“What?”

Estrada turned, holding out his hand to Abram.

Abram hesitated, giving Raize a look before he pulled a gun out and handed it to Estrada.

Raize watched the gun, his eyes darkening, but he didn’t move.

“I allowed you to leave as a gift to my sister, but I said if I ever saw you again, I’d kill you. I’m seeing you again, Raize. You know what that means.” He raised the gun, pointing it at him. “Have you considered that your boss knew I wanted you dead? He sent you to broker this relationship. Have you considered the thought that you’re the gift from your boss to me?”

Raize drew in a breath, but had no other reaction.

No fear.

No anger.

Nothing.

He didn’t pull a gun, and I looked around, wondering if his other guys were here somehow.

Then Raize spoke, “You think not having hills or trees around here would stop me?”

Estrada frowned. “What do you mean?”

“You’re right, Marco. I didn’t just bring those two men with me, and me sending them away wasn’t for the reason you’re thinking.”

“What am I thinking?”

“That I sent them away to regroup and come up behind you.”

Estrada went rigid, and I was pretty sure he hadn’t been thinking that because his head and his men’s heads whipped to look behind us.

That’s when Raize moved.

He darted forward. Watching him now, I knew that I’d always be mystified by him. He moved quickly and soundlessly, and no one saw him except for me. All of Estrada’s men had fallen for the trick.

When Estrada turned back, Raize was in front of him, his hand on Estrada’s gun.

He took it, flipped it around, and had Estrada turned against his chest in an instant. Raize put Estrada’s gun to his head and started barking orders.

“Release her now!”

The guy holding my arm let go, and I took off. Abram jerked forward to catch me, but I swung around him, anticipating his move. A gunshot hit the rock right next to Abram and he stepped back, letting me pass.

I ran past Raize and Estrada.

Raize had the gun back on Estrada…

Wait, no. Raize hadn’t moved the gun. That meant he wasn’t alone after all. The shot that moved Abram had come from out in the desert. And I wasn’t the only one coming to that conclusion. Abram’s eyes rounded, and so did Estrada’s.

“Get in the truck,” Raize told me.

I nodded, going right to the vehicle and climbing in. The windows were down so I could hear as he continued speaking.

“I’m not the idiot you think I am, Marco. I came with my own insurance and my own offer for you. Everything will be relayed to Roman, and we can go from there, but if you decide to work with him, that’s between you and him. I have my own offering so you can lay down this death wish for me. I can’t do my job to the best of my ability if the guy I’m supposed to be working with wants me dead.”

“I’m listening,” Estrada growled with his hands in the air.

“You want to know if Jorge killed your brother?”

“You know that?”

“I can’t offer you proof, but I can offer you the knowledge if Jorge killed him or not. That’s my bargaining chip.”

Raize was banking a lot on this need Estrada wanted to know if someone killed this Jorge guy. A lot.

“And if I don’t want it?”

“Then I walk and my boss sends someone else in my place to offer another deal—but with less benefits for you. You won’t be getting into Russia anymore.”

“You have that much faith in your boss?”

“I do.”

Estrada was quiet, and for whatever reason, Raize let him go.

He jerked away, rounding and glaring at Raize, then at me.

“You care about that girl.” He grinned, and the look was ugly. “My sister will be heartbroken.”

“I don’t know why she would be, but I left because you sent a death squad for my head. I’m back to set this up.”

“What if I require that you’re the go-between if this partnership is to start?”

Estrada was goading Raize. I just didn’t know why.

Abram watched them like a hawk.

“You make that requirement and I retract the offer for you to find out whether Jorge killed your brother.”

I couldn’t see Estrada’s reaction to that, but Raize was holding his own. He seemed unflappable, almost bored at times, though I didn’t think anyone believed that. It was just his way of goading Estrada.

It was working.

There were lines of frustration around Estrada’s mouth.

What was the history here? What had been between Raize and Estrada’s sister?

“You’ve been given the offer, both offers. Take a day to decide.”

Estrada clipped his head in a nod, and Raize turned his hand, emptying the gun into the dirt before tossing it back to Abram. Then he turned and walked back to the truck. As he did, three figures rose up from the desert, all wearing camouflage—Raize’s second team. Each carried a long rifle, and I was sure they had other weapons on their bodies. They came over, climbed into the truck bed, and without saying a word, Raize started the engine and reversed.

We went one way.

Estrada went the other.

22

Ash

Raize didn’t speak the entire drive back.

He looked me over before we left, but that was it. He drove to the motel. The guys got out and went inside, and we drove away.

“Are you hurt?” he asked once we were alone.

I shook my head, hugging myself.

“What do you want?”

My stomach growled. “Anything. How long was I with them?”

“Less than a day.”

Oh. “I passed out. Came to when they were bandaging my arm. They had their own doctor.”

“He’s a good doc. I know him.”

Right. Because you came from them.

“You killed a man?” Raize asked after a moment.

I nodded, a lump forming in my throat. I’d blocked that out.

“I don’t want to talk about it.”

Wait. I had to. “There was a woman and her son,” I told him. “They saw me, saw what I did. There was a dog, too.”

The air turned frosty, but I was too tired to hold my breath. Raize’s reaction was going to be his reaction. I wasn’t scared of him anymore, though I should’ve been. You should be scared of everyone in this world.

“A woman? A kid?” he said, sounding incredulous.

I nodded. “Yeah,” I whispered.

“Give me the address.”

My heart slammed against my ribcage. “Raize. No.”

“Give me the address.”

No.

No.

He could not—he’d kill them. I would not have a hand in that.

He lowered his voice, “If I don’t take care of them, Estrada will—if he hasn’t already.”

I shrunk down in my seat, wrapped my arms as tight around myself as I could. “They’re innocents.”

“They saw your face.” He sighed. “I need an address. If you don’t give it to me, I’ll have Jake look through police records. They would’ve called the police. I’ll find them that way.”