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His jaw twitches. “Deal. Try to screw me in any way and it will be more than that boy's life you have to worry about.”
“You have our word, it won't come to that,” Zacharias says in a reassuring tone.
“Good. In the meantime, you will stay in the back guest house. Where I can see you. You should expect a call from Carlos or Gabriel within the next hour. They work together and nothing gets past either of them.”
“Thank you,” I say, reaching out my hand.
Ignoring it, he takes a step back. “This is strictly business. That's all. Don't get some weird idea in your head that we have somehow become friends. You have yet to earn my trust.”
Shoving my hands in my pockets, I step back. Angel glances between me and Zacharias before retreating back into the house. On the way inside, he barks orders at two of his men, who show us to the guest house and take our weapons. “You get them back when you leave.”
Zacharias closes the door behind them and I collapse onto the couch, my face falling in my hands.
“You need to at least clean yourself up and let me have a look at those wounds.” He sits beside me causing the couch to move back a little.
“I'm fine. I'm not moving until after we receive that phone call.”
A knock comes at the door and when Zacharias stands up to answer it, Antonio walks in carrying a familiar bag. “I found this in the trunk of the car before we left. I think it's Enrico’s. His phone is in there too, it’s pretty much done for, but I didn't want to leave anything belonging to either of you behind,” he says, staring in my direction.
Zacharias grabs the bag from him and frowns down at it, running his fingers over the top.
“We will find him,” I say, hoping my words ring true. “He's gotten through much worse than this. He'll get through this too. Your son is one of the strongest men I know.”
His lips lift into a soft smile as he sets the bag on the coffee table while opening it. “I know he is. I always have. I only wish I told him how important he was to me more often.”
Standing up, I approach him from behind and place a hand on his shoulder. “You will. As soon as we get him back.”
We both go still when Zacharias's phone goes off in his jacket pocket. Releasing his hold from the bag, he answers the call with a shaky hand.
“Hola?”
His face brightens with hope and he nods. “Si, this is him.” He paces back and forth quietly, as if tentatively listening to the other person on the phone. “My son is Enrico and he is twenty years old.” Releasing a rough breath, he squeezes his fingers around the phone. “No, not that I'm aware of. The only people who knew where we would be besides your brother were the very few I could trust.”
Breathing in and out deeply, he tugs at his hair as he gives him all the names of everyone who knew of our current location: Andres, Tyson, the pilot, and Enrico's doctor.
I stand up straighter at the last name mentioned. Something was off at the last visit the doctor had with Enrico while I was in the room. He was not only wanting blood tests run, he wanted to test his tissue as well, and I didn't understand why. Not until now. I think back to Samantha. Before leaving me for dead, she told me how she promised the men she was working with another body. She was planning to give them her brother or dad and never did.
Fuck.
I grab the pill bottles from Enrico's bag, reading over the names on the labels as Zacharias curses to himself. He slams the phone against the table, his face fuming. My gaze lands on his and he releases a long, shaky breath. “Organ traffickers,” is all Zacharias has to say for everything to fully click into place.
“Dr. Peterson. He works for someone else besides you, doesn't he?”
Zacharias nods, tugging on his shirt collar. “The son of a bitch was matching my son to his customer requests.”
“She owed him a body so he collected it.”
Zacharias's face pales. “She was short on her end of the deal and was going to give me and Enrico to them. She told me herself before—” He chokes back the rest of his words, staring down at his trembling fingers. “They've come to collect what they never received.”
My blood runs cold as I toss the bottles to the floor. “I can't believe I didn't see what was happening right in front of my face. Of course the asshole changed sides.”
“He wanted more money and instead of agreeing to his request, I killed his brother for stealing from me and lowered his pay as a truce.”
“So he made a deal with your enemies and now they are going to cut up your son.”
“Not if we rip out their insides first,” he says, reaching for his phone again.
“Who are you calling now?”
