Chapter Thirty-Seven Ryder
Chapter Thirty-Seven
Ryder
“Was that really necessary?” Alex asked after Leo, of all fucking people, removed the black bags from our heads. We’d just made it to the CIA’s safe house after they’d forced us off the road ten minutes ago.
Beth had Leo cut Alex’s zip ties, allowing him to stand. She nudged a cup of coffee his way like a peace offering. “If you know our location, you’ll get a signal out somehow to someone to try and save you.”
Alex shoved the mug back at her, liquid sloshing onto his hand, but he didn’t react. The coffee was probably cold, like Beth’s heart. “Not interested in ingesting arsenic, thanks.”
Beth wasn’t the eye-rolling type, so her response was to drink the coffee as her answer to him. Prove it wasn’t poison. You couldn’t kill what was already dead, and she was that. On the inside, at least.
Alex targeted Leo next. “You wouldn’t help us in Miami when Sera was in danger, but you’re okay with working for Beth?”
Leo stepped forward in between the two other operators standing there. I took them to be more of the silent, just-doing-what-they’re-told types. “She pays enough that I forget to care.” A sly smile crossed his lips; then he stole a look at Seraphina and winked.
Well, that was the wrong move. He was lucky my hands were currently zip-tied behind my back. More importantly, he was lucky I couldn’t act out of anger right now. I had to keep my head on straight so Beth wouldn’t Taser me or God-knows-what-else she might do.
“I also pay you not to have an opinion,” Beth said in her typical no-fucks-given tone.
They say opposites attract, but that woman was on the other side of the world from Alex.
“Go ahead and untie the others,” she ordered.
Seraphina, Reed, and I were all on our knees like hostages inside the living room of their safe house. Once we were cut free by one of the quiet operators who’d yet to piss me off, I helped Seraphina to her feet.
I took a moment to scan the room, count the armed operators we’d be up against if need be, along with what kind of heat they were packing.
Ten tangos in total, which included the she-beast, a new name Seraphina had said under her breath while we’d been bagged earlier.
Thermal had picked up only the eight, but we hadn’t accounted for their pilot and another passenger in the helo.
“What’s next in the playbook, boss lady?” Alex offered up a heavy dose of sarcasm at the end there.
“No conversations are happening in here. Not in front of everyone.” Her answer was revealing.
I had to assume most of the GRS operators weren’t actually part of her special team and it was possible we could pull a few over to our side. Not Leo, of course.
Beth set down the coffee and removed her suit jacket, tossing it on the couch. “There’s nothing you all need to do right now. We can’t come up with an infil and exfil plan without a location. So for now, why don’t you sleep?”
“Sleep?” Alex fake-laughed. “You gotta be kidding me.”
“Did you get everything you wanted from the meeting?” Seraphina squared off with her. Brave and bold. Ready to throw down. “You were watching us, right?”
Beth methodically rolled up her sleeve before moving on to the next one.
It took all my energy to stand there and bite my tongue, to not engage.
We could probably handle the numbers presently in the room, because the rest were patrolling the property, but I didn’t want to kill them.
Injure Leo, though? Yeah, he deserved an ass whooping.
But unless these guys were in on Beth’s plans, they didn’t deserve to die.
“Nothing to say?” Seraphina took a step forward, provoking her. So I took one right along with her.
“Life is all about choices, Miss Torres. Some sacrifices have to be made for the greater good. To preserve American values and protect our country.” What a scripted DC answer.
Seraphina didn’t respond like I knew she wanted to. She was probably reminding herself of the same thing I was. We all agreed not to expose how much we knew about Beth’s dark money team.
“You’ll be escorted to your bedrooms now.” Beth waved her hand toward the hallway off to our left. “Don’t think of this as a prison, but more so a time-out.”
Alex opened his mouth, then snapped it shut. He smartly kept that fuck you he wanted to say to himself.
“Alex, you’ll be coming with me to my room.” Beth tipped her head toward the hall at our right.
“Ah, you’re looking to get lucky, are you?” Alex leaned in, fucking with her. “Not on your life, Bethany.”
Beth maintained her composure and simply pointed to the hall. “Now.”
He closed his eyes and let go of a deep breath, and I knew it pained him to do what she said, but he had no choice.
“Before you leave, though,” she said to Seraphina, “I need you to do something.” She produced a phone from her pocket.
“You have a message to send. I know about your friend in Mexico. I assume if you don’t check in, he’ll get worried.
I’d prefer to avoid any conflict with a man who’s an enemy of the cartel. An enemy of—”
“Please don’t finish your sentence,” Seraphina cut her off, reluctantly accepting the phone.
“I’m so sick of those words.” She went ahead and typed in the six-digit passcode and scrolled to Martín’s name as I looked on.
Hell, with everything that’d happened, I’d forgotten about him. “What am I telling him?”
Beth raised her brows. “Not even putting up a fight?”
“I don’t want him getting hurt, and he’ll fly here if he doesn’t hear from me. So yeah, you win right now.”
“Just make sure he doesn’t suspect anything and buy yourself time.”
Seraphina quickly did what she asked before Beth took the phone back.
“I’ll hang on to that.” Beth flicked her wrist, motioning for Leo to walk over. “Take the three of them to their rooms.”
“I’m not leaving her alone.” That was a hill I’d die on. Game, set, and match if Beth wanted to go there. “Unless you want to spill blood—which will happen—don’t try to split us up.”
“She’s not just a mark to you?”
I let her words pass over me, refusing to allow her to get under my skin.
“Fine. I know when to pick and choose my battles,” she said almost casually.
Seraphina’s back relaxed against my palm.
One of the quiet GRS operators abruptly stepped forward, blocking Leo’s path to us. “Maybe not the best idea to have him be their escort? Why don’t I show these two to their room?”
I discreetly checked Reed, gauging his reaction to see if he was our possible ally coming to our rescue. Reed gave me an answer of no with a subtle shake of the head.
“Fine. You’ve got them.” Beth waved someone else over next, and Reed signaled to me yes, letting me know Garrison was accompanying him.
That’s something. I started for the hall, keeping hold of Seraphina, then shot one last look at Alex, worried about him having to be alone with Beth.
She was going to sink her claws into him. Draw blood. Inflict as much pain as possible, and that big-ass heart of his would be powerless to hurt her back.
Alex narrowed his eyes and lightly nodded. I hoped that meant what I needed it to mean. He really was done with that vindictive woman for good.
Because after this, if it were up to me, I wouldn’t stop Seraphina from killing her like I knew she wanted to. Hell, I might even give her a gun to do it.