Page 108 of Hart of Darkness
Grace went ramrod straight. I held my breath. The gun at my back was burning a hole into my skin.
The sun’s rays were beginning to brighten.
My heart was punching my ribs as if Kross Maxwell were using me as one of his sparring partners.
The front passenger’s door opened as the driver cut the engine.
Grace and I watched and waited, breathing a little heavier than normal. We had our vests on. The drums were shielding parts of our lower bodies, but our heads weren’t protected.
The first man to appear was Cory. I only knew what he looked like from a picture in the office of my financial advisor. In the photo, Cory was posing with the elder Calderon on some golf course.
“There’s Cory,” I whispered.
“Cory is a beast,” Grace mumbled. “He should be shot dead like the animal he is.”
Maggie would agree.
The next man to exit the Jeep from the driver’s seat was none other than Detective Rick Banfield. His balding head shone in the morning light. He lingered at the driver’s side door with his hands in front of him, not looking at us.
My heart galloped so hard, I swore I was having a heart attack.
Hughes’s voice came through my earpiece. “What the fuck?”
“Easy.” I spoke low, more for me than Ted, who seemed to want to burst out of the building and tear off Rick’s head. “We don’t see Maggie yet.”
The Jeep was parked slightly off to my left, and the windows were tinted, so I couldn’t see inside.
Cory came around the Jeep and stood next to Rick.
Then the back door on the passenger’s side opened. I was beginning to sweat.
A short man came into view, joining his men.
“That’s Miguel.” Derision coated each of Grace’s words.
Miguel said something to Rick before Cory and Miguel ambled over, stopping about three yards from us.
Miguel’s posture was as stiff as a board. “Well, Dillon, we’re here.” He glanced around. “I know you got a couple of guns on us. I wouldn’t expect anything less. But we’re not here to kill anyone or cause a scene. You hand over Grace.” Miguel waved stubby fingers at my sister. “Hi, honey. Did you miss me?”
Grace cringed. “Always the asshole. Aren’t you, Miguel?”
“The deal was Maggie for Grace,” I said as calmly as I could. “Where is she?”
Miguel snapped his fingers.
Rick opened the back door on the driver’s side. When Maggie emerged, I blinked several times to make sure my eyes weren’t playing tricks on me.
Her blond hair was a mess as though it had been windblown. Her pants were soaked in blood, and she looked like a rag doll. If it weren’t for Rick holding her up, she wouldn’t have been upright.
I growled low and deep.
Grace’s hand clutched mine. “Miguel needs to die today,” she whispered.
I agreed with her. I couldn’t tell if Maggie had been shot or stabbed. No matter what had happened to her, the person responsible would pay.
Hughes also growled, then several expletives came out of his mouth before he said, “Dillon, stick with the plan.”
A roar of laughter blared in my head. The need to kill jabbed me in the gut and made me tense every muscle in my body.
Maggie was breathing heavily as she locked eyes with me and smiled. My heart soared and plummeted at the same time. The need to kill was stronger than I’d imagined.
Reluctantly, I tore my gaze away from Maggie and pinned it on Miguel, who had a smug grin on his ugly face. “Stay here,” I said to Grace.
She wouldn’t let go of my hand. “You heard Hughes. Stick to the plan. We need to stall Miguel.” Her voice was barely a whisper. “Remember, they want me alive, not you.”
Grace was right, but I didn’t care.You better, dude, if you want a life with your girl and your family.I didn’t see any guns on any of them, but that didn’t mean they weren’t packing.
“Keep him talking,” Hughes said. “I called in the cavalry. ETA seven minutes.”
Maggie’s head bobbed. I wasn’t going to last seven minutes, and from the looks of it, Maggie wasn’t either.
