Chapter 21
Drew tried not to squirm against the zip ties cutting into her wrists. Her fingers had gone numb. Her ankles ached. But none of that compared to the cold drop in her stomach when Rodriguez’s burner phone buzzed on the table in front of him.
He picked it up, listened for a moment, and something in his expression shifted—predatory excitement blooming across his face.
The nerves running wild in Drew went into overdrive.
“Get ready,” he barked to his men. “It’s happening.”
Everyone in the room snapped to life like someone had lit a fuse. Chairs scraped. Weapons were checked. A charge buzzed in the air, the kind that came right before lightning struck.
Drew held her breath. It wasn’t close to midnight so this must have been the call from his mole in the ATF. Surely Tessa had to know about this. Maybe this is why she ran in the first place? There was nothing Drew could do to warn Tessa, or her brother and his team.
She glanced down at the zip ties. She knew if she raised her arms and pulled them downward and back toward her hips she could break the zip ties but what then?
Rodriguez’s men or the cartel guys would either kill her or just put more restraints on.
She hadn’t bothered to try and escape because there hadn’t been an opportunity.
Too many men around. Maybe once they were gone, she would have more of a chance.
She could only hope he left her alone with Dunlop. He could help her escape.
Rodriguez turned toward Dunlop, who’d been hovering near the edge of the room like he didn’t want to get too close to anything.
“You’re coming,” Rodriguez said.
Dunlop stiffened. “What?”
Drew’s stomach churned. Her hope to be alone with Dunlop was dying before her.
“You heard me,” Rodriguez snarled. “You want to prove you’re loyal, this is your chance. Time to show you’re not just riding coattails.”
Dunlop opened his mouth, then closed it again. He looked like he wanted to argue, but the words never came. After a long pause, he gave a stiff, almost robotic nod. “Yeah. Okay.”
No.
No, no, no!
Drew’s throat tightened. She wanted to scream at him not to go.
This was her moment to escape. She needed his help.
He couldn’t go with Rodriguez. Not to mention this was too dangerous for him.
Dunlop didn’t have the experience or the balls to deal with a situation like this.
She wanted to scream at him; to tell him he was walking into something he wouldn’t come back from.
But what could she do, zip-tied on a damn velvet couch with no way to protect the stupid dope?
Dunlop didn’t even look at her. Not once. He had to know she didn’t want him to go. She’d warned him it would be dangerous.
Rodriguez grabbed his coat and gun, throwing her a wicked grin on his way out. “Don’t worry, princesa. We’ll be back soon.”
One by one, the men poured out of the office, leaving Drew staring at the door like it was the lid of a coffin slamming shut.
She sat there counting her heartbeats, trying to control her fight or flight response.
She waited silently, and it was killing her.
Finally, she guessed about seven minutes had gone by and she was still alone.
She couldn’t wait any longer. Taking a deep breath, she raised her arms over her head. It was now or never.
“Fucking asshole. What the hell is he doing taking his screw-up of a cousin and leaving us here?” Two of Rodriguez’s goons walked into the room.
Fucking hell. Drew dropped her arms, but the guys paid no attention to her.
She remained as still as possible. No need to call attention to herself.
She watched as they got comfortable. Maybe there would be an opportunity for escape.
After all, most of the men were gone. If it was only these two, she might have a shot.
The men settled into chairs near the back of the room; one opened a bag of chips. The other lit a cigarette, the acrid scent wafting through the air. They continued their conversation but switched to Spanish.
“?Por qué se llevó al gringo?” the one with the cigarette asked, blowing smoke toward the ceiling.
Drew frowned. Her Spanish was high school level and whatever she’d gleaned from living in Miami. Not the best, but it was all she had. She concentrated and focused on trying to recall what she’d just heard. Gringo? Dunlop.
“Para ver si dispara alguien,” the other man replied with a shrug. “Si hay tiros, mejor que maten a él primero. Un conejillo de indias.”
Guinea pig. Drew’s stomach turned. They’d taken Dunlop as bait. Shit. That was bad. Dunlop was expendable. Being family wasn’t going to protect him.
The cigarette guy laughed. “Maldito cobarde. Usa a todos menos a sí mismo.”
“Así es como sobrevive. Ese tipo es una maldita cucaracha”
Interesting. They were dissing Rodriguez, calling him a coward.
Pointing out that he used everyone else as bait so he could survive.
Cucaracha. Cockroach. That word she understood perfectly, and it truly summed up Rodriguez.
Okay… There was trouble in paradise. She had to figure out a way to use this to her advantage.
Maybe offer them money? It was a possibility.
There was a beat of silence before the second man spoke again, quieter this time. “?Escuchaste lo que dijo el patrón del cartel? Si esto no sale bien, va a matar a Rodríguez. Solo para mandar un mensaje.”
Drew’s breath caught. Cartel boss? Her brain scrambled to keep up.
Matar meant kill. Mensaje. Message. Was the cartel going to kill Rodriguez to send a message?
She immediately felt ill. Did that mean as soon as they had the shipment, they would kill everyone there?
She needed to get out of here and warn her brother.
“?Quién? ?El jefe? ?Salvador?” the cigarette guy asked.
“Sí. Salvador Montoya. Está furioso. Dice que esto huele mal desde el principio.”
Salvador Montoya. The name stuck in her mind like a shard of glass. She hadn’t heard it before, but judging by the tone of their voices, he was someone to be afraid of. He had to be the head guy.
“Si esto no funciona esta noche,” the second man continued, “yo me largo. Tengo familia en Nueva York.”
Drew tried to calm down and focus. The first guy said something about having family in New York. Did that mean he’d run if things didn’t go well? Maybe offering them money was the way to go. Maybe at least this guy would take it.
“Yo me voy a California,” the other replied. “Pero no sin matar a la chica primero. No podemos dejar testigos.”
Drew’s heart pounded so loud, she was sure they could hear it from across the room. No podemos dejar testigos. We can’t leave witnesses. They meant her. They were going to kill her if things didn’t go well. And she couldn’t blame them. She’d seen too much, and she was inconvenient.
Her breath came faster. She tried to stay still, to keep from making noise, but her body betrayed her with a tremor that shook from the inside out.
She gritted her teeth and squeezed her eyes shut, willing the panic back down her throat.
Think, Drew. Think. There had to be a way out of this. There had to be.
But her fingers were numb, her ankles hurt, and her body screamed from sitting too long in one position.
She was zip-tied and cornered, and her only allies were a maybe-mole and an ex-boyfriend who had no idea where she was.
If he was even still alive. She was going to have to take the risk.
She was looking at death either way. Maybe this was her only way out.
“Muchachos,” she said, her voice sounding weak to her own ears. She cleared her throat and started again. “I’m thinking you are a bit worried about Rodriguez and the cartel, yes? Maybe you’re looking for a bit of walking around money?” She offered them a smile.
The taller guy frowned, but the other guy said, “What are you talking about?”
Drew’s stomach unfurled just a tiny bit.
At least they hadn’t shut her down outright.
“Well, if I understood you correctly, you’re both worried that Rodriguez might not make it out alive tonight, and neither of you wants to hang around for the fallout.
So maybe it wasn’t a bad thing to be left behind? ” She offered them another smile.
The tall guy got up. “What the hell are you saying?” he growled.
“Just that maybe I could get you some money, you know, for your travels, if you let me go, that is.”
“You’re gonna pay us to let you go?” the second one confirmed.
Drew shrugged. “Maybe. It’s not like you’ve got anything to lose if you truly believe the cartel might kill Rodriguez no matter what happens tonight.” Not for a minute did she think they would let her live if she gave them money, but it would get her out of here and give her a chance to escape.
“So how much money are we talking about?” the second guy asked as he stood up.
There was a definite gleam in his eye. He was more interested than the tall guy. Drew turned to focus on him. “I don’t know exactly, but I could get maybe twenty grand.” It had to be enough to interest them but not so much that they didn’t believe her.
“How’s a little puta like you going to get twenty grand?” the tall one asked.
Drew shrugged as best she could. “I have my ways.”
The tall guy grunted as if to dismiss her, but the other guy took a step toward her. “You could get twenty grand?”
She nodded.
“And you just want us to let you go?”
“Yes. I give you the money, and you let me go.” Drew tried not to get too excited by his interest.
“Where’s the money?” the guy asked.
Drew shook her head. “Nope. You can’t get it without me, so either you take me with you to get it or you don’t get it.”
“What’s to stop me from coming over there and cutting you up until you tell me?” the shorter guy said, taking another couple of steps toward her.
Drew tried not to panic. “Because knowing where the money is still won’t get it to you.
You need me to get it, and besides, if Rodriguez comes back and I’m here and you aren’t, then he’ll know you jumped ship.
You two will be dead for sure. He’s already shown he’s not the forgiving sort.
” She nodded toward the stain on the floor where the dead man had fallen.
“She’s right,” the tall one grunts. “We can’t touch her.
We have to take her with us; otherwise, Rodriguez will suspect us.
I don’t want him on my ass if he lives long enough, and I don’t want anyone talking about us to the cartel guys if they kill him.
If we all disappear, he’ll think someone came and rescued her, or the cartel got her… or something.”
Drew sucked in a deep breath. “So, are you game or what?”