Sor (Voodoo Guardians #29)

CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE

Sor spoke too soon. Luke asked everyone to meet for dinner and to discuss the next steps. Nell could only laugh, shaking her head. She understood that this was how it would be with a VG man. She was more than okay with it.

“What are we going to do with all those kids?” asked Hex.

“For now, they’re safe here and being cared for. Grandma and Aunt Claudette called the church ladies, and they’ve volunteered to come up and take shifts watching them. One of the ladies is from Cambodia and speaks the language so that will be helpful. The legal team is working with the State Department and immigration to get hardship entrance for the kids. All on the up and up,” said Luke.

“Grandma said that the lady who speaks Cambodian said there could be families in the area from Cambodia that would be willing to foster or adopt the boys. She said that many of them are on the fishing boats and on the oil rigs. They make good money, have good homes, everything we want,” said Ben.

“All in good time. I’m just glad those boys are going to have a chance at a new life,” said Luke. “Although it pisses me off that there isn’t any family to take them.”

“We can’t all be this lucky,” said Sor. “I don’t think I’ve ever been more grateful for having all of you as my family.”

“Brother, that’s the statement of the day,” said Dom. “Grateful. I suppose it’s that time of year, isn’t it?”

Sor’s phone rang, and he looked down at the number, then back up at the other men.

“Unknown. But I’m guessing who it is.”

“Put it on speaker,” said Luke.

“Hello.”

“You fucker! You’re dead, Teller! I will hunt you down and fucking kill you myself!”

“Who is this?” he smirked.

“You son-of-a-bitch! How did you get those kids out of the country? Where are they? I need those kids!”

“You don’t need shit, DeWitt. They’re children who should be playing and enjoying their lives, not digging for gold or gems because you want to overthrow a government. But we could always bring this before the United Nations or even just the good old U.S. of A. Let’s see what popular opinion is on this subject.”

“I hate you. I fucking hate you!”

“I’m not exactly your biggest fan, DeWitt. You killed Marshall and attempted to kill me and my girl. That won’t earn you any favors.” He looked around at the others and held up a finger. “Who else did you kill? Did you kill our friend, the dealmaker?”

“Beck? Why the fuck would I kill him? He’s the man who gets me what I need, and he’ll do it again.”

The entire room smiled at Sor. Apparently, DeWitt wasn’t as smart as he thought he was.

“Right. And your two ex-wives? Are they dead?”

“How did you know about that? Never mind. It doesn’t matter. No, they’re not dead. They know better than to be a pain in my fucking ass.”

“What happened with you, DeWitt? You seemed like a decent teammate. You didn’t have a reason to turn like this.”

“I had all the reason in the world. Did you know that I was passed over twice for promotion? Twice. You and Marshall were so focused on helping those damn tsunami victims I was able to see what was really happening in that pathetic country. It only took a few minutes for me to be convinced to help.”

“Why?”

“Oh, money mainly. But the country’s been fucked up for years. If we overthrow the current regime, I stand to make a serious amount of cash. And, up until you fucked with my plan, those caves had gold and gemstones inside them, and it was all going to succeed, and I would disappear on an island somewhere. We’re talking rubies rivaling those in Burma.”

“Sorry to ruin your party, DeWitt. And it’s not Burma any longer. It’s the Republic of the Union of Myanmar.”

“You’re such an asshole. Always apologizing for being the best, for being the good guy, for being fine and upstanding. Well, fuck you! Fuck you, Sor! I will make my millions. I will get those fucking kids back or find new ones.”

“You will be the most wanted man on the FBI’s list,” said Sor. “Not to mention Interpol and all the other alphabet soup agencies around the world. And just wait until Vietnam, South Korea, China, and Malaysia figure out what you’re trying to do. You won’t be able to show your face anywhere, DeWitt.”

“You’re dead, Sor. You and all those fucking goody-goody boys you work with. You’re all dead, and when I get my hands on your girl, you’re gonna wish she were dead.”

The line went dead, and Sor just stared at his phone. The women were at another table, far enough away that they hadn’t heard the entire conversation. He would tell Nell tonight what was said, but for now, he had the name of the contact at base, and that’s where they were going to go.

“Beck?” asked Hex.

“Yep. I remember the name now, and I remember a little of what he looks like. He was ex-Air Force but lived close to the base. A loser all the way around, stealing shit, reselling it, anything to make a buck. I should have figured he’d be tied up with DeWitt.”

“Then that’s where we go tomorrow. Get some rest. You’re gonna need it.”