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When he stalks off, I quietly pray he doesn’t do anything stupid.
Chapter 16
Zane
Iwant to do something stupid.
And violent.
But I can’t. Not without putting Willow at risk. Now that I’m her bodyguard in an official capacity, I can’t afford to let my emotions get the better of me. I need my mind clear and alert. I could storm in guns blazing and whisk her away, but the thing about dangerous men like Esteban and Arturo is that they’re not singular entities. If I lay a finger on either of them, I’ll have to face the entire cartel.
I meet up with my brothers downstairs in an office-turned-surveillance room. At least ten different monitors are set up, all playing live feeds from cameras stationed throughout the compound. My sights immediately zone in on the cameras in Willow’s room. She reallyisbeing watched at all hours of the day.
I take a deep breath and ignore the rush of blood past my ears. She’s like an animal in a goddamn zoo.
“Well?” Heath says. “How’s your Juliet doing, Romeo?”
“Shut up,” I grumble.
“Not great. Gotcha.”
Knox crosses his arms, studying monitors. “When Esteban returns from his trip, we’ll hand in our resignation.”
“Who died and made you king, little brother?” I ask, gripping the back of the office chair he’s seated in.
“Working for that man is a bad idea, Zane. You’re right, though. We can’t just quit today. That’d look too damn suspiciousandbe bad for our reputation.”
Heath frowns. “Think about the poor girl.”
“Why the hell would I?” Knox mutters.
“She’s the victim in all this.”
“Look, I feel bad for her. I really do, but I’m trying to be logical about this. This is a matter for the police.”
I snort. “The police won’t do shit. The Becerra Cartel has had their hands in the LAPD’s pocket for years.”
“Then what do we do?” Heath asks.
“Remember Operation Falcon?”
“The hostage situation we were in charge of?” Knox turns in his seat to look at me. “You can’t be serious. These two cases are nothing alike.”
“They’re completely alike,” I say firmly.
“We were dealing with a terrorist cell,” Knox argues.
Heath shrugs. “Terrorist cell, drug cartel…”
“We had months of intel and weeks of preparation,” our youngest brother continues.
“So we stay for a little while,” I retort. “Gather information and prepare.”
“Zane, this is crazy.”
“Would you rather leave Willow here? How can you, in good conscience, leave that poor woman to rot at the hands of her captors?”
I can practically hear the gears grinding inside Knox’s skull. On the outside, my brother is a cynical man. Gruff and blunt and boorish. But deep down, I know he has a good heart.
