At Hunter’s signal, every operative he’d brought raised their weapon and pointed it at the drug lord. “We are not the police or the DEA. We aren’t here to threaten your business, but you made a simple fucking agreement: fifteen minutes with Jorge and Victor Ramos’s lousy ass in exchange for my operative. You’ve got five seconds to comply or I’ll blow your fucking head off.”
Montilla stared him down, looking simultaneously amused and annoyed. “Do you really believe you can compel me to do anything? For every gun you have trained on me, I have one pointed at each of your men. Would you like to see your brothers die? Mr. Scott in the basement? Everyone else who relies on you for a paycheck? And I assure you, once they are gone, your clients will suffer most. Valeria is young enough to breed again several times if I desire. And Laila will make a more than acceptable whore for my men.”
Terror clawed through her. After knowing the pleasure of Trees’s touch, she couldn’t imagine enduring sexual violence and abuse again. But how could she stop what seemed like an inevitable slaughter?
One thing she had learned over her years of captivity was that no one expected her to be a fighter or capable of foiling the plans of dangerous men. She’d use that to her advantage.
Clandestinely, she looked around the room for some way to hide Jorge and her sister while she reached Trees. She glanced over her shoulder at Hunter Edgington. He had a scheme in mind. She saw it on his face. Laila wished she knew what.
To Montilla’s right, Federico—who hadn’t said a word during this exchange—assessed the situation. What did he have up his sleeve?
“I’m serious. You have five seconds to lower your weapons,” Hunter warned the drug lord.
“Or what?” He scoffed. “You will shoot me? We will return fire. Is that really safe with a child in the room? Did they not teach you Navy SEALs better?”
“If you’re itching to get it on, let the women and Jorge leave.”
If Montilla agreed, they would kill everyone, including Trees. And did Hunter really think that, once the drug lord had succeeded, he would allow her and Valeria to take Jorge and walk free?
She had to contrive some plan—fast.
The old man smiled. “Your forthright earnestness amuses me.”
His condescending attitude clearly rubbed Hunter the wrong way. “Five.”
“Counting, are we? Do you think that will change anything?”
“Four.”
Laila watched Logan grip his weapon tighter before he shuffled her behind him. Joaquin did the same with Valeria.
“Give me the boy, stop this ridiculous counting, and no one has to die.”
“Three. Drop your weapons and live up to your negotiations or you won’t live until sunrise.”
“Fuck you.” Montilla charged them.
Logan blocked his path. Joaquin shoved him back and cocked his gun in the old man’s face. Laila tugged on her sister’s arm, easing her and Jorge back a few covert steps from the fray.
“No, fuck you,” Hunter spit. “Two, asshole. After one, you’re dead.”
“You wish.”
The elder Edgington gestured to his operatives, who went on high alert. “One. Last chance.”
Federico stepped closer to his boss and murmured in his ear, “Do not back down. We must show these vaqueros and gringos who is in charge.”
Montilla nodded, raising dark eyes full of contempt at Hunter. “Kill them and take the boy!”
Laila didn’t waste a second. She pulled on her sister’s arm, using her body to shield Jorge from the hail of gunfire that suddenly erupted around them. As much as she feared for the lives of everyone at EM Security, she had to ensure her family stayed safe and free Trees before it was too late.
Jorge began wailing. Valeria did her best to cover his mouth so the boy didn’t give away their position as Laila hustled them through the chaos to find someplace safe to hide.
She headed toward the shadowy corners of the room and spotted an opening that led to a long corridor. At the end, a strip of moonlight filtered under the door. “Run. Find Kane and Zy. Tell them to start driving you far away now.”
Valeria gripped her hand tightly. “I will not leave you.”
Laila gave her a shove. “For Jorge, you must. Or he will be raised by a monster.”
“Come with me,” Valeria entreated. “I left you before. I do not want to do it again.”
“I am choosing to stay because I need Trees. I do not want to live without him.” When Valeria opened her mouth to argue, Laila shook her head. “No. Stay in the shadows and go!”
Her sister hesitated, then kissed her cheek. “God be with you. Please be safe.”
“You, too.”
“I hope my secret does not make you angry. I love you.”
Valeria wasn’t one for soft words. Neither was Laila. Life had been too hard on them both. But she also knew life was too short to hold a grudge against her only sister. “I love you, too.”
Her sister slipped out the door, clutching Jorge. Laila watched until it shut, then eased back to the end of the hall, closer to the ugliness of combat.
Someone killed the lights. Now only the silvery light of the moon shone through the busted-out windows. Gunfire rang through the cavernous room. Shouts of rage and grunts of pain filled the air as the battle raged.
If she was going to rescue Trees, Matt would need backup. She must find a gun.
Laila dropped to the dirty tile, crawling into the fray on her elbows and knees, staying as low as possible to avoid the flying bullets. By the dim light, she caught sight of a man, one of Montilla’s, sprawled lifeless two feet in front of her. She scrambled to reach him, patting him down quickly to find his weapon.
Seconds later, it was in her grasp, warm and wet with something slick and coppery. Blood. She shuddered and wiped the weapon clean on her pants, shoved it in her waistband, then turned in the direction Montilla’s men had taken Trees.
As she crawled for the exit, she ran into Hunter Edgington. She recognized his boots.
He glanced to see who was at his feet. “Get the lights back on. Some fucker turned them off.”
“How?”
“There’s a switch.” He aimed and fired at some combatant she couldn’t see. “I can’t do it myself.”
But… “Montilla will only kill you faster.”