Chapter 6

Eight Years Ago

Lucia was a good count. There were eighteen men moving around the little cove, well eleven on the beach but she'd counted seven more going into the cave at the back. They were a rag tag bunch, not at all the hardened criminals she'd been expecting, which was probably why they'd taken their entire group for the attack on la Luz, also known as la Luz junto al Mar, which translated to the light by the sea, so named because the village was known by the locals for having spectacular sunrises and sunsets.

It was a small place, but its people were strong. And proud. Several had offered to come with her once they'd found out why she was there, actually they'd demanded that she stay with the other women and let them go off to fight but after a quick showcasing of her abilities they'd all agreed to take a supporting role in this rescue, and considering she had at least six men to bring back Tess didn't mind accepting the help. Letting out a quiet breath she scanned the area again, taking in as much of the terrain as she could before sundown. Where and how they stored the boats, currently being worked on by their hostages, who was the most heavy-handed, who was clearly desperate and just trying to make a living, and most importantly who was in charge; the biggest man of course, in width not height, with the mean backhand he was just as likely to use on his own men as he was his captives. And he was quick to use it. It was tempting to just take him out, once he and a few others were down it was likely the rest would just scatter but aside from the fact that she didn't have a sniper rifle handy she wasn't going to risk the chance they'd use the hostages as shields. Or just kill them out of spite.

There wasn't a plan she'd come up with that didn't put them in some amount of danger but Tess wanted to minimize that risk as much as she could, especially because she knew that whatever she did Mateo was going to jump right into the middle of it.

Even from where she hid nestled within a rocky outcropping about five hundred yards away she could make him out, not only because she hadn't taken both eyes off him since she'd first spotted him a few hours ago but because he was easily the youngest man there. Lucia had said they'd almost passed the boy by, would have if he hadn't tried to fight one of them off, and if it hadn't been for one of the older men shouting out that he was the best mechanic for a hundred miles they probably would've just shot him. The image of his warm brown eyes dull and flat churned her stomach but a few more breaths had it settling, as much as it would until he and all the others were safe. Until they were back home and so was she.

Fuck.

She missed Jay.

Fuck. Now she was picturing his eyes, soft and sad and beautiful, the way they'd been when they'd said goodbye last night. He'd tried to be a good sport but he'd trailed after her for all of the five minutes it had taken to pack her things, and he'd had that special kind of gentle roughness when they'd taken another ten to quickly take each other. But what had been the most heartbreaking was the way his hands had kept reaching out to touch her at the door, trying so hard to let her go when all he wanted was for her to stay. Tess didn't know if she would ever forgive herself for that.

For wanting both.

For taking both.

She just couldn't imagine having to choose. Jay was her love, her home, but her heart was in the field. Maybe it wouldn't always be, at least not the way it was now but… It wasn't like it was for him and Mouse, a fight they could just walk away from, even if Jay had chosen a different way to do it. This was her fight. She just had to hope he wouldn't change his mind about waiting for her while she was off facing it.

And she had to hope the plan she was concocting for this particular battle was the right one.

Flour never ceased to amaze her.

It was the most unassuming of the seasonings, bland and flavourless, but essential.

Not to mention if you packed it tight and threw in a little gunpowder it blew like a motherfucker. Though judging by the way the boat in the water exploded, sending nothing but splinters in all directions and a fireball so high it lit up the night sky her co-conspirators had used more than just a little.

A lot more.

But that was fine because it meant when the sleepy men stumbled out of the little cave carved into the cliffside they were so entranced they didn't notice her slipping past them. And when she heard panicked shouts and splashes of water she knew they wouldn't be looking behind them for a while- too busy trying to catch the boats she'd set free before they reached the flames. They'd had enough sense to leave sentries but only two, who were so intent on trying to figure out what they were missing that they too didn't spot her creeping along the cave wall, and it was with a mix of pride and frustration that Tess realized she wasn't the only one who'd noticed their distraction. Mateo was inching closer to them, he and two others while the older members of their group crouched behind them, ready to run or join in, she wasn't sure. They stood a decent chance, the numbers were definitely in their favour but most of them were older men, injured and exhausted and scared, not to mention every one of them had their hands tied behind their backs.

But they were going to fight anyway.

It was that resilience that called to her, even more than their need and though she wasn't quick enough to make the first move she made the second, leaping into the fray as Mateo and the other men charged forward and knocked the sentries down, sending the first to his knees where a swift and well-placed kick had him unconscious and the second smacking unfortunately for him into a very pointy rock, and after another quick and hard punch to the temple he too was down. And quiet, though she wasn't going to count on no one having heard the scuffle. Unless they were complete idiots they'd figured out someone was messing with them and it wouldn't be long until they went looking for who.

"Tessa!"

Someone bumping into her side pulled her out of that thought for the moment and right into a pair of warm, dancing amber eyes.

Mateo.

Tess hugged him back even as she flipped out her knife and cut the rope binding him, only allowing herself to indulge in one more tight squeeze before she pushed him off and knelt to free the others. "Anybody feel like getting out of here?"

Despite how they stared at her in shock the men were quick to follow her lead. It was still mostly chaos out in the cove, though she could see they'd wrangled the boats and were starting to bring them back to shore. And their leader must have decided it was time to find out what was going on because there were four men striding confidently towards the cave mouth. The one they hadn't exited yet.

"I need all of you to do exactly as I say. When I say go, I want you to run as fast as you can to the left, sticking close to the rock. After a few feet you'll see a glowstick, and several more going up the side of the cliff- follow them, with the last man bringing them with him. Your friends are at the top, they're going to drive you out of here."

"No, we-"

"You are going to do what I tell you to because I am the one that knows what I'm doing, do you understand me?"

She didn't like being so harsh but they only had seconds until those men reached them and she couldn't afford to waste them arguing. Still for a moment she thought she might have to, Mateo looked almost as adamant as her but then the man behind clasped his shoulder, tightly by the looks of it, and when he nodded the boy sank into his grip, reluctantly nodding too. It cost her another second but Tess couldn't help reaching out to cup his cheek, memorizing all the details of his face before she smiled and gave it a firm smack.

"Now!"

She whirled back around and threw herself at the approaching smugglers, landing right in their midst and scattering them while the others ran; within seconds they were out of sight and she could give all her attention to the fight, not that it was much of one. These weren't the trained killers she normally went up against, they were just men- tired, desperate men. But there were a lot more of them. It only took her two minutes to get the first four down but she'd definitely caught the attention of the others this time and they came rushing towards her in one uncoordinated but eager wave. She could try to book it to the path but no doubt they'd follow and the last thing she wanted was to put the others back in the line of fire.

She could take these men.

She wasn't who she thought she was if she couldn't.

Ducking under the wild swing of the first to reach her she sent him over her hip and then stomped on his bits to keep him down, dodging the second to throw a punch at the third and from there she let herself go. Her body moved the way it had been trained to, back a step when she needed to retreat, always at least two more forward to hold the line, taking the hits she had to and doling out her own wherever she could- the only thing Tess did that she hadn't been trained to was pull those punches, as much as she could while still ensuring her own safety. She didn't want to kill them, still did everything she could to preserve as many lives as she could, even if sometimes she wondered whether that was the right way.

If she let these men live, would they change their ways?

Or would they just go back stealing and killing, making a living whatever way they could, no matter how cruel?

It was a deep, philosophical question, and as a body rammed into her side and took her to the ground it was a good reminder that in the field wasn't a good place to contemplate its answer.

"Fucking bitch."

Thick, meaty hands fisted in her hair but before they could smash her head against the sand, which wouldn't hurt but might very well suffocate her another body went flying into the one on top of her.

Mateo.

He threw his fists into the man's face, the leader, no wonder it'd felt like an elephant had landed on her, one blow after another until with a scream of rage the other man threw him off, sending such a hard kick into the boy's ribs that her own ached. She scrambled to her knees, instinctively throwing her arms up to block an incoming blow but it never landed. Instead the person who'd been about to attack her crumpled to the ground and a hand was thrust towards her, belonging to the man who had promised to get Mateo and the others out. Thankfully they were the only two who'd come back but she still shot him a look, which he shrugged off, both quickly turning back to Mateo. With a lurch Tess realized the leader was straddling him, seconds away from smashing a rock into the side of his head and though she lunged forward she was too late. But to her surprise it wasn't Mateo who got his skull bashed in but the leader, with a wooden plank one of his own men swung at his head.

Hard.

He was hesitant as he offered Mateo his hand but the young man took it immediately, with a grin that told her he'd spent his time here doing more than just fixing up boats. Tess and the man next to her were in the middle of rushing over to them when they had to quickly pull back, ducking as a hail of rocks rained down from above.

Guess the others hadn't left yet.

Most of the smugglers were already down but the rocks kept coming, until she called out the order to stop.

"Unless you want your lives to end here you will let us leave." She stepped forward until all eyes were on her, an uncomfortable feeling but one she forced herself to push past. "You will not follow us. You will not return to La Luz. If you want to continue this life we cannot stop you but…"

But what?

What could she offer them?

"If you want something different, you can come with us."

Soft cries of dismay could be heard from the clifftop but she ignored them, looking instead to Mateo and the man who had saved him. He looked just as flabbergasted as the rest but when he looked at Mateo and the young man nodded he stepped forward, awkwardly extending his hand.

"I amDalian."

"Tessa." She said with a smile, the Spanish always added an 'a' to her name and it was pretty so she went with it, shaking it firmly before she nodded over to the cliff. "Take anyone who will go with you and head to the top. Mateo will show you the way."

Her young friend grinned and began waving some of the others forward, those ones she'd noted this afternoon who only seemed to be here out of desperation. The others watched warily but made no move to stop them and together they made their way to the path, still illuminated by the tiny glowsticks she'd run to the city to pick up earlier this evening- a pretty ingenious plan if she did say so herself. Not everyone seemed happy about the most recent adjustment but a few hard looks had them keeping their mouths shut about it, though jammed into those little trucks it was sure to be an uncomfortable ride back. Soon it was just her, Mateo, Dalian and that other man and with another look the two younger ones peeled off until it was just her and that man, who was eyeing her with a look of disbelief and admiration.

"What's your name?"

"Emeterio." He answered quietly, though not without confidence, and Tess noticed he was looking her over just as intently as she was him. She didn't know many people in the village aside from Lucia and their family but she'd be willing to bet a month of pay that this man was important, someone with a voice.

And if he hadn't used that voice to fight her hopefully he'd use it to help.

"If I asked, would you do something for me?" His response was to raise a brow but she was pleased to see that when she smiled his own lips tilted up. "If any of them come back to the village, not looking to cause trouble, help them. If you need money to do it, tell Mateo or Lucia, they'll get it to you."

"You mean you will. Why?"

"The same reason you came back. Because we can."

He looked her over again then nodded, once in agreement with what she'd said then again in agreement with what she'd asked and then they headed to her jeep, the solemnity of the moment ruined when they hopped in and Mateo leant forward from his spot in the backseat to plant a loud, messy kiss on her cheek.

"Thank you Tessa, mi ángel feroz."

"Yeah, yeah. You can thank me with a bottle of rum. Let's go home."