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Esteban yanks Josephine to her feet, pulling her out of view. Her screams are the only indication she is being removed from the room.
“Josephine!”
“Maceo!”
A door slams and silence follows.
My fingers fly to my hair, tugging. God, what is he doing to her? What is happening?
Desperate, I look at Chase, praying he could pick up something from the clues Josephine dropped.
Chase shakes his head. “She could be anywhere in the foot of the Andes and he’s got blockers on his phone.”
Too vast an area to pinpoint an exact location. There’s not a fucking thing I can do and it’s gutting me.
Seconds later, Esteban comes back into the frame, his hair disheveled and his shirt askew, no doubt a result of tangling with my wife.
“Where is she?” I ask in a strangled voice.
Esteban runs a hand through his hair, straightening it back out. “Your wife is spirited, Maceo. It’s what attracted you to her in the first place, I imagine. Was the same for yourmadreand me. But spirited women have a way of getting away from you, undermining you. I’m afraid if you don’t take your rightful place at my side, I’ll have no choice but to bring her to heel.”
His words have my blood boiling, rage filling my insides. “Don’t you touch her!”
“Accept your place,” Esteban challenges. “All you have to do is say yes. I’ll take care of the rest. Stop burning our fields; those crops are what’s going to line your wallet.”
“Not my wallet,” I say defiantly.
“This is your life,mi chico.”
My head falls back against the headrest. It’s been far too long since I’ve heard or seen my wife. If I continue to set the world ablaze, it may be weeks, months before I find her. Each day she’s away from me is another day of stress for her and the babies. And when I do find her, she’ll be smack in the middle of danger. She needs to be extracted—stat.
There’s only one thing I can do.
“Let's make a trade,” I say evenly.
Punk hisses next to me. “What the fuck, Prez?”
He shouldn’t be surprised. I’ve switched places with ransomed victims before—it’s my job.
Esteban’s face twists with confusion. “A trade?”
“Me for my wife and children.”
Esteban sits back in his chair, one eyebrow raised. “You would take your wife’s place?”
“If you free her unharmed to my men,” I add firmly. It’s essential to set the ground rules. He’s a slippery snake who would find a loophole if left open. “She goes free, her and the babies, my men unmarred.”
“You would live a life without her, without your children? As yourpadre—”
“You’re not my father!” I shout.
Goddamnit, if he isn’t getting under my skin.
Esteban continues, completely ignoring my outburst. “As yourpadre, I’m telling you that you won’t be able to live without her. All these years without your mother have been unbearable.”
“Do not speak of her. She was never yours.”
“She was mine like Josefina is yours. It was hell,hijo. Losing her, watching my child grow from afar—I don’t want that for you.”
