Inferno (A Hotter Than Hell Novel Book 7) Read online

  Cori’s eyes go to her hand. We both know how Fernandez will draw this out.

  I take her good hand with my free one. “Don’t think that. We fight and we stay alive no matter what. If all else fails, we’ll die with Fernandez’s blood beneath our fingernails.” I squeeze her hand with reassurance I don’t feel. “Moon will find us, I promise.”

  I receive just the hint of a smile from Cori and it’s enough to keep me going. She eats about half the soup, which impresses me. After shaking her head when she can’t take another bite, I place the spoon back in the bowl and return to my mattress to eat mine. Cori’s soft snores a short time later let me know she’s sleeping again. I finish both bowls and lay back into the bed, closing my eyes and thinking about Moon.

  Catch Xavier Moon. My husband. My heart.

  I’ve done everything in my power not to think about him but it’s like he’s a layer of my skin that can never be removed. His dark blue eyes haunt me every time I close mine. I may have fallen in love with his eyes first. They see deep into my soul. The life he leads is not one I thought I could ever embrace. He’s a very good man in a very bad way due to circumstances. Those circumstances mean nothing to the police. They have their line in the sand and Moon has his. The police don’t care that Moon keeps drugs out of young hands because Moon runs the drugs. I’m not stupid, but I know for a fact love is blind because I love Moon with every fiber of my being. What I thought bad is now in a gray area in my brain. I also have hope that someday, the illegal activities will be at an end. Two years ago, Moon’s organization went into the recently legalized medical marijuana business with Dax and his club.

  Drugs outside of medical marijuana are something Moon and I don’t discuss. It’s hard for me to balance my cop perspective of zero tolerance with the life I live now. Moon respects my need to stay in the dark. On the good side, I’m aware of his strict rules regarding drugs and children. He’s not a man you want to cross and anyone he discovers breaking his rules pays the price. How they pay is something else we don’t discuss. Keeping my head in the sand has worked for us until these past few months. I’ve been swinging back and forth between wanting to be more involved in Moon’s organization and another need… get out while I can. So damn stupid because I would never leave him. My conscience just needs work.

  I say a silent prayer: “Get me and Cori out of this and I’ll get my shit together and be the woman Moon needs at his side.” My mind drifts and I exhale a ragged breath and picture Moon. He’s more at home in a suit than a comfortable pair of jeans. The way he fills out a suit is something women drool over. He’s mine, though, and I’m the one who peels off the layers and sees the beautiful body beneath. There are so many things I love about him, but one that sticks out is his strength of will. His parents were killed by a Mexican drug cartel and Moon took revenge by tracking them down and killing them all with the help of his best friend, Alex. Neither man would live the life they have now if the cartels had left their families alone. Alex’s father was killed after he helped Moon and Alex track down the killers in Mexico. If anyone can get us out of this mess, it’s my husband with his scary-as-fuck best friend.

  The police have no idea what Moon does to keep us safe. As the head of Arizona’s crime syndicate, he keeps the cartels out of the United States with good men willing to do very bad things. I thought for a while that Moon might be willing to give up what he does for me, but now, I know it will never happen. It’s been eating at me and I fear a death for us like the one Austin’s former boss and wife suffered. There was nothing pretty about how Fernandez tortured them.

  Austin is another matter entirely. I never really trusted him because something is missing behind his eyes. Now he has Melina and I’ve caught glimpses of the missing part, which could be a touch of humanity he didn’t have before. Or maybe it’s been there and he just hid it until Melina came into his life. Only time will tell.

  Right now, Moon is looking for me. I know he has called in every connection he has and they’re all hunting. A tear slides from the corner of my eye and rolls down my cheek. I know he’s worried. I also know Alex is looking for someone to kill while Celina tries to hold him back. She’s level-headed and will keep the monster inside Alex in check until it needs to come out.

  Dax will be there too. I’ll be angry if he pulls Sofia into this. The thought stops more tears from falling. Celina, Sofia, and Melina will be furious if they’re cut out. I’d feel the same way. I open my eyes and glance at Cori. We need all the help we can get.

  “I’m waiting, Moon. Come get me,” I whisper into the silence.

  Chapter Five

  Fernandez

  The tick in my fucking eye stops for a split second and I slam my hand against the table. “If you know what’s good for you,” I say, looking at the two idiots in the room, “you’ll get some fucking answers to my questions.” Goose and Lucas stare at me like the dumbasses they are. I have no idea what kind of name Goose is, but all I cared about when I brought him on was his willingness to take on Moon’s organization. He also has no problem with killing women and seems to enjoy it. He looks like a Goose if that’s possible. Tall, thin, a pimply face, crackhead teeth, and a neck too damn long for his body. Lucas, on the other hand, packs on the pounds mostly around his fat midsection. His body odor is more than displeasing and he needs to brush his fucking teeth once in a while. Both men are scum and right now, I need scum.

  A bigger problem is that Lucas is not keen on killing women. I strangled the last whore after sharing her with both men and Lucas freaked out. I swear the fucktard almost cried and I thought I would need to kill him before I’m ready. His willingness to dump the body is all that saved his worthless life. Well, that and Goose’s presence. The two of them are family. Lucas is Goose’s cousin or some such shit. I came into contact with them when I made a drug buy and offered them a deal. They’re related to a high school student who’s a major player in their drug business. Lucas and Goose were cutting pure cocaine with undesirable elements so the price would be accessible for the younger crowd their cousin deals to. Their business was booming until Moon got wind of what was happening and put a stop to their enterprise. From what they told me, they’re lucky to be alive. Besides having the shit kicked out of them, they’re unhappy about the huge hit to their income while the future dropouts of America breathe down their necks trying to get their next fix.

  For now, I’m stuck with these morons. I lost my entire fucking crew to Austin, the fucking pussy. It’s been harder than I thought to round up good men. I slam back a double shot of tequila and laugh, causing the two men to stop their secret squirrel gibberish and look at me. I raise my chin and set these assholes straight. “Moon’s woman is mine and the two of you will stay the fuck off her. The black cunt can stroke your dicks as often as you like.”

  Goose smiles and Lucas looks away from me. He’s a fucking pansy and eventually I’ll be taking him out along with Goose. Loose ends won’t be needed when this wraps up. Others can fight over Moon’s territory after I’ve taken him down. It’s not Moon I really care about, it’s Austin and my sister, Melina. That little bitch will suffer and when I’ve squeezed the last inch of blood from her man’s putrid heart, California and Melina will be mine.

  I wipe my arm across my brow. The fucking heat of this desert has sweat running down the inside of my once pristine shirt and soaking the waist of my pants beneath the belt. Soon this heat will be replaced by an ocean breeze. So much easier to dispose of dead cunts in the water too. The ocean has a way of disposing of evidence, whereas this godforsaken desert is shit. You would think the ground was made of solid steel with how hard it is to shovel out a grave. Not that I did the work, but I had to listen to the Bobbsey Twins bitch the entire time.

  The place we’re staying is another matter. It’s a fucking Airbnb that I booked under an assumed name with a pay as you go credit card. I purchased hundreds of them when my life went to shit and I needed untraceable spending. This fucking world runs of
f credit cards and if you’re trying to stay under the radar, pre-paid credit cards are the only way to pay. Along with the credit cards, cash, and my cache of disposable phones, Moon and his henchmen will never find me.

  This house is perfect for my needs. It sits on the outskirts of Phoenix with enough privacy for the ladies in the back bedroom to scream their fucking heads off. Goose and Lucas moved everything out of the room and moved two mattresses in from bunkbeds that were in the smallest bedroom. They also secured plywood over the windows and a padlock for the door so the women couldn’t escape. I rented the place for a month and paid up front so no one will bother us. If they do, they won’t need to worry about the condition we leave the house in. Privacy was one of my top qualifications and I made that clear.

  There’s a swimming pool outside if anyone is brave enough to sit in the heat and boil. No thank you. Even though the air conditioner takes the inside temperature down into the low seventies, it’s too damn hot. The short trips I take outside to get in and out of my vehicle drive me the craziest. The heat is heavy like a wool blanket and leaches the water from my body. Who in their right mind would live in this godforsaken wasteland without someone holding a gun to their head?

  With a heavy sigh caused by spending time with idiots and the heat, I glance down at my fingernails that are in need of a manicure. I’m pulled away from the serious endeavor of extracting a bit of dirt from beneath my thumbnail when the cell phone beside me rings. I check the number and it’s the call I’ve been waiting for. I don’t bother saying hello. It’s not the type of relationship we have. I simply listen until the voice goes silent. “Go home,” I tell the caller. “I’ll call you tomorrow and tell you what I need.”

  Moon and Gomez are on the move. Moon is scrambling and he’s wide awake at 3 a.m. just like I am.

  I glance at Goose and Lucas. “Let’s go play with the women,” I say with a grin. It’s time to take a little bitch vengeance against Moon. He thinks he controls the world and his bitch is about to learn differently. I’m in control and as long as I have his wife, I own him.

  Chapter Six

  Moon

  It’s 3 in the morning, fourteen hours since Fernandez took Madison. I can’t sleep, but I can probably drum up the energy to knock Alex on his ass. He’s silently pacing the living room while I stare at my phone. Dax and his crew are on the streets hitting bars to test the wind and see if any information is floating around about someone wanting girls and those girls never returning. I should have thought of searching the prostitute route for Fernandez before Madison went missing. I snap my mind closed on the thought. Blaming myself won’t help find my wife.

  “Let’s go for a drive,” I tell Alex. I can’t sit still either. Usually I would be charging full steam ahead knowing the likelihood of someone kidnapped and returning alive was extremely low. The plan would be pure vengeance—find and destroy. But this is Madison and I cannot allow my mind to think that way or I’ll fall down a hole where I can’t return from. I’m living in a void where darkness fills every square inch.

  I can’t lose Madison.

  Alex doesn’t even acknowledge my words, just turns on his heels and heads to the back of the house to the garage. He doesn’t handle sitting still well either. Maybe driving will help clear our minds enough that we can function.

  Two Dogs, Madison’s crazy pit bull, gets up and mopes behind me. I grab his leash off the rack by the back door and decide to bring him with us. He whines when he should be happy at a chance to go for a car ride. Somehow, he knows Madison’s in trouble. At least the damn goat is in Flagstaff or we would have a menagerie in the back seat.

  I receive raised eyebrows when Alex sees Two Dogs, but he bites his tongue and doesn’t bitch about hair in the backseat of our newest vehicle. When we’re settled in the car, Alex pulls the black Mercedes SUV onto the road in front of the house. It’s still in the nineties at three in the morning, but I rolled the back window down before I got in so Two Dogs can stick his head out. Alex keeps the air conditioning running at full blast.

  The streets are fairly empty even at the first large intersection we come to. “Where do you want to go, boss?” Alex finally asks. He only calls me boss when he’s trying to get a rise out of me or he’s in one of his moods. It’s definitely a mood this time.

  “Just keep driving,” I reply wearily. “I promise Fernandez won’t get to Celina.”

  Alex grunts. The thought of our women in danger has shook us to the core. We’ve built an organization that garners trust and commitment among thieves. For many, this wouldn’t be a healthy business model, but we found by keeping promises and distributing wealth fairly to those who support us, we can survive in relative peace. Fernandez was a dangerous frustration. I misjudged him and it’s not something I’m proud of.

  I wait out Alex in silence, hoping he’ll talk. I know he’s upset about Madison but something else is bothering him too. He finally inhales deeply and then glances at me after releasing the air from his lungs. “I don’t understand why Fernandez went for Mak. I know we ruffled his feathers, but after Melina went back to California, I thought he was the least of our problems. On top of that, I didn’t think he would find men willing to help him or men willing to go up against us.” His hands tighten on the wheel, letting me know this is really bothering him. “There’s something bigger going on. I guarantee Fernandez has a plan. Sending Cori’s finger was part of it,” he says wearily.

  He speeds onto the freeway while we both think about the larger picture. He eventually turns off onto Thomas Road, heading for the warehouse district in downtown Phoenix. He pulls into the section we own and slowly cruises the area in front of our warehouses. The parking lot is dark and empty. We have cameras to monitor the entire area and only place extra men on guard duty when we have something of value inside. It’s not guarded tonight.

  Alex stops in the middle of the lot and drums his fingers on the wheel. When he turns to me, I know I won’t like what comes out of his mouth next.

  “He has someone in his pocket on the inside of our organization.”

  Fuck.

  Alex continues. “He knew too much about Cori. I have trouble believing he just got lucky. The video of Mak getting into that car only showed her. He took Cori first and used her as bait to draw Mak out. She and Mak are tight. Someone betrayed us or he wouldn’t know that Mak would come to the rescue.”

  My jaw is clenched when I reply. “It could be one of the escorts.”

  “Yes,” he says and the drumming starts again. “Or it could be someone close to us. Money is power and Fernandez will be offering a lot when it comes to his hired help. His organization is in tatters with half of his men dead and the other half in jail. Whoever is helping him is from our territory, I feel it.”

  I let the thoughts soak in. The men inside my house have all proven themselves and I trust each one with my life and Madison’s. The problem is my organization has grown so much since taking over New Mexico that I don’t have a close connection with some of the new faces we’ve hired and neither does Alex.

  “Is there anyone inside the house you feel uncomfortable about?” I ask because Alex may feel differently about one of the men than I do.

  He shakes his head. “They’re solid. We need to find out who they’re fucking, though.”

  He’s right. “Handle it.” I lean back in my seat, the exhaustion getting to me. “Let’s go home and grab a few hours of sleep. We need it.”

  Alex turns the car out of the lot and we return to my lonely home, which will never be the same without Madison. When my head hits the pillow, sleep doesn’t come. A crazy fuck has my wife and I know what that entails. Whatever he does to her will be dealt with when she’s back home in my arms. She just needs to survive until I get there.

  Chapter Seven

  Madison

  I’ve barely shut my eyes, when the bedroom door opens. Cori is out for the count and doesn’t stir. Fernandez walks to my bed and kicks it. “Come with me,” he sa
ys abruptly.

  The two men from the car are with him. The driver heads to Cori and grabs her arms. She comes awake with a scream. The younger man begins unzipping his pants and Cori starts fighting. I strike out at Fernandez, miss, and receive a backhand to the face.

  “You can watch them fuck your friend another time. We’re finding some privacy.” I strike out with my feet again, but he dodges and slams his fist into the side of my head, making the room spin.

  “Fuck you,” I say with ringing ears. The knife pressed to my neck stops me from my next comment.

  “That’s what I have planned.” He pulls my arm and jerks me from the bed. Cori’s scream makes me look in her direction. The driver holds her arms while the younger guy positions himself on top of her with his pants shoved down. Fernandez holds the knife to my throat and drags me from the room. I manage to turn at the door and cast one more glance at Cori. Dead eyes stare up at the ceiling and I want to kill those two men more than I want anything else in this world besides Fernandez’s head on a platter.

  ∞∞∞

  The hand moving across my back and pulling me into his body is my safety net. “I love you,” Moon whispers. I roll into him needing his strength, needing his warmth.

  Pain shoots through my head and my eyes pop open and then shut. The light feels as if it’s literally sizzling my eyeballs. Slowly, I open them again. The ugly large room of my captivity greets me. Minus Cori. It takes a moment to orient myself. What happened last night tears through me and I start hyperventilating. It takes me a moment to switch gears in my head. Combat breathing helps. Slow inhale, count to ten, hold it for a ten, then slow exhale. After several minutes, I’m able to think rationally. The shower is running, so I know Cori is alive. That’s all that matters right now.