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"In about an hour," I say, "our boss is going to show up here and pull you out. Once that happens, everyone who has a grudge against him will know about you."
That's how shit in this world works. Once Guerrero and Francisco's rivals know that Selena Ortega exists, that he cares enough about her to have hidden her away, they'll come for her. Guerrero is a death sentence hanging over her head. Her life ended the day she hooked up with him. I think she knows it, too. I think she's terrified we're her reckoning.
"We can protect you and your baby," I tell her softly, following my gut feeling that she wants out. "We can help you disappear and stay that way if that's what you want."
She eyes me for a long, silent moment. "You want to know where he's at."
I nod.
"If I tell you, you'll get me out of here?" She sounds almost…hopeful.
"That's the deal," Brady says. "You tell us where to find him, we help you disappear."
"You'll kill him."
I just look at her levelly. I'm not going to lie and tell her that he'll be just fine because he won't be. If we find him, he's going to die. That's how this ends. His fate was sealed the minute he sent his men after Mila. He doesn't get to walk away from that. I think Selena knows it, too.
Something like relief flashes through her eyes before they fall closed. She exhales softly and then pops her eyes open again, pinning me with her gaze. Pity and sympathy swirl through the brown depths, throwing me off-balance.
I frown at the sight of that emotion in her eyes, unease twisting through me.
"He knows who you are, Agent Gregory," she tells me. "He's known for weeks."
"What are you saying?" Brady demands, wariness in his voice.
Her gaze never leaves my face. Never wavers. "I'm saying that he wants you out of the way. He's planning something, and he doesn't want you around when it goes down. He knows about your girl and your daughter. He's planning to use them to get to you."
"Where is he?" I ask, but I don't want to know the answer. I don't want to fucking know that he's—
"The last time I spoke with him, he was in Sacramento."
My heart stops beating, my blood freezing in my veins as her words rip through me. Guerrero is in Sacramento.
Mila. Tahani.
"I'm so sorry," she whispers.
"Jesus Christ," Brady breathes.
I sway, grasping at the wall to hold myself upright as a wave of terror slams into me like a brick wall. Everything in me wants to turn and run to the Rover, to get to Mila and Tahani before that motherfucker gets anywhere near them. But I'm hours away, and there's no way I can get there in time to protect them if he's already there.
The thought destroys me. He's going after them, and there isn't a fucking thing I can do to stop him.
Not unless…Fuck. Not unless he's willing to trade my girls for his.
This is fucking wrong on every level. Using her as collateral goes against everything I've ever been taught. I'm not Guerrero. I don't take hostages or trade lives. I'm a fucking cop.
And that's exactly what Guerrero expects me to be. He thinks he's untouchable because I'm bound by law and my own fucking sense of duty and obligation. He came for Mila because he thought I was soft, that I'd sit back and let the law handle it. That's still what he expects.
Too fucking bad for him. The rulebook went out the goddamn window the minute he came for Mila. I'm writing my own this time, and I'll do whatever the fuck I have to do to ensure Mila and my kids are safe.
"Get dressed," I bark at Selena, trying to breathe through the rage flooding through me with each beat of my heart. "You're coming with us, and we're leaving. Now."
She opens her mouth and then closes it. Fear flashes through her eyes. I think she knows exactly how far I'm willing to go to protect my family. But she doesn't argue, plead, or beg for me to let her go. Instead, she takes a deep breath and nods before spinning around and hurrying into the house. She moves quickly, her head held high.
"You good, brother?" Brady asks me quietly when she starts up the stairs.
"No. Fuck no." I grip my hair and tug hard, letting the dull pain ground me. "If anything happens to them…if he touches them…" I can't finish the sentence. I can't even finish the fucking thought.
