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Ace nods. “What can I do for you, or should I say your cartel?”
Shit. I drop down onto the nearest seat and rub my temples. The shit isn’t over, not by a long shot. In fact, it’s probably just starting.
Ace puts the man on speakerphone, and his thick Spanish accent is deep and smooth. “I wanted to introduce myself formally and ask how you like your gift.”
“Gift?”
“Oh, yes. It’s just been delivered. We’ll talk again when you’ve had a chance to examine it.” The call ends just as a blood-curdling scream sounds outside.
“Motherfucker,” Ace growls, and we all take off at full speed toward the sound of the woman screaming.
My heart races, hoping like hell that my worst-case scenario isn’t coming true right now. I run toward the eternal scream, and when I set eyes on Willow, my heart sinks.
Of all the shit in the world she’s been through, I don’t want her to see whatever it is that makes a woman scream like that. “Willow!”
She can’t hear me. She’s on her knees, wailing loud enough to be heard in downtown LA. Her body is shaking even more than when she shot that cartel soldier. And as soon as I get close enough, I can see why.
A body sits behind the driver’s seat of Ace’s truck. It’s clearly a woman with blonde hair, but everything is burning, and the woman is dead.
Totally fucking dead.
“No! Nooooo!” Willow cries out, every ounce of her pain slicing through me with every cry. “Sandeeeee!”
I reach for my woman and hold her close, tightening my grip when she darts forward to the burning truck. “I’m so sorry, babe.”
“Get the prospects on this,” Ace growls. “We need to bury her. ASAP. And get rid of the truck too.”
“What?” Willow turns with fire and hatred in her eyes. “You’re just going to bury her?”
“Willow,” I growl. “Willow, listen to me. We don’t know who did this. Best case scenario is that it comes back on one of us. Is that what you want?”
“No.” Her head shakes, blonde hair swishing across her shoulders. “It’s just…Sandee deserves so much better than this. She was my friend. She helped me!”
I hold her closer and nod. “Yes, Willow. She does deserve so much more, but thanks to her killer, she can’t have that, Willow. Tell me you understand.”
She nods against my chest and pulls back to meet my gaze. “I understand. I don’t like it, but I understand.”
“Okay. Let us handle this, and I swear to you—I fucking swear on my life—that we will absolutely make the fuckers pay who did this. For all we know, you already took care of him.”
Her blue eyes meet mine, and she sniffles. “Will you let me know?”
I nod and kiss her lips. “Yes, babe. As much as I can. Promise.”
Willow clings to me, crying silently for a few minutes until her tears run dry. “Love you.”
“Love you back.” I rub her shoulders, giving her my full attention, but it drifts when Ace’s phone rings again.
“Arturo,” he grunts. “What the fuck do you want?” Ace nods for us to follow him back into the sanctuary.
I tell Willow, “Go back into the bar with the girls. I’ll come get you as soon as I can.” Then I head back into the sanctuary.
I hear Arturo’s deep, booming laughter coming from the speaker a few feet away. “You didn’t like your gift? I’m offended.”
“You’ve made your point.”
“No,” he says. “Making my point would be hanging the whore from your flagpole. This, what I’ve done, is a sign of my respect.”
Ace snorts. “I have something you want, Arturo. You’re pissed off right now, but you also have something I want.”
