Bastion’s smile would scare paint off the wall. "I want you to suffer like I suffered. It's going to take a long time, Noel. You'll be begging for death long before it comes."
It wasn’t the first time I’d heard words like that, but coming from Bastion, a man I’d respected and cared for, it was difficult. "What's with these trumped up charges?"
He laughed. "They're not trumped up. You are in possession of a trafficked infant."
Mo. God. "He’s my son."
Bastion’s response to that would tell me for sure whether Lupe was involved in this revenge plot.
Bastion laughed. "You are a fool. I always told you that your dick would get you in trouble one day. You couldn’t just help yourself around smart mouthed women. What was it about them? Imagining their smart mouths on your dick?” He waggled his brows. “Then again, I’ve had Lupe’s mouth on my dick. I can’t really blame you there.”
Normally, I might have called him out on his vulgarity. But I had to tread carefully. It was one thing to talk about Lupe, but I needed to make sure he didn’t know about Harper.
Bastion nodded toward the man at the door again. He opened the door and three very large, very fit men walked in. It didn't take a rocket scientist to know I was about to get the shit beat out of me.
Bastion opened the cell door and the men stepped in looking all too eager to inflict damage on my body.
"Not too hard on him today, boys. It's just the first day and we have a lot of days ahead of us." Bastion laughed. It was a crazy maniacal laugh villain used in cartoons or b-movies.
One of the men grabbed my shirt and hauled me up onto my feet. As I suffered the first punch, I pushed the pain away and focused on Harper and Mo.
I needed to survive this for them.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-FOUR
Harper
There was no doubt that going to a Mexican prison to see Noel was a bad idea. If I was smart, I'd turn around and go back to the hotel and wait for Archer and his team to arrive.
But I guess Noel was right and I wasn't very smart. I wasn't necessarily brave either. Mostly I was propelled by anger and fear.
I was on the verge of having something really good with Noel and I’d be damned if I was going to let some pirate man take it from me.
When I arrived at the jail, I was nervous, but also eager to see Noel. I needed to know that he was alive and alright, or at least as much as he could be having been tossed in jail.
I strode up to the window where two uniformed prison guards sat looking bored.
"I'm here to see Noel St. Martin."
One of the guards, a robust and stern looking woman, rose from her chair and came to the opposite side of the glass. "No visitors."
I didn’t like her answer but was glad she spoke English.
She started to turn away, but I banged on the window. "I demand to see him. He has rights."
The woman looked at her partner, a scrawny younger male, and they both laughed. "This is not America. But even if it was, do you think you can just walk into a prison and see whoever you want?"
Admittedly, I wasn't up on the legal system in Mexico or how easy it was to access a jail in the United States. But I hadn't come this far to be turned away.
It was clear that I wasn't going to talk my way in. I needed help. I needed someone who never took no for an answer. He’d either bully or annoy to the point that people gave into his demands. I stepped outside and called Bran.
"Hey Harper, have you read through the materials yet?"
"I'm going to tell you something, Bran, and it's going to make your head explode. But I need you to listen and help me. Once that's all done, you can yell at me as much as you want."
“What the hell Harper?"
"I’m in Mexico. Noel has been arrested on bogus human trafficking charges. I want to get into the jail to see him and you need to help me do it."