Page 47 of Cartel Viper (The Cartel Brotherhood #2)

Chapter Twenty-Four

Maddy

“Madeline, we can head over there whenever you’re ready. Enrique said Maks knows to expect you. We just didn’t say what time, so if you want to have something to eat before we go, you can, or we can set off right now.”

I wound up staying upstairs for a couple hours after Javi left.

He was concerned that I looked exhausted and got worried.

He said it was safe for me to stay at Enrique and Elle’s for a while if I wanted to nap.

Once my niece and nephew see me, they won’t leave me alone until their bedtime.

I admitted I felt ready to drop. I was going to rest on the bed, but of course I passed out.

Hard. I came downstairs after my siesta.

“I’m sure Laura’s kitchen is fully stocked just like yours is with that many large men coming and going. There’s always food in the house. Plus, one of their moms is usually dropping off something.”

Galina, Svetlana, and Alina are all superb cooks who still spoil their sons and daughters-in-law. It gives them excuses to go over and see their grandkids as well.

“Thank you for the offer, but Laura’s only going to freak out more if I don’t get over there soon. She’s likely to come banging on your door. I didn’t realize how long I slept.”

Elle grins. “Enrique tells me all the time she’s a younger version of me.”

I tilt my head as I study her, then nod. “I can definitely see that. I got that feeling a little at the reception, but we really didn’t have a chance to talk.”

“I know, and I hope we can remedy that soon. I know how things stand between your family and mine, but I think it’ll soon be your family and our family.”

Her knowing look makes me blush. She’s nearly old enough to be my mom and has adult children of her own, but a moment ago she felt more like an older sister.

Now she feels like a knowing parent, like Javi and I were getting into trouble together upstairs, not like a couple of people in their early thirties.

“Madeline, I know what it is to keep the gravest of secrets, not only to protect yourself, but those around you. I’ll never ask you to divulge anything you know about the Kutsenkos or the O’Sheehans.

Just know that if you need an ear or a shoulder and you wish you could go to Laura, but you can’t, you can always come to me. ”

She offers me a friendly smile before she turns toward the shoe rack by the front door.

She won’t belabor the point, but she wants me to know I’m not alone in this right now.

Even though she recently married Enrique, she understands.

I get the distinct impression she’s not exaggerating.

A lifetime of secrets is what it sounds like.

I put my shoes back on as well, glad that I had her fresh clothes to change into.

Laura is a little closer in size to me than Elle, but these are definitely comfortable.

We head out to the garage after we both say goodbye to Constantine, her massive softie of a dog.

He absolutely reminds me of Laura’s dog Sebastian.

I may not be ready for kids right this moment, but I think I might be ready for a Mastiff.

It surprises me when we get into her SUV instead of one of the Diazes’ vehicles.

“Madeline, I don’t know if the O’Sheehans know how to distinguish the vehicles that belong to the Four Families.

A massive black SUV or spit-polished town car headed toward Queens—particularly Forest Hills—will give away that you’re in the vehicle.

Drew may already be watching any of the Diazes’ properties.

Even though my windows aren’t tinted as dark as any of the vehicles in Enrique’s fleet, it still has darker windows than most. We have guards who’ll be in unmarked vehicles who’ll surround us as we go.

We want to be as inconspicuous as possible. ”

“Do you know your way there?”

She shoots me a glance from the corner of her eye as she fastens her seatbelt. “I’m familiar with the area.”

That’s just about as vague as she could get. It makes me uncomfortable, yet I’m not scared.

We pull out of the driveway and head out of the neighborhood.

We’ve barely made it a block before a car comes barreling toward us on this residential street.

It’s wide enough for two cars to pass easily, so there’s no reason for this one to be on our side of the road.

The vehicle in front of us speeds away from us, and I realize they’re trying to intercept whoever this is.

I watch in horror as a game of chicken plays out in front of us.

Neither Enrique’s guy nor whoever’s driving this vehicle gives way.

Elle and I watch the head-on collision. I gasp and cover my nose and mouth with my hands.

“Elle, we have?—”

“You stay in the vehicle. I don’t care if you’re a nurse. You’re not getting out.”

I look over at her and realize there’s no way I’ll convince her otherwise, even though I feel compelled to check on at least Enrique’s men.

I shift my gaze back to the street in front of us, and it amazes me to see the car with Enrique’s guards is still intact enough to push the other vehicle.

Both men in the Diaz vehicle lean out the window to shoot.

I glance in the passenger side-view mirror to see a car speeding behind us.

“Elle!”

I call out her name just as our guards behind us get rear-ended.

Whoever’s attacking us is trying to box us in and disable our protection detail, except the car behind ours is doing the same thing as the one in front.

It shifts into reverse and pushes the other car.

It’s clear that, even though these are unmarked vehicles that look like they could be someone’s everyday car, they’re reinforced to be virtual battering rams. The cars that probably intended to drive us off the road are no match for them.

I don’t know what to make of any of this since I’ve never been in a situation like this. However, when I look over at Elle, she’s cool as a cucumber. Nothing seems to faze her about this. She maneuvers around the vehicles in front of us, turning and moving us into a wide U-turn.

“Madeline, get down. Cover your head like you’re in an emergency-landing position on a plane.”

“What about y?—”

I don’t even finish my sentence before I hear the first ping-ping against the metal of her car.

Is someone shooting at us?

As I look around, she does a complete mom arm, except rather than holding me back, she grabs the back of my shirt just below my neck and pushes, forcing me to bend in half.

“Stay down, Madeline.”

I’m inclined to follow directions as someone fires more shots toward us.

I squeeze my eyes shut until I sense, then hear, Elle opening the center console.

I peek with one eye and watch her pull out a handgun.

The way she now drives with her knee as she checks that it’s loaded and ready to go tells me this isn’t her first rodeo.

She hasn’t even been married to Enrique that long, so how does she know to do all of this? Who the hell was she in a previous life?

I heard she was an accountant and now writes psychological thrillers.

Is she trying to live out some fight or chase scene she came up with?

After winding down the window, she switches hands, and it’s clear she’s as comfortable holding the gun in her left hand as she was her right. She doesn’t hesitate to shoot out the tires of a new car approaching us.

“How do?—”

I don’t get to finish that question either before she swerves and turns onto a side road a moment too late. We go up and over the curb as she fires the gun again.

“Madeline, climb into the back seat and get down on the floor.”

“But—”

“No ‘buts,’ Madeline.”

“No, I can shoot too.”

“This isn’t some range.”

“I know.”

“Madeline—”

It’s my turn to cut her off. “I don’t have time to explain everything I’ve done, but I can help defend us. You’re not the only one who shoots to kill.”

She glances over at me before she nods. “Get into the back seat. Pull down the narrower side. There are rifles back there. Have you shot one of those before?”

“Yeah. I’ve only shot those at the range, but I’m comfortable with various calibers of pistols. Should I call Javi?”

She nods as I unfasten my belt. I clamber into the back before I pull out my burner. It rings until it goes to voicemail. Fuck. I debate whether to leave a message. We need help now, but he needs to know where I am while I can still tell him. I know Elle can hear me, but I keep my voice down.

“Javi, we’re on our way to Maks and Laura’s, but there are cars all over the place trying to drive us off the road. Your men blocked two of them, and Elle shot the tires of a third.”

I glance over my shoulder.

“But there are more behind us. We’re on Vandergrift, so we didn’t make it very far. I don’t know where we’re going. Call me as soon as you get this.”

Our gazes meet as she hits a button on her steering wheel.

“Call ‘Place.’”

Place?

She must have the number to a sat phone the men have wherever they go to do whatever it is they do that I can never find out about. Before it can connect, her phone rings. The moment she answers, a voice comes through the car’s speakers.

“ Tía Elle, where are you? Maks says Maddy never showed up at his house. I expected you to leave hours ago.”

“Javi?”

“Maddy?”

“I’m all right. I fell asleep, and Elle didn’t wake me. But as soon as I got up, we left to go to Maks and Laura’s.”

“Is that gunfire I hear?”

“Yes, Javier.” Elle cuts into our conversation. “I’m taking her back to my old house.”

“That isn’t yours anymore.”

“That won’t stop me from getting inside.”

“But I thought you got rid of the panic room.”

What the fuck did Elle need a panic room for in her old house?

I want to ask, but that seems neither here nor there at the moment.