“Nor do I, babe,” said Tate. “His ‘guests’ are here to buy people—that lost them the right to live. If it wasn’t for fuckers like them, there’d be no market for this kind of thing.”
Bailey’s brows lifted. “Then no one has a problem if I kill any whom I happen across?”
“No,” Tate told her.
The mamba smiled. “Groovy. Because I’d have done it anyway.”
Tate turned to his pride mates. He’d brought plenty along with him after hearing that Gideon would have a lot of workers on board—some were chefs, waiters, etc., but they were loyal to Gideon and would join him in a fight if necessary.
“This all has to happen very fast. As soon as Gideon realizes his guards are down, he’ll know something is wrong.” Tate turned to Luke. “Alex and I will take out the men on the dock. You will lead some of our pride onto the upper deck to put the guards out of commission. Once they’re down, the rest of us will board except for Farrell, Grant, JP, Chen, and Joaquin—they’ll stand on the dock and eliminate anyone who throws themselves overboard and tries swimming to safety.”
Tate turned to his mate. “I want you, Aspen and Bailey to head to the lowest quarters, take care of whatever guards might be there, and free the captives. Deke and Isaiah will aid you. Take the captives straight to one of our SUVs. We can’t risk them running into the fight, potentially getting caught, and unwittingly making themselves hostages. Sam is waiting near the SUVs, he’ll heal any who might have wounds,” Tate added, referring to the second healer within his pride.
“I’ll get them to safety,” Havana vowed.
“I don’t doubt that. Dad, I want you to see if you can find any papers or documentation from prior auctions that might show us where other trafficked loners were taken. Alex will go with you. If there’s a safe or locked room, he can get you into them.”
Vinnie nodded.
Tate cupped his mate’s neck and gave it a gentle squeeze, almost smiling at her “Be careful” look. “All right, let’s move.”
Despite having utter faith in Tate, Havana felt her pulse quickening when he and Alex slipped away and became part of the night. Luke and a small team of cats also melted away, heading in the other direction.
She squinted, straining to catch sight of Tate. Nothing. Her heart began to beat a little faster, and a knot formed in her gut. It was only her past experiences with these sorts of situations that stopped her from restlessly tapping her foot.
She stilled as he and Alex materialized behind the two men on the dock. Both Tate and the wolverine snapped the necks of their targets in an instant. And the knot in her gut blessedly unraveled. Her devil chuffed, impressed by their stealth. No sooner had they hauled off the bodies than Luke signaled that the guards were all down.
Havana glanced at Farrell and the cats who’d be watching the dock. “Call out if you need us.” She skimmed her gaze over the others and then tipped her chin toward the yacht. With little to no sound, they hurried toward it. She was thankful for the music she could hear playing on the middle deck, because there was no way to stop the wooden boards of the dock from creaking here and there as they dashed across it.
Tate caught up to her there. “Stay alert.”
“You, too,” she said.
Everyone swarmed the yacht in an eerie silence and headed in different directions. The scents of saltwater, sea air, and wood polish were heavy, making her devil’s nose twitch.
Keeping her tread light so that the soles of her sneakers wouldn’t squeak on the deck, Havana led the way as she, Bailey, Aspen, Deke, and Isaiah wandered the ground level in search of the entrance to the crew’s quarters. She heard muffled voices coming from a room up ahead that, if the scents filtering out of it were anything to go by, was probably a kitchen.
Latch door.
Recognizing it from Gavin’s description, Havana crouched near it and grabbed the handle. According to Gavin, only one shifter stayed down there with the captives. Havana knew they’d need to eliminate him fast so that he wouldn’t have a chance to call out for help. She signaled to Bailey, who promptly shifted.
Havana whipped up the hatch door. A man sitting on a stool at the base of the stairs looked up just as the snake dived at him. Before he had the chance to cry out, she’d curled her slender body tight around his neck.
Havana leapt down, grabbed his head, and sharply twisted it—breaking his neck in one smooth movement. She lowered him to the floor just as Aspen and the others descended the stairs, closing the latch door behind them.
Havana turned to the cells, and her chest squeezed. Three young men. An elderly woman. Four teenage girls. A middle-aged man. And, oh God, a little boy—he couldn’t be any older than eight. Unlike the others, he hadn’t stood or moved to the door of his cell, he sat huddled in the corner.
“Please stay as quiet as you can,” she said to the captives. “My name is Havana Ramos, and these are my pride mates. We’re here to free you. But we have to do it quickly and without drawing attention.”
One of the teenage girls gestured at the dead guard, a glitter of disgust in her eyes. “He said someone will come for us soon to escort us upstairs.”
“Well, my pride mates are currently up there, and they’ll take care of those assholes, so don’t worry about them.” Havana snatched the set of keys from the guard’s pocket and tossed them to Deke, who then began to free the lone shifters.
She’d half-expected to find them in dirty, tatty clothing. But although they looked tired and undernourished, they were all clean and dressed in decent clothing. Probably so that they’d look presentable for their potential buyers.
One of the girls marched to the dead guard and spat on him. Recognizing her from the description Dawn gave her, Havana asked, “Are you Keziah?”
The girl stilled. “Yes.”
“Dawn has been very worried about you. She asked me to do my best to find you.”
Keziah’s eyes glistened with unshed tears. “I didn’t think anyone would even notice I was gone.”
Havana looked briefly at the guard. “He hurt you?”
She gave a tight nod. “He wasn’t the only one. You’ll kill the others, too? Gideon? Earl?”
Her jaw hard, Havana said, “I can assure you that none of the fuckers on this yacht will survive what my pride mates do to them.”
“Havana,” said Deke. He tipped his chin toward the little boy’s cell. “Need some help there.”
Havana crossed to the cell. The kid still hadn’t moved an inch, and he didn’t look inclined to. Poor thing was terrified. She crouched down and kept her voice low as she said, “You’re safe now.” He didn’t appear convinced of that.
Just then, Aspen came over in her bearcat form. Unsurprisingly, the boy’s eyes lit up just a little at the adorable sight of her.
“Can she go inside to see you?” asked Havana.
He frowned. “It’s not a good place. It’s small and cold.”
“I see. Then maybe you could come over and pet her. She likes that.” Havana tilted her head. “What do you think?”
“It’s okay, Robbie,” said the elderly woman. “These people aren’t here to hurt us.”