Manipulate (Deliver 6)

This was what she needed. What they needed. For the next few hours, she couldn’t let anything take this from them.

She knew what she had to do.

She’d promised herself she would be strong.

For her.

For them.

“I had a nightmare.” She pressed a kiss to Martin’s hard chest.

“Come back to bed.”

“Just a sec. I want to brush my teeth.” She slipped away, fumbling in the dark for her toothbrush.

“Why are you dressed?” Ricky lit a candle, illuminating the room in a soft glow.

“I was going to take a shower.”

“Do it tomorrow.”

Today was tomorrow.

Their last day together.

“Okay.” She turned away before they saw the plastic smile that wasn’t working on her face.

They were half-asleep with exhaustion. That was the only reason they hadn’t detected her dishonesty.

Lying to them made her feel sick, but it was the only way she could protect them.

As she brushed her teeth and stripped her clothes, her mind picked up and discarded a dozen ways to deal with Hector La Rocha.

Maybe there were smarter, safer solutions to end his depravity, but there was only one outcome she wanted. The seed of her idea bloomed into a plan.

Right now, though, she only wanted to think about the two people who mattered most to her. She was going to savor every second they had left together.

Then, once they were safely out of Jaulaso, she would iron out how, where, and when.

She was going to kill Hector La Rocha.Saying goodbye was the most excruciating thing Tula ever had to do.

She stood between Martin and Ricky in the privacy of their cell and peppered desperate, tear-soaked kisses over their faces and hands.

They were already dressed, seconds from walking out the door.

From the moment she’d crawled back in bed with them early that morning, they’d been saying goodbye.

They said goodbye while moving inside her body. They said it with growly, pain-stricken words. They said it with their eyes as they memorized her features and collected her tears with their lips.

Three months with them hadn’t been enough.

A lifetime with them wouldn’t have been enough.

“You need to go.” She pulled them closer, protesting her own command.

“This is fucking bullshit!” Martin wrenched away and tore his hands through his hair. “We haven’t thought through every option. There must be a way—”

“We’ve beaten this to death.” Tears slid free, and she swatted at her cheeks. “You can not stay here. Giving up your freedoms helps no one. There’s no reason—”

“There’s one reason.” Ricky cupped her face. “And you’re the only reason that matters.”

“We’re sticking to the plan.” She dug in deep and shoved back her shoulders. “You’re walking out of here today, and that’s final.”

There would be no communication. No phone calls.

Over the past two years, she’d only used her phone to contact the U.S. consular. She checked in regularly to monitor the status of her sentence and nag him about an early release.

La Rocha Cartel monitored the call logs of all cell phones in Jaulaso. If she veered from her pattern and called a number she’d never dialed, it would raise suspicion. Even if she called an untraceable number or a reception desk at some random business, Hector would know about it.

She couldn’t do anything that might cause him to second-guess her. Especially now that she knew how cruel and truly sadistic he was.

Once he discovered Martin and Ricky’s charges had been dropped, he would know something nefarious was going on with them. Drug trafficking charges didn’t just go away. Not in Jaulaso.

Martin and Ricky wouldn’t be safe in Hector’s city. The instant they walked out of here, they would have to leave Ciudad Hueca.

There would be no visits from them. No calls. No letters. No packages. Any contact would make Hector suspect she’d taken sides with them.

They would be heading back to the Colombian headquarters of the Restrepo Cartel, where they lived. Only the residents knew the location. It was a secret they couldn’t share.

She would never be able to find them.

They promised to come to her when she was released. She wanted to believe them, but her plan made that impossible.

When they left, she would have to forget them. At least, whenever she stepped out of this cell. Her pain would be trapped in this room, hidden from the rest of the world.

Ricky embraced her in a rib-crushing hug. “We’re going to get you—”

“No more promises. Just hold me.”

He tightened his arms and kissed her deeply. His breaths shook as painfully as hers, but they kept the tears at bay. They’d cried enough.

Martin moved in, tugging her away from Ricky. His kiss was harder, angrier, more punishing. Every lick commanded she stay safe. Every bite confessed how much he hated leaving, and every sucking pull laid claim to her heart.

They owned her. No matter what happened, she would always be theirs.

As they opened the door and stepped into the hallway, her entire world pulled away, and she was left standing outside of it. Alone. They knew it, too, given the way their shoulders tightened, and their faces hardened.