Page 50 of Burdens
He looked at me impassively the entire time I relayed all the information I knew he’d need.
No one really knew much about the older man since he rarely spoke unless for one-worded responses or if he needed a clinical confirmation. He’d already been the cartel’s physician on call a few years before I joined the ranks and I always felt like something about him was off.
It might have been his bushy mustache that covered most of his upper lip or his disturbingly pale green eyes or maybe even the greasy gray hair he always had pulled into a low ponytail.
I still couldn’t pinpoint exactly what it was about him, so I simply limited my interactions to a bare minimum.
He gave a curt nod and immediately got to work, reaching for scissors and cutting through Gabriel’s torn-up top. With his scissors still in hand, he glanced up at us with a look of indifference.
“Right,” I said, taking it as my cue to leave. I walked out of his office and headed for my quarters to prepare the last step of my plan.
Barrera had left for The Oasis about an hour ago.
He hadn’t made a grand public appearance since his son died a few weeks ago, so he’d taken Hamza and a lot of his men with him, only leaving a few guards behind since I was here to watch over everything.
This was exactly what I needed and why I’d opted to bring the prince in town. I’d known Barrera wouldn’t have attended Moulay Ahmad’s birthday celebration no matter how beneficial his endorsement would be if he’d had to travel to another region for it.
I’d meticulously timed the extraction when I knew all the remaining guards who had stayed behind would gather in the living room to watch the football game. The country’s national men’s team was playing for some sort of qualifying round and there were only a few minutes left to determine if they’d make it through.
Which meant that all the men were now rooted to their seats, giving me a short window of time to leave.
I grabbed my guns from the small table I was sitting in front of and slid them into my shoulder holster. Standing, I grabbed my leather jacket from the back of the wooden chair and pulled it on, zipping it up.
Then I swiftly walked out of the room, listening for any sounds. The property had gone quieter, the faraway sounds of the boys in the living room drifting my way.
Hurry up, my brain urged me and I tamped it down with a vexed,I know.
With the keys of the cell in hand, I made my way down the stairs and crossed the courtyard, passing the large fountain inthe middle. I quickly glanced through the ajar back doors to see if all the guards were still accounted for in the living room.
After I confirmed all seven men were there, I hurried the remaining steps toward the building where Noah was held. I unlocked the front door and walked down the dimly lit hallways until I reached the narrow concrete staircase that led to the basement.
Once I made it down the steps, I looked at my watch and noticed I had four more minutes before the game ended. I quickly unlatched the three locks on the basement door and carefully cracked it open to minimize the screeching noise it made.
When I stepped into the hallway that led to his cell, Noah stood and watched me warily as I approached. He looked over my shoulder, most likely to see if we had company. When he realized I was alone, his gaze traveled back to mine.
“Came to pay me a visit?” he asked teasingly, the corner of his lips tugging up in a smirk.
“Sarcasm isn’t your style,” I deadpanned.
“And being held captive is?”
With no time to waste, I paused in front of his cell, unlocked the bolt attached to it, and dragged the bars wide open. “We’re leaving,” I ordered, ignoring his quip.
His brow shot up. “What are you talking about?”
I bit down on my molars and reached for his wrist, ignoring the jolting shock when our skin made contact. “Noah, we have to go. We don’t have time,” I said urgently, tugging him forward.
Thankfully, he didn’t resist.
I dropped his arm and shook my hand out before turning around to make our way out, Noah right on my heels.
“Where are we going?” he asked just as we reached the exit.
I halted abruptly and spun around, catching him off guard as my front collided with his. He grabbed my upper arms to steadyme and despite the fabric separating his touch from my skin, the same irritating zap of electricity rang through my body.
Ugh, stop it.
“Let’s go,” I gritted out, yanking myself out of his grip and turning around to leave.
