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I let his words sink in and blow out a breath. “What did Pika say?”
“She said a man came to take her for a scan on the second floor.”
“What kind of scan?”
“I don’t know, but I have a bad feeling.”
“Shit. Of course you do,” I say dryly.
We pick up our pace and head to the stairwell, taking the stairs two at a time before we reach the door.
I peek outside and find chaos. “A few locals, my ass. Something must have happened because this floor is packed with people who look worse than we do. We won’t get past them without being seen.”
Zig looks me up and down. “Okay, then let’s work with what we’ve got.”
“Alright. What did you have in mind?” I barely have the words out before he punches me in the face.
“What the hell, you motherfucking bastard!” I snarl, lunging for him. He grabs me, turns me, and yanks the door open.
Shoving his arm under mine, he leans into me and growls. “Slump over.”
I narrow my eyes and go limp against him. He curses at my weight before I take some of it off him. He pushes through the door, pulling me with him. People glance at us, but most just ignore us as I let Zig drag me to the nurse’s station.
Zig starts firing off shit in Spanish as I scope out the people here. Apart from a couple of women huddled together in the far corner, most of the space is filled with men who are dressed like Zig and me. Zig starts getting agitated as he points at me, so I ham it up and moan for dramatic effect. I can see an Oscar in my future. The nurse finally gives in and points for us to head down the hall.
“What was that all about?”
“I told her your wife was injured along with you, and you’re refusing treatment until you can see her. She went for a scan, and we haven’t heard anything since.”
“You know where she is?”
“The nurse didn’t know who I was talking about but told me to head this way so I could look for myself.”
“There are way too many people here, Zig. I don’t know what’s going on, but something happened, and these guys being here risks whatever plan the government has for Salem. They’d snatch her and run.”
“You think I don’t know that?” he snarls, shoving past a man with a fucking rifle strapped to his back.
I look back at him as he passes and see the snake tattoo curled around his neck. I flip through my memories, trying to remember where I’ve seen that tattoo before. When it comes to me, I almost wish it hadn’t. I rip myself free from Zig’s grip and move to grab the asshole, but Zig yanks me back as the guy disappears around the corner.
“What the fuck?”
“I recognize his tattoo. He’s a member of the Ortiz Cartel.”
We both look toward the nurse’s station, where more guys just like him are milling around. We look at each other just as a scream from the far end of the corridor has us both sprinting in that direction.
CHAPTERTHIRTY
Salem
Ihad been coming up with a plan when Tor came in. She’s so quiet, I don’t even hear her until she’s practically on top of me. I jump out of my skin as she lifts her hands and shakes her head, muttering the same few words over and over, which I can only assume meansorry.
I sit up, my heart racing, trying to reassure her that I’m fine when I see a figure move out of the corner of my eye. It isn’t until a needle stabs me in the neck that I figure Tor is apologizing for a lot more than making me jump.
As I stare at her, I see tears slip down her cheeks, her face distraught, as the person I couldn’t see before grabs me. I kick out my legs, knocking the cart over with a clatter. Everything feels heavy, and my mind spins. When I’m yanked into someone’s arms, I try to find the strength to fight. Instead, I flop around like a fish as my head rolls from side to side. I’m dumped rather unceremoniously into a wheelchair as the person who grabbed me squats down in front of me, their white doctor’s coat the only thing I can focus on as my vision fades in and out. When a hand grabs my chin and forces my head back, I almost vomit at the face staring back at me.
Alejandro Ortiz.
“Hello, wife.”
