Manipulate (Deliver 6)

Luis’ ham-handed plan would probably work, but it should be a last resort.

“You don’t even know these guys are with the rivals,” she heard herself say.

The room fell quiet, and glares hit her from every direction.

Except Hector. He studied her in that fond way he did, with admiration and respect. “You have a better idea?”

She blew out a breath. “You need to be recruiting potential members, not killing them.”

“True, but we don’t know if the enemy planted them here. We can’t rule out the possibility of espionage.”

“Then find out who they are and where they’re from.”

“What do you suggest?” His dark eyes glinted with amusement. “Shall we ask them?”

The room exploded in another round of laughter.

Of course they couldn’t ask a spy if he was a spy. She wasn’t stupid.

Her teeth clenched. “Tell one of your guys in the city to investigate them.”

The ability to access the Internet in Jaulaso was nonexistent, but Hector had endless resources on the outside. Anyone with a web browser could perform an identity search for him.

“I already had a background check done.” His lips thinned. “There is no background. No arrest records. No traffic tickets. No history. Nothing on the dark web. Their identities have been wiped.”

Oh.

Her stomach sank. “If they’re big-time traffickers, they probably paid off people to wipe their identities and make them untraceable. Doesn’t mean they work for an enemy cartel.”

“Doesn’t mean they don’t.”

“They know Spanish.” Simone tightened his fists on the table. “But they whisper in English, so we can’t understand what they’re saying. They’re hiding something.”

“Maybe they’re just being cautious.” She turned back to Hector and asked quietly, “So you’re just going to kill them?”

“Yes.” He cocked his head, studying her. “Unless you think you can coax them to talk.”

“Me?” She jerked back.

“Yes! I like this.” Simone heaved forward on his chair, physically interjecting himself. “Put her in a short little dress that shows off her ass and legs with her titties out to here.” He cupped the air in front of him. “Send her to the common area, and call up the gabachos. When they see her… Boom! They’ll want it. They’ll want all up inside it.”

“No! Absolutely not!” Garra jumped to his feet, his eyes wide and pleading with Hector. “This is not an option.”

Her fingernails dug into her palms, her breath stuck in her throat, as she waited for Hector’s reaction.

He lit a cigarette, his thoughts hidden behind a blank expression.

“When she gives it to them, she’ll pull them in real deep, if you know what I mean.” Simone gripped an imaginary body on his lap and thrust his hips.

She clutched her midsection with cold fingers, willing Hector to put an end to this humiliating conversation.

“It’s brilliant.” Luis slapped Simone on the shoulder and laughed. “A man will do and say anything in a beautiful woman’s bed. We’ll get them drunk on the pussy and make them talk.”

“Stop.” A rush of anger swept through her, burning up her cheeks. “I won’t—”

“She’s not doing it.” Garra shot them a harsh squint, his chest thrust-out and jaw tight. “It’s too dangerous.”

Simone and Luis talked over him, their postures perking up and voices rising as they described the manipulative powers of the vagina.

Luis pulled on Simone’s sleeve, dragging him closer. “She can tell them she plans to desert the cartel and needs two strong men to protect her.”

What the fuck? She tried to capture Hector’s gaze, but his attention remained fixed on his men.

Simone nodded, his eyes flickering. “She’ll earn their trust in bed, and they’ll be desperate to help her. If they have connections, they’ll bring her into their fold and share their confidences.”

“What if they’re nobodies?” She inhaled through her nose to calm the tremble in her voice.

What if they were innocent? Victims of the wrong place and wrong time? Just like her.

Every inmate in Jaulaso claimed to be innocent. Every. Single. One. The Americans would probably say the same thing, and there would be no way to prove it.

“If we confirm they’re not working against us,” Simone said, “we’ll tell them they passed the test and keep them. That’ll add to our numbers, just like you said.”

She wanted no part of this half-cocked misogynistic plan. Forget the fantasies she had about the new guys. Appreciating their good looks from afar wasn’t the same as manipulating them with sex.

They were locked up in the most violent prison in Mexico. Because they were criminals. Not the type of men she invited into her bed. Even if it was for the common good of the cartel. Even if they were innocent. Especially if they were innocent. It was too deceitful, and she wasn’t a deceitful person.

But she didn’t need to vocalize her objections. Garra did it for her, vehemently rejecting every point with a No, Fuck No, and Over my dead body.