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“Did you hear me, Brody?” Hut growled from the passenger seat.
“Sorry.” I gripped the steering wheel tighter and followed the navigation system’s arrow. We were meeting the buyer in his territory, which meant we had no idea what we were getting into. “What did you say?”
“I said did you and the guys find Jace?”
I frowned but smoothed it out as soon as I realized what I was doing. How the hell did he know we’d been looking for him?
Hut huffed and leaned against the passenger door. “I keep telling you I know everything that happens, but you never seem to believe me.”
“It’s not that…” I had no answer for him. It wasn’t like we’d been quiet about searching for Jace, but he hadn’t seemed bothered in the week I’d been back.
“Well, did you find him?”
I shook my head and took a right turn. “No. We have no idea where he is.”
“Probably snitched to someone.” Hut laughed. “Not that
they’d be able to pin anything on me.”
I flicked my gaze over to him and gritted my teeth at the smirk on his face. He may have thought he knew everything that went on, but he had no idea. Nothing had been able to stick to him yet. That was about to change. “He wouldn’t dare,” I said. “He knows what would happen if he did.”
Hut shrugged like he didn’t have a care in the world. “He’s old news now anyway. I’ll have someone find him and fix it.”
Fuck, if the guys had gotten there faster that day, they could have tracked Jace down and got him to safety. I shook my head. No, there was a reason I hadn’t told them right away. Jace had hurt Lola, and I wanted him to feel what she’d felt when he grabbed her. It was a stupid reason when I thought about it now in the grand scheme of things, but that was what happened when it came to Lola. I didn’t think. I only acted on instinct.
The navigation told me we were about to reach our destination, and I glanced around. We were in the middle of nowhere, but it didn’t faze Hut as I pulled the SUV to a halt. He sat there like he was king of the fuckin' world until a car pulled up behind us, and Ford and Quinn stepped out. The back doors opened seconds later, and they slipped inside, both of them looking around at the empty space and the lone road that had led us here.
“What is this place?” Quinn asked.
“Fuck knows.” Hut turned to look at him. “But this dude is gonna buy twice as much product as Carson, so if he wants to meet in bum-fuck-nowhere, then that’s what we’ll do.”
My cell vibrated in my pocket, but I didn’t pull it out. I’d contacted Jord to tell them Hut had received the call to meet his new buyer, so I knew it’d be him letting me know they were ready and not far away. All I had to do was give the signal when it was time, and all this would be over. Done. Finished. And I could get back to my own life and start over.
Headlights flashed twice ahead of us, and Hut whistled. “Well, shit, they came out of nowhere.” He pushed open his door, jumping out like a kid who was about to go into his favorite candy shop.
Quinn followed, but Ford and I stayed put for a fraction of a second. He hesitated, probably knowing tonight was going to be the night. The guys hadn’t let him know when they’d take Hut down, but Ford had instincts that had never served him wrong—the kind of instincts that would be served even better on the right side of the law.
“Come on,” I said, needing him to act like he normally did. The last thing we could afford was for Hut to find out he was an informant. It wouldn’t bode well for Ford or his cousin, who was now tucked away in a safe house. Once Hut was in custody, she’d be given a new life, a new name, and she’d be able to start over with Ford in tow. They’d both get out and start fresh.
My boots sank into the soft grass of the field, mud squelching as I stepped forward and behind Hut. Ford took up the other side of his rear, while Quinn stood by his side.
A door opened, and a second later, legs appeared. I narrowed my eyes to try and see better, but all I could make out was a tall guy with a goon beside him.
“Emerson Hutton,” a deep voice announced. “I’ve been waiting a long time to meet you.”
Hut pushed his shoulders back, his carefree, easygoing attitude slipping away from him. “You have?”
The guy moved closer, and as soon as his face was lit up, I swore under my breath. This wasn’t your average buyer. No, this was the buyer. Eduardo Garza—head of the Garza cartel—supplied all the cocaine in the neighboring state, and if he was now buying off Hut, that meant he’d gained control over part of this state too, which could only mean bad things for everyone involved.
“I’ve heard many tales,” Eduardo said, his gaze flicking over each of us in turn. “Both good and bad.” He stepped closer, his goon not following him this time. “AlI I need to know is if you can supply the correct amount.”
“I can,” Hut said, his voice higher pitched than usual. “You want to—”
“Good.” Eduardo nodded. “The figure we agreed upon is confirmed.”
“Yeah, I—”
“Excellent.” Eduardo spun around. “I’ll be in touch.”
