“Goddammit!” The air in the tunnel seemed too thin as Carson dragged oxygen into his lungs.
“Carson?”
Now recognizing Dave, he didn’t trust his own voice to reply. Leo quickly tapped his radio. “Report.”
“My superiors want Maria Garza. Eyes inside have the two women taken to the back and the two men talking to Maria.”
Carson growled, “Can you get in?”
“My men won’t go. Superiors ordered to stand fast until Maria takes possession of the product in transit—”
“I don’t give a fuck about the product!” he bit out, forcing his voice to lower when all he wanted to do was shout.
“They’re taking the women into the tunnel,” Jeb called out.
Feeling as though his skin was being flayed from his body, Carson jerked at the idea of Jeannie in this underground deathtrap.
“Boss,” Leo said, maneuvering to where his face was directly in front of Carson’s, gaining his attention. “We keep going, following the boys in front of us. Jeannie will be coming straight toward us. If they’re moving the women over to Mexico, they gotta get through us first. And they sure as fuck won’t get through us.”
“What if they’re just going to—” His words halted, unable to speak the thought.
“If they were going to do that, they would’ve already done it. They’re here because the Garzas figure they can get rid of them easier in Mexico.”
“I’m going in,” Dave called out. “Fucking DEA… they can fire my ass for all I care.”
Carson closed his eyes for a few seconds, recentering his focus. Work the problem… keep her safe… work the problem. Jerking his eyes open, he stared at Leo and nodded. “We’re going forward. The boys and drugs are ahead of us, coming in your direction. There’s not much room down here. We’ll get the women. Continue to follow. Be ready to move as soon as the product arrives.”
With a firm plan and a desperation to get to Jeannie, he squeezed past Leo and continued to travel through the tunnel. Moving at a slow pace, having to stay behind the drug mules, the passage of time seemed interminable. Finally, voices from up ahead had him slow.
Speaking in rapid-fire Spanish, the two boys moving the boxes through had come upon the small men bringing Jeannie and Maggie along. Staying out of sight, he and Leo could see what was happening with the camera still attached to one of the boxes. One man moved along in front of Maggie with Jeannie directly behind and another man bringing up the rear.
Still fighting to steady his breathing at the proof that Jeannie was alive, his heart kicked inside his chest, threatening to beat loud enough to bring down the walls of the tunnel. He felt Leo’s hand on his shoulder from behind, recentering his thoughts.
Listening to the front man explain that the two women were there at the Garzas’ demand, everyone’s progress slowed as the two groups tried to maneuver around each other, the tunnel barely giving them room.
With hand signals, he ordered Leo to back to the last side tunnel they’d passed, and then Carson shimmied back as well, tucking themselves into the space. It took several long moments that threatened to break Carson’s well-known patience, but finally, the two groups continued their way and the first man in front of Maggie came into view.
It would be a tight maneuver to take out both men with the two women in between, but not impossible. Throwing up a prayer that neither woman would panic and get in the way, he held his breath as the first guard crawled past. Maggie’s face was twisted in pain and fear, and sure that Jeannie was the same, Carson’s resolve to take down the Garzas heightened.
With sharp precision, Leo sprang from his crouched position, pushing his large body past Maggie and taking out the first guard. At the same time, Carson lurched in the other direction, not looking at Jeannie for fear of distraction, but single-purposely going toward the man behind her. His actions knocked Jeannie over, and she grunted, her hands thrashing out.
The man behind her looked up, eyes wide as Carson grabbed him around the neck with his bare hand. A glint of metal shone in the dim light, and Carson’s other hand snapped out to tighten around the man’s wrist. Taking the man out, he was torn between satisfaction, revenge, and wanting to kill the man again for daring to lay hands on Jeannie.
“Mmmph!”
At Jeannie’s muffled cry, he jerked his head to peer at her over his shoulder. Her wide eyes were pinned on him, her mouth pulled in a grimace with the gag still taut between her teeth. With barely enough room to move, he said, “Lay back,” and she immediately obeyed, her hands reaching up toward him. Crawling over her, he straddled her body, pulled out his knife, and deftly sliced the rag from her face. Groaning, her hands left his waist, and she clutched her cheeks, moving her jaw back and forth.
His gaze devoured her. “Are you hurt?” His words were clipped, his voice guttural, the emotions ripping through him stealing any chance of calm. Dirt covered almost every inch of her, and scrapes were evident on her hands and one side of her cheek.
“I’m fine, I’m fine. But Maggie—” Even underneath him she twisted to look up the tunnel.
“Leo’s got her.” He shifted to the side, his body pressed against hers.
“I’m okay,” Maggie called out, her voice shaky. “Not my best, but still alive, thank God for you.”
Carson looked at Leo, gaining his nod. The four crouched in the tunnel, Carson assessing both women.
Jeannie’s hand landed on his arm. “What do you need me to do?”
“Live. Just fuckin’ live, babe,” he said, once more the words like gravel over his throat.
Her face, still slightly contorted from the pull of the gag for so long, tried to smile. It was lopsided. And fuckin’ beautiful. Leaning down, he quickly kissed her, not caring where they were or who was around.
“I don’t suppose I can get the same treatment, can I?” Maggie asked.
Jeannie and Carson looked up, seeing Maggie’s also-lopsided smile, her lifted brow pointed toward Leo. Carson chuckled, wondering how the hell he could laugh in the middle of this situation. They still had to get out of the tunnel. They still had to get the women to safety. They still had to flush out the drug mules. And they sure as fuck had to nail the Garzas. But, for a few seconds, he allowed Maggie’s spirit and Jeannie’s smile to wash over him.
“Ma’am, we get out of this, and I’ll give you the biggest kiss I can,” Leo grinned.
Carson turned to Jeannie. “Leo and I’ll take the lead. You and Maggie follow at a distance. We’re not going to overtake the men with boxes that you passed but we’ll follow them to the end.”
“It was boys we passed. They were carrying drugs, weren’t they?” Jeannie asked, her tawny eyes glittering in the light and shadows created from the swinging lightbulb overhead.
“No questions now,” Carson said. “Later. When we’re all safe.” She immediately nodded, and he squeezed her hand. “Will you be able to see to Maggie?”
“Absolutely.”
Her hand on his arm stopped him and he looked to see her pained expression. “Carson… they’re using children.”
Her shaky voice gutted him. Nodding, he assured, “We’ll get them… the Garzas. We’ll get them.”