and I feel Maddy’s eyes burn on my side. “You seem worried? Mind sharing?”
It is on the tip of my tongue to include her, but what would I tell her? I have a feeling in my gut that everything is not as it seems, and although I know we need to be careful, it feels like so much more than we are walking into.
Rather than making her nervous, I calmly remind her. “Remember to listen to me first. It may be confusing with so many minds at one time, but you need to focus on me.”
She nods, and I pat my side to make sure I have my gun. I grabbed it on a whim. Usually, I don’t carry anything on me. But I am not sure what type of man Alexi is and want plausible deniability if I kill him anyway.
We drive to a secluded compound in the desert, and I exit the car with the scorching sun beating down on me.
Again, Maddy gets out before I can walk around, and I leave her be. We are here to reunite her with her love. Why should I show any concern for her comfort?
“Cousin, long time no see. And I see you brought your little slut along.”
I grind my teeth together but stay calm. I don’t need Benito to bait me right now. That would just make me an easier target. Not to mention, I won’t be able to notice where the real threat lies.
Benito and Antonio walk through the door with the confidence of someone who has been here before.
I put my hand around Maddy’s waist and pull her closer. She is still under my care, and if this goes sideways, she will have a better chance of survival.
We walk into darkness, with my cousins nowhere in sight. The whole room is enveloped in darkness with a faint light at the distant end.
Immediately, the warning siren goes off in my head. I can sense trained rifles on our position, and Maddy must feel the same as she leans into me more.
Our footsteps echo into the vast black void, and it isn’t until I hear Benito command us to stop that I put two and two together.
My cousins walked in here without any resistance. They must have intimate knowledge of the Rivera cartel’s inner workings, as my uncle was grooming them to take over one day. But they also led me to this place because they must have been here before. Presumably, while they were brokering a deal with Alvarez. They must also be the ones who had put out the contract on Uncle Angelo’s head.
“You must have been planning this for a long time, Benito. Are you sure you had all the facts before you brokered this deal with the don?”
The lights overhead switch on, suddenly illuminating just enough for me to see the cages lined up on the side of the warehouse-like building. Multiple cages filled with haggard-looking women, dehydrated and weakly leaning against the bars with a pathetic hope that someone will find them in time to save them from inevitable demise.
I look at the devastation before me and snarl when I see the torn clothes on the woman’s body hanging in shreds where they must have been beaten and abused.
But I also know that if we have any chance of leaving this building alive, I have a part to play right now.
“This is the merchandise you want to sell. Have you not heard of the principle of supply and demand? Who would want to buy specimens that are already starved and half-dead?”
Benito just stares at me with cold eyes, while Antonio looks at the cages with renewed attention. “They don’t look that bad. Besides, we can fatten them up once the owners have paid us a very generous handling fee.”
Maddy clutches my shirt, but I focus on my sadistic cousins and the don that appears behind them.
“I never took you for the one with the business sense, Antonio. I always thought you were the weak-minded one. If I had known you two could be this ruthless, I would have called you in to serve a long time ago.”
Benito steps closer, his finger pointing accusingly, “That is exactly why this plan worked so well, you bastard. You were always the star, while we needed to fade into the background and listen to your glorified and overexaggerated conquests. But you forget that being underestimated also has some perks. It helps you to infiltrate and get the information needed to make your own destiny.”
Gross white goo is accumulating at the corners of his mouth, showing me the actual depth of his resentment.
“So, you tried to have your father killed instead of speaking up?”
Antonio grabs Benito’s arm to hold him back and whispers something incoherently into his ear before he turns to me. “No, we decided to put out a contract on him to make the family stronger. After he is gone, the family will come to see that our way is the best. This secures our legacy for future generations, and if we succeed, no one will ever be overlooked again.”
“Bullshit!” Maddy weighs in.
“Excuse me?” Benito sounds menacing, but that still doesn’t stop her.
