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“And if he decides to just put a bullet in your head?”
“Well then, I suppose, I’ll get quite the cross-breeze, won’t I?” I shrugged, but admittedly, it wasn’t a shrugging matter. “He’s putting in too much effort if all he wanted was to put me six feet under.”
“Then what is it you think he wants?”
“I think he already knew we were coming for him. He probably already knows us—about what we did toEl Víbora, to Fiorenzo Avalone. I think he wants a preemptive strike. If he takes me and gets the rest of our ‘team’ to follow to get me back, then he can take us all out at once.”
“So, you want us to do exactly what he’s hoping we’ll do?” he said, scrubbing a hand over his jaw.
“Well, if you could come get me and not get all of us shot, that would be great. He’ll be expecting to whisk me away from here, then get in contact with you and tell you where to ‘find’ me. But since I still have the dental implant with the tracker from the last time, you’ll be able to follow me to wherever he’s hiding out in Mexico right away and attack before he’s expecting it.”
He nodded, but reluctantly. “I’ve talked to Deo; he’s not happy about it, but he’ll get on board if we feel it’s the right move. YourZiettoVito is another story,” he said, rolling his eyes. “Nico’s in if we need him, so are Caio and Sandro. And I think Rafael wouldn’t mind coming along. He seems to be trying to fill the void Salvatore left,” Gabe said, his jaw tight.
Salvatore, the man who’d been in the employ of the Costa family for a long time. The man they’d trusted. The man who’d betrayed them. Who had, among other things, handed over Gabe’s fiancée to years of horrors.
“So far, that’s not a bad turn-out,” I said.
Gabe sighed. “Nacio wants to help as well. He’ll fly in tomorrow if no other emergency comes up in Colombia.”
“Wants to help with what?” Brute said, coming up behind me way too freaking quietly.
Well, that sucked. I’d kind of been hoping to have more time to break it to him, but since when was I that kind of coward?
I stood up straighter. I wasn’t going to hide or lie. “We’re going to use me as bait.”
“Like hell,” he said without missing a beat.
Gabe looked amused. I could see the corners of his lips twitching. “I’ll give you two some privacy,” he said, getting up and walking past us way too happily.
I waited for him to leave. He closed the door most of the way behind him.
“Look, I know it’s risky.”
Brute cocked an eyebrow at me.
“All right, it’s dangerous. I know there are a lot of things that could go wrong that wind up with me six feet under. I’m not stupid; I’m not rushing into this recklessly.” I shifted uneasily. I didn’t mind throwing myself against the odds to get the job done, but for the first time I was worried about what might happen afterward. “If Domínguez isn’t keeping any of those hostages, then he’s just killing them, Brute. And he’s going to keep on killing them until someone takes him out. But to take him out, we need to find him. And unless you’re seeing something I’m missing, then this is the best way—maybe the only way—to do that. I’ve still got the tracker–"
“And if he figures out that you’ve got a tracker in you?”
I threw my arms out wide. “Then things end badly.” There was no point in sugar-coating it. “And if I’m wrong, and he’s looking to kill me rather than kidnap me, then things end badly. And if he’s got a man with trigger-happy fingers, then things end badly. I understand the risks, Brute. And if I’m well aware of what I might be walking into and choosing to do it anyway. You have no right to try to stand in my way.”
“No right?” He sounded like a very angry king at the moment. “I don’t give a flying fuck about rights, darling, but I do care a great deal about what happens to you. You might be willing to take those risks, but I’m sure as hell not.”
Something dark flashed by the office. Long, dark hair, about the length of my best friend’s hair. I had a feeling she’d be sticking around to listen.
“It’s not up to you, Brute.”
“Like hell it isn’t,” he said, crossing his big arms over his chest. “You’re the woman I love and there’s—”
“What are you doing?” I said, because what the hell was that? “You think that if you throw the ‘L’ word around, I’m suddenly going to let you tell me what I can and can’t do?”
He scoffed. “No, I think if I throw the ‘L’ word around, you’ll finally take your pretty head out of your fine ass and realize you feel the same damn thing.”
“The same thing?” she said, shaking her head. Nothing wrong with denial. “This is just—”
“We passed ‘just’ a long ways back, darling, and you know it.”
I took a step back. If he thought this was a good thing, then he was in for a surprise.
