Absolution (Honor Guard 1)

Reaching under his fallen paper, Hugo withdrew a picture and handed it to Joseph. “This intelligence came in ten minutes ago. We believe he’s the man threatening Eva and me. The head-honcho. His name is—”

“Antonio Soto.”

“How the hell do you know him?” Hugo’s eyes lit up at Joseph’s knowledge. “Do you know where to find him?”

He crumpled the paper in his fist, chucking it at the wall. He couldn’t wait to get his hands on the sick ass**le. And to think he could have had him, could have ended this before it even began. God damn it. “Fucking piece of shit. I could have shot the bastard. He had a date scheduled with Eva, showed up at her place. Shortly after, we were attacked.”

“He had a date with her? He would’ve kidnapped her then, to be sure.”

“Probably. Where is he?”

Hugo handed him another sheet of paper and grabbed an identical one off his desk. He headed to the door, speaking over his shoulder as they exited. “Here are his last known properties. You check the first three with a team of men, and I’ll check the last three. Take no chances, and waste no time. The longer she’s in his hands, the less her chances of walking away.”

“Send them after me. I’m leaving now.” Joseph didn’t wait for Hugo’s response. He strode out the door and got into his car. If the man wanted him to have backup, then he’d take care of it. But he would be damned if he’d wait.

***

Eva lay on her belly, face pressed into a bare mattress, panting while she jerked her arms…a wiggle here, a twist there. Ugh, she’d almost gotten free that time. They’d secured her wrists and also her ankles, but the person who’d tied the knots had no talent with the task, so she’d just about managed to free her left hand.

Sun shone through a clear spot on the filthy window overhead, casting a beam down to the ground and illuminating with disgusting detail just how dirty her prison was. A steel pot rested in the corner, and she suspected it had nothing to do with cooking.

Rats scurried in the shadows, looking as if they’d like nothing more than to dine on her rather than whatever scraps they fought over. She shuddered and yanked harder, ignoring the sticky liquid running down her hand. Maybe the blood would prove a godsend, loosening the knot by lubricating her wrists and the fabric. She watched one brave rat approach and stared at the beady-eyed varmint until it backed down.

Her glower had made the creature retreat, but she didn’t think her intimidation tactics would work much longer. She fought with renewed fervor, and bit back a triumphant shout when she slipped her hand loose. When she freed her other hand, Eva reached down and untied her legs, only to freeze at the door to her cell opening. Antonio swaggered in, biting an apple.

He shook his head while clucking his tongue. “You’re going to be more trouble than I’d thought. Who’d have believed you had so much spunk in you?”

She shrugged, trying to appear casual as she leaned back on her hands, grabbing the strips of material they’d bound her with. “I take after my father, one could say.”

He laughed and stepped closer. “You’ll end up like him…and your little boyfriend. Dead.”

She paled at the reminder of Joseph’s assassination but lifted her chin and tossed her hair behind her shoulder. “Have you heard from the man you sent after him? Has he returned to boast of his skills in bringing down one of the best agents in Mexico?”

He hissed and stalked toward her. Raising his hand, he slapped her hard across the face. Pain radiated from her cheekbone and across her face until the agony seemed to throb throughout her entire body. The coppery taste of blood met her tongue, and she rotated her jaw to survey the damage. The bone didn’t seem broken, thank God.

Her heart sang at his rage because it meant one thing—Joseph had escaped. He would come for her. She knew it with every breath she took. Fear made her tremble, but she would be damned if she let him see it.

Turning to face the bastard again, she grinned and spat blood at his feet—all over his shiny shoes. “I take it that’s a no?”

Antonio shoved her shoulders, and she hid the scrap of bloody linen under her hair. He straddled her and held her arms over her head with one hand. “Your voice grates on my nerves. Someone ought to teach you your place in this world, Eva.”

He crammed his lips to hers and shoved his fingers underneath her nightie, wrenching it up to her neck. Panic made her moves erratic as she arched her hips, trying to buck him off. When nothing she did seemed to work, her heart sped up painfully. Oh, God, this would be how she died. Raped and bloody.

She squirmed in his hold, trying to free a limb to do some sort of damage, but he held her too tightly. He shoved his tongue in her mouth, and gagging, she jerked on her hands. She bit down, but he seemed to sense it coming, retreating before she snapped onto meat.

He laughed, pressing his erection hard against her. “You women. You all think alike.”

“Go to hell,” she snarled, bowing her back while squirming to get her legs out from under him.

His face loomed over hers, distorted in its rage and evil state of mind. He released her hands long enough to rip her gown, leaving her panties as her only clothing. She screamed and grabbed the cloth she’d been tied up with earlier from beneath her hair and twisted the fabric taut between her hands. Looping the bloody material around his neck, she jerked it tight using all her strength, throwing her body weight into it like Joseph had taught her.

He tugged at the cloth, slow at first and then with a twinge of desperation. He grabbed her hair and yanked an enormous chunk out, but she refused to let go. He punched her on the side of her head. Stars exploded in her vision, throbbing through her head until her hands slipped from the fabric. He slammed an elbow into her ribs, and she crumbled onto the mattress, gasping for air.

While he bent over, struggling to get some air into his swollen throat, she attempted to pull herself into a sitting position, seeking out the fabric. His lungs made a wheezing sound when he inhaled. He stared at her with murder written in his eyes, and she laughed. With a growl he leapt on her, pounding her in the nose.

The pain was the only thing she knew and then the world faded to black.

***

Joseph approached the entrance to the abandoned building and motioned for the team following him to fan out on either side. This place had been the last on his list, and the frustration and anger consuming him grew with each passing moment. He cracked the door, peeking inside. Adrenaline pumped through his veins at the sight of a man standing guard at a closed entry. If a man stood guard, chances were something of value rested behind said man.