CHAPTER 11
Mateo
The lake might be gently lapping the shore outside, but in the underground room, the only sounds were choppy breathing and regret. Imogen may not believe he was the reason her brother was stuck in this situation, to begin with, but Mat knew better. The guilt coated his throat, making it hard to swallow.
It didn’t help that the air had turned sour with the stench of an unwashed body, sweat, and fear. He’d been interrogating Emiliano for the last half hour, and they’d reached a point where some of that fear was his own.
His plan to rescue Imogen’s brother had too many variables. Too many players and too many probable outcomes. For it to work, everything had to go according to plan, which, in his experience, never happened.
Mat’s back faced the cameras as he stared down at his right hand, flexing it. Blood smeared his knuckles, turning his stomach. Not because he had a problem with gore but because of who it belonged to. Beating on the little brother of the woman he loved was making him squeamish. Especially when he knew Imogen was sitting in a surveillance van listening in.
He’d been halfway out the door before she begged him to let her go with him. They’d argued, and she’d refused to do what he asked her, which was stay at his house—safe. The van was a compromise. One he wished he hadn’t made.
He clenched his fist, not needing to fake the anger that lit him up inside. She might not approve of his methods, but it had to be done. He had to put on a helluva show if he wanted the Lazcanos to buy it.
Jerking Emil’s head up by his dark black hair, Mat smiled down at the younger man like this job wasn’t slowly killing him. “Let’s try this again, hombre . Tell me why Los Lobos was hiding you.”
Emiliano spat blood on Mat’s dress shoes— Nice touch. —then answered, “Go to hell.”
Mat had coached the kid on what was going to happen, and so far, he’d played his part well. The lieutenant watched them from a security room upstairs. Pretty soon, he’d get tired of waiting and demand Mat use the sister as leverage to get the information he wanted. At least, that’s what Mat was banking on. As soon as he did, it was go time.
Maya Dominguez, a Ranger from Company “C”, had agreed to play the part of Imogen. He’d left the woman upstairs under guard until El Jaguar was ready for her.
“Oh, I’m plannin’ on it, amigo . But unless you want to wind up there first, I suggest you start talkin’.” Mat took out his gun to punctuate the threat. When he cocked it, Emiliano flinched at the sound. It was a great move for the cameras, but they both knew the bullets loaded in the magazine were blanks.
Mat aimed his weapon at Emil, whose dark eyes shone with hatred. Mat hoped it wasn’t genuine. “Go ahead and shoot me because I’m not telling you anything.”
Lowering his gun, Mat turned to smile at the cameras before telling Imogen’s brother, “I’m not gonna shoot you, mano .” He heard the door open; the lieutenant had gotten his signal. With a sneer, he added, “I’m goin’ to shoot your sister.”
Emil’s head whipped toward the sound of Julio leading the female Ranger down the steps. “No! Let her go. She’s got nothing to do with this!”
Mat had to blink, surprised by Emil’s performance. He almost believed him, even knowing the woman wasn’t actually his sister.
The kid missed his calling as an actor.
Julio paraded Dominguez in front of them before shoving her into a chair next to Emiliano. Mat nodded his thanks at the asshole, but instead of leaving, Julio took up a stance, leaning against the back wall.
Well, there was the first thing that didn’t go to plan.
Ignoring him, Mat continued to work on Emil. “You know I can’t do that, but you can at least keep her alive if you tell me what I wanna know.”
Dominguez sobbed around the gag in her mouth, tears running down her cheeks. When Mat placed the muzzle of his gun on her temple, the cries got louder. “What’s it gonna be, Sanchez? Will you save your sister?”
Mat had planned to shoot her with the blanks, killing her for the cameras, but with Julio in the same room, he didn’t know if they’d be convincing enough. Thinking fast, Mat uncocked the weapon and lowered it.
Without looking at Julio, he said, “Why don’t you get our friend here some water?”
“He doesn’t need any pinche water,” the bastard spat.
This time, Mat met Julio’s gaze. “Now, Julio.” His grip tightened around his weapon as he let all the frustration over this snag in the plan fill his voice. “Or I’ll fuckin’ shoot you, too.”
When Julio begrudgingly complied, Mat leaned down, getting in Emil’s face. If anyone watched on the cameras, it would look like he ripped into the captive with his words. Mat managed to growl, and he clenched his teeth so hard they ached as he told the younger man to headbutt him—hard.
Emil didn’t hold back. Probably as payback for the punches Mat had thrown. Either way, when Emil’s forehead connected with the bridge of Mat’s nose, he saw stars.
Cursing up a storm, he stumbled back a few steps and pressed a hand to his face. Blood didn’t drip from his nostrils, but the damn thing felt like it could be broken.
Riding the wave of pain burning through his face, he snarled at Emil before raising his gun and firing two shots at Dominguez’s chest. Knowing her part, she fell from the chair like a pro. She faced away from the cameras so no one saw her activate the blood packs under her shirt. The red liquid seeped out, spreading below her body.
Emiliano’s shock at the sight of the blood seemed real, but Mat didn’t give him time to recover. “Why were you with Los Lobos ?” he yelled.
Emil glanced at his fake sister and started crying. “I saw the governor’s son. I know he’s your chemist.” He played his role beautifully while Mat tried not to flounder at the news.
He hadn’t expected Emiliano’s answer. After over a year undercover, he finally had the information he needed to finish his job and take the cartel down. Jagged bolts of electricity raced through his body. Topped with the adrenaline surging through his veins, he worried he couldn’t contain it all. But he had to. There would be time to digest the information about the chemist later.
Right now, he had to ensure his fellow Ranger and Imogen’s brother got out of there safely. Drawing Emil’s attention, he raised his weapon and said, “Wrong answer.”
Emil’s eyes widened before Mat pulled the trigger. As the gunshots sounded, Emil slumped in the chair. He had his own set of blood packs, but he wouldn’t be able to trigger them while he faced the camera.
With a growl, Mat kicked the chair over. Emil toppled with it to the floor; the force of the landing made the blood packs burst. Staring down at Imogen’s brother, it looked like Mat had actually killed him. When she got a load of Emil, she was going to give Mat hell. Well, if he made it out of here alive. Every second was crucial, and he didn’t have a moment to waste worrying about her reaction.
Time for the part of the plan Imogen didn’t know about.
Mat holstered his useless weapon and climbed the stairs. He had to distract the lieutenant while Dominguez got Emiliano out. If Mat was lucky, he’d be able to follow them. If he wasn’t . . . at least Imogen and her brother were safe.
The security room opened before Mat had a chance to knock.
“Why did you kill them so quickly?” The lieutenant stormed at him as he came through the door.
The room was the size of a closet and filled with computer monitors. A quick glance showed it was empty. It came as no surprise the lieutenant had kicked the guards out so he didn’t have to share the small space. At least that part went according to plan.
With the lieutenant’s eyes on him, no one watched the cameras in the basement.
Mat shrugged and cupped his fingers around his nose. “Kid pissed me off. I didn’t see any reason to keep him around after he told us what you wanted to know.”
“It was stupid to let your guard down, Mateo.” El Jaguar nodded at Mat’s face. “Let the black eyes he gave you serve as a reminder.”
“ Sí, patrón .” Mat nodded in deference. “I’ll clean up the mess, then put some ice on it.”
“Where’s the Sanchez siblings?” Julio shouted the question as he came up behind them.
Mat shifted his stance to look at the man whose face had gone purple with fury.
Part of him wanted to sag in relief that Dominguez had succeeded, but he managed to portray the picture of consternation as he said, “They’re dead. Bleedin’ all over the basement floor.”
“No, they’re not,” Julio growled.
Mat continued his show for the lieutenant and for the dwindling chance that he’d make it out of this house alive. “What do you mean?”
“They’re not fucking there, gringo . What did you do with them?”
“Julio, what are you saying? I watched him shoot them.” The lieutenant’s agitation grew as Julio continued to rage at Mat.
Knowing the cameras would be the next thing they checked, Mat tried to escape. “I’ll go check it out, patrón .”
He’d only made it a step before Julio stopped him. “Look at the cameras, jefe !”
“I’ve got Sanchez. Does anyone have eyes on Travers?” Dominguez’s voice sounded in Mat’s ear through the hidden comms unit, but he couldn’t respond.
A pistol pointed at his head, and it wasn’t filled with blanks.
◆◆◆
Imogen
Barely ten minutes into the rescue operation, Imogen regretted listening in. Mat would have known what he’d have to do, but she’d been too na?ve. He’d meant to spare her when he’d asked her to stay at his house. Because this was its own form of torture.
Her eyes welled with tears as the sound of a fist connecting with flesh rang in her ear. The utter silence in the surveillance van made it all the more deafening. It was as if no one wanted to speak for fear of saying the wrong thing and turning her into a blubbering mess.
But she’d show them; she could handle this. Prove she wasn’t about to fall prey to hysterics. If Mat could play his part of a heartless narco so well, she could surely hide how difficult it was to listen to the man you loved beating on the little brother you’d always tried to protect.
A sob threatened, but she swallowed it down.
Por favor, Dios, dame fuerza.
Praying for strength, she blinked back tears and fisted her hands. Sitting in the van—waiting—was so difficult when every cell in her body wanted to put a stop to this. She took a deep breath and sighed it out.
If the Rangers went in now, guns blazing, Mat’s cover would be blown, and the year he’d spent on assignment would be wasted. She had plans for him that didn’t include working for the cartel, so she wanted his undercover work finished as soon as possible. If they were going to make a fresh start, he needed the freedom to be himself. No more pretending to be something he wasn’t.
Solo mi vaquero.
She needed her brother back before she got lost dreaming about the future with her cowboy. It was surreal that after months, she’d finally found Emiliano. Had he been with the cartel the entire time? If that was the case, what had they done to him? The thought made her sick to her stomach, but whatever Emil had been through, she’d help him with it.
The sound of another punch echoed through her headset, and she hid a wince. Mat was doing this to save Emil’s life. She knew that . . . but it didn’t make it any easier.
When a woman’s sobs filled her ear, the air in the van shifted. Almost as if the Rangers collectively held their breath. The tension affected Imogen, too. She sat as still as she could, waiting.
Gunshots made her jump; then, the quiet pall broke with a flurry of activity. The back doors opened, and two Rangers hopped out. Adrenaline pushed Imogen to her feet even though she knew she couldn’t follow them.
Soon. This will all be over soon.
But the seconds stretched into minutes that felt like hours. With only her and the tech guy left in the van, Imogen started to pace. Too many people spoke in her ear; she barely understood what was happening.
Nervous energy kept her feet moving as her brain ran with questions and worry. She felt twitchy as if she’d mainlined the cartel’s cocaine. The longer she waited, the stronger the fear became for Emil and Mat’s life.
“Get Sanchez to the paramedics.” The barked order made Imogen’s heart leap.
She ran out of the van, heading toward the ambulance. Amid its flashing lights, the sight of a dark-haired man with a slim build brought tears to her eyes.
“Emil!” Imogen shouted her brother’s name as she ran the last few feet to him.
A gasp left her lips when he turned. Oh! His poor face. He had a swollen eye, a split lip, and a bloody cheek.
“Imogen? What are you doing here?” Shock colored his voice, but it couldn’t hide how tired he sounded.
Instead of answering, she hugged him so tight he yelped.
“ Cuidado, mana . Everything hurts.”
“Sorry, but I’m just so happy to see you.” She leaned back to stare at his face. A sob escaped, and tears streamed down her cheeks. “For months, I feared you were dead.”
The female Ranger escorting Emil spoke gently while Imogen struggled to stop crying. A powerful wave of relief seemed to want to wash out of her through her tears. “Miss Sanchez, your brother needs to get checked out by the paramedics.”
Emiliano patted her back, and she nodded. “I’ll come with you.”
While Imogen waited for her brother to be cleared, she searched the dark for Mat. He’d probably have to report to a superior first, but she desperately wanted to see him. To hold him and know this nightmare was over.
Her eye caught on a circle of Rangers and law enforcement officers arguing with each other. Something was wrong. Agitated gestures and head shakes sent worry burning up her throat. Then fear snuck in, tightening her chest to the point of pain.
Where’s Mat?