The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(135)

Pain radiated up my legs. Water exploded out of the pipe, spraying from the ceiling, drenching my clothes. Wet strands of hair slid in front of my eyes. Water leaked into my mouth.

“Fucking hell!” I screamed, shaking my head from side to side.

I crawled across the floor, back to the bedroom. I settled into the corner and curled into a ball. Water dripped from my robe. I squeezed the excess water from the ends. I could’ve slipped on my t-shirt, but wearing a transparent robe was infinitely more appealing than being covered in Raul’s blood, my sweat, and days worth of dirt.

Then, I heard loud footsteps echoing down the hallway. The door handle rattled.

“Hattie,” a voice I didn’t recognize yelled.

I didn’t answer. I scrambled to my feet and ran across the room. Standing next to the door, I raised the showerhead above my head preparing to strike whoever entered the room.

“Hattie,” the man shouted again. “Are you in there?”

A few shouts echoed down the hallway punctuated by two gunshots.

“I’m with Ryker. He sent me to find you,” the man persisted.

I shifted on my feet. “Prove it.”

“Back away from the door. I’m going to shoot the lock.”

“Where’s Ryker?”

“He’s taking care of some people downstairs. Move away from the f*cking door. I don’t have all day,” he demanded.

“I’ll wait for Ryker.” I couldn’t trust anyone except him. For all I knew, this guy could be a member of the Alvarez Cartel or some other cartel wanting to get in on the action.

“Goddamn. What the hell is wrong with you? We need to get the f*ck out of here. I’m not standing outside this door waiting for someone to kill me.”

“I don’t trust you. I don’t trust anyone except Ryker.”

“You’re going to get us killed. Vargas,” the guy screamed as heavy footsteps burst down the hall. “She won’t move away from the door.”

“Hattie, it’s me,” Ryker said. “Move to the right side of the door.”

“My right or your right?”

“Yours.”

With my body pressed into the wall, I scrambled to the other side of the door. “I moved.”

“Now listen to me…” Ryker kept talking, but I couldn’t hear him over the sudden roar of a helicopter over the house. With my eyes trained on the door, I cupped my hands over my ears.

“Who’s that? What’s going on?”

He didn’t answer.

Sparks ricocheted off the door. Then, it flew open, bouncing off the adjacent wall.

“Watch our back,” Ryker shouted, pointing to the man in the shadows.

In the darkness, I could make out the outline of Ryker’s body. I ran across the room and circled my arms around his strong shoulders. My fingernails dug into the back of his neck like talons. My knees sagged. Tears flooded my eyes. My breath came hard and fast until I started hyperventilating.

He wrapped an arm around my waist, and his fingers pressed into my side. “Relax, Hattie. I’ve got you.”

He rocked me back and forth for a frozen second, and I wanted to tell him I missed him, I loved him, I couldn’t live without him, and so much more. But the words wouldn’t come. Instead, I pressed my lips to his neck, drawing his essence into my lungs. He smelled like sea air, gunpowder and man, but somehow it was better than anything in the world.

“Can you walk?” he whispered, next to my ear.

Jumbled thoughts whirled through my mind. Incoherent words mixed with whimpers streamed from my mouth. I couldn’t think. I couldn’t talk. Walking was out of the question.

“Listen, baby. We need to get out of here right now. The helicopter can only stay so long before it draws too much attention.”

I lifted my head from his chest and nodded. “I can walk.”

“Hold on to the back of my belt and don’t let go no matter what happens.”

I clamped my hands around his belt, fusing my body to his. My swollen hand protested the movement, but I ignored the pain. “Got it,” I whispered, my throat raw from dehydration and crying for days.

“Noah,” Ryker said. “Follow us out of here.”

A tall, dark-haired man stepped out of the shadows. A flash of light from the bottom of the stairs lit up one side of his face. He had sharp cheekbones, a long angular nose and almond shaped eyes. He flashed a thumbs-up signal. “I’m on it.”

With his gun in front of him, we jogged down the stairs. Dead bodies and bloodied groaning men littered the floor. I floated through the room as if I were submerged in water, suffering from a nightmare I couldn’t wake up from. My vision tunneled. My entire body trembled so I hard I thought I’d collapse.

“Don’t look. Just keep your gaze glued to the ground in front of you and keep putting one foot in front of the other,” Ryker said without glancing at me.

I squeezed my eyes shut and plastered my body against his back. My fingers curled around the waistband of his pants. My lungs rattled with suppressed cries. I would’ve crawled inside him if it were possible. A warm breeze caressed my skin. We were outside. Relief poured through my body. I opened my eyes and lifted my head to the sky, drinking in the faint glimmer of the stars. Palm trees danced in the wind. Sea salt wafted through the air. On any other night, it would’ve been peaceful, but not today. With the roar of the helicopter blades slicing through the air, it felt sinister. Ominous.