She cried out in shock as she watched Taylor fall to the ground backward as the man drug her from the store.
She was kicking and screaming and as one of the clerks showed up nearby, the man shot at him. The kid ducked and she screamed as he pulled her out the exit door.
“Let go of me. I’m not going anywhere with you,” she yelled but then there was another man and he smirked at her.
“Don’t fight us, it will only make matters worse for you.” She struggled to get free then felt the prick to her neck. She saw the needle and then felt the effects of what they gave her. She was shoved into the backseat of the dark sedan. They had her, and all she kept thinking about was Taylor and how he got shot. Taylor is dead, because of me.
* * * *
“What do you mean you guys lost the vehicle? That was our only way of finding her. Fuck!” Taylor yelled as he sat in a chair, no shirt on and a major bruise already forming on his chest.
“Thank God you were wearing that bulletproof vest.”
“Yeah, real fucking good I was. The hit nearly knocked me out.”
“Beats the other alternative,” Max stated.
“We have to find them. She’s dead if we don’t,” Taylor said, feeling sick and angry.
“Taylor.” He looked up and saw Pinto, Warner’s friend.
“We know where they took Mercedes.”
“What?” both Taylor and Max replied. There were others around them, including Mike Spencer and Monroe and Caldwell Gordon.
“What do you need from us?” Caldwell asked, straight-faced.
“Warner said sit tight, he has a plan. Kurt is with him.”
“Oh shit,” Taylor said, knowing that this was a seriously dangerous situation and he could lose all three of them.
* * * *
“This is your fucking plan?” Kurt said to Warner as Warner rechecked his Glock and remained expressionless.
They were sitting in the woods right outside of the estate preparing to raid the place.
“Listen to me, Randall does not know that one of the key players who wants to take over his business has got a major enemy with ties in the area. Randall can’t just sell this off to him without following protocol.”
“You’re talking about organized crime shit?”
“Even crazier fucking bastards. Russians and Ukrainians with bad blood between them.”
“Oh fuck,” Kurt said and ran his hands through his hair.
“Why are you involved with that? I mean how the hell do you know this shit?” Kurt asked.
“You’ve done jobs for different individuals just as I have over the years, Kurt. You know we’ve made connections. But after today I’m done. It’s all so fucked up, and you never know who is telling the truth, who is setting you up, or when someone might just shoot you in the back. We need to get all loose ends tied so we’re done forever. You, me, Taylor, and Mercedes can live normal lives and be together without worrying.”
“We have permission for justified kills?” Kurt asked, holding his gun.
“These fuckers have our woman, there’s nothing more justified than that.”
“We have to get to Mercedes. God knows what they’ve done to her already.”
“I know, and listen, when we get to her I’ll explain the next step.”
“What?”