AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Whatever.
“Yes, but if I’m in a car crash, I have a chance of surviving. If this abomination of gravity goes down, they’ll have to piece us back together like a damn puzzle.” As if the mental image wasn’t enough, she put her fists together then opened her palms and threw her arms out wide in a physical reenactment of our deaths.
I dismissed her dramatics with a wave of my hand. “Don’t be ridiculous. If that happened, the engine would explode, and we’d fry to a crisp before even hitting the ground.”
Just a little dig to remind her who called the shots once we hit Mexican soil.
Crossing her arms, she turned her back to me. “Don’t talk to me until we’re on solid ground.”
Well, shit. If I knew describing our hypothetical deaths in graphic detail would shut her up, I would’ve done it a long time ago.
“With pleasure.” After Tia returned with our drinks, I took a much-needed sip and placed it in the chair’s drink holder. Folding my arms behind my head, I stretched out and enjoyed the first moment of peace I’d had all week.
As if pulled by some unknown force, my gaze wandered back to Adriana. She still sat as rigid as before, except the cup of water in her hand shook so hard, droplets spilled over the edge and scattered across the leather. I assumed air sickness had struck again. I had no idea how to comfort an ally, much less an enemy. Normal emotion wasn’t something I felt anymore.
The only thing that felt natural was sarcasm, but just as I opened my mouth to insult her, I noticed her face. It was no longer green but pale. So pale, if she wasn’t almost panting, I’d wonder if she was breathing at all.
“Adriana…”
She cut a sharp stare at me, immediately setting down her cup and clasping her hands together. “So, what kind of shit show am I walking into?”
I motioned toward her tight grip. “Are you sure you’re—”
“I assume when you convinced Val to let you bring me to Mexico City, you conveniently left out the reason you’d suddenly joined Team Adriana.” Her face tightened, either in pain or in anger. Whatever the cause, the message written across it clearly said back off.
So, I did.
I rattled the ice in my glass. “As far as Val knows, my concern for the cartel outweighs any risk you might pose.”
“And?”
“And I told him I believed you were sincere.”
“And he believes it?”
“Mm-hmm,” I mumbled, around a mouthful of scotch.
Adriana’s pale lips twisted in suspicion. She had every right to doubt me. The conversation wasn’t quite that cut and dry. I left out the part where Val more or less threatened to castrate me.
“This is not a time for a family reunion, Harcourt. In case you forgot, Adriana had my wife’s brother tortured and killed. I put you in charge of Houston for a damn reason. If you can’t handle the job, then maybe I should—”
“I can handle it. Look, I know there’s bad blood with Eden, but I wouldn’t bring her if I didn’t think this threat was real. It’s not the first I’ve heard of Muñoz reconstruction and infiltration.”
“And you’re just now informing me. Hijo de tu puta madre.” Son of a bitch.
“Val, I’m not a moron. I didn’t want to come to you until I had full recon and intel. Adriana has the name of the man leading the charge. It’s foolish not to hear her out.”
“Force the name out of her. When did you become such a pussy?”
“Yet again, she won’t tell me. And nobody has the balls to employ torture techniques on the boss’s sister.”
“You’re a resourceful man. Figure something out.”
“I ripped the floor out from underneath her, Val. She wouldn’t trust me with her drink order, much less valuable information.”
“Dios mío. Fine. I’ll have Walker prep the jet. But, Brody?”
“Yeah?”
