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MATTEO
Landon was stupid as fuck. He’d accepted my story with hardly any questions. I couldn’t understand how the hell he’d succeeded in negotiating with the cartel and involving himself in a government conspiracy. He must have been coached by his father. He’d likely needed a script to follow.
All I’d had to do was tell him Carter had taken me prisoner after Montgomery’s attack on the cartel. I said I’d been held for a while, then I’d escaped, and I made Landon a proposition: I’d bring him Carter if he’d help me get back in the cartel’s good graces. He fucking took the bait.
I left him in his office, telling him I was going to oversee his security since that was one of my areas of expertise. I easily took out the guards in the security office, and I was monitoring the cameras, trying to figure out how many people were inside the building and if there was anyone being held in the numerous cells on the first floor.
When I flipped to the last camera feed, my heart almost stopped. Fucking fuck. This was the last thing I needed. I raced from the room, knowing I had seconds to head off a disaster.
I reached the bottom of the stairs and cursed the noisy doors that sealed in the stairwell. I managed to open one without making any sound that would carry. Then I waited, listening carefully so I could hear the nearly undetectable sound his footsteps made.
When Carter neared the doorway, I jumped out, wrapped my arm around his neck and pulled him against me. “What the fuck are you doing here?”
Instead of answering, he tore at my arm and tried to kick me. I managed to keep him against me, fighting him harder than I normally would. This was life or death, and the stakes rose even higher when I heard Landon calling me. Of all the fucking times for him to decide to leave his office.
I slapped my hand over Carter’s mouth and wrapped my other around his waist to keep him steady. “Don’t fight me, and don’t say a fucking word. If you stay still, everything will be okay.” I could feel his pulse going so fast—too fast—but there was nothing I could do. If I was going to get us out of this alive, I was going to have to play along with Landon for now.
“Oh my God,” Landon said. “Is that my little brother?”
I nodded. “Yes, sir. I saw him on the monitors and grabbed him.”
Carter began to struggle again. I yanked him back against me, but Landon pulled a gun and aimed for his chest.
“I’ve got this,” I said, keeping my voice steady. “Let’s get him in a cell and tie him up.”
“Or we could end this right here.”
Carter stilled against me. He had to be scared, but I hadn’t come this far to lose now. “Would that really be the best move? Don’t you want to question your brother and find out how much he knows? Shouldn’t you figure out how much his interference is going to cost you?”
Carter tried to turn toward me, but I wouldn’t let him. I couldn’t look him in the eye and still be able to do what I was doing.
I wondered how Landon had planned to manage Carter if I hadn’t shown up. I doubted any of the incompetent goons he’d hired could take out Carter, not even as a group. As it was, there was only one way for me to secure him. I hadn’t wanted to go this route, but Landon had fucked everything up.
Clamping my arm tighter around Carter’s neck, I slid my other hand into my pocket, pulled out one of the extra tranquilizer syringes, and jabbed it into the side of his neck. I pulled it out quickly as he thrashed against me, not wanting to let the full dose deploy. Considering I’d drugged him hours ago, that small amount should be enough to knock him out while I dealt with Landon.
Carter struggled for a few seconds, then his movements slowed, and he slumped against me. I wanted to throw him over my shoulder and run, but that wasn’t possible. I was going to have to put him in a cell.
33
CARTER
When I woke up, it took ages to get my brain online again. I tried to turn over and realized I wasn’t even lying down. I was sitting in a chair, and—oh fuck, my arms were bound behind me, which made the old wound in my shoulder ache. My feet were also bound to the legs of the chair, and the room was spinning around me.
Matteo had fucking drugged me—again!—and now I was restrained exactly like he’d been when I’d take him prisoner. Was I supposed to believe he’d really come here to kill Landon and that he was going to come save me? He’d told me to stay still and everything would be okay, but what had that really meant? He couldn’t be working with my brother, could he?
I remembered the way Matteo had looked at me earlier when we’d lain in bed after he’d utterly surrendered to me. Could he really have faked that?
No matter what Matteo’s true role was, I needed to get the hell out of here for a number of reasons. He’d clearly convinced my brother he was on his side. If Landon realized he’d been played, Matteo would be I trouble. If he was working with Landon, then I was a dead man if they came back. Eventually, the rest of the security team would come for me along with Miles, Ford, and maybe even Worth. There was no telling how long I had to get out of here before they put themselves in danger.
I started working with the rope around my wrists and discovered it wasn’t nearly as tight as it needed to be to keep me restrained. Had Matteo been the one to tie me up? Had he left the rope loose on purpose? I had a vague memory of him lifting me in his arms before I’d completely lost consciousness.
I freed my hands with only minor abrasions, and I’d just freed my feet when I heard footsteps and the jangling of keys. I hurriedly repositioned myself to look as if I was still tied. A second later, my brother’s face appeared at my cell door.
Landon unlocked the door and stepped inside. I was in the clear for now. He would never stand there so casually if he knew I could tackle him at any time. “Hello, Landon.”
“It’s been a while, hasn’t it?” He pulled out a gun and held it by his side, as if I thought he’d walk in here unarmed.
“Not long enough.”
