Damnable Grace (Hades Hangmen 5)

Sapphira’s eyes closed. “What . . . what will happen to us? What will become of us all?”

I held her tighter as she rested on my shoulder once more. “I do not know,” I said honestly. “But I will fight for us. For you and Grace. I will . . .” I kissed her, stroked my hand through her blond hair. “I will fight for my daughter.”

Sapphira’s breathing steadied into a soft rhythm, and without seeing her face I knew she had smiled. “Daughter,” she murmured and wrapped her arms around my waist. “Mother . . . I like the sound of that.”

As she fell asleep against me, cradled in my arms, I realized that wishes and hopes could come true. I had rocked her to sleep when it mattered most. And although I did not know what Meister planned, I would never let her down again. In this dark moment, I cherished every second of this time. This silent time with my daughter back in my arms. As a baby, her heart had beat next to mine. And in my warm embrace, it beat once again, making me whole.

After all these years of struggle, I had my baby back with me.

Asleep, comforted by my touch.

And I would die to keep her safe.

*****

“Where are we going?” I gripped Sapphira’s hand. The guard did not speak as he dragged us from the room in which we had slept. He forced us into the bright morning light and toward a waiting van.

Three larger vans were beside it. Meister stood, waiting. He watched as the door was opened and we were thrown inside. “Aunt Phebe!” a familiar voice shouted as I hit the floor of the truck. Sapphira came in beside me and I pulled her to my side. Grace was tucked into the corner of the van, looking fearful.

“Grace,” I said in relief and she scurried into my arms.

“Aunt Phebe . . . I am scared,” she cried and tucked her head into the crook of my arm. I shook my head, tears springing from my eyes as I tried to think of what to do. But I had no answers. Gentle fingers wiped away the droplets from my cheeks. I turned to see Sapphira giving me a watery smile.

More pain than I had ever felt in my life rushed through me when I realized that all of this—this pain and suffering, this rough treatment by men—was nothing new to Sapphira. It was all she had ever known.

Grace’s head lifted and looked across at Sapphira. I hugged Grace tighter. “Grace, this is Sapphira . . .” I inhaled deeply and said, “My . . . my daughter.”

I heard Sapphira’s breath hitch, knew she felt the strangeness those words conjured as much as I did. But they felt right, and when I nervously met Sapphira’s eyes, I saw a sense of peace settle within them.

“Your daughter?” Grace sniffed.

“Yes.”

Sapphira ran her hand over Grace’s head. “Nice to meet you, Grace,” she said shyly.

“You too,” Grace replied.

I had little time to enjoy the moment. The doors were slammed shut, and we were plunged into darkness. So I held on to my niece and my daughter, my hands clasped tightly in theirs.

And as we rolled away, I prayed to whoever was listening that I could somehow get us out of this alive.

We deserved our chance at happiness.

Chapter Twenty

AK

Secluded farm, La Cruz, Mexico

My stomach was flat to the roof as I waited, the sun coming over the horizon. It beat on my back, taking me back to Iraq. I breathed steadily, eyes scanning the abandoned farmhouse. We had been here for two hours now, flanked by the cover of darkness. I checked the other positions: Hush and Cowboy at the north, Tank, Tanner and Bull at the south. Flame and Viking were to the west, and beside me were Styx, Smiler and Ky. Ash and Slash were in the dilapidated barn we were using as a hideout, with the truck and the bikes. Rider had been given a gun and told to guard the truck. Fucker could be handy in a fight.

The meeting with Diablos had gone surprisingly smoothly.

“We need passage to Mexico,” Ky had told Chavez, the Diablos’ prez. Like Styx, he had inherited the title when Styx had killed his father in the Mexican war, straight after Chavez’s dad had put a bullet in Styx’s dad’s skull. There was no love lost between the two sons, both in their twenties and of similar build and savageness. But with a “You owe us, and when the time comes, I’ll be cashing that shit in,” from Chavez, the deal was done, and we’d crossed the border, no questions asked, no detection from the cartel, border patrol, or even better, Meister and this Garcia.

“Heads up,” Ky said from beside me as kick-up from the dirt road mushroomed in the distance. I whistled, telling all our brothers shit was about to go down. I focused through my scope and watched as a single Escalade approached.

I tightened my hold and set to strike. The farmhouse was silent as the Escalade came to a stop. It was bulletproof, armored. Expensive as shit. Fuckers clearly expected trouble on a daily basis. And they had money. A lot of it.

I breathed deeply, watching, blocking everything out, as the door opened. A muscled Mexican stepped out of the driver’s side, rifle in his hand. He scanned the area, but clearly, having been here many times before, expected no trouble.

Exactly what we fucking banked on.

He opened the back door, and a slick-looking motherfucker stepped out onto the dirt. He was tall and toned with jet-black hair.

The boss.

Garcia.

I heard Ky growl. Styx put his hand on his shoulder. I glanced to my left. Ky’s face was more livid than I’d ever seen in all the years I’d known him. Styx didn’t look too different, but that fucker knew when to be patient and when to kill.

They knew this asshole. Clearly. And by their reaction, this fucker wasn’t easy meat. But there was no time to find out more.

Three more men got out of the back seats. More muscle. But that was it. Five in total.

The buyers.

Traffickers.

Minutes passed while they all talked and laughed. Like being about to trade my fucking woman was nothing to their prick lives. I wanted to pull the trigger so bad. I wanted to blow a hole in each of their skulls, but there was still no sign of Phebe. No sign of—

The sound of oncoming trucks came from the dirt road. I turned, silently, and through my scope saw four vans: three large ones and one small one.

My heart started firing, but I held my cool. I felt the tension coming from Ky beside me. I checked the brothers were ready. They were braced, guns at the ready.

Two minutes later, the trucks stopped, and Meister jumped out of the cabin of the smaller van. The drivers of the main three vans remained in their seats. The smaller van kept my attention. If the cult whores were in those vans, what the fuck was in the smaller one?

Meister and Garcia shook hands, and I wanted to laugh. The king of the Aryan Brotherhood doing business with a Mexican. Hypocritical fuck.

They talked, and we waited. Then a loud shout came from the back of the smaller van. The hair on the back of my neck pricked up when I recognized that fucking voice.

Phebe.

And she didn’t stop. Her hands smashed on the doors so loud that Meister’s back stiffened in annoyance and he marched to the back. He threw the doors open, and through my scope I saw three figures: Phebe, a blonde and . . . Grace.

I held out my hand and hit Ky’s arm. I pointed to the van, signaling she was there. Then Meister was pulling Phebe from the back. No sooner had her feet hit the dirt than he sliced his hand across her face. Her head snapped back, and when I looked up close, I saw that she was beaten . . . and my blood boiled when I saw the dried blood on her dress.

He’d touched her . . . that fucker had touched her.

I breathed through my nose, forcing myself to calm. Meister dragged the other two figures out. A blonde came out first, and I knew. I just fucking knew who it was. Phebe, lashing out at the guard who had come to join Meister, was screaming, fighting to get to her.

Sapphira.

He threw Sapphira to the ground, her thin body crumpling to the dirt. She stayed down, too scared to get up. Meister pulled Grace out,

but the fucker wasn’t rough with her. Instead, he held her hand and took her to Garcia. Garcia smiled and crouched down. His hand pushed Grace’s hair from her face, and I heard Ky losing it beside me—a low growl of seething anger, followed by, “That asshole’s gonna fucking die.”

That was all the fucking warning I got before all hell broke loose.

Ky fired a shot straight at Garcia. But just as the bullet left his barrel, Garcia’s guard moved in front of him, taking the shot. The side of the big fucker’s head blew off and he fell to the ground, and the place exploded into chaos.

“Fuck!” Ky hissed.

Guns fired in all directions. Ky and Styx rushed down the stairs of the building, plowing into the fray. I aimed and fired at another Mexican guard. He fell as I hit my target.

Garcia jumped into the back of the Escalade and shut the door. The bullets pinged off the metal, not getting through. Grace screamed, covering her ears at the sounds.