by Misty Evans
“Cartel leaders?”
“How did he know about me?”
“Agent Blue told him about both of us.”
“Bastard.”
“Rodrigo killed him.”
“I figured as much from what Lexie told me. I can’t say I’m sorry. Revenge for you outing him?”
“More likely to save his own skin. He claimed to have brokered a deal between Morales and the Attorney General. Morales was going to give up all his contacts in exchange for an easy sentence.”
She cut her eyes to him. “Seriously?”
“Makes sense, but then Blue threatened Lexie, not knowing Morales was standing behind him.”
“He would kill a child?” Her sigh was heavy. “What a…pig.”
She cocked her chin toward the anaconda who was fighting a useless battle with the stick. “What did you do to him?”
“He’s got a mouthful of chair leg.”
“I’m glad you’re…okay.”
“Me, too.”
“You have to go get Rodrigo. Make sure…Lexie’s safe.”
“I’m not leaving you.”
“I’ll be okay.”
“That snake could still crush you.”
Her fingers searched off to the side for something, found the discarded knife. “Not if I slit his throat first.”
Nelson smiled at her bravado. “If you pass out from blood loss, you’ll be easy pickins.”
She leaned to her right and came up on her elbow, cringing and grabbing her side with her free hand. “Then we’ll go together.”
He put a hand on her shoulder. “Sophie—”
“Don’t Sophie me.” She shrugged him off, rolled up onto her knees. “We’re sitting ducks here. Rodrigo has probably already sent one of his other men to come finish us off.”
“Xavier is the only one left and he’s injured. Rodrigo will need him to load up the getaway car and drive.”
“Unless he and Kristine have already run off.” She sat back on her heels, swaying ever so slight. “And only if Rodrigo decides to leave in the storm. If he comes to his senses, he’ll stay put in the house.”
Nelson touched her shoulder again, more to steady her than stop her. Arguments abounded on his tongue, but he kept them to himself. She was right.
There was no good answer. He couldn’t leave her here, but taking her with him to hunt down Morales could kill her.
She locked eyes with him over her shoulder. “Please, Nels. This is my last shot to take Rodrigo down.”
Reaching out, he carefully helped her to her feet. “Go slow,” he said. “Keep pressure on your side. I can carry you if you want.”
She let out a strange laugh. From pain? From him offering to be her knight in less-than-shining armor?
He got her to her feet and she reached into her pocket and handed him his phone. “Call your boss.”
He punched in his passcode but there was no signal. “Storm’s knocked out cell towers.”
She laughed again. A crazy, low-pitched laugh that made the hairs on the back of his neck stand up. “Of course it did. Let’s go.”
They started toward the door, him hobbling on his busted ankle, her hobbling due to her side. She slipped on the bloody tiles and he tightened his hold, nearly losing his own balance. Now it was his turn to laugh. “We’re not doing so good here.”
“We’re fine,” she mockingly lied. “Two tough agents like us? We can handle anything.”
“Don’t tempt fate,” he said as they started forward once more.
A boom of thunder rocked the building. Lightning zigzagged outside the window and Nelson heard the sound of a tree splitting. A huge branch busted through the window, sending glass everywhere.
They ducked.
A heartbeat later, the lights went out.
Sophie blinked, trying to adjust to the sudden overwhelming darkness. “Oops.”
“You had to tempt fate, didn’t you,” Nelson said.
Boy, were they in a pickle. If they survived this, Sophie was going to do something nice for herself. Treat herself to a spa day. Eat chocolate every night before bed. Take a desk job.
Really, there were so many nice things she could do.
Beside her, Nelson took a step forward, his hand around her waist—high enough to avoid her injury, but low enough to stabilize her—and guided her to do the same.
“Do you have a flashlight?” she asked.
“Yeah, on my phone, but I feel the wind coming through the broken window. The door is three feet south of that. Trust me. I’ll get you there.”
The howling wind didn’t drown out the sounds of the anaconda thrashing around behind them. “Do snakes see well in the dark?”
“How the hell do I know?”
Her cheek throbbed and her stomach threatened to heave up the previous evening’s dinner. Thankfully, she could no longer feel the burning pain in her side. It had gone numb. Like her hands.
Probably not a good sign, but she could breathe easier without that pain and move faster. “Let’s get out of here.”
They stepped forward, glass crunching under their feet, rain blowing in. Sure enough, Nelson’s internal GPS was right and they arrived at the door a moment later without the benefit of light.
“It’s locked from the outside,” Sophie said. “I heard Morales lock it when he left.”
“Fuck.”
“Can you pick it?”
“I have a better idea.”
He released her and moved her gently aside. A second later, he reared back and kicked the door open.
“I like your style,” she said, over the howling wind.
Debris blew in at them and Sophie shielded her eyes. The tree had blown down in front of the exit.
Nelson raised his voice. “We either climb over it or we find the back exit.”
“I’m not going back inside with that…that thing loose in there. His jaws are massive. He could snap the stick at any moment.”
“You’ve got your knife.”
He was making fun of her, but in a way to take her mind off their predicament. “You’re welcome to it if you want to take on a giant, man-eating snake in the dark.”
“We’ve already come this far. Waste of time to go back.”
“Exactly what I was thinking.”
“Come this way,” he called, edging along the building’s wall. His body shifted to step over a large branch. “Up and over, Agent Diaz.”
Once outside, they had to quit talking and Sophie had to duck her head. The wind blew like a vacuum against her face, sucking her breath away and plastering her hair to her skin. It seemed to take an hour just to get to the corner of the building. They finally made it and started toward the house.
What seemed like another hour passed as they trudged headfirst into the wind. Nelson finally shifted her behind him, like she had done with Lexie, making her hold onto his belt as he plowed through the gusting wind and rain.
Soon, she couldn’t feel her entire left side at all. Her feet dragged, slogged down in the mud. She closed her eyes, focusing on putting one foot in front of the other, blindly gripping Nelson’s shirt.
Yep, definitely putting in for a day job.
If she had a job left after this.
First, I have to make it out alive.
There were no lights on at the house. The falling tree must have taken out a power line.
If Rodrigo was still inside, what were they going to do? Neither she nor Nelson was in any condition to fight. What would they do with Lexie?
Lost in her thoughts, she was surprised when Nelson pulled up short, grabbed her around the waist again, and gently hauled her out of the elements.
They were in the kitchen at the back of the house, the white appliances seeming to glow in the dark. Gasping for air, Sophie leaned against the door and sluiced water off her face. “What’s your plan?” she murmured.
Nelson stood close, catching his breath as well. “Find Morales and kill him.”
“Not in
front in Lexie.”
“I may not have a choice.”
“I have a better plan. Let me find him and arrest him.”
“We have no gun, no cuffs, and no backup.”
“We have each other.”
“Right.” He didn’t sound all that confident about her plan. “How about you stay here and guard this door in case he tries to escape. I’ll see if I can flush him out.”
“This is my operation so it’s my call. My bust.”
“You’re not exactly in the best condition to take him on.”
She had lost steam a long time ago, but determination gave her a boost of adrenaline. “I have a gun hidden in the tiny office he let me use for the accounting stuff. Can you retrieve it?”
He hesitated. Overhead they heard footsteps, the thud of a heavy bag.
Still here.
“Where in the office is it?”
“Taped underneath the desk on the left side.”
“Stay here.” He kissed her forehead. “Back in a minute.”
“Promise you won’t kill him, Nels. I’m serious. He’s mine.”
“I told you from the start, I’m not here to steal your case.”
As he slipped off into the darkness toward the little office down the hall, Sophie counted to ten, then silently headed for the staircase. While Nelson was busy retrieving her gun, she was going to take down the son-of-a-bitch who’d left her to die with a snake.
Chapter Thirty-two
A gun would be nice but Nelson didn’t think he’d need it and he was pretty sure Sophie didn’t want it. She was in bad shape and probably couldn’t make it up the stairs to track down Morales anyway.
His gut told him this trip was a goose chase. After all they’d been through, she had manipulated him out of the way so she could go after Morales alone.
He was a man who didn’t admit to having his feelings hurt, but damn it. His feelings did hurt.
Staying in the shadows, he heard her soft, slow footsteps on the stairs. So faint, they were difficult to hear over the raging storm, but yep, she was going after Morales alone. Which in her condition was stupid.
Still, it wouldn’t hurt to be armed, and as slow as she was moving, he had time to grab the gun and catch her.
His eyes had adjusted to the darkness and he moved as swiftly as his injured ankle would allow. His fingers ran across two strips of duct tape and he quickly unstrapped the weapon from its hiding place. Then he half hopped-half ran as fast as he could out of the office.
And pulled up short at the sound of a gun being cocked.
Morales’s pale face emerged from a shadow near the kitchen doorway. “I should have slit your throat.”
Anger surging through his limbs, Nelson flipped the safety off Sophie’s gun and raised it to point at the man.
“A game of chicken, is it?” Morales gave a derisive grunt. “You think I won’t shoot to kill?”
“I think if you actually managed to kill me, it would be by accident.” He was ready to pull the trigger, end this here and now. Sophie’s words echoed in his head. Promise me you won’t kill him. “But either way…”
Nelson heard Sophie yell, “Nels, stop!” right before he lowered the gun a few inches and shot Morales…
…in the knee.
Morales buckled, grabbing his leg and swearing as he winced in pain. He hopped on one leg, trying to keep his gun trained on Nelson. Nelson stepped forward and kicked the gun out of his hand.
The weapon went off, the bullet whizzing past Nelson’s ear and hitting the wall behind him.
“No!” Sophie hobbled down the stairs off to his right as Nelson closed the last bit of distance to Morales and kicked the guy in the balls. Morales curled up like a baby, making a choking sound.
“What did you do?” Sophie said, shoving Nelson away from the cartel leader. “I told you not to shoot him.”
“You told me not to kill him.” Nelson picked up Morales’s gun and handed it to her. “And I didn’t, although I wanted to. Make your bust, Agent Diaz. He’s all yours.”
Sophie took the gun and stared at him as he went back into the office. He grabbed the duct tape strips hanging under the desk and went back to her.
“Best I can do to tie him up since we left your cuffs in the apartment, and by the Holy Mother, I’m not going back out in this friggin’ storm tonight.”
She pointed at the tape. “We’ll need more than that. There’s a roll of it in the bottom left drawer of my desk. Should be a flashlight in there too.”
“Maria-Sophia?” a tiny voice called from the top of the stairs.
“Go back to your room,” Sophie called to the girl. “I’ll be up to explain everything in a moment.”
In the office, Nelson found the tape and flashlight. When he emerged, Sophie had slid down the wall, her hand holding the gun wobbling.
“I read him his rights,” she mumbled, “but you’re going to have to tie him up.”
Shock.
He made quick work of tying up Morales, then went to the kitchen and rummaged around in the fridge until he found what he wanted. Snagging a bottle of Lexie’s juice and a straw, he ran back to Sophie.
He made her sip the liquid. “You’ve lost a lot of blood. I need to have a look at the wound.”
She didn’t argue. “I’m sleepy.”
“No sleeping. Not yet. We have to talk to Lexie.” The juice would help her blood sugar level but not for long. She needed to be in a hospital with an IV and a doctor to care for her injuries.
He took out his phone and checked for a signal. Still nothing.
Morales had a landline, but those were probably out too. Wouldn’t hurt to try, although he doubted he could get anyone there to help even if he could make a call.
He’d seen a lot of injuries in the field. Mostly bullet wounds and bomb casualties while in the army. A medic he wasn’t, but he had basic medical training and knew without a doubt that if he didn’t stop Sophie’s blood loss, she’d be dead before the storm was over and help could arrive.
If there were internal injuries, she’d be dead even sooner.
Behind him, Morales moved and mumbled something. Nelson couldn’t understand the words since he’d taped the man’s mouth shut, but he understood the venom in them.
Taking the gun from Sophie’s grip, he swung around and knocked Morales in the temple.
The man’s eyes rolled up in his head and he fell silent.
“Oops,” Nelson said.
Sophie laughed softly on an exhale. “What are we going to tell Lexie?”
He needed to move her to the bathroom or kitchen. Some place with running water and supplies. But with the hurricane, they needed to go to a safe, interior room. “The truth.”
Scooping her up gently, he headed for the office. It took a few too many precious moments to drag Morales into the kitchen and lock him in the pantry and to check the landline, but Nelson did it anyway. There was no dial tone.
Upstairs, he grabbed Lexie and loaded the service dog’s backpack with gauze and bandages and bottles of alcohol and peroxide. He gave little in the way of explanation, telling the girl that her brother wasn’t feeling well and had gone to lie down, and that Sophie needed their help.
Lexie was up for the job, more to take her mind off of the storm and what she’d overheard earlier in the evening, Nelson guessed, than anything.
An hour later, he’d cleaned Sophie’s wounds and packed her knife injury with gauze. He couldn’t be certain there wasn’t internal damage, but the bleeding had slowed. Using some odds and ends from the kitchen, he created a makeshift IV and ran his own version of saline into Sophie’s arm.
“Will she be okay?” Lexie asked for the dozenth time.
The wind was still gusting and the rain continued to pour, but Nelson could tell the worst was over. They’d heard several tree limbs hit the roof and somewhere from the other end of the mansion, glass had shattered. Morales really should have put up his hurricane shutters.
�
��I think so,” Nelson said.
The girl broke off a piece from the candy bar Nelson had given her and held it out. “Is my brother going to be okay?”
The dog eyed the chocolate. He took the piece from her. “He’ll live.”
“Are you going to tell me what’s really going on?”
God, he sucked at lying. Criminals and cartel leaders? No problem there. But kids? “You should wait and talk to Sophia.”
“She tells me the truth about most things, but not my brother.”
“She cares for you a great deal, Lexie. Remember that, okay?”
Another chunk of chocolate hovered in the air at him. “I’m almost twelve, you know. I’m not a baby anymore. I want to know what’s going on. Rodrigo is not nice to other people, is he?”
Like Nelson’s niece, Lexie was mature for her age. The consequence of having a disability. “No, he’s not.”
“He gets angry sometimes. Did he get angry at Maria-Sophia?”
“Yes, he got angry at both of us.”
The girl patted her dog. “I wish my mom was here. She would know what to do. Maria-Sophia doesn’t have a mom either. She needs us.”
Nelson watched Sophie’s shallow breathing. If he’d hauled her out of the compound when he should have, this wouldn’t have happened. “I’m not so sure about that,” he said.
He had the feeling he needed her much more than she needed him.
Chapter Thirty-three
Twenty-four hours later
San Diego General
“If not for the quick actions of your partner, Ms. Diaz, you wouldn’t be here with us,” the doctor said. Her white lab coat was starched and pressed and nearly blinded Sophie every time she looked at the woman.
My partner. It was on the tip of her lips to tell Dr. O’Hare that she didn’t have a partner. That even though Nelson had saved her life, he hadn’t been by to see her since their return to the States. Hadn’t bothered to call or text either.
Sophie’s hospital gown was pushed aside so the doctor could examine her wound. As Dr. O’Hare ran a gloved hand over the skin, her dark bug-eyes examining every inch, she nodded as if satisfied. “There’s no infection and it appears to be healing nicely. His stitches are a little uneven, so you’ll have an interesting scar, but you’re alive.” She straightened and snapped off her gloves. “You owe him a lot.”