Chapter 16
“Well,” Laysha murmured, “that was worth waiting for.”
“Glad to hear it,” Caleb said, still gasping for breath. “And a hell of a way to start the morning.”
“Now a shower would be perfect,” she said and gave him a cheeky grin. “You coming?”
“I’ll be up in a minute,” he said, and she bounced to her feet, more energized than she’d felt in days. She raced up the stairs, glad to find the floor completely dry, and ran into her shower, hoping he’d join her. When he didn’t, she quickly dressed, masking her disappointment, but realizing it didn’t really matter. They had lots of time. Making her way downstairs, she realized the house was empty. She frowned, stepped outside, faced a stranger, who held a gun on Caleb.
He had his boxers back on, and that was it. He gave her a warning look.
Ignoring that, she looked at the intruder and glowered. “Wow,” she said, “seems like we’re just full of these assholes who don’t know they should knock.”
When the older man—somewhere in his late forties, fifties—smiled at her, she saw the cruelty in his gaze and absolutely nothing nice about him. “So are you the boss Huevo then?”
His eyebrows lifted, and slowly he nodded.
“Good,” she said, in a calm voice. Walking closer, as he kept nudging the gun against Caleb’s head, she taunted him. “At least you came to do the job yourself, instead of sending another lackey.”
“He talked, did he?”
“But you knew he would,” she murmured, glaring at him. His eyes were dead, as if he’d lost any vestige of humanity. “Why would you even think to feed men to the dogs?”
“It’s cheaper than dog food,” he sneered. “And that’s all they are. They’re no better than the dogs that ate them.”
“Is that what you want for yourself?”
“Whatever,” he said. “It’s not exactly a hardship. You’ll die one way or the other,” he said. “And it makes a great tool for a fear tactic, doesn’t it?”
“Just for cowards.” She studied Caleb, seeing that urgent warning in his gaze, not sure what he was worried about. Sure, he knew Laysha well enough to know she’d let her words rip. She just didn’t know what else worried him at the moment. She remembered her request to bring down the .22 last night but had no idea if he actually had. They’d been a little sidetracked by everything else that had gone on. She’d looked at Huevo’s handgun and looked at the asshole and said, “So you didn’t kill us outright. What’s your big plan now?”
“Well, I need to know what you guys know,” he said, “to see how far the damage runs.”
“What the damage is?” she said. “I mean, I already texted the detectives that the compound was empty, and they should be getting their asses over there right now.”
He stared at her in shock, jerking the gun.
Somehow she knew Huevo wasn’t jerking the gun before firing off a shot. He exhibited more control than that. She figured he was tempted to aim at her, but his common sense took over, knowing Caleb was the bigger threat. She avoided looking at Caleb because, by now, he knew she was purposely poking the bear here, hoping Huevo would point his gun, his only gun, at her. She knew Caleb would attack at that point.
“You did what?”
She shrugged. “Well, it’s not like your men can mount any real resistance there, can they? Not without you present. Your guys are pretty shitty at defending the place.”
He glared at her. “You don’t know anything about me,” he said.
“I know you’re wasting time here,” she snapped. “While you’re here, your men are dealing with the cops.”
“Goddammit,” he snapped, raising the handgun in her direction.
Immediately Caleb grabbed the gunman’s wrist in a vise grip that brought the gunman to his knees, screaming.
She pivoted, hopefully in the right direction to avoid any bullet, and almost thought she heard bones breaking, as Caleb crushed the gunman’s hand.
She stepped closer, and, with all her might, she punched Huevo hard in the nose. He cried out again, as he sat down from the force of her blow, his nose now spewing blood. She glared at him. “You’re such a fucking asshole,” she said. “How could you do that to the dogs?”
He stared at her in bewilderment.
“He doesn’t understand,” Caleb said, as he twisted the crushed fist behind the gunman’s back and pinned him to the floor. “He thought you’d be concerned about the people.”
“Well, I am to a certain extent,” she said, “but I’m also really pissed that he would turn those animals into that, and now they have to be put down.” She looked at Caleb. “You got this guy?” He nodded. She stalked into the kitchen, grabbed zap straps, came back, and they quickly tied his wrists and ankles. “You know what?” she said to Huevo. “You’re nothing without the dogs and without that gun.”
“You’re nothing but a bitch,” he said. “When I get out of here, I’ll make sure I feed you to the dogs.”
“Well, you would if you could, but that ain’t going to happen,” she said.
He just sneered at her.
She turned toward Caleb. “Why don’t we just kill him now?” she asked.
Huevo gasped, surprised again.
She rounded on him. “All talk and bluster, no action. A bully playing army.”
Caleb looked up at her with a knowing smirk and said, “I understand the sentiment. Believe me, I do. But we have to follow the law.”
“He broke into my house, and he held us at gunpoint.”
“And I’ve already called Ansel.”
“Perfect,” she said. “Hopefully he can clean up the rest of the garbage around the compound too.”
At that, they stood the gunman up and walked him out to the front yard. His feet may have been tethered, but he could take baby steps still. Caleb pointed Huevo’s own gun at him, prodding him along.
A series of gunfire erupted, and Caleb threw Laysha to the ground. Just seconds later, the gunman fell to
