“We will.”

Another laugh from him, this one short and clipped. “Let’s see, brother. But you gotta know that there’s no turning back for you either. You’ll either have to go all the way up the ladder or you become a ghost.”

A vision of Ash flared in my mind.

I firmed my jaw. “Let’s get Verónica first, and after that, if you’re with us, then you’re with us all the way. I got people in place. We just have to get across the border.”

A short nod from him. “Sounds good.” He checked his watch. “We have to go, or we’ll have to wait another twenty-four hours to move in for her.”

“Okay.”

We had a four-hour ride ahead of us.

54

Ash

Twelve hours later

We were in Nogales, on the Arizona side when the call came in.

I answered, knowing it was one of Raize’s burners. “Are you okay?”

Loud and harsh wind thundered over the phone first, then I heard him shouting. “You need to move. Now! Marco has men on the US side and they’re looking for you.”

I bolted upright from where I’d been sitting. The phone was clenched against my head, but I drew both Jake and Cavers’ attention. I stood. “What’s going on?” I didn’t wait, already waving to both of them and pointing to our bags. I said to them, “We have to go now.”

“Now?”

“Now!”

Jake clipped his head, but Cavers hadn’t questioned me. He immediately grabbed a bag and threw open the door, running the bags out. I needed to free up a hand, so I plugged in a bluetooth earpiece that Jake had insisted we buy and stuffed my phone into my pocket.

“I’m here,” I said to Raize as I ran to grab my things, and what items he left behind.

Gus started barking in the background.

I asked, “You got you—her?”

I winced, looking, but Cavers wasn’t in the room and Jake didn’t seem like he’d noticed I almost slipped. I didn’t know when or how or where or even if Raize was going to fill them in, but that was not my decision.

“We got her, but as soon as we went through the border, an alert sounded. Abram’s phone went crazy with texts. They know you’re in Nogales and I’m sure they’re thinking she’s with you.”

We had a cartel team heading our way. Lovely.

I was finishing grabbing the last of the weapons he’d left behind, my bag thrown over my back.

Cavers dashed in, grabbed what bags were left and Jake took Gus.

I stood in the opened doorway, and turned back. “We need to clean this room.”

Cavers came back in, throwing bleach everywhere. He yelled over his shoulder, “Go! Get in the truck.”

I did, hurrying in.

Jake was in the driver’s seat. He saw my bluetooth. “Is he still there?”

I nodded.

Jake ripped the earpiece from me and put it in his. “Boss. What’s going on?”

Since they were talking, I stashed my bags into the back area.

Gus was standing in the truck's bed, his head through the opened window. He started licking my face.

Then Cavers ran out, threw himself into the back with Gus, and pounded the side. “GO!”

Jake bit out a curse, but punched the acceleration and we were off.

He started yelling, driving at the same time. “Where?”

He swung through a parking lot, and soared over another one and then we were fishtailing and going in the opposite direction.

I cursed, seeing police. “Stop, Jake!” I pointed him out.

Jake cursed, too, but immediately hit another alley just as the cop was turning the corner. We were far enough up he might not have seen us, but just in case, Jake swung into another parking lot and turned onto the next street, going in the complete opposite direction. This time, he was moving at a more normal speed.

Cavers hit the window behind us.

I turned around to see him shooting Jake a glare. “What the fuck?” He had a tight hold on Gus, who was trying to break free.

“Cop,” I told him.

He nodded, moving back and settling in once more.

Jake mouthed to me, “Sorry” but he was still listening to Raize. Ten minutes later, he said, “Okay. We’re on the freeway.” He motioned for me to take the piece. “Boss wants you now.”

I fitted it back in my ear. “Where are you?”

“We’re outside of the city. You guys are meeting us north of town, at the second rest stop. It’s a drive so tell Cavers to settle in. No cops. Nothing. Got it?”

“Got it.”

He hung up as I was turning around to relay to Cavers what Raize said.

A moment later, he was sliding down so no passing cars could see a guy holding a dog in the back of a car and call it in for state patrol.

I put the bluetooth piece away, glaring at Jake. “Dude.”

He grimaced. “I know. I’m sorry. I heard Cartel and panicked.” He tossed Cavers a quick look. “You think he wiped that room down adequately?”

I shrugged. “I don’t know, but we didn’t do anything. Let’s hope it gets missed.”

He frowned. “Are we talking cops or cartel?”

“I don’t think cartels can wipe for any DNA traces.”

“You’d be surprised what they can do.”

True, but I didn’t want to know.

I said, sliding down and trying to get comfortable, “We’re in one piece. Raize said they’re in one piece. Let’s just get there and figure out what to do.”

“He said, ‘We got her.’”

“What?”

Jake was watching me, studying me before he turned back to the road. “He said ‘we’ when it should’ve been ‘I got her.’ Who’s with him?”

I got quiet. But, dammit. “Why are you asking?”

He frowned again, then his eyebrows shot up. “You kidding me? We’re back to this paranoia shit? I thought we were over that.”

“If it’s someone coming with Raize, then that’s all you need to know. So I gotta ask again, why are you asking?”

“I’m asking to see if you know, and it’s evident you do. You knew before he took off or are you just as surprised as me? Our boss isn’t one to work with someone random.”

I still didn’t know why he was asking. “Interrogate Raize when we see him. I might know who it is, but I don’t know any of the specifics and I don’t feel comfortable about you asking me all of this. You either trust Raize or you don’t.”

I was studying him as I said that last part, and he got tight around the mouth.

That was it.

He didn’t trust Raize.

Why didn’t he trust Raize? When had this changed?

Then a different thought occurred to me. “Is this because of your woman?”

He jerked, his head whipping to mine. “What?”

It was about his woman.

This wasn’t good, not at all.

“Are you not going to cut her loose?”

His jaw clenched, and his hand tightened over the steering wheel. He jerked up a shoulder, roughly. “I don’t know. It’s probably the wrong time to be having this conversation, considering we’re running from a cartel. You know?”