“Shall I shoot him?” I question, focusing on my target.
“Not yet,” he answers.
“And when you do, don’t kill him. We want him alive,” Bradley responds, exhaling loudly. “T, nod if you’re ready. Everhart, you know what to do.”
My heart beats fast as I get ready to shoot. My finger is on the trigger, my eyes set on Wilson.
“Are you sure you can’t give us a few minutes?” Luna touches his forearm, not moving it. Her left leg bends lightly. “We’re driving back to the airport. Our flight leaves in a couple of hours. I just want to know about the area. This neighborhood seems friendly and safe. But we want to know more about the places where we can invest—” She clears her throat— “our money. Schools are important.”
The man narrows his gaze at Luna, then looks to Tiago. “You’ll have to excuse me, but I have to leave. I’m on a deadline.”
He takes a step forward. Luna swings his arm counterclockwise, kicking the back of his knee with her right leg. He falls on his back. With a swift movement, she lifts her arm, pulling one of the chopsticks from her hair. Squatting, she points it against his throat. “I’m on a deadline too, Mr. Wilson. Where is Esteban?”
Tiago sets his industrial boot on top of his forehead. “I suggest you answer her.”
“You’re too late,” he says, laughing.
“To kill you?” Luna says. “I don’t think so.”
“Big guy, there’s movement in—”
A gunshot interrupts me. I fire my weapon, the first gunman drops to the ground, right by the entrance. But there’s a second one. Tiago moves his entire body to the left, covering Luna from the second round of bullets.
“Motherfucker,” he groans. “This hurts like hell.”
I move the target, shooting the man who is coming toward them with an AK-47. Luna throws her weapon like a knife, hitting his forehead. The two men fall almost simultaneously to the ground. With all the commotion, Wilson rolls to the side, pushing Luna away from him.
“Watch my back, Harry. There’re more men inside coming after us. Someone help my brother,” Luna orders.
Faster than I would’ve thought possible, she leaps to her feet and takes out another one of her sharp hair accessories. She throws it toward Wilson, hitting him right on his spine. His back arches a bit in pain. The hit makes him stop briefly, but then he continues jogging toward the car. Luna pulls one of her bracelets, straightening it and using it as a blade. She tosses it as if it were a Ninja star hitting him on the side of the neck. Then a second one lands on his left arm.
She wears weapons, not jewelry. What the fuck? I went through airport security with an armed woman and no one fucking noticed?
This woman is my fucking hero.
I move my attention toward the door, shooting two men who are opening fire as they rush toward the entrance. Tiago is no longer on the floor. Where the fuck did he go?
“T?”
“We are inside,” Bradley responds. “Keep an eye on the outside details.”
“Shoot the tires,” Luna orders, taking her shoes off and speeding toward him. “Someone stop that car before they leave.”
I fire three rounds to the back tires. “Done. Whoever is on the ground, go and get the driver,” I say as she’s about to leave the car. I shoot her once on the left leg and twice on her hand. “Well, she’s going to need medical attention.”
My eyes go back to Luna. She is about to catch up with Wilson. When she’s right next to him, she pulls the stick from his back making him jolt. Then, she kicks him in the knee, flips to the left, and kicks him with the other leg in the jaw.
Wilson groans, as his head snaps back and he falls to the ground. He rolls on the pavement and Luna pulls one of her ribbon bracelets off her arm. Her foot goes around his neck, and she lowers her body, grabbing his hands.
“I suggest you stay put and start talking. Where’s Esteban?” She ties his hands together, then repeats the same operation on his feet.
“You can kill me,” Wilson says. “I won’t talk.”
She laughs, shaking her head. “Lovely wish, but I’d rather turn you in to the authorities.”
“And what do you think the authorities will do to me, bitch?”
Luna touches her sternum. “Oh no, you called me a bad name.” She punches him right in the nose. I hear the crack of his bones.
“Fuck. She’s insane.” Hawk clears his throat.
“What’s next, whore, cunt? I don’t care what you say.” She pulls his hair, moving his head closer to where her face is. “Right now, I own you. You’re my bitch. And by authorities, I meant the FBI.” She releases her hold and pats his cheeks.
Luna pulls the last stick holding her hair. She draws a line across his neck with the sharp edge. Wilson’s eyes widen. “I’m losing my patience. Tell me where Esteban is?” Her voice is vicious.
“We found him,” Tiago announces.
Mason has the kid in his arms. “Hawk, call Aspen. Esteban is unconscious. He’s breathing, but we found some medication next to him. I texted her the picture. Tell her that I think they were drugging him. I want to know if we can do something to help as we drive him to the hospital.”
“You got it, boss.” Hawk takes his phone.
The boss looks around, then walks toward one of the vans we drove in. “Everyone pick up and let’s move this party. The forensic team should arrive here soon. Please, go through the house and take all the evidence that you can gather.”
“Santillan, what have I told you about littering the streets?” He shakes his head. “Untie his feet and pick him up. We’re sending him and his wife on a first-class trip to FBI headquarters.”
Luna does as she’s told and orders him to stand up.
“I can’t feel my legs,” Wilson complains.
“Oops.” Luna sighs, her shoulders slumping. “I might have damaged his spinal nerves.” She shrugs. “Who knows what happened. I’m not a doctor.”
Bradley grins at her. “You did great, kid. I think I like you more than your brother.”
I can feel myself finally starting to relax when she climbs in the van with Bradley. We have to clean the area, and I won’t see her for several hours, but I know she’s safe. And fuck, she was amazing. We have to have her on our team.
Harrison: You did awesome.
Luna: You weren’t bad, Harry. Thank you for having my back.
Chapter Thirty-Five
Luna
I toss my bag under my airplane seat. I can feel the adrenaline finally settling after the longest day I’ve had since college. Thirty-six hours of continuous rush and zero sleep. I’ve drunk what feels like gallons of matcha green tea and coffee during the past couple of days.
Closing the case wasn’t my responsibility, but after the strenuous past five hours, I’d rather have done the paperwork. After we arrived at the hospital, we spent several hours answering questions to the local authorities. I called Lucas to arrange the transfer of the Wilsons and spoke with Esteban’s parents about the rescue and his condition when we found him.
Thanks to the help of Aspen, Hawk’s fiancée—who I discovered is a pediatrician—the hospital was able to treat him fast. The doctors said that though the medication given to him along with sedatives were dangerous, they didn’t cause too much damage. I plan to ask Aspen about some of the medical terms they used when talking about his condition. The last time we checked on Esteban, he was sleeping peacefully.
Playing the part of the calm, never shaken agent wasn’t hard, but I was on edge. During the few hours I was in the hospital with Esteban, we came to learn that Tiago, Hawk, and Harrison were on a manhunt. Some of the cops in the city had aided Wilson since the beginning. The men were at large and armed with high-caliber weapons.
I concentrated on the job. A case isn’t closed until everything is settled. But the awareness that Harrison and my brother were still in danger didn’t settle well with me. Anxiety swelled up inside me, threatening to swallow me from the i
nside out. Breathing became almost impossible. It felt like my lungs were collapsing under the stress.
Relief arrived in the form of good news. They had tied all the loose ends and were on their way to Texas to meet Lucas and his FBI team, who are going to take care of Wilson and his people. Then, Harrison and the rest of the crew would fly to HQ. I had no idea what headquarters they referred to—the FBI or their company? Are they going to New York or Seattle?
The lightness of knowing that everyone is all right balanced the weight of the stress and heavy work I experienced since we boarded the plane. But soon, relief and tiredness invade my body. I yawn, closing my eyes briefly to suppress the need to break down into tears. It’s normal to collapse after going through an extreme physical and emotional journey, but I refuse to show the rest of the team any weakness.
They might claim not to be like the FBI, but they are still men who can judge me for not looking strong and manly. Though, I would trade my regular job for one of these cases any day of the week.
“As I said earlier, you did amazing, from beginning to end. I do wonder how you’re feeling after being awake for so long?” Mason asks, taking off his bulletproof jacket and shoving it in the overhead compartment. “We all took a nap, except for you and Harrison, who insisted on staying up as long as you did.”
“I’m exhausted,” I respond, finally taking a seat and putting on my seat belt.
Harrison’s actions were cute. That’s how I decided to compartmentalize it until we were done working. Now that everything is over, all I can think about is how much I’m dying to see him, to hug him, kiss him, to make sure he’s all right.
“We’re about to take off, everyone be seated.” The announcement comes right after they close the jet’s door.
“What happened to cordiality?” I complain. This might be a private flight, but hello, where are his manners? United’s greetings are better than this guy’s.
“My pilot has too little patience for us,” Mason responds quietly. “He’s one of my closest friends and one of the best pilots I have. He does pretty much whatever he wants, but he always keeps us alive.”
“We will be taking off in a few minutes. The weather looks ideal for a late-night flight. We plan on landing in about seven hours.” He pauses, clearing his throat as he comes back to the speaker. “I’ve been informed by the other pilot that the other team is still in Texas. I will update on their whereabouts as they update me.”
I wonder if they are referring to Lucas and the team that went to catch Juan Carlos Medina. I don’t ask.
Everyone finds their seats and starts settling down. I pull my purse out, take out the NYU hoodie that Harrison loaned me and the wireless headphones he bought me on the way to the airport to make myself comfortable. If I’m lucky, I might even get a few hours of sleep.
“Where did you learn how to fight?” Mason asks, his face creased with a smile. I’m about to give him an answer when his phone rings.
“Hello, my Nine, I miss you, baby,” he utters the words, and they sound like a chant, a prayer, an entire love song. “It’s over, yes… we found him. I thought of Noah and Seth too. Yeah, on my way. About six hours, we have to refuel in California.”
He frowns when he checks his watch. “Breakfast, I should be there by breakfast. I can’t wait to see you either…love you more.”
“Sorry, I had to take this call.”
“Who are Noah and Seth?”
“My kids.” He taps the screen and shows me a picture of him with a gorgeous woman under his arm and three little ones with them. “Ainsley is my wife, Grace is our princess, Seth is the one in the middle, and Noah is our little one.”
“Wow, you have three kids.”
“Four,” he corrects me. “James, our oldest, is in heaven.”
“I’m so sorry,” I say, pressing my lips together. I can’t imagine the pain of losing a child.
“You have some impressive skills. What is it that you do at the FBI?”
The abrupt change of subject doesn’t surprise me. He’s shown that he’s a man with an agenda who is also reserved, and he has a plan: like Harrison, he wants me on their payroll. I just don’t know what I want to do with that offer.
“Profiling,” I answer easily. “My undercover work is minimal, and they’re trying to transfer me to Quantico.”
This man has to know this already. He’s too precise and too technical to offer me a job on the spot without more information than what he witnessed over the past couple of days.
Is he about to make me a formal offer? Should I accept? I’m not ready to analyze an offer, let alone accept it. Though, I admit that having the freedom to proceed as I feel best is liberating.
“And Luc Santillan is your brother too, right?”
“Yes,” I confirm. “He’s younger than Santiago but older than me.”
I’m puzzled about why he didn’t know about Luc or me. Why hasn’t Tiago mentioned us before? I thought he loved us.
We have to have a serious talk about this, but I want to give him the benefit of the doubt. Maybe he’s like our father and likes to compartmentalize everything, his family included. They never mix things together. Each part of their life is separate: work, family, friends, love lives, and everything else.
Lucas does it sometimes, but I don’t allow him to keep things from me. I don’t care if he doesn’t share with anyone else.
“We might want to keep him working for the FBI. He can be a double agent. At least for the first year,” he says, looking at his phone. “He helped immensely today. We were able to catch Juan Carlos Medina almost at the same time as we rescued Esteban. Are your fighting skills part of what they taught you at the Academy?”
I can’t help but laugh. “Dad wanted me to learn martial arts, like the boys. That didn’t mean that I would fight, only that I could defend myself. He was hoping I’d be a teacher, like Mom.”
His eyes land on my face, they are wide. “I never thought of that. Fuck, what if Grace wants to do what I do?”
“You support her,” I advise. “Without giving her any shit about it.”
“I assume that your father isn’t happy with your choice.”
“I continued training with different martial art teachers and learned how to use weapons.” I touch my bracelets. Like him, there are things I’m not planning on sharing just yet. “I joined the FBI because I thought I’d be in the field, chasing bad guys.”
Lara Croft and Wonder Woman were my heroes back then. I wanted to be just like them. I believed that anything was possible. After years on the job, I know that anything is possible as long as it’s approved by my supervisor. After I had filed the necessary paperwork and as long as it followed protocol.
“The real world is different. I get to do some stuff, but not everything I wanted to do when I decided to join the FBI.” I say, pulling my hair into a low ponytail. “All my weapons are mostly jewelry. I don’t like guns. Tiago gave me these beauties.”
“You’re welcome,” Mason says proudly. “It took me a couple of years to design them. My sister helped me with them, she’s a jewelry maker.”
“They’re yours?” I ask, surprised.
“Tiago volunteered to find us someone to try them. He’s never given me a report on how they work.” He nods. “I assume they do their job.”
“I use them mostly when I’m training.” I stare at my bracelets, which are gorgeous. “Tell your sister that she’s an amazing designer.”
“Thea will be happy to hear that,” he says with a smile. “Send me your feedback so I can work on them. I’ll be searching for a way to get you armor that you can use when you’re in the field.”
I swallow, nodding. Back at the house, I thought today was going to be my last one. The bullets hit Tiago, but if he hadn’t moved in front of me… Those seconds after he had been shot felt like hours. But thankfully, he was breathing.
He puts his phone away and pulls out his computer from his backpack. “Don’t you think we can solve
more cases faster if you join us?”
I swallow hard, looking at my hands and then back at him. “Are you offering me a job?”
He clears his throat. “Yes. I’m not asking you to decide now, but think about the offer that Harrison put on the table. You’ll be a good addition.”
Chapter Thirty-Six
Luna
My heart thuds inside my rib cage, threatening to jump ship when I see Harrison standing right outside the airplane, holding a bouquet of flowers and a couple of metallic balloons. A sudden storm of emotions swells within me, expanding with every step I take towards him. He’s here, waiting for me, safe. I break down in tears as every single event that happened since we boarded the plane finally hits me.
“Fuck, you’re exhausted,” he says gently, harboring my body between his arms. “Did you sleep at all?”
I shake my head and try to control myself, but there are only two things I can do: cry and hold onto him tightly. I grit my teeth, fighting to control my tears but they come faster as the rage travels through my veins, frustrated that all these people are witnessing me breaking down.
“Harrison, make sure that the two of you visit the counselor before heading back to New York,” Mason orders. “Luna, this is the only time you can work on a mission without sleeping for so long. We have certain rules too. You have to take care of your emotional and physical health.”
I dry my tears roughly, pushing myself away from Harrison’s grasp. His eyes soften as he hands me the flowers. “We’ll sleep for a few hours before we file our reports. And after what happened, we are required to visit the therapist.”
“I didn’t shoot anyone,” I say with a steady voice.
“You killed one person using your weapons.” He touched my bracelets. “Fuck, you’re the coolest kid on the block now.”
He kisses my cheek. “Let’s go home, sleep for a few hours and then discuss what’s next, please?”
“Home?” I look around. “This is Seattle. You live here?”
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