Marie, Laura - Miss: Senorita and the Soldado [The Miss Series 2] (BookStrand Publishing Romance) (26 page)

Elloisa cried out. “No! Oh, God, no, Armando!”

He spoke into the phone again and the television screen changed. It now showed the outside of DEA Headquarters.

“One command, one word, and the building goes up in flames, starting with John Falco’s floor.”

She knew he would do it and that he was capable of such evil. She sobbed on the floor.

Armando lifted her up and cradled her in his arms.

He held her gaze as the tears rolled down her cheeks.

“Hug me, Elloisa, and tell me that you are mine and that you are ready to go home.”

Images of her brothers being shot filled her mind. He also said that Gustavo was dead. She had to save her parents. They had to survive.

“Do you promise not to kill my parents or Mathew?”

“I make no promises to you who betrayed my trust and my commitment.”

She stared at him a moment, feeling defeated and lost. Her life wasn’t worth living if he killed her family.

“They live or I die, whether by your hands or by my own.”

He contemplated her words. She practically saw his thoughts.

“It is done. Your parents and brother live.”

Then he covered her mouth, kissing her. It was obvious that he didn’t care about the pain the kiss caused due to her lips which were cut from him hitting her, and neither did he dislike the taste of blood. He seemed frantic for more of her and then came the knock at the door.

He pulled her shirt down as he placed her on her own two feet, holding her against his waist.

It was Ramos, and he looked pleased as well as angry.

“The brothers are dead. The parents and other brother are accessible. What would you like me to do?”

“Leave them alone, but send them a message,” Armando stated, and she immediately stared up at him, wondering what he was up to now.

“Tell them that their daughter is dead and that it was I who killed her.”

Elloisa cried. He was ensuring that they wouldn’t follow them back to Mexico. He was covering all his bases.

“And what about the meeting we had scheduled? Do I cancel it all, or do we back down and let Demacio handle it?”

Armando looked at his watch. “We have an hour. The meeting is right next door. Let me have some time alone with Elloisa, and then I will meet you and we’ll head over. Call the airport and have them get the jet ready. We’ll leave as soon as the meeting is finished.”

Ramos nodded his head then gave Elloisa the evil eye. She wished that she had had the chance to kill him.

* * * *

“Officer down! We have two officers down outside the main entrance.” One agent radioed inside as he covered Jack and Salvatore along with a group of other agents. A crowd rushed through the front door, guns aimed and ready to fire as they surrounded the scene. Sirens blared in the distance as emergency vehicles rushed to the scene.

“Salvatore, are you okay?”

“Aside from my brother landing on top of me, I think I’m okay.”

“Well, I’m not. I hit my freaking head on the concrete,” Jack replied.

“Stay down and pretend you’re unconscious. If they think you’re dead, then they’ll leave,” one of the other agents said.

* * * *

 
“Okay, what do we got, Gustavo?” Mathew asked as he, Jerry, John, and a few of the agents watched Gustavo locate Elloisa.

The thing started beeping and gave a position.

“Okay. It looks like she’s near the building in this area. Where is this street?” Gustavo asked.

“Holy shit! That’s right across the street from the warehouse we’re raiding in less than thirty minutes,” Mathew replied as he glanced at his watch.

“What do you think?” Jerry asked Gustavo.

“I think the narcissistic bastard is going to go through with the meeting before he leaves the country with Elloisa.”

“What if he hurt her already? We don’t even know if she’s alive,” John asked.

Everyone was silent.

“She’s alive,” Gustavo stated confidently.

“Gustavo?” Teressa asked as tears rolled down her cheeks.

“I know she is. I’m going to get her back to you.”

There seemed to be a silent understanding that went through the room. Then Gustavo began to issue orders.

“Get on the horn with your brothers and verify this location pronto. I want everything we can get on the location, including blueprints and ventilation systems.” They began to make calls and establish how they would get in and get out of there.

John’s cell phone rang.

“Hello?” John answered.

“Oh, no. Are they alive?” he asked, concerned. They listened as John finished the phone call. He immediately looked at Jerry and Teressa. “Jack and Salvatore were shot coming out of their precinct.”

Teressa cried then covered her mouth.

“They’re alive. They were wearing bulletproof vests.”

“Oh, thank God,” Jerry added as Teressa collapsed into a nearby chair.

“Armando is going to kill Elloisa. He wants all of us dead,” she cried.

“We’re going to continue with our plan of attack. Let’s move on this while we still have a chance,” Gustavo told everyone, and they prepared to leave.

* * * *

Elloisa wondered what the hell Armando was up to. He brought her all the way down to the basement of the building and deep into the boiler room. It was loud and smelled really bad down there. It was also very hot as the sweat trickled down her spine underneath her shirt.

Gustavo wiped his brow then spoke with Ramos.

“The door is all the way on the other side. I want you to grab the car and swing it around to the back of this building. Wait there until you receive my call. We will enter the other building through this doorway, and when I tell you to get ready, you leave here, get Elloisa, and start the car. Wait for me. If anyone looks suspicious, kill them.”

“Are we just going to leave her here?” Ramos asked as he took in the sight of Elloisa.

Armando looked her over.

“I don’t trust bringing her with us. Look what Avalar attempted to do. We’ll tie her up somewhere in the dark back there.”

“No, Armando, please don’t do that. I promise to stay quiet.”

Armando grabbed Elloisa by the throat and shoved her against the hard pipe.

“You will not speak unless I ask you a direct question. Your punishment still awaits you, Elloisa.” He practically snarled at her.

* * * *

Jack and Salvatore were in communication with all the units. On their command, the raid would begin, and all units were on standby. They had undercover officers monitoring arrivals, and thus far, there had been no departures.

“Are we missing anyone?” Jack asked his brother.

“No, unless you count Avalar.”

“One asshole down and about a dozen more to go,” he replied.

“I can’t believe this is going down like this. I would feel a hundred percent better if Elloisa was under our protection and with us.”

Salvatore acknowledged his brother’s statement.

“She thinks we’re dead, Jack. Man, she must be so scared right now. He’ll control her, and she won’t fight him.” Salvatore stated his concern.

“I know. The guys found the video camera and everything right across the street on the roof. He planned the hit. It had nothing to do with the bounty.”

“He’ll use our assumed deaths against her, and then he’ll probably threaten to kill Mom and Dad, then Mathew.”

“The asshole won’t get a chance. Not with Gustavo and his team. He’ll find her, and we’ll do our part.”

Jack looked at his watch before he locked gazes with Salvatore and stated, “Five more minutes.”

* * * *

Armando pulled Elloisa to him and kissed her. He grabbed her backside then her breast before shoving her away.

“Do as he says or suffer. I’ll be back shortly.” Armando stated, then wiped his mouth and walked away.

Ramos stared at her. Her shirt was ripped open, and her jeans were dirty and torn.

She assumed her cheek and lips were swollen since they throbbed continuously.

Flashes of Jack and Salvatore being shot rang through her mind. She felt weak and feared for her parents’ lives. Then she thought about Gustavo, and her belly clenched. He was gone. He had died trying to protect her. Armando was too powerful. She would always be his prisoner, and she would never be free.

“Move back.” Ramos commanded as he encroached on her space. Just a few feet farther and she would be in complete darkness. The steam-filled pipes released some smoke, sending a sizzling sound through the air.

“I don’t know why he has kept you this long. You couldn’t be that good in bed,” he whispered as he reached for her hair and purposely touched her bruised cheek.

She turned away from him. Fear clenched her gut.

“Stand still,” he ordered, and she froze in place. He eyed her breasts and licked his lips. Immediately she thought of Rosalie. Ramos was not a man to reckon with. Surely he wouldn’t touch her intimately because of Armando. But Armando wasn’t here, and if Ramos did something to her, she would have no proof. Not that Armando would care at this point. He had yet to issue her punishment for leaving him.

Ramos grabbed her neck and hair then pulled her to him. He covered her mouth with his own as she fought him off of her. His hands groped her body, and she again thought about Rosalie and how he abused her then killed her.

“Get off of me,” she yelled as she struck him in the face. She kicked and scratched at him until he retaliated. He struck her in the face once, twice, and she could have sworn she saw stars. Her eyes zeroed in on his weapon and she lunged for the gun.

He was quicker than she as he took possession, aimed, and fired.

He hit her in the shoulder as she scratched her nails across his face.

As she cried out in pain and fell to the ground, Ramos pulled out the rope and dragged her toward the darkness. He tied her up then covered her mouth so no one would hear her screams.

“I should kill you, but Armando wants you alive.” He shoved her head down to the ground then left her there.

The pain in her shoulder radiated through her body. She felt her mind drown in thoughts of fear and disappointment. She was going to die or Armando was going to take her back to Mexico. With thoughts of Gustavo and her two brothers being killed, she closed her eyes and wished death upon herself.

* * * *

They all heard the shot as Gustavo, Zach, Mathew, and his crew of agents entered the building. Across the way, undercover agents raided the warehouse, inundating it with smoke bombs and rapid fire.

A trained stealth fighter, Gustavo searched for Elloisa with Zack and Mathew sweeping every floor.

“She’s not in here,” Mathew stated.

“She has to be. The signal is weak, but it is indicating that Elloisa is in this building.”

“The basement,” Zach stated, and they all headed downstairs.

“The back entrances are covered. No one can get in or out of here,” Mathew replied as he followed Gustavo and Zach down the staircase.

As they entered the basement they head a scuffle and saw movement.

“There!” Zack whispered into his receiver. Mathew was closest and moved in to capture the person running.

The individual turned and fired a gun at him. He fired back, hitting the person in the chest.

Mathew and two other agents ran forward and identified the person.

Mathew spoke into his headset. “I got Ramos. He’s dead.”

Gustavo and Zach slowly made their way deeper into the basement and boiler room. It was hot and steamy in there.

“Did you hear that?” Zach asked as they both paused.

“A door slammed closed. I hear running,” Gustavo replied as they squatted down low.

“There.” Gustavo pointed to a person running farther into the darkness.

* * * *

“Get up. Get up now.” Armando growled at Elloisa as he undid her bindings and pulled her to her feet. She immediately fell back down to the floor and cried out in pain.

“What is wrong with you? He yanked her by her hair and pulled her into the light.

“Ramos shot me,” she whispered. Elloisa felt herself losing consciousness. Her body ached, and the blood oozed from her shoulder.

He shoved the gun against her ribs.

“Move now or die here.”

“Die here,” she whispered, and Armando grabbed her hair and began to drag her through the basement. She screamed and cried out in pain.

“Freeze!” someone yelled, and Armando shot his gun.

Two more shots rang out then Armando fell to the ground.

Elloisa was hysterical as she lay on the ground unable to move.

“Elloisa! Oh, God, Elloisa!” Gustavo yelled as he fell to the floor on his knees and looked her over.

“I’m in heaven.”

“No, you’re not. You’re alive.”