Chapter 7 - The Dust and the Dark|
The drive to the abandoned copper mine near Superior took forty-five minutes. For Damon, it felt like a suffocating eternity.
The Arizona landscape blurred past the tinted windows of the SUV, a stark, unforgiving expanse of red rock, saguaro cacti, and blinding heat. Damon drove in absolute silence, his mind replaying the image of Selena's quiet smile when she served his coffee, and the fierce, protective way she watched Ruby explore the estate.
She didn't belong in this world. She had only entered it because she was desperate to provide for her child. And Damon’s blindness to Victor’s treachery had put a target on her back.
Ten miles outside of Superior, Damon pulled the SUV off the main highway, navigating a rugged, unpaved dirt road that wound deep into the canyons.
He reached the rally point—an old, rusted water tower surrounded by scrub brush.
Two unmarked black trucks were already parked in the shade.
As Damon stepped out of his vehicle, six men materialized from the surrounding rocks. They wore full tactical desert camouflage, their faces covered by balaclavas, heavily armed and moving with silent, predatory grace.
The leader, a man known only as Ghost, stepped forward and gave a brief nod.
“Target is isolated,” Ghost reported, his voice a low, gravelly rasp. “Old mining facility. Three structures. Victor’s men have the perimeter. Four guards visible on the ridge, two at the main entrance. We estimate another half dozen inside with the hostage.”
“Have the Sinaloa buyers arrived?” Damon asked, checking his optics.
“Not yet. But we have a dust trail coming from the south. Two vehicles, moving fast. They’ll be here in ten minutes.”
Damon looked up at the jagged ridgeline separating them from the mine.
“We don't wait for the buyers,” Damon ordered, his voice cold and commanding. “We hit them now. I want Victor’s perimeter guards neutralized silently. When we breach the main building, it’s loud and it’s fast. But nobody shoots blindly. If Selena is harmed in the crossfire, I will kill the man who pulled the trigger myself.”
The shadow team nodded in unison. They didn't ask questions. They were paid to execute the impossible.
“Ghost, take the ridge,” Damon instructed, pulling down his own tactical goggles. “The rest of you, with me. We breach the front doors in exactly five minutes.”
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They moved out, melting into the harsh desert terrain. Damon felt the familiar, cold focus of violence settle over his mind.
The mean men were waiting. And they were about to find out exactly why Damon Reyes ruled the desert.
