Page 102 of Honor ’N’ Duty

“Wait here.” Deck pulled out a small roll of duct tape from one of the large pockets on his vest, then walked down the hill. As Jamie removed his hand, Deck quickly strapped the duct tape over the man’s mouth.

Jamie handcuffed Diego, then started pushing him up the hill. Smoke trotted over and licked Rosa’s face, nuzzling her chin when she didn’t respond with her usual excitement at seeing him.

“Wait!” Laia whispered as Jamie and Deck escorted Diego up the hill. “We can’t leave. We have to help Kade.”

“We will.” Deck nodded, then pointed.

Laia followed the direction Deck indicated to see three more men—Evan with his dog and two other men she didn’t recognize—taking cover behind the trees and facing the cabin.

“Why aren’t they going down there to help him?” Laia looked from Jamie to Deck, not understanding how they could leave Kade alone.

“Because,” Jamie said, “he’s not ready.”

“Not ready?” She shook her head. “I don’t understand. What is he waiting for?”

Rather than address her concerns, Jamie looked straight at her and said, “Kade. We have Laia and Rosa. They escaped on their own. They’re safe and unhurt. We’re just waiting on your signal, buddy.”

Chapter Thirty-Four

At hearing Jamie’s words, a soothing balm settled over Kade’s soul. He didn’t know how Laia had managed to escape. The important thing was that she had, and she’d made his job a helluva lot easier.

No matter what happened next—if he didn’t miraculously manage to get his ass out of this in one piece—Laia and Rosa were safe. They might wind up living their lives without him, but they’d be living them.

“Get the woman and the girl,” Colon ordered Moises, who nodded, then headed into the cabin. Colon sneered, his upper lip curling back to reveal surprisingly even, white teeth. “We’ll see how brave you are when I press a gun to their heads.”

Rather than respond, Kade braced himself. When Colon realized his captives were gone, he’d throw a conniption.

Three. Two. One.

Moises stormed out of the cabin. “They’re gone,” he said, winded from running.

For a split second, Colon didn’t react. Then his eyes rounded wider than golf balls. “What do you mean, gone?”

“The woman, the girl, and Diego,” Moises sputtered. “They’re all gone. The bedroom window was open.”

“Then go find them!” Colon shouted. “Take Juan, and don’t come back until you do.”

“Si.” Moises practically bowed at the waist, as if Colon were his king.

Moises and Juan hustled to do their “king’s” bidding and disappeared around the side of the cabin.

Little did Colon know that Moises and Juan would never return. They’d soon be in handcuffs, which also meant that now there were only four men left out front guarding Kade. Colon, the accountant, who may or may not be armed, plus two other men who were armed. Even tied up, those odds he could tackle. Time to get down to business.

“Now what were you saying about pressing a gun to their heads?” Knowing full well it would piss Colon off, which was part of his plan, Kade smiled. Not a grin but a full-blown smile, teeth and everything. Then for good measure, and to get Colon really riled up, he chuckled. “That’s some crew you’ve got there. They can’t even handle a defenseless woman and a little girl.” Not that he’d ever thought Laia defenseless. Somehow, she’d managed to thwart Colon’s men.

“Shut up! Shut up!” Colon tried getting in Kade’s face, but at six-foot-three, he towered over the man by at least five inches. Colon raised his arm, then swung it, slamming the gun against the side of Kade’s head.

Pain blasted through his skull. The ground moved, then completely fell out beneath him as his knees hit the dirt. He opened his eyes. At least, he thought he did, but all he saw were swirling shadows and tiny white lights dancing in his line of sight.

Again, Colon jammed the muzzle of his gun against Kade’s forehead. “I can kill you any time I choose.”

Kade grunted, shaking his head to clear it so he could really start to amp things up. “Yeah, but you won’t. Without me, you’ll never get your money.”

Colon bent at the waist, so close to Kade’s face he could easily head butt the guy in the forehead. “Give me the code,” he said in a deadly voice, “or I’ll shoot you anyway.”

Kade doubted that. Colon could never walk away from $20 million dollars. “Okay,” he said, affecting a defeated look on his face, while inside his guts clamored with the violent need to do Colon some serious bodily harm. “OA stands for Oriental Avenue. It’s in Atlantic City, and there’s only one bank on that street. That’s where your money is.”

“Check it out,” he said to his accountant, who’d already pulled out a cell phone.