Alejandro had a map spread out over the center console between the front seats as Gabriel directed us over speakerphone. Alejo removed the flashlight between his teeth and yelled over the scrape of the pickup’s skid plates against rocks. “Repeat that.”
“If my”—Gabriel’s voice cut in and out—“are correct, you . . . close.” The bouts of static over the line had gotten worse the farther we strayed from civilization. The kid had been directing us along the red-marker line he’d drawn on the map to indicate Belmonte-Ruiz’s network of tunnels, but it seemed we were about to lose contact. “Three clicks.”
Three kilometers? “What?” I demanded.
No answer.
Max straightened up. “Are those tire tracks in the mud?”
Could’ve been that, or nothing at all. “It’s getting dark.”
“Look for . . .” Gabriel said. “Trees—”
“A spot where trees have been cleared.” I pointed through the forest toward a muddy path just big enough for a car to pass through.
Max ramped up his speed, barreling down the makeshift road. I rolled down my window and gestured ahead for Eduardo and the men in the vehicle behind us.
I mashed my teeth together for the thousandth time since we’d left the Badlands. Natalia hadn’t called from Diego’s phone like I’d told her to. I had to believe there was an explanation. Dead battery. Broken phone. No service. Any moment now, I could have her back in my arms. She’d survive this. I knew it in my gut.
When I’d returned earlier in the year, I’d watched Diego overlook and manipulate the best thing in his life. And so, I’d taken her from him. And nurtured her, watched her grow and change, from a girl to a woman, from my captive to my wife, and now, the mother of my child. Diego had underestimated Natalia for the last time, and today, she’d prevailed.
She’d finish this. I’d trained her well. I trusted no one more than my men, and together, we’d taught her how to stay alive. She’d hang on until we got there. And then we’d torch the motherfucking place to the ground.
“You have to be close.” Gabriel’s voice came through clearly. Alejo and I exchanged a look. The static was gone. We were near a cell tower. “This area is super isolated,” Gabe said, “and could serve as an entrance or exit to an underground passage.”
Max looked over his shoulder. “If you’re leading us into a trap, you should know that you wouldn’t be the first. You wouldn’t be the last, either.”
I didn’t condemn Max’s skepticism. Of all the crazy shit that’d crossed my mind in the past several hours, wondering if Gabe could be setting us up was a mild thought. Gabe had done everything asked of him, though. He enjoyed both being behind the computer and his lessons with Solomon. But Diego’s patience for revenge had been never-ending, and he’d fooled just about everyone, even me for longer than I cared to admit.
Gabriel was deep enough inside our systems to do serious damage, but Natalia trusted him, and now, he was my only hope. I nodded Max on down the route laid out for us toward a destination none of us were even sure existed—not even Gabe if he was to be believed.
From the backseat, Alejandro passed Max and me our artillery and loaded himself up next. Maksim accelerated toward a brick structure through the trees. He didn’t screech to a stop until we were meters from the door. I waited for gunfire. Warning shots. Bullets to pepper the side panels or shatter the windshield’s exterior glass.
Nothing.
Silence.
I opened the door, using it as a shield as I surveyed the area.
“Maybe the tire tracks in the mud were going, not coming,” Max said when nothing happened.
Or maybe we were in the wrong place.
Fuck. I had to get in that warehouse.
Alejandro opened his door. “We’ve got your back,” he said. “Go.”
With an assault rifle strapped over my bulletproof vest, I pulled out my .45 and sprinted the short distance to the entrance. I shot the lock. Kicked open the door. Ducked inside.
The expansive, well-lit space stood deathly still. Utterly silent.
Just me. And the pounding of my heart.
What if Natalia wasn’t here? What if she’d never been?
No. She was here—hiding, like I’d told her. She had to be.
I strode past a conveyor belt toward rows of metal shelving, glancing down each aisle as I called out her name. When I’d made a partial circuit of the perimeter, I started through the stacks. Kicked aside random bins. Concealed the panic in my voice as I said her name so she wouldn’t hear my fear.
“Natalia.”
Nothing.
“Natalia.”
Silence.
“Natalia! Goddamn it!”
A windowed security room sat ahead in one corner, lit by computer screens. Gun drawn, I strode toward the open door. I was greeted by the gentle hum of equipment.
And a dead body.
Diego.
Even with his face smashed in, and blood everywhere, I recognized my brother. We were in the right place.