Page 76 of Breached

“What?” we both shouted at the same time.

SIXTEEN

BRUNO

The binoculars pressed into the muscles around my eyes as I tried to focus on my men and their locations. My eyes were dry and sore, and my ass was shot from sitting on the side of Armondo’s flatbed truck. The high I had felt when we arrived an hour earlier and my men fired off the RPG twice for good measure had slowly begun to fade, and the itch to have them launch it again was real.

We arrived three days earlier than expected, came up the west side—not the south—to see if Armondo was right. I hated to admit it, but his consistent chatting in my ear about not trusting Eric had started to get to me. I decided to move the attack up a few days and came in fast and hard—the one thing Eric said not to do. There would be no slow, silent, or sleek. I wanted to hit big at night and sit back and watch.

When my contact J called me and I heard Nicole’s voice on the phone about going to a spa with her boyfriend, it sent me over the edge. My fingers curled into fists, and I fought to get my temper under control. I knew it wasn’t time to lose it. That would come later once I had her at my feet. I refused to wait another moment.

I looked around at the three teams of six men. All eighteen were highly trained from their time in the Mexican army. They had been well paid to switch over to me, and most importantly, they would fight to the death if necessary.

The soldiers were given their orders: kill any American with a pulse, everyone but the one in the photo I provided them. That soldier, Paul, was mine. I intended to kill him slowly on camera and play it for Nicole at our wedding. I wanted her to know all hope was gone forever, so she would give in to me completely.

From where I was, I could hear gunfire echo in the distance. My men with the second RPG must have been intercepted. I wondered how many Americans they’d kill before they were taken out themselves. They weren’t part of my core group; they were expendable. I only hired them in hopes they would be caught. I wanted Blackstone to think their level of skill was all I brought to the fight. I smirked, thinking how wrong they’d be.

I scanned the mountains and saw lights and trucks around where they shot the RPGs and was pleased to see Armondo was wrong after all.

“So, Armondo, Eric did keep his word, as I knew he would.” I couldn’t help but gloat. Armondo grunted something under his breath, and I gave him a sly eye. “Unlike me, I know you never trusted him, but⁠—”

“It’s not just that.”

“What else, then?”

“Nothing.”

I lowered the night vision binoculars and licked the inside of my mouth, frustrated with his attitude. “Speak or get a bullet to the mouth. Your choice.”

“All this for a woman who’s sleeping with the enemy.” He sniffed. “Even if you get a chance to kill her lover, then what? Do you think she won’t run?”

I grinned, thinking about how she’d be shackled for the rest of her life. Tied to me and my house forever. Any sense of freedom would be a distant memory. I learned my lessons and knew she couldn’t be trusted, ever. “Not with what I have planned for her,” I advised him.

He shook his head, frustrated with my answer. He really had become much bolder in showing his feelings, and it made me realize I should put him back in line. I didn’t like his disrespect, and frankly, I had had enough of it.

My cell phone rang, and I saw it was Eric. My mood instantly lightened, and I held it up to show Armondo, who had the nerve to roll his eyes.

“Hello, my friend.”

“What the hell, Bruno? I camped out in the mountains to do some recon for you, and someone’s attacking. I hope to hell it’s your men!”

“Did you like my entrance?”

“I should’ve known you’d do what you wanted.” He sounded like he was running. “Your men have made an impressive dent on the side of that mountain. A few hundred yards over, and you’d have hit their safehouse.” He laughed. I was pleased to get the acknowledgement; it was perfect. “Just an update, Blackstone is still alive, but they’ve lost a good chunk of their army. They were out training when your RPG hit their vehicles. They’re scrambling to get everyone rounded up.”

“Chaos was the plan.”

“I’m all for causing chaos, Bruno, but a heads up would have been nice,” Eric huffed.

I shrugged. “I like to keep a few tricks up my sleeve.”

“Fair enough, I—hold on a sec.”

I heard a shot, then he laughed like he was high on something. It was what had kept us friends for so long—we shared the love of destroying what the US Army tried so hard to build.

“All right,” he whooshed out a breath, “when are you sending in more men?”

“One moment.” I moved the phone away from my mouth. “Get ready to move out.”