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“I’m not.”
“How did you find Estrada’s grandson?”
I chuckle, though I still want to throat-punch Preston Whitley. “I owed someone a favor, and he called it in. It was simple enough; get the guy free of his family, stash him somewhere safe. I agreed. Then he told me the guy was at Estrada’s compound. I had questions. But after talking to him, he agreed to fuck his grandfather over for a nice little bungalow in the Caribbean. I’m not worried about him turning on us. He hates Estrada.”
“I want to meet him.”
“No.” I shake my head, finality in the decision. “I don’t even think it’s safe for me to meet him right now. I haven’t heard from him since Tuesday, but I’ll let you know when I do.”
Lory resumes his pacing, deep in thought and not bothering to look at me as he speaks. “What are we going to do about Juan?”
“We’ve got to watch him closer,” I declare, but these games are fucking with my mind. “What are the odds there’s something in our apartments?”
“He thinks you live with me.”
I scoff at his quick answer. “No. He plays at that. He knows I don’t… Otherwise, why would he make the comment about the boys I see?”
“Fuck.” Lory kicks at the sand. “We’ll get hotel rooms for the weekend and search the apartments. I’ll call Javier and Tomas to see what they used to find the device.”
“Whatever it is, we need to buy like thirty of them.” I chew at my lip before I think out loud. “I don’t believe getting a hotel room is going to solve the problem. We should carry on like normal while we search, so we don’t spook him. He’s getting frustrated and impatient. He’ll make the first move if we wait him out a little longer.”
“At what cost?” He growls, then sighs, lowering his voice. “What will his first move be? Shoot us in a drive by? Catch us the next time we’re at the compound and slit our throats?”
I stand and walk toward him to calm his pacing. “I don’t know, Lory.”
“Jasper,” he murmurs, staring down at me. “We’re already going blow-for-blow with Estrada. How much more can we take before we slip and end up in an unmarked grave?”
“I can’t answer that for you,” I tell him, the truth hardening in my voice. “Every day my lines stretch further away from my limits and my morals. I’m learning I might have no lines at all. The illusion of Gemma Smith is growing weaker with each passing day, and the Ghost clings to my thoughts, refusing to let go. I’m tired of hiding, Lorenzo.”
He wraps his arms around me, his shoulders defaulting as he calms to match the ocean. “So, let Juan come to us.”
“Yes,” I whisper, releasing the last shreds of my unease as I decide for both of us. “I think that’s the best course of action. I can’t see another way for this to work in our favor. If he comes to us, we’ll be better prepared to fight.”
“Whoever he’s working with is a problem,” Lory adds, stepping away from me to retrieve my laptop from the rock. “We need to find out who they are before we kill him.”
“True…” I trail off, frowning at my car. “But maybe if we kill him, they’ll show themselves.”
“We’re still playing this by ear?” he asks.
I sigh. “Sadly, I think that’s all we can do right now. I’ll talk to Dad on Monday, but—”
“He’ll tell you the same thing.”
“It’s time to start making moves on our own.”
Lory holds his hand out for me to take, and I do so without hesitation. Since we were kids, it’s been us against the cartel. There’s only one way this is going to end, and it won’t be with our death.
We didn’t start this war.
But we will be the ones to finish it.
“Tell me where you want me,” Lory says, his trust in me unyielding. “I’ll be there.”
I shrug playfully, ready to change the mood. “You know exactly where I want you. I’ll give you some grace, though. I understand it takes some getting used to.”
“What does that mean?” He groans at his own question, catching my meaning a little too late. “Are we still on this subject?”
“I’ve turned a new leaf, Lory,” I proclaim, stopping us before we get too close to the car. “I’m sick of hiding my greed and not taking what I want. This cartel. This town… It’s all going to be mine. And you.”
