by Melissa Jane
Begrudgingly, they filed out leaving the door open for assurance.
I approached the bed, guilt rattling me to the core. Kissing her lips gently, our foreheads touching, I wiped the tear that sat in the crease of her eye.
“I’m sorry, Nina. Forgive me.”
When she woke, she would no longer recognize me.
When she woke, she would only see me as Los Santos.
Wearing a mask of indifference was near impossible when it came to Nina Cross.
“What a find. What a find,” Gabriel mused. “Her pictures do not do her justice, brother.”
There were three other men loading their Glocks, faces half-cocked and amused by the banter.
“There is definitely some fun to be had.”
I bit my tongue until it bled.
Gabriel pulled a shirt over his head. “I can understand why it took you so long to get here.”
“I prefer to take precautions, and your foot soldiers were making a mess of things.”
“Like I said…” he slid a gold ring with a massive ruby onto his pinkie finger, “…I needed to ensure my asset actually made it across the border.”
One of the men walked to the window, pulling the curtain back with the barrel of his gun. “They’re out there,” he grunted.
Gabriel and his three men moved into action, but I was already out the door.
“Hunter,” he called and I stopped knowing what was coming next. “Your job is done. Stay here.”
My jaw tightened and he noticed, a smile reaching his eyes. “Don’t worry, brother. She’s safe with me…” he backed toward the door and winked, “… for now.”
Nina was outside on her knees, the sun beating down while she waited. She was shackled, arms tied behind her back. Nina’s beautiful long locks were tangled, legs exposed from her short nightshirt. I couldn’t see her face, and I counted that as a small blessing. I knew she would be scared. I knew she would feel deceived. She had every right to be. Pulling my Beretta free, I watched, ready to kill any fucker that laid a hand on her.
The men appeared, walking in a line until they stood in front of Nina, all leering at her vulnerable state like the pricks they were.
Gabriel addressed her first, eyes alight with self-righteousness and satisfaction. I couldn’t hear what was being said. I didn’t need to hear. This was all for show.
He would be setting the groundwork.
Ensuring she knew her place.
Doing little to quell her fears.
They conversed and she showed no signs of being intimated.
That was until Gabriel upped the ante. Upon instruction, the men left in the line-up, made tracks back to the house. Conversation stalled, the remaining men continuing with their leering. Nina didn’t break. She was strong. She would fight this. She was tougher than I gave her credit for back at the restaurant.
The man reappeared and I froze. He had a bound and still badly injured Jair Ruiz in tow. Thanks to the gunshot wound to the thigh, he was dragged by the Santos man before being dumped next to Nina.
Gabriel smiled, delighted. It was all working in his favor.
I have brought everything to him on a silver platter.
This was all my doing.
My fault.
Nina turned to the strange man, her confused face coming into view.
She never met the real Jair Ruiz.
Ruiz’s mouth was moving at rapid speed, Nina hanging onto every word. He would be revealing everything. Telling her truth and unraveling all my lies.
Gabriel, on the other hand, was losing patience, growing irate when Ruiz refused to shut it.
I could feel the tension from the window, the Santos men growing fidgety. My finger itched on the trigger. I would end all this now, sacrifice never coming face to face with Luis Santos, if this got out of hand.
“Cállate!” Gabriel barked at Ruiz who continued to ignore the warnings.
And then it all began.
The first shot was fired, the bullet belonging to Gabriel. Ruiz’s body jolted on impact, the booming crack echoing over the Mexican plane.
Nina screamed, and my stomach plummeted. All Santos men in the line-up raised their weapons, each firing until their magazine was empty. Ruiz’s body was pummeled with bullets, a thick spray of red coating Nina. She half-screamed, half-cried, until shock set in and she fell quiet.
Silence descended.
Ruiz’s massacred body finally collapsed on the blood-soaked earth.
Nina swayed like a leaf in the breeze, numb.
“Fucking Jesus,” I swore under my breath, my own shock slowly ebbing.
Though she wore the blood of Ruiz, Nina was unharmed.
They needed her. But how long that would last, I didn’t know.
Ruiz was a warning.
A promise of things to come.
“Was that necessary?”
Gabriel paused. He had been pouring his second whiskey when I walked in. “What’s the problem, brother?” A smirked itched his face. “I didn’t touch your precious cargo, I thought you’d be happy about that.”
“Nina was a target, simple as that,” I dismissed his insinuation with a stoic face. “But she is also an innocent woman. She’s not one of the asshole smugglers caught cutting some off the side. She’s not a Baja.”
“A little bit of fear never goes astray.” He downed the second glass and poured a third. “She’ll be more co-operative. Less inclined to waste my time. Luis will be here soon, and I need the transfer to be successful.”
“We’re assuming she knows. She’s only a rookie.”
“Well…” he grinned like his care factor was slim, “…let’s just hope she has what I need.” Gabriel tossed his glass on the table and it wobbled side to side. “I’d hate for her pretty face to end up like Jair Ruiz.”
“Where’s the man who brought me here?” I heard her say as I walked through the door.
Her eyes met mine, anger flashing in them as she prepared her assault.
I expected it.
This was the first time Nina had seen me since the hotel in Tucson. She had showered, no longer covered with death.
“You bastard!” she screamed, springing from her chair.
I wanted to calm her, to whisper in her ear that I was sorry and to reassure that I would keep her safe.
But I didn’t and I couldn’t.
Instead, she met my feigned indifference, which only incensed her further.
“Why did you do this to me? People are dying because of you!”
A Santos man pulled her flailing body away and threw her carelessly to the ground. I itched to break his face for being so rough. Gabriel watched carefully for my reaction. I gave him none. Nina’s face reddened and tears gushed down her cheeks
“Who are you?” Her voice caught with emotion.
“Around these parts of town…” Gabriel answered, “…he’s known as el cazador.”
She scoffed. “What does that even mean?”
“Your daddy was Sinaloa was he not?”
Gabriel just couldn’t help himself. He just had to knock her down another peg or two.
She looked winded. “Yes.”
“And yet you know nothing of your native tongue?”
“How do you know about my father?”
He made a show of rolling up his sleeves. “Let’s just say we had an interesting business relationship.”
“You worked with him? Then you’d know he was brutally murdered.”
“What can I say? When your time’s up, it’s up! El cazador…” Gabriel continued, “…means the hunter. Fitting don’t you think?” He wore a wide patronizing smirk. “I hear you were quite the target.”
Once again, heat flushed her cheeks, this time for a different reason. She turned to me, scathing. “I trusted you! You lied to me the entire time.”
“Cariña…” I finally spoke. It came out too affectionate, Gabriel cocking his brow in response. I changed my tone. I became the asshole she now saw m
e as. “I never once lied. You believed what you wanted to hear, interpreted how you saw fit.”
“You never told me you worked for them.”
“I didn’t need to.”
“But you killed Santos men, back at the convenience store.”
“There’s a bounty on your head,” Gabriel chimed in, happy to deliver yet another blow. “All ranks had you marked as prey.”
“So you just kill them if they get in your way?” Indignation was mistaken for confusion.
“Pawns. That’s all they were, and that’s all you are.”
“Fuck you,” she spat. “I’ve got nothing to do with this.”
Gabriel snickered before advancing. Fisting and pulling her hair until she squealed, he threw Nina onto her back. A searing, boiling raged coursed through my veins. I knew he was doing this to antagonize me, to warrant a reaction.
“I can see why you took your time getting the bitch down here,” he egged further.
I gave him nothing.
“Time to take my cut, perhaps?” He leered, and Nina shuddered. “Was she this feisty for you, Hunter?”
“She practically begged for it.” I hated every word. I needed him off my case. The more he persisted, the more Nina would be hurt.
“Is that so?” He seemed pleased. “I can give rough if you like it that way, puta. Just say the word. Or I can take you nice and slow and watch you squirm underneath me.”
“Perhaps we should put her to work,” I interrupted.
Gabriel turned to me, amused. “Come on. You’re like a brother to me, Hunter. No harm in sharing is there? Or is she, different?” More bait.
“I don’t see the point in wasting time. Where’s Luis Santos?”
I needed to bring him back to reality. Back to why she was here to begin with.
Gabriel lost all humor. “You’re not here to do business with my uncle. Anything you have to say can go through me. That’s how it’s always been.”
“Santos owes me. And until the transaction is made, I’ll stick around. And if he shows his face, even better.”
This answer apparently was hysterical. “Got some balls on you, Hunter. That’s why you get the jobs done. A word of advice, though. If, and that’s a big if, Santos shows his face, you my friend better duck for cover.”
“Don’t fuck me over, bonita, or you too will be begging for your life.” Gabriel’s warning could be heard through the door. He’s dragged Nina back to the bedroom she would be locked in during her stay. I paced, back and forth in the hallway catching snippets of the conversation.
I heard his expectations, what it was he wanted from her.
He referenced the Baja cartel and Evan Jacobs as a combined threat.
Taunts concerning Garcia’s death and how he deserved everything he got.
But the threat against her own life should she fail cooperation? That was the last straw.
I opened the door and saw Nina on the floor hugging her knees to her chest. Gabriel sat perched in front, his fingers digging painfully into her cheeks.
I cleared my throat.
“What?” he barked.
“I need a moment with the girl.”
“Is that so?” Gabriel questioned, amused. Instead of leaving, he drew Nina in close. Gaging her fear, he kissed her hard in a show of arrogance. She squirmed and pushed against his chest until finally he stood and stepped away. “Later,” he promised, knocking shoulders with me as he left.
Nina wiped furiously at her mouth, her glare hard and full of hurt. She moved to the edge of the bed no longer hugging her knees. At least her defense had somewhat dropped.
“Cariña,” I began.
“Don’t!”
“Look at me.” She stared at the wall. “Look. At. Me.”
“What do you want?” Her jaw was locked, ready for battle.
“I never lied to you.”
“Are you serious? You used me from the moment I met you! In fact, before that, you were working on ways to manipulate me from the very beginning.”
“That part is true.”
She winced.
“You’ve got everything you ever wanted from me. So just leave. Go!”
“I haven’t got everything,” I replied, eyes narrowed.
She stared, almost seeing through me.
“Do you ever feel ashamed for what you have done? Do you even feel a thing?”
“I feel a great deal. Unfortunately, I have allowed my personal judgment to hinder my business.”
“Personal? You used sex to manipulate. Don’t get it confused with anything else.” She rose from the bed and I closed the door. “I guess you can add my name to the score card. I suppose you even enjoyed telling me how trusting I was. How I should be careful who I let into my life, when all along it was you I needed to avoid. Did I provide a good laugh while I brought your production to life?”
“You did make it easy.”
She swung and hit my cheek. It was a slap I deserved.
“You fucking asshole.” She went to strike again, but I intercepted, catching her wrist and gently but forceful enough, twisted her arm behind her back. She screamed as we fell to the bed, me landing on top, lips grazing her ear.
“Having you underneath me…” I whispered. “Listening to you scream with my face between your legs. The way your back arches while you come. None of that was manipulation. I fucking loved every part of it, as did you.” My hard cock pressed against her ass. “And I would do it all over again if it meant I could taste your pussy and have you wet for me.”
“Get off me!”
“You look so beautiful when I move inside of you.”
“Please, just get off me.”
My hand slipped between us, grazing her pussy from behind. “I intrigue you just as much as you intrigue me. Even in a situation as this…” sliding one finger in, she gasped, “…you still crave to feel me as much as I do you.”
“That’s not true,” she said, unconvinced, tears dropping on the pillow. “Why have you led me to my death?”
Rolling Nina onto her back, I straddled her legs. In case she swung again, I held her hands above her head swept my free hand along the back side of the bedhead.
“What are you doing?” she asked, confused.
“Shhh,” I warned before finding what I was looking for. Nina tilted her head and watched my every move. I pulled the bug no bigger than a thimble free before opening the side drawer and dropping it in.
I lowered my mouth to her ear and whispered, “Keep your voice low. There will be more of those and they’ll hear everything we say. Do you understand?”
Her eyes widened, cautious, nervous.
“Do you understand?” I asked again.
She nodded, beautiful brows frowning in question.
“I haven’t led you to your death. I have a purpose. A reason for being here. You can look at yourself as bait, but the fact is, very soon their eyes won’t be on you.”
“So why am I here?” she barely breathed. “A distraction?”
“In a way, yes. Keeping you alive is my number one priority, cariña. You will be walking out of this. But understand, I will not rest until this cartel is brought to its knees.”
“You’re a part of this cartel, why would you destroy it?”
“I’ve been in Special Forces for many years, specializing in bringing down terrorists and cartels. This one however, the department won’t touch. And it just so happens this particular one is on top of my kill list. For reasons I cannot divulge. But trust me when I say, they have what’s coming to them. I’ve never met Evan Jacobs, but I have reason to believe he did not have your best interests at heart. I also do not belong to a cartel.”
“Your tattoo? Of the Virgin Mary?”
“Merely to assimilate. I’ve been building foundations within the framework for two years waiting for Luis Santos to show his face. He’s my target. You and the promise of a paycheck, a hefty one at that, could well be what I need for him to crawl out from under his ro
ck.”
“I don’t know how to break into the national security base. I—”
“Cariña, I don’t expect you to.”
“What? What am I doing here then?”
“They know you’ve worked on fraud related cases. They know you’re FBI. They know you can make things happen. Because of Garcia’s connections to the cartel, he inadvertently made you their target.”
“What did he have to do with them? I know he wouldn’t have been helping willingly.”
For the next few minutes I filled in the gaps.
Garcia and his connection with Evan Jacobs.
The case is known as the Narcotic Triangle between three rivaling cartels.
The missing money.
Garcia’s involvement.
Wayward allegiances within the FBI criminal fraud agency.
How Evan Jacobs was caught, suspended, and was now a heavily watched man.
The FBI freezing the disputed drug money.
How Evan Jacobs had set her up.
How the real Jair Ruiz wanted the same thing as Gabriel and didn’t care whether she lived or died.
“You think you’re doing a better job at protecting me?” She didn’t disguise her sarcasm.
“Cariña, I will shoot any man who threatens your life. I know you’re trained in this. I disagree with it being the job for you, but you know how to take on anyone.”
“Why didn’t you tell me this earlier?”
“Would you have come?”
She scoffed. “No!”
“There’s your answer. I need you, cariña.”
“But why? Can’t you track down Luis Santos yourself?”
“He is elusive. Like any lead cartel figure, he keeps himself well hidden. But I know that this is something that will bring him out of hiding.”
“And if it doesn’t?”
“Plan B.”
Nina Cross among many things was a good actor.
She took everything I’d said earlier in her stride and showed no resentment for it. Knowing there was a better time and place to seek answers, she hadn’t enquired.
Nina Cross was incredible.
Now, with a laptop in front on the large mahogany table she sat under the scrutiny of Gabriel and Felix. Felix was a man I trusted. A man who if shit went south, would have my back.