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“We’ll do this by the book, and that’s final.”
She made a face, mumbling, “Mr. Grey will see you now,” making Ben chuckle. I might’ve done the same if I wasn’t running for my baby.
“I’m in position,” Aaron announced.
“Then let’s roll.” I gripped the steering wheel. “Tomorrow, we rest.”
“Tomorrow, we rest,” even Aaron repeated.
I spotted Matias’s car to our right, heading to the slaughterhouse, as predicted. I pushed the gas, the tires crunching the rubble, as we sped up against him. The clearing was plain, and since we were all hidden by trees, it took him a while to realize he was being followed again.
He rushed, trying to reach the gate, but once again we got in his way. I saw Andrea in the passenger seat, and it brought me no satisfaction seeing her tears of fear.
Matias pulled his gun out, but he wasn’t fast enough. Mia positioned her torso out of the passenger window and shot him, hitting his left arm. He lost control of the car, and she took advantage of it to shoot one of his tires.
The vehicle twirled until it skidded to a stop, and we managed to corner him. To my utter desperation, instead of trying to flee like the last time, he pulled Sofia from the back seat with his good arm.
My insides froze when she screamed,“Papi!”and stretched her arms for me to get her.
“Look who came,niña. Daddy wanted to join the party. What a shame it’d be if none of you made it to the end to see the grand finale.”
“Cabrón de mierda. My daughter has nothing to do with any of this. If you want her mother, that’s your issue. If you want to resolve this with me, face me like a man. But leave. My baby.Out.”
“You’re surrounded, Matias,” Aaron intervened from his position. “There’s no way out for you.”
He gazed around, seemingly just then realizing Ben, Aaron, another agent, Mia, and I were around, pointing a gun at him.
“Good luck trying to catch me. You ruined my family once; you won’t do it again.”
Family?
I heard vehicles approaching, and my urgency increased. Our window of opportunity was about to be closed. If the cartel sent reinforcements, we wouldn’t be able to match them.
We couldn’t shoot him, or we could end up hurting Sofia. Andrea was still sobbing inside the car, and she didn’t seem to be a good bargain. I could only think about evoking chaos. And hope we were able to tie the right knots.
On instinct, I fired against the window of the back seat of Matias’s car, making him jump at the shattered glass. Andrea was spooked and ran from the car, while he rushed with my baby inside the slaughterhouse.
From the corner of my eye, I saw Mia tackling Andrea to the ground as Ben and Aaron followed me behind Matias and Sofia. The place was dark and humid. The putrid smell burned my nose and brought tears to my eyes.
We separated inside, and I tried to follow Fee’s muffled cries. It was too dark to notice the trail of blood Matias’s wound was leaving. My heart seemed to be pumping in my ear as I tiptoed in search of my daughter. More shots were heard from outside. His goons had arrived.
I sensed more than saw Ben and Aaron going back out to deal with it, leaving me alone inside that hellhole. A blunt force from my back threw me to the ground, and I turned just in time not to be punched by Matias.
The son of a bitch was out for blood, but I had ire to my advantage. I matched him jab for jab and raised my wrath. I wanted to cause him pain, I wanted him to die slowly.
I was getting the best of him. I knew it, he knew it. But he had a card up his sleeve, the ultimate punch. “Where is your baby girl,hijo de puta? Want one of my brothers to find her?”
I sucked in a deep breath. The shots were dying down outside but still happening. I couldn’t hear my baby anymore, and I hadn’t seen her go out the front door.
Not giving a second thought that Matias might run away—again—I punched him one last time and bolted through the back door. Tall trees littered the place, keeping the light away. The night was coming fast, and I had to find my Sofia before anyone else did. I screamed her name, getting desperate, and ran amok.
Bile rose to my throat, and I was about to lose it when I spotted two small figures near the river that ran nearby.
“We got her.”
“My baby!” I darted down to Mia, who had Sofia clinging to her like a koala.
Fee looked up at me. “Papi!” I picked her up and squeezed her against my chest. I went down on my knees, the reality that I could’ve lost her catching up to me. I couldn’t even care that I was sobbing as hard as my girl. “I ran to the water,Papi. Just like Moana.”
