Page 41 of Venomous King
“What the hell are they doing here?” Diego demands, the fury on his face bringing me a minute amount of joy. Ah yes, therivalry between these two idiots never did cease. I should try to play them against each other, kill two birds, or rather, two future grandsons-in-law, with one stone.
“We came to save our sister-in-law, prick, no thanks to you.” Carter approaches and attempts to place an arm around my shoulder in familiarity. He immediately steps back and gulps at the death glare I give him. I might like the fool, but not enough to allow him to become comfortable in my presence. “Sorry, Grammy.” I bite down hard on the inside of my cheek, to avoid bloodying this fool who keeps calling me that, regardless of how many times I have told him to stop.Remember, he produced two heirs, don’t kill him yet, he might still be useful.
“I don’t need your help,prissy rich boy. We can handle this on our own,“ Diego counters, looking offended at the mere suggestion that he needs their assistance.
“If that’s so, where is Issy now,hmm?“ Theo steps forward, occupying the immediate space in front of Diego. The latter doesn’t back down, he straightens his broad shoulders, and his body tenses, preparing for a fight. “That’s right, she’s once again a captive, this time your enemy’s prisoner, and you couldn’t get her back with just your own forces; you need grandma here to help.” Theo’s chest bumps Diego’s, and before I can utter a demand that they both stop with their antagonizing toxic male shit, Clark places himself between them.
“Stop this now, it’s not helping, and if you two come to blows, I will personally shoot the both of you,” my silent but deadly shadow utters.
“He’s right,” Kai groans with frustration. “Leash your shit, Diego; this is wasting valuable time. We have to find the girls, and we could use all the manpower we can get. If they are here to help, let them.”
Diego grumbles under his breath but steps back, his eyes never wavering from Theo’s face. “Where is your queen? The two ofyou can’t usually be more than a few feet away from her, like loyal dogs at her beck and call.”
“She’s... umm tied up... at the moment,hopefully. Finn and Mateo are ensuring she stays behind and remains safe.“ I narrow my eyes in Carter’s direction, but he won’t meet my glare, and seems to choke on his own saliva. Is he truly admitting that he has my granddaughter confined somewhere? I should slit his throat right here.
I rub at one of my pounding temples; I refuse to acknowledge any of the kinky fuckery that goes on in that house. What the five of them do behind closed doors is none of my business, even if I think having four husbands is absurd. “Get back on task, you worthless fools. My granddaughters have been abducted, and are being held by the enemy. You can attempt to outdo each other with your caveman toxic masculinity later.”
“What new information do we have since I boarded the plane?” Anxiety is like a viper in the pit of my stomach, coiling itself tighter and tighter with worry for my girls. Are they being abused? Is little Julia having one of her episodes? I swear to all that is holy, that not a single member of that cartel will survive my wrath. I will hunt all of them down to the ends of the world if I have to.
“We have a possible location where they are holding Issy and Julia. It’s surrounded by thick forest, but with your additional manpower and weapons, it can be taken.” Diego’s green eyes sear into mine. “None of them will live to draw breath another day when I am done with them for taking our girls.”
“Good, let’s go to war.” I stride off toward my armored vehicle, leaving them all behind without a backward glance, and prepared to battle this cartel that thought it wise to enrage a Stratford. A Stratford never forgets or forgives. They have unleashed monsters now. I hope they are all ready for all thepain and suffering they will experience before they die. The Sanchez family won’t exist after tomorrow.
Chapter twenty-eight
Diego
“True love germinates in the soil of sacrifice, sprouts in the garden of surrender, and matures in the matrimony of servanthood. Love isn’t love until it has cost you something.”
Kris Valloton
We move through the woods, our teams hidden in the dense foliage, fully armed and prepared. The gravity of our mission hangs heavy in the cold night air, visible in every breath I take.What if our plan goes askew? What if they harm the girls in their defense?I can’t allow myself to think like that, or I will fall into bitter despair, and ruin the plan. The need to charge ahead, and storm the compound to get them back, is almost overwhelming, and only the fear of the consequences of my actions halts me, and forces me to be rational.
To my left, I can see Theo, Carter, my man Vega, and a few more of Stella’s mercenaries, climbing quickly through the hills surrounding the compound. They are mere shadows, unless you know exactly where to look. The plan is for them to close off any avenue of escape to the rear, while my team, and Clark’s, take the front and side entrances.
Stella’s mercenaries were able to get an aerial drone to give us an idea of the layout of the building, and Stella, with her vast contacts and wealth, was able to access blueprints. We have an idea of where they are holding the girls, but no confirmation as of yet, on whether they are alive. I feel it deep within my soul that they are. My heart would know if Issy took her last breath. Isn’t that why I never gave up hope all these years, despite the evidence telling me she was gone. A part of me always believed she was still alive, and I’ll use that same knowledge and belief to lead me now.
A tap on my right shoulder has me turning and meeting solemn, crystal-blue eyes. He motions his head to the right, and I follow him into a thick crop of Dogwood bushes. He looks abit comical, like a man playing at being a soldier, all strutted up in the black tactical gear Stella provided. I’m not even sure the prick will be able to shoot to kill if necessary, but he refused to remain behind, insisting that he had a right to rescue his girls. I’m not going to lie, he’s earned some of my respect through this whole mess, by remaining calm, logical, and determined to get Issy and Julia back. Even when Stella wanted to flay my skin from my bones, for being the cause of the Sanchez cartel taking them, he stood by my side, refusing to back down. It still doesn’t mean I like the fucker, but I hate him a little less in this instance.
“Promise me, no matter what, they get out alive. Vow to me that you will protect them, from this moment forward, and nothing like this will ever happen to our girls again.” His eyes implore me, and I can see the fear clearly etched in their depths. Fuck. Why does this prick have to get all sentimental right now? I’m barely holding my own sanity together, and he wants me to hold his hand too?
A part of me wants to be a dick and taunt him, to stop that fear that is already taking hold of him from further festering, but I see how serious he is. “I promise you.” I grip both his shoulders tightly. “No one will ever hurt the girls again, not even me. You have my fucking promise, pretty boy, now get your shit together, or I’ll punch you in the nuts.”
I go to pull away from him, and he yanks me back by the front of my vest. “If I’m wounded or dying, you leave me behind and get them out, no matter what Isabella demands, do you understand? They are the most important thing.”
I yank his fingers off of me and shrug away his hold. Does he really think that I would risk the girls for him? What a fucking idiot, I would be happy to be rid of him.Liar, my mind replies.You no longer want him dead, and some part of you is finally satisfied with the life you were experiencing with the girls and him. He balances out all your darkness, so you don’t drown thegirls in nothing but violence.I quirk my lips up in a grin that I know is frightening to others. “Don’t worry about dying, Boy Scout; just make sure to aim your gun at the enemy, and keep firing until they stop moving.”
“You know I’m a farmer’s son, right, asshole? I grew up shooting guns on the farm,” he replies with a groan.
We return to our battalion and begin moving towards the front entrance. Stella’s men have already dispatched the guards all along the perimeter of the property without raising the alarm. There are a few stationed here that we must get through before we can enter, but we won’t be able to kill them, without alerting those within that we have arrived. I’m hoping that our sheer numbers will be enough to overtake them. I ready my gun, holding it tightly, and saying a final prayer that we will all get out of this alive, and that my girls will be safe.
“Go, go, go,” blares through the concealed earphone in my ear, and everyone charges forward. I shoot the enemy closest to me and keep going, not bothering to wait to see if he lives. We keep moving and are almost at the wide, solid wood door, when I am thrown to the ground from behind by a heavy weight, pushing my face down to the ground, and I attempt to wrestle it off of me. I fire blankly into the body above me, not knowing if it’s a friend or foe until it stops moving. It’s lifted off of me, and I struggle to get a deep breath into my lungs. I squint up and see Kai’s scowling face staring down at me.
“Get up, asshole, we need to get to the girls,” he growls, before rushing off toward the remaining enemies, and I observe him firing his gun with complete accuracy, and taking two men down. Well, look at that, pretty boy actually has some damn skills.
I’m on my feet and firing within seconds, gunfire and screams sounding all around us, and it’s beautiful music to my ears. I reach the door, just as a huge explosion sounds from the sideof the compound. Clark is making his entrance, and we are behind making ours. “BLOW THE FUCKING DOOR, NOW!” I shout, and a man with a rocket launcher moves forward, aiming at the door. The explosion is so loud that I fear my eardrums are bleeding, but after wavering for a second on unsteady feet, I charge through the remains of the doorway and into the smoke, ready to kill anyone I meet.
It’s complete mayhem, with debris floating, and smoke in the air. Clark’s men are already pushing further within, and I can hear screams coming from the direction of the back, as Theo and Carter’s group make themselves known. No one is escaping this place alive that had a hand in taking my girls.