Chapter 23

Chapter Twenty-Three

A ccording to their intel, a big rig was due to meet with Demon members under one of the many motorway junctions dotted around the city. There was no sign of it yet, but a brand-new pickup sat on the hard shoulder with three men inside.

“Gotta be the gang,” Rodrigo muttered as they watched the pickup from where they sat—behind a bush big enough to hide their SUV.

A train track cut across the road nearby, and there was nothing but grass, overgrown bushes, and the odd abandoned building for miles. It was as isolated as you could get while still considering yourself in Houston.

“Our intel says they change drivers and license plates here before heading on to San Antonio.” Abasi cast them a glance. “I say we take their place and meet the rig ourselves.”

In silent agreement, the men left their vehicle and crept along the grass verge beside the road. It took them no time at all to deal with the gang members. Within minutes, they were hog-tied, gagged, and stashed on the ground beside the pickup, out of sight of the road.

“Truck coming,” Noah said as headlights appeared in the distance.

They casually leaned against the pickup to wait for it.

The massive truck rolled to a stop behind them, and two men jumped down from the cab. They approached Noah, a swagger in their step. It was only when they drew close enough to see their faces clearly that the driver hesitated.

“I don’t know you,” he said.

The gang members still had their weapons tucked into the waistband of their pants. Without saying a word, Noah and Rodrigo were on the men. Noah tightened his arm around the driver’s neck and felt him struggle before losing consciousness. Once he went limp, Noah let him fall to the ground instead of carefully lowering him. He retrieved the vehicle keys from the man and tossed them to Abasi, who strode for the back of the rig.

“Better disable their phones.” Noah removed the battery from the one belonging to the driver.

“Already on it,” Rodrigo said. “I’ll go check we got all of them from the other guys too.”

Noah gave a nod and then dragged the unconscious man over to join his friends. The gravel was rough under his captive, and Noah hoped the asshole got road burn. The rattle of the truck’s roller door opening was loud in the night. Noah heard a scuffle followed by a thud and knew Abasi had found and dealt with another gang member. Made sense there’d be three to match the number waiting in the pickup.

By the time Noah and Rodrigo rounded the back of the truck, Abasi was securing the final gang member’s feet. Noah investigated the open trailer. It was full of boxes packed into the top of the rig.

“Think Elle got her info wrong?” Rodrigo eyed the boxes.

“Elle doesn’t make mistakes.” Abasi grabbed the back of the gang member’s shirt and dragged him to the grass verge, where he dumped him unceremoniously.

Rodrigo, who’d already climbed into the truck, was busy opening a box with his pocketknife.

“What’ve we got?” Noah eyed the cargo.

“Paper towels.” Rodrigo held up a two pack for them to see.

“Anything else?”

“Nope. Gotta be a cover for the drugs they’re hauling. We’ll need to pull all the boxes out to see what else is in there. Unless…” He ripped open the plastic packaging and licked the paper towel.

“Dude, gross.” Noah winced.

“Came across a smuggler once who infused paper with drugs. This is just paper.” He lobbed it onto the road before grabbing another box. “We need to get this baby emptied. Catch.” He tossed the box to Noah.

At least it wasn’t heavy. Noah threw it onto the grass verge.

They worked like that for over an hour until the trailer was empty and there was a massive pile of boxes on the side of the road. The gang members were all awake now, and the team had moved them to one spot beside the truck, where they could keep an eye on them. The men were furious, shouting incoherent threats from behind their duct tape gags while wriggling around, trying to break free of their bonds.

Noah ignored them as he climbed into the emptied trailer; they weren’t going anywhere.

“Got anything?” he asked Rodrigo, who was busy tapping the walls in search of hidden compartments.

“Nothing yet.”

Noah and Rodrigo continued searching, even checking the truck’s cab to see if there was anything there, but they came up empty. On the ground, the gang members laughed at them.

“Cocky assholes,” Rodrigo muttered.

“Watch them,” Abasi said as he slid under the truck to check out its undercarriage with his phone’s flashlight.

“See anything?” Noah asked.

This was beginning to look like a waste of time. The sun would be up soon, and they had to get out of there and back to the warehouse before the roads became busier. Or someone noticed they were gone.

“Nothing yet,” Abasi called.

“Looks like Elle makes mistakes after all.” Rodrigo ran a hand through his hair, his eyes on the gang members. “I say we just call the cops and let them rip the truck apart.”

There was movement beneath the truck before Abasi appeared. His face was a cold, expressionless mask as he rushed past his teammates and into the trailer. As Noah watched, he fell to his knees and groped around on the floor. There was a click, and then a panel popped loose. Abasi ripped it away and stared into the space beneath it for a beat before springing to his feet. He stalked to the edge of the platform, drew his gun, and shot one of the gang members in the leg.

“What the hell?” Noah climbed into the trailer.

Abasi aimed again, but Noah was already moving. He threw himself at his teammate and tackled him to the floor.

“Shit!” Rodrigo joined them inside the trailer but didn’t rush to help Noah subdue Abasi, who had clearly lost his mind.

No, Rodrigo fell to his knees and began pressing the floor as Abasi had done, moving frantically along the wooden boards. There was a now familiar popping sound, and another panel came loose.

“There’s more of them,” he said. “Stop fighting and help me.”

Abasi tossed his gun aside, shoved Noah off him, and scrambled to the back of the trailer, where he pressed on the floor. Noah got to his feet and stumbled the few steps to Rodrigo. When he saw what was in the hidden compartment, he, too, fell to his knees.

It was a woman. Young. Partially dressed. Her blonde hair matted and her pale skin bruised.

“Is she alive?” Noah slid forward and reached into the shallow space to feel for a pulse.

He held his breath, waiting, hoping. “I have a pulse!”

“Me too,” Rodrigo snapped.

“And here,” Abasi said.

“Must’ve been sedated.” Noah joined his teammates in searching for other compartments.

They worked in silence. Unearthing space after space. All narrow, shallow compartments, like cheap wooden coffins, each one containing an unconscious woman. Twenty-one in total. All of the women were young, damaged, and sedated—and stored like cattle. No. Noah grimaced. Cattle were treated better.

“We can’t just phone this in and walk away.” Noah vibrated with rage. Abasi and Rodrigo didn’t look much better. “These women need medical attention, and we’ve no idea how long it will take to arrive. Do we take them out of the truck?”

Rodrigo shook his head. “Let the paramedics do that. We might cause more damage. At least now they have plenty of air.” He cast a grim look at Abasi. “How did you know?”

“Holes drilled into the underside of the vehicle.”

Abasi was the last to climb out of the truck. His gun was back in its holster, but Noah kept a close eye on him. The gang member he’d shot would live—probably. The team had done nothing to stem the bleeding from the gunshot wound to his leg, uncaring if he bled out. And yet, that was still better than they’d treated the women in the truck.

“Call it in.” Rodrigo ran a hand through his thick black hair. “We’ll wait for the cops and paramedics and deal with the consequences when they come.”

Abasi’s dark eyes never strayed from the captured men. “They need to die,” he said simply.

Noah moved to stand in front of him, blocking his access to the captives while hoping Abasi wouldn’t shoot him instead.

“You’re right; they deserve to die,” Rodrigo said. “But if we kill them, the investigation will focus on us instead of where it needs to be. Right now, we need them alive to talk to the cops. And we need to take care of the women.”

Abasi didn’t seem to hear him. He stood tense and focused, his face unreadable but his intent clear—he planned to put the men down like animals.

And Noah couldn’t blame him for wanting to.

“Get out of my way,” Abasi ordered, his voice low and cold as ice.

“You’re with Benson Security now.” Noah tried to reason with him. “We don’t just kill whoever we want. You’re part of the team, which means you play by the rules.”

There was nothing but cool determination in Abasi’s eyes. “Whose rules? Rochelle’s? Because we didn’t give a damn about her rules when we started this.” He slowly withdrew his weapon from its holster, making Noah wish he’d confiscated it earlier.

“We don’t have time to deal with you right now, hermano .” Rodrigo joined Noah to form a barrier in front of the gang members. “We need to get help for those women.” He lifted his chin at Noah. “Call it in. I’ve got this.”

Noah wasn’t so sure, but he pulled out his phone as Abasi raised his gun to point it directly at Rodrigo’s face.

“You’ve got this?” he said.

“Noah, make the damn call,” Rodrigo said, refusing to take his eyes off Abasi. “If you’re going to shoot me, aim to kill. You won’t get a second chance if you miss.”

“I don’t miss.” Abasi sounded detached. As though he’d disconnected from what was really happening.

Noah stayed alert while hitting his speed dial, ready to jump in if needed. Abasi teetered on the edge of a precipice. He could as easily pull the trigger on Rodrigo as on the men on the ground.

“Johnson,” Noah said when he answered. “We intercepted a Demons shipment. Thought it was drugs. Instead, we have twenty-one women, all sedated and in bad condition. We need medical attention here fast.” He rattled off their location.

“What the f—” Johnson snapped.

“Argue later. I have a situation here. Send help and get your ass here now.” He hung up and rejoined Rodrigo. “Don’t make us take you down,” he told Abasi. “The cops are on their way. These guys are going to prison. The women will be looked after. You need to take a step back and calm the hell down.”

“They need to die.” Abasi was undeterred. “Move, or I shoot.”

A car approached, speeding along the highway, and screeched to a halt behind Abasi. Noah and Rodrigo had their weapons out and trained on it before it stopped. Abasi still aimed at Rodrigo’s head, unconcerned about the new arrivals—if he even noticed them.

“Great,” Noah muttered as Rochelle climbed out of the driver’s seat.

“Put down your weapons,” she commanded.

Noah and Rodrigo did as they were ordered; Abasi didn’t seem to hear her.

“Abasi,” she shouted. “Put down your weapon.”

He didn’t respond. Instead, he moved like lightning, hitting Rodrigo with a left hook to the jaw that made him crumple to the ground. He strode past the fallen man toward the gang members, arm outstretched and gun unwavering. Noah rushed to stand in front of him, but Abasi froze in place, shook violently, and then collapsed in a heap beside Rodrigo—out cold.

Noah quickly disarmed him while eyeing the wires attached to his back. Wires that led to Rochelle and the Taser in her hand.

She glared at Rodrigo, who was awake and rubbing his face, then at Noah. “Do I have to Tase you too?”

“No, ma’am,” he said, taking a step back.

Just as sirens announced that the police and ambulances had arrived.