KICK ASS: A Boxed Set (30 page)

Jessica opened her mouth, probably to explain, but snapped her lips shut with an audible pop a split second later. Her wide gaze seemed locked on some spot over Marisela’s shoulder and in ten seconds flat, her skin went from seashell pink to ashen white to fire engine red.

With her hands on her hips, Marisela turned and caught sight of Frankie leaning against the doorway, dripping wet from his shower and covered only around the waist in a very small white towel.

“Have you no shame? She’s just a kid. Put some clothes on.”

“Clothes for church?
Vidita
, it’s not Sunday. It’s Saturday. Seems our pájarita has given us a twenty-four hour head start.”

* * *

By eight o’clock the next morning, a plan was in place, though Marisela had had no idea how the scheme would progress until they docked at the pier in San Juan and on the short walk to the waiting limousine, caught sight of a jewelry-selling street vendor who looked vaguely familiar. The disguise Dionysus had donned made him look every inch the Puerto Rican entrepreneur, so when Frankie stopped to buy Marisela a lovely pair of carved, mother of pearl earrings, none of Perez’s men looked anything more than impatient. He bought a pair for Jessica as well, and in fine distracting perfection, the girl spent the rest of the walk and the first few miles of the drive squealing with delight over the five-dollar gift—just enough time for Marisela to put hers on and activate the listening device planted inside.

She pressed the tiny button on the clasp and a few seconds later, heard Max’s voice buzz near her ear like a bug.

“Tap the earring three times if you can hear me clearly.” She winked at Frankie and did as she was told.

“Good. Elise is at the convent with Blake. If Perez follows his reported routine, he will have the limo drop his daughter, and the two of you, at the entrance to the church. The convent is in the back. Perez has ten bodyguards stationed around the inside of the sanctuary, but we can detain two without alerting anyone right away. Go with her to communion. On the way back, divert to the alcove off the west aisle where there’s a statue of the Virgin Mary. Let the kid light a candle. Elise will meet you there.”

Marisela tapped the earring three more times to signal that she understood and her heartbeat steadied’ as she replayed the plan in her head. Max and Ian seemed to have covered all the bases. She wasn’t sure that Jessica would be able to make a life-altering decision about her mother after only a few minutes, but Marisela figured that was Elise’s problem. In her last communication with Max yesterday, she’d made her point of view clear that in light of the mysterious third party possibly still working against them Jessica needed to make the choice whether or not to go with her mother for herself. The kid had gone through too much for her and Frankie to swipe her now, mission or not, especially since she’d kept their secret. The mother had to do the convincing before Marisela made another move.

“Those earrings look quite beautiful on you,
señora
,” Perez said, his eyes trained on how she continued to fiddle with the jewelry.

She reached over and grabbed Frankie’s hand. “I don’t usually let my husband buy me such presents, but I couldn’t resist.”

Perez chuckled, completely unaware of the threat that lay ahead. “My daughter’s influence on you is undeniable, I’m afraid. I hope you won’t regret making her acquaintance,
señor
.”

Frankie managed a half-grin. Marisela couldn’t believe they’d gotten this far. Or that in a few short hours, the entire mission would be over.

“Your daughter is charming,
Señor
Perez,” Marisela said.

Charming and resourceful. For a kid, she had a sharp mind and good instincts. Marisela could only hope she’d be able to see beyond her childhood loneliness to judge her mother fairly. And accurately.

Jessica snuggled next to her father and from across the seat in the limousine, Marisela caught the look of uncertainty in the young girl’s eyes, along with the clear, sharp reflection of determination. And trust. The young girl had put her future in the hands of a stranger, her, all because she wanted desperately to meet the mother who likely had an ulterior motive for wanting her home.

So far, Max had come up empty in his investigation of Elise Barton-Ryce’s finances. And yet, something in his tone yesterday clued Marisela that he’d at least discovered some vague and unverifiable indication that maybe something wasn’t quite right. Knowing that, Marisela decided she wasn’t letting Jessica out of her sight for one minute. When Elise pleaded her case to her long-lost daughter, Marisela was going to be right there, watching the kid’s back—and more importantly, her fragile, teenaged heart.

The drive to the church was noneventful, with Frankie staring sullenly out the window, having made Rogelio’s displeasure at being dragged to church abundantly clear. Perez hung on every word his daughter chatted into his ear—and that was no small feat since the girl didn’t stop talking. Marisela watched the driver and from time to time, checked out the traffic around them. Nothing unusual. Nothing out of place. Two cruise ships had come into port, so the streets of San Juan teemed with tourists. The convent and school were on an outer edge of the city on the way to the fort in the area known as Old San Juan. Little by little, the buildings grew smaller, the streets more narrow, the atmosphere decidedly more old world.

The cross on the top of the church thrust into the sky in simple wooden glory. Bricks washed white by the sun and wind curved and stacked into a building completely unremarkable except for kaleidoscopic stained glass windows. As the limousine pulled to a stop just outside the brittle concrete steps, Marisela immediately spotted the first of Perez’s bodyguards.

God, she hoped Titan didn’t fail them now—and that included not offing any of Perez’s men. Jessica would never forgive Marisela if someone in her father’s employ took a bullet because she couldn’t resist the chance to meet her mother.

The bodyguard stepped forward to open the back door. Marisela had already started to scoot toward the exit when a loud pop sent her diving toward Jessica. Perez already had his daughter covered. Out the back window, Marisela saw the bodyguard stagger toward the church, gun drawn. He was hurt, but still standing.

“¡Déjame! ¡Déjame!”
Perez shouted to the driver, who slammed his foot onto the gas. Tires screeched as they tore down the street, but a second explosion directly underneath the car jolted them all into the air. Jessica screamed, rolling herself into a tight ball. Her father tried to curve his body over her at the same time that he removed his gun from his jacket and yelled orders to the driver.

Only a few moments elapsed before Marisela realized that the driver couldn’t comply. The explosion had locked up the steering and judging by their increasing speed as they hurtled down the hill, the brakes were gone, too. Frankie flung himself through the narrow opening into the front seat, but he could do nothing to stop the inevitable. They were going to crash.

Marisela grabbed Jessica and Javier and flung them to the floor seconds before the impact threw her into the opposite seat. Her shoulder smashed hard into the side panel, but not with enough force to knock her gun from her hand.

“Stay down!”

Frankie had flung open the passenger side door and Marisela did the same from the back.

“What’s happening?” she shouted, aiming at the empty street behind them while Frankie covered the front. They’d crashed into the side of an abandoned store. The front end of the car tilted up onto a curb and broken glass sparkled around them in the stark white morning sun.

“Ambush!” Frankie shouted.

Their driver emerged from his side of the car with a wicked looking XM8 lightweight assault rifle clutched in his hands. He opened his mouth to speak, but a shot through his skull instantly silenced him. His body shuddered, then crumbled to the ground.

Marisela ducked back inside the car.

“Stay down. Your driver’s dead.”

Jessica’s eyes were wide with terror.

Marisela had to trust that Javier could take care of Jessica until she and Frankie worked out a plan. This attack couldn’t be a Titan operation. They wouldn’t kill so indiscriminately. Would they? When she emerged from the car, she realized she had no time to work out the possibilities. An SUV with a tinted windshield veered down the street toward them, sleek black weapons dangling out of the passenger side doors, clearly meant to invoke fear. Was this an assassination attempt? Were they trying to kill Perez? Jessica, too? Or was this just another elaborate scheme to kidnap the girl? And if so, who was calling the shots?

Marisela tapped on her earring. She heard nothing and tried again until the rapid fire of bullets shifted her attention from communication to survival. She spun around in time to catch Frankie diving across the front seat and retrieving the driver’s rifle. Their arsenal included two handguns—three if they counted Perez’s—and a rifle against two men with automatic weapons and an unknown sniper. No backup from Titan and as of yet, nothing from Perez’s men down the street at the church, either.

They had to get Jessica to safety. The limo wasn’t going to move. They needed the closest vehicle—the attacking SUV.

Marisela yelled for Frankie to get into the car with Jessica and Perez and shut the doors. She was better trained, better able to protect two people rather than one. Besides, the limo was bulletproof. If they wanted them, they’d have to come in and get them.

Impulsively, Marisela ducked under the car, which was tilted up on the front end enough to allow her room to completely conceal herself. The stench of burning circuits and blood seeped into her nostrils, but she didn’t dare breathe too loudly when the SUV slammed to a halt and the two men jumped out and proceeded to spray the car with bullets. They cursed, slammed the butts of their guns against the glass and fired into the door handles, then cursed more when they couldn’t break through. From her shelter behind the tires, she could see a second SUV—the same dark color and tinted windows—heading their way.

Shit. Reinforcements, but not from their side. She still heard no chatter in her earpiece, so she couldn’t count on Titan to know what was going on. She had to make a move. Now.

With a quick roll, she leaned out from under the car and shot the first assailant. Her bullet blew apart his chin and she rolled again to avoid a dousing of blood and brain. The second assailant flattened himself to the ground and peppered the asphalt with bullets.

Marisela jumped onto the hood of the car and slid across, landing on the guy’s back before he had a chance to stand. She aimed downward and pumped a bullet into his skull. She slammed her fist on the window and shouted for Frankie, Perez, and Jessica to get out while she ran to the SUV and commandeered the driver’s seat. They had to escape before the second wave of killers arrived.

Frankie came out first, covering their exit with a wave of gunfire from the automatic weapon. Perez pushed Jessica out next and Marisela leaned over to open the passenger side door. Jessica jumped in, her skin ashen gray.

“Who are they?” Jessica asked, nearly hysterical.

Marisela didn’t have time to answer. The second SUV had screeched to a halt just a few feet behind. Perez and Frankie were exchanging gunfire and without cover, were sitting ducks.

“Open the back door!” Marisela ordered.

Jessica swiveled around and did what she was told while Marisela threw the car into reverse. Frankie shoved Perez toward the car, but he refused to get in.

“Take my daughter to safety!”

He grabbed Frankie’s gun and shoved him toward the open door. The people in the church had spilled out onto the sidewalk and Perez’s men were sprinting toward them. A Jeep spun around the corner a block away, sirens blaring.

“
Papi!
” Jessica yelled, reaching toward the open door. Frankie pushed her back into her seat and ordered her down. “Get out of here!”

Marisela complied. Perez, taking his last stand against his enemies, ducked back behind the limo for cover. His guards were gaining ground, so the second SUV didn’t stop, but spun into hot pursuit.

“They’re following.”

Frankie pulled a clip out of his pocket.

“Of course they are. They want Jessica.”

“Me? Why?”

Marisela swerved around a corner. God, she had no idea where she was going. This time, she wasn’t escaping an ex-boyfriend in the hometown she knew like the back of her hand. She was driving blind into an unknown city with narrow streets and gaggles of tourists.

“Frankie, call Max.”

He rolled down the side window. “No time. Keep heading east. Once we get out of Old San Juan, there’s open highway. Try to lose them!”

Marisela already had the gas pedal flush against the floor. She used every trick she knew to widen the distance between them and their pursuers, but nothing worked until Frankie leaned out and fired several shots into the windshield of the car following behind. They returned fire, but only seconds after Marisela flew through an intersection, clutching the steering wheel until her knuckles ached, the sports utility vehicle hit a bump and went airborne. The vehicle behind them crashed into a light pole and burst into flames.

Frankie pulled himself back into the car and for several long minutes, they drove in stunned silence. When a traffic light turned red in front of her, Marisela drew the car to a slow stop. Only then did she hear Jessica whimpering. She reached over with a shaky hand and gently patted her thigh.

“You’re safe now.”

Jessica drew in a long, shivering breath. “What about my father?”

Marisela glanced over her shoulder at Frankie, who was sitting straight against the seat, his neck tilted back, his breaching labored as he recuperated from the gunplay.

“I’m sure he’s fine. He’s a brave man. He gave us the cover we needed to escape.”

“Who would want to kidnap me besides my mother?”

The light turned green. Marisela gingerly pressed her foot to the pedal and expertly blended them into traffic. She still didn’t know where they were going, but at least they were no longer running for their lives.