JESSE

Rule number one about combat: never go in with guns blazing.

Rule number two about combat: never go in alone.

I broke both rules in thirty seconds and honestly didn’t give a shit. There was too much on the line. Vivian needed me. I pitied any man foolish enough to stand in my way.

The restaurant in question was deeper than it was wide, accommodating four columns of tables with approximately ten rows. It didn’t take a genius to figure out that the cartel was likely keeping Vivian somewhere in the back, provided they hadn’t already moved her to a secondary location, of course.

The attack came as a...