Cut Wide Open
Page 31

Enrico Santos sat calmly. “Tsk, tsk. Juan was one of my best men, you really didn't need to do that. Now, you’re here for a reason, si? What is it? We had a deal on the guns. Or is it money? Drugs? Why have you come into my home disrespecting me, when I’ve shown you nothing but respect?” His accent was thick as he coolly demanded answers.
Shane stealthily moved behind Enrico with his gun aimed at his head while Ace covered the door. I stood in front of Enrico with my gun aimed ready to blow his brains out, but knowing I couldn't do it, not yet.
“Respect me? That’s why you were meaning to undermine us with Hades?”
His eyes flared for another brief second. I saw it. He was surprised we knew.
“Respect?” I scoffed again, “That’s why you have the mother of my child? You have my woman, and you want to talk about respect?” My nose flared and I was so close to pulling the trigger.
“Gunner,” Shane said my name trying to calm me. I couldn't kill this piece of shit until I had Charlie.
“Where is she?” I asked through clenched teeth.
He laughed, actually threw his head back and laughed. “That puta? That’s what’s got your panties in a bunch?”
Shane aimed his gun down and shot him in the leg. His pant leg darkened.
“Fuck! You’ll pay for that,” Enrico said through gritted teeth.
“Flesh wound. Next one will be worse. You think we don't know how to make a man bleed? Get up!” Shane ordered.
Noise from the hall alerted Ace to the fact that some of Enrico’s men had begun making their way toward the room. Ace shouted, “Tell them to fall back, or I take your knees.” The men in the hall must’ve heard this, because the noise from their loud clumsy asses quieted.
“Pare, no vienen más cerca!” Enrico yelled in Spanish. I didn't speak Spanish, but I imagined he was telling them to stop.
I kept my gun trained on Enrico. My brothers’ covered me as we forced a limping Enrico to his feet. “Lead us to her.”
As we moved into the hall, his men fell back sensing the danger their boss was in. We were led down a set of stairs, through a few doors, and then down another three stairs. It seemed to get colder and darker, the further down we traveled. The air smelled dank. At the end of what seemed to be a tunnel, we came to a wooden door. My blood boiled at the thought that she was being kept here. I gripped the back of his neck, doing everything in my power to not kill him yet. I needed to make sure she was here. Enrico moved his hand to his pocket. “Easy,” I said reaching in and fishing out a large set of keys. There was no way I would know which one unlocked the door. I handed them to him, “Open it,” I ordered. He grabbed them and took his time, infuriating me even more. Finally, he put the key in the lock and turned it. What I saw when he opened the door took my breath away.
A woman, I wasn't even sure yet was Charlie, with bound wrists hung from a hook. She was naked. Her back was to us, dried blood and deep, large, red welts covered her gaunt body. Her head lulled to the side and I had no idea if she was even alive. “Son of a bitch,” I hissed. “Release her.”
Enrico sifted through keys on the ring and unlocked her wrists, but not before his hand ran down her back. I shoved him aside and grabbed the woman. I gasped when I saw her face.
It was her.
My. Fucking. World.
And she was destroyed.
Ace, with his military background, grabbed her wrist, “She’s got a pulse, but barely.”
“Let’s move,” Shane said, as I scooped Charlie into my arms. He held a gun on Enrico as we began moving out of the dungeon and back the way we came.
“Baby, hang on. I’m here. Hang on,” I whispered and kissed her forehead, praying to God that I wasn't too late.
We had just made it to the kitchen, when a flash of silver caught my eye and a bullet grazed past me. Ace fired back and before we knew it, we were in a shootout.
The kitchen was open layout with the fridge and range against the wall and the rest of the deep mahogany cabinets were an island in the middle if the room. Across from one side of the kitchen were windows and patio doors. On the other side, there was a formal dining room and a hallway. The hallway was where the bullets began flying from. We ducked behind the cabinets. Shane still held a gun to Enrico, but we needed Shane’s help, so with Charlie in my arms, I aimed at him. There was an all out war around us. If Enrico didn’t make it, I needed to know why. So with my gun trained on him, in the midst of chaos, I asked, “Why did you take her? Why her? Why me?”
The sick fucker smiled at me. “Why don't you ask your mother about how I like pretty things?”
What the fuck?
Enrico, thinking he took me off guard, went for a knife from the butcher block. I pulled the trigger of my gun and shot him in his other leg, and this time it wasn't a flesh wound. Enrico hissed in pain, not wanting to show how much that must’ve hurt.
“Tell them to stand down. The only reason you’re still alive is to ensure we get the fuck out of here. If they don't back down, you’re dead,” Shane said through the rapid gunfire.
A bullet grazed Ace’s shoulder and he shouted, “Fuck this!” He took out a fucking grenade and threw it. The room seemed to explode, dust was everywhere. Men were screaming.
“Fuck,” Shane shouted. Somehow during the explosion, even with his wounded leg, Enrico managed to get away.
I looked down at Charlie. I wanted to go after Enrico. I wanted to make him pay. Shane, seeing my torment, shook his head. “Not now.”
“We don't have time! Let’s go!” Ace shouted.
I wanted to kill Enrico, but my focus needed to be on Charlie. Above everything else, I needed to keep her safe. We moved through the hole in the wall to the outside. As we did, Ace pulled out another grenade and threw it into the house. I just prayed that this explosion killed that sick fucker. Flames were everywhere. Smoke filled our lungs, but we moved quickly.
Once outside, there were far fewer men, so Shane and Ace flanked my sides taking men out as we left the burning building behind. We could hear screaming and shouting, a mixture of pain and revenge. Those men wanted us dead.
We moved through the jungle and before we knew it, we’d made it to the SUV. I climbed in the back still holding Charlie close to me. Shane and Ace got in the front, and we sped off. We zoomed through the Colombian streets, and in what felt like seconds, but was surely longer, we were at the airfield. Shane had called ahead to the pilot and within minutes of arriving, we were in the air. I wrapped Charlie in a blanket, and continued whispering that she would be okay, even though I wasn't really sure if that was the truth. She wasn't conscious and from the way her breath labored, I wondered how long we had.