Chapter 15
The buzzing fluorescent lights overhead in the hangar cast a harsh, sterile glare on the concrete floor.
The place reeked of fuel, oil, and nerves.
Drew sat on a metal folding chair, ankles still loosely bound, wrists red from earlier restraints.
They hadn’t bothered tying her again—probably too confident she couldn’t outrun bullets.
Two of Rodriguez’s men leaned against the wall near the floor-to-ceiling doors, rifles slung casually over their shoulders like they were waiting for a delivery, not a jet sent by one of the most dangerous cartel leaders in the hemisphere.
Fuckin’ Rodriguez. The name curled in her gut like she’d eaten bad sushi. She still couldn’t get her brain around the whole thing. Why kidnap her? If Rodriguez was after Cross to get to Tessa, then why bother to kidnap her? Why not just shoot her too and leave her and Cross both in the river?”
She sucked in a breath and tried to banish the image of Cross floating in the river from her brain. She would not focus on that. He was not dead. No fucking way was he dead. She just couldn’t let herself believe that.
There had to be something more going on.
Something she was unaware of. Some plot that made it necessary to have leverage over Tessa.
It should’ve been Cross, but that didn’t happen, so they’d taken her.
Not that she thought Tessa cared about her at all or even knew of her existence outside of the fact that she was a woman Cross used to date.
He must have at least mentioned that. So why was she leverage?
Maybe she was just a body, and they thought Tessa wouldn’t let someone else get hurt because of her.
But why? They couldn’t possibly have any use for Drew.
Not when Tessa was the goal. It was all so confusing.
Across the hangar, Charlie paced. His movements were erratic—tight circles and abrupt stops, like his brain was running hot and his body couldn’t keep up. His lip was swollen, and it made him look meaner than he probably felt.
“You keep pacing like that and you’re gonna wear a hole in the concrete,” Drew muttered.
Charlie threw her a glare over his shoulder. “You try getting tased and dumped in a goddamn swamp, then tell me how Zen you’d be.”
“You brought that on yourself,” she shot back.
He didn’t argue. Just swiped a hand through his hair and sighed, as though the weight of his decisions finally sank in. “I told them where to find you. Figured I’d get paid and walk. But this? This ain’t what I signed up for.”
Drew narrowed her eyes. “You nervous?”
“Hell yes, I’m nervous.” He lowered his voice and leaned toward her. “Rodriguez doesn’t send private jets for the likes of you and me unless there’s something big going on. I sure as hell don’t wanna be anywhere near something big when it comes to the likes of Rodriguez.”
Her stomach clenched, but she kept her face blank. Charlie was not wrong. “So why not just pay you, kill me in the swamp, and call it a day?”
Charlie hesitated. That alone was answer enough.
But then he spoke. “It’s not just about you.
His girlfriend, who disappeared a while back?
Some people say she worked with the feds—DEA or ATF, no one’s sure.
She vanished in Miami. And so did a major drug shipment.
Ever since, Rodriguez’s operation has been unraveling.
Trust gone, partners bailing. He’s looking for someone to blame…
someone he can at least make an example of if he can’t get his drugs back.
His people down in South America are pissed as hell at the lost shipment, and they want him to make it up or they’ll make an example of him. ”
Drew sat there stunned. “She’s a cop?” she whispered.
Charlie nodded. “That’s the rumor, and that’s what makes the whole mess even more screwy. The drugs that went missing, no one knows where they are, and no arrests were made. All the shit happening to Rodriguez now has nothing to do with the cops.”
“Are you saying that Tessa’s a crooked cop?”
Charlie shrugged. “I ain’t saying anything. I’m just telling you what I heard. This Tessa woman made a huge shipment of drugs disappear, and now the world is looking for her, not just Rodriguez. The cops, too.” Charlie turned to Drew. “And somehow, you got caught in the middle.”
She bit her lip. “But that still doesn’t explain why he wants me alive.”
Charlie gave her a pointed look. “Maybe someone told him you knew something. Maybe someone told him you’d be good leverage. Or maybe he thinks that since she’s a cop, she won’t let someone die because of her. What the hell do I know?”
Her mind immediately jumped to Cross. He would date an ATF agent for sure, but would he be involved with a crooked one?
She just couldn’t see it. And although she’d never met Tessa, she was pretty damn sure the woman wouldn’t be able to lie to Cross long term without him suspecting anything.
Was he so in love that he wasn’t seeing things clearly? It didn’t track.
But she’d been wrong about him before.
She looked down at her hands, flexed her fingers, and forced a breath through her nose. The idea of Cross and Tessa together made her stomach twist uncomfortably. Had he really moved on that fast? Had he ever really moved on at all? The way they’d been in the bayou made her doubt he had.
God knew she hadn’t.
She’d tried to build walls. Tried to keep him out of her heart. But the second he touched her again, those walls tumbled like a sandcastle in the tide. And now, sitting in this hangar with her future dangling by a thread, she realized the truth: she wasn’t over him. Not even close.
But she had to start rebuilding those walls. Because if she ever got out of this, she wasn’t going back. Not to the swamp. Not to the mess. And definitely not to Cross Morgan.
Charlie dropped into the chair beside her and rubbed his face.
“Look, I know you hate me right about now, but you and me always had a…type of truce goin’.
We might have got one another now and again, but it was all in good fun.
Just business.” He heaved out a shaky breath.
“I got a bad feeling about this. I’m sorry I told them about you.
If things turn south, run like hell. Don’t worry about me. Save yourself.”
Drew tilted her head. “You think they’re gonna kill you?”
“I’m no use to them once you’re delivered,” he said flatly. “That makes me dead weight.”
She frowned. “You didn’t seem this skittish when you were with Rodriguez outside of Cross’s place.”
“Yeah, well. That was before I saw what kind of resources Rodriguez is throwing around. He’s not just angry—he’s unraveling. Unpredictable. That makes him dangerous as hell.”
The hangar fell into silence. The guards at the doors shifted, one checking his watch. Somewhere outside, the low rumble of a jet engine hummed above the quiet, growing louder by the second.
Charlie stood and swore under his breath. “He’s coming.”
Drew stared at the hangar doors, her pulse picking up speed. Her hands clenched into fists in her lap. She wasn’t ready. But she would be. Because if this was the last fight she had in her, she wasn’t going down easy. Not for Rodriguez. Not for anyone.
The jet’s engines whined as they powered down, the heavy thrum echoing off the metal walls of the hangar.
Heat blasted through the open door as the sleek black Gulfstream coasted to a stop on the tarmac.
Drew sat, spine straight and chin high, even though her stomach churned with dread.
She wanted to be on her feet, but her ankles were still bound.
Beside her, Charlie shifted from foot to foot, his eyes locked on the aircraft like it was a damn viper coiling to strike.
The plane door lowered with a hydraulic hiss, and a group of armed men dressed in suits spilled out first, sweeping the perimeter like they expected an ambush.
They moved too cleanly, too tight in formation.
Not Rodríguez’s men, Drew thought immediately.
These were pros. Military or cartel elite. Maybe both. Her gut twisted.
Then came Rodríguez.
He emerged slowly, adjusting the cuffs of his crisp shirt, the top few buttons open to reveal a thin gold chain against sun-browned skin.
He looked every inch the Miami cartel boss—tailored pants, snakeskin shoes, and a Rolex that glinted under the hangar lights.
But there were cracks in the image now. His hair, once slicked back, had a touch too much gray at the temples.
His jaw was shadowed with stubble. And the deep hollows under his eyes made him look like he hadn’t slept in days.
Maybe he hadn’t. Stress clung to him like sweat.
And behind his forced casualness, Drew imagined the weight of paranoia was eating him alive.
Rodríguez paused at the bottom of the stairs and scanned the hangar, lips curling into something that might’ve been a smile if it didn’t look so damn hollow.
The outsiders—the watchers—stood back, impassive.
Eyes sharp. These men weren’t his. They were sent to keep tabs.
Maybe to take control if things went sideways.
The tension in the hangar burrowed painfully into her shoulders.
Rodríguez strode forward, flanked by two of his own lieutenants, until he stopped in front of Drew. He peeled off his sunglasses and slipped them into his breast pocket.
“Well,” he said, voice low and rough around the edges, “this wasn’t the reunion I wanted.”
Drew kept silent. She wouldn't give him the satisfaction of a reaction.
He turned to the man who’d captured her—thick-necked, twitchy, the kind who liked to hit first and ask questions never. Rodríguez gave him a once-over, his nostrils flaring.
“You said you had Cross Morgan.”
“We—we almost had him. But he—”
Rodríguez pulled a pistol from the back of his waistband and shot him in the head.
Blood sprayed across the concrete as the man crumpled.
The crack of the gun made Charlie flinch beside her.
Drew didn’t even blink, but she bit her cheek to keep from gagging.
She knew she was wearing some of the dead man’s blood and brain matter.
Rodríguez sighed, wiped the muzzle of the gun on the dead man’s shirt, and tucked it away like it was just another part of his wardrobe.
“Almost,” he said quietly, “isn’t good enough.”
He turned back to Drew, and this time, his eyes glittered with something darker. “You’d better hope your little fed friend feels generous, querida. Otherwise, this ends badly. For everyone.”
Drew lifted her chin. “Tessa doesn’t give a damn about me. I know nothing about her. I’ve never even met her. If you knew anything about me, you would know that.”
Rodríguez smirked. “Maybe. But she might care about what happens when your body gets dumped on her doorstep.” He leaned in closer. “You know who Dane was to her, right?”
Her breath hitched. “What?”
His grin stretched wider, cruel and gleaming.
“See, I know all about your brother…and your sister…and your boyfriend. Their little team hides out in the Louisiana bayou. Dane used to be part of that little team back when they were in the military. Dane was her brother. Just like McGuire is yours. Surprise!”
Her mind reeled. Pieces clicked into place—Dane, Tessa… Cross working with Tessa… He hadn’t been helping her because of some rekindled flame. He was helping Tessa. Helping Dane.
Helping family.
Rodríguez stepped back and looked her over. “I know all about them. Dane, Cross, Stone, McGuire, Patch. All good soldiers. Loyal. Too bad loyalty gets people killed. You had better hope Tessa is loyal too because your life depends on it.” His gaze dropped to her body. “Speaking of which…”
Rodriguez's fingertips dug into her bicep hard. “I’ve been patient. I let them bring you in alive. But now? If Tessa doesn’t show up and tell me where my drugs are,” he leaned in, voice sliding like oil across her skin, “then you and I are going to have a little fun before I kill you.”
Drew yanked her arm back. “Go to hell,” She allowed her anger to show, burying the spontaneous fear his touch inspired.
He slapped her.
It wasn’t hard, not really. But it stung, and it made her blood boil.
He chuckled and turned—only then noticing Charlie trying to shrink back behind her.
“Well, well,” Rodríguez drawled. “The traitor in the flesh.”
Charlie stiffened. “I did what you asked.”
“For a price,” Rodríguez snapped. “But you failed to deliver the real prize. Tell me why I shouldn’t put a bullet between your eyes?”
“Because I got her,” Charlie said quickly. “And if she’s leverage—then I’m the reason you’ve got any of it.”
Rodríguez raised the gun again, expression bored.
Drew leaned forward, teeth bared. “Do it. Kill him. Just make sure I’m watching.”
Rodríguez paused, his smile sharpening.
“Oh, I like you angry,” he said. Then he lowered the gun, his eyes still on Charlie. “You live. For now. Just to piss her off.”
He laughed to himself and motioned to one of the new men. “Get them both on the plane. I’m done breathing this swamp-air excuse for a city.”
The armed guards moved in. They sliced the zip ties on Drew’s ankles and then pushed her forward.
Drew walked under her own power, head held high, rage pulsing with every step.
Whoever the fuck this Tessa was, she better know what the hell she’s doing because there was no way in hell Drew was going down because of some dirty cop, even if she was part of the family.