Killer

Chapter 1 - Amorette

Fear was the strongest emotion humans could experience. It had to be. With fear, your body came alive, your senses were sharpened, and your brain seemed to work in overdrive to sort through all the ways to save yourself.
As the man held me over his shoulder, I tried my best to ignore the growing flutters in my stomach as we got closer and closer to the building. Soldiers in black milled about the grounds, and no matter how much I screamed, kicked, or punched, no one moved to help me.
Why would they?
In the US, people were beaten, raped, and killed on the subway, and more often than not, no one helped.
Here, it was the same, only they were just bolder about it. Enjoying the show.
One man, with olive skin and brutish build, smirked as we passed him. Another man not doing one damn thing to lift a finger.
Fuck these people.
I had to figure out how to get back to Parker without getting shot. The fight was probably over, if I could just get down.
I raked my nails down his side and screamed again, just as he got the front door open. He threw me to the ground and the hard landing jarred my bones.
“Maldita perra! Ouch,” he spat while rubbing his head.
The room barely swam into view before an overly charming voice pulled my attention to the left.
“What a treat. You’re that cunt my sons can’t keep their hands off of. Why are you here?”
Shocked, I fell onto my butt and scooted back in case he tried to reach for me. His strong features were pulled up into a grin that was so much like Andre’s my heart twisted. Similar, yet so very, very different.
Lead filled my stomach. This was Vicente. And the man next to him was Maikel.
I’d only seen him once in the warehouse, but I’d never forget his face. There was no doubt he and Vicente were brothers. There were too many similarities between them, both in features as well as the same empty eyes. Only Maikel’s seemed hollower, less somehow.
Regardless. These men were burned into my brain.
The human psyche…it didn’t forget the faces of evil.
This was bad. This was so fucking bad. I needed to get out, back to Parker. Something to take away—
Lafe.
Lafe was tied to a chair, the fraying rope biting into his arms and stomach. The metal chair was dented so badly, one move from Lafe would cause it to collapse. His cheek was swollen and red like someone had backhanded him, but otherwise, he was okay.
His sad blue eyes widened when we locked eyes, and he gave a slight shake of his head, like he didn’t want to believe I was really here.
I understood. I felt the same, as cool relief slid over me and loosened the tightness around my chest. He was alive. Unharmed. We could get out of here. Parker would be here any minute.
The state I’d left him in tried to stampede to the front of my mind but I forced it out. I couldn’t think like that. He was going to save us.
The man who carried me in started speaking Spanish to Vicente and I strained to understand what he said.
“Parker Adair…. hombres…” And that was it. All I could get from that. Shit!
I needed to learn faster and my incompetence was battering my nerves. How the hell was I going to be an asset when I couldn’t even understand what they were saying?
Whatever the man said, Vicente lost his charm and glared. I pushed back more. The brothers had said he was a true psychopath. If he killed people for fun, what would he do when he was actually angry?
After a short back and forth, Vicente reverted to English as his gaze lingered on the man. “I hear from my daughter that you’re an attorney. For battered women. Is that right?”
I took in a slow breath, glancing between Vicente and Lafe. Why was Vicente suddenly interested in small talk when he had his son tied up? This was wrong on so many levels that just being in this man’s presence grated against my skin.
“I also hear you have a nasty moral compass. You tried to fight for the girls because you thought they were being mistreated, right?” Vicente glanced at Maikel, who rolled his eyes.
“You mean raped and beaten,” I spat, the confusion lifting to give way to an icy temper.