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“Maybe if Kate hadtrustedme today when I—”
“You ran a man off the road!” Char shouts.
“That was an accident! And we had no choice but to keep driving, or we could have been arrested, and Marco and Rowan would never be stopped!”
“Santi, chill the fuck out,” I tell him quietly. Glancing back at Char through the rearview mirror, I say, “Look, I understand why you don’t believe us. Yet you still got in the car with us. You trusted enough to believe that we were actually going to save Kate.”
There’s a palpable silence as my words take effect.
“Why couldn’t you stop?” she finally asks.
“We had kilos of fent in the car,” Santi admits. It’s a bizarre feeling to hear him confess this to anyone other than me or Ted. We’ve kept so many secrets for so long… but it all ends tonight.
“Fent?”
“Fentanyl,” I clarify.
“Wha—” I catch her staring at the road pensively, analyzing the limited information she has. “Your dads…”
“Yep,” I say, popping the p. “Our dads lead the fentanyl distribution to tons of drug rings. They dabble in dealing other drugs as well, but their primary business is the creation and distribution of fentanyl to other dealers.”
“The hotel is full of drugs?” she guesses.
“Cash. Which we only just found out tonight,” I say bitterly. “Wait—how do you know about the hotel?”
Char tells us about her conversation with Kate after she went through Marco’s office. “When I got to the hotel, her phone went straight to voicemail. I went to the room and knocked multiple times but I got no answer. That’s when I concluded you guys took her. I don’t have your numbers, so I did the only thing I could think to do—show up at your door, hoping you took her to your house.”
“I know we look like the bad guys,” Santi explains. “And it’s not like we haven’t done some fucked up shit. We’ve been waiting for a big deal in order for the FBI to have concrete evidence of their workings. The next one was set for August. Ted explained that the more they have on them, the stronger their case presents once it goes to court. Our testimonies, while significant, aren’t strong enough to imprison for life. In order to do that, we needed proof of a deal going down.”
“The cash isn’t as strong as what we could have gotten in August,” I chime in. “But I can’t let Kate die for this cause, and Ted damn well knows that. So the cash is the best we’ve got.
“Hopefully, along with the video footage of Kate,” Santi adds, unknowingly shooting an arrow through my chest. If I weren’t driving, the pain would be too much to bear. What condition are we going to find her in?
“I have so many questions… how did you get involved with the FB-fucking-I? Oh my god, is this why you wouldn’t commit to… oh my god so many things are clicking!”
“We’re close,” I murmur. As much as I want tofinallyhave a chance to explain it all, we’re turning down the street for the warehouse I pray Kate is at. “We’ll have to explain everything later.”
“Please just let us drop you off at the corner. Get in an Uber and go home. This isn’t safe,” Santi pleads.
“No! I care about Kate more than either of you. I’m not leaving my best friend!”
“That’s not true—” I start to argue, but Santi cuts me off.
“You stay in the car and wait for us. Don’t leave for any reason other than someone coming after you. Got it?”
Once Char nods, he faces forward. When we pull up to Donovans, Santi opens the glove compartment as I throw the car into park, handing me a pistol while handing Char the other.
“I’ve never used a gun before,” she confesses, taking it with shaky hands.
“You shouldn’t need it,” he reassures her. “But I’m not about to leave you out here defenseless. No one is expecting us to show up, but I’d rather be cautious.”
I ensure my gun is locked and loaded while Santi teaches Char to remove the safety and pull the trigger.
“Be careful,” Char says once Santi returns the gun to her and opens his door.
“We'll be fine. You need to be careful. Please, just let us take you—”
"We don't have time!” I insist as I open my door.
