Fierce Queen (L.A. Ruthless Series Book 2)

Twenty one hours. That was how long it had been since Alana and Lucia had been taken and I was still no closer to finding out who took them. I had watched the CCTV over and over again, looking for clues. Four armed men had rammed into their car, shot all three of my men and pulled the girls out. Both of them had fought like crazy too until they’d been knocked unconscious.

Hugo was still in critical care in the hospital and I prayed that he woke up. Not only because I had already lost two good men in Hank and George, or the fact that he was a good and loyal soldier, but also because he might have some more information on who was responsible. The hit had been meticulously planned and executed. We were most definitely dealing with professionals here. And not only that, someone who knew about Lucia’s doctor’s appointment.

That meant I could trust no-one.

That security footage had been the hardest thing I’d ever had to watch. Seeing Alana and Lucia being taken and not being able to do a damn thing about it had felt like someone was reaching inside my chest and tearing out my heart. I had to keep my mind constantly occupied because as soon as it wasn’t, all I could think about was what they might be going through. The thought that someone had their hands on them made me physically sick.

The only way to manage my anger was to hurt people, and that was exactly what I planned to do until I had some answers.

I walked into the middle of the warehouse where Joey Ortega was being held. I took off my suit jacket and handed it to Jax who stood waiting for me.

‘Has this piece of shit told us anything?’ I snarled.

‘Nothing, at all, amigo. Alana – your father, he still says it was nothing to do with him.’

I picked up the power drill from the table beside me. ‘Well, we’ll see how much longer he can hold out on me for,’ I snarled.

Joey looked up at me. He was naked and tied to a chair. One of his eyes was swollen closed and a trickle of blood ran down the length of his face from his head.

‘Please, Alejandro, I have already told you everything. I know nothing about any of this. Please,’ he wailed. But, I felt nothing as I listened to him beg for his life. All I could think about was what Alana and Lucia might be suffering through with each second that passed.

‘Do you really think I give a single shit about you crying and pissing yourself, Cabrón?’ I snarled at him. ‘Someone has taken my fucking wife!’ I roared, the sound reverberating around the empty warehouse.

One hour later, I was walking out of the warehouse covered in Joey Ortega’s blood. Jax walked quietly beside me.

‘Don’t look at me like that, amigo,’ I warned him.

He held his hands up in surrender.

‘I can fucking see the cogs turning in your brain,’ I hissed.

‘I just haven’t seen you like that for a long time, that’s all,’ he replied.

I hadn’t been that man for a long time, that was why. I had just tortured Joey Ortega to death, and I had taken perverse comfort in hearing his screams filling the air. But, I was still no closer to finding Alana and Lucia. I had known Joey knew nothing, but I had kept on anyway.

‘I don’t know what else to do, Jax? Why haven’t the kidnappers made contact yet? It doesn’t make sense. There should have been something by now. A ransom demand or something!’

‘I know, amigo. It doesn’t make sense. So, what do we do now? You have worked your way through every enemy we have. You have killed more people in the past twenty-four hours than the Spanish flu.’

I frowned at him. ‘They all deserved it,’ I snapped. Even if they hadn’t taken Alana, they were our enemies for a reason.

‘I don’t doubt it. But what now?’

‘We haven’t spoken to all of our enemies,’ I reminded him. ‘Have someone prepare the jet. We’re going to New York.’

Jax nodded and then he slipped off to make a phone call as I climbed into the waiting car.