Chapter 27
Drew and Cross stepped through the same door they’d exited earlier.
The scene on the warehouse floor had shifted—two cartel men crouched in the far corner, guns tossed aside, hands raised in surrender.
Rodriguez’s men were sprawled motionless on the concrete, dark stains spreading away from their bodies.
Tessa was crouched behind the sandbag wall, rifle still up, eyes scanning the space. When she spotted Cross, her shoulders eased just slightly. “Where’s Rodriguez?”
“Not coming back,” Cross said, his voice flat.
Patch dropped down from the semi’s roof, his boots hitting the floor with a dull thud. “Cartel boys are pulling out. Guess they don’t like the odds anymore.”
McGuire rose from behind another barricade and gave a sharp whistle toward the far corner.
“Drew!” Relief flickered in his voice as he took a step forward—then he stopped dead.
Miguel had come in behind them, the cold press of a gun muzzle sliding against the side of Drew’s head.
Her breath hitched, heart slamming into her ribs.
“Shit,” Patch muttered.
McGuire’s rifle came up instantly. Tessa and Patch mirrored him; barrels locked on Miguel.
“You’re gonna let them go,” McGuire ordered, voice tight.
Miguel didn’t even look at him. He said something in rapid Spanish, his tone sharp and controlled. Out of the corner of her eye, Drew saw his men obey, pushing themselves up from the floor.
Her pulse roared in her ears. Every muscle screamed to move, but Miguel’s grip was firm, the gun an unspoken promise that if she tried, it would end quickly.
“We’re gonna take our shipment now, and then we’re gonna go.” Miguel gestured to his men, who came toward the truck. Miguel forced Drew and Cross to walk forward so they were all standing to the right of the big rig. He gestured to everyone else to stand over by the wall.
Drew glanced at Cross, trying to determine what he was thinking.
But his face was blank. Her brother and the rest of the team also had their game faces on.
Tessa met her gaze and mouthed I’m sorry.
Drew shrugged. There was nothing to say.
They were still hostages, and she had no idea how this was going to play out.
The gunman stepped up and pulled open the door of the truck, and was immediately blown backwards, the shotgun blast echoing around the warehouse. Drew let out a small scream as Cross tried to sweep her away from Miguel, but Miguel stuck his gun in Cross’s ear.
“Don’t move,” he growled. “Get the fuck out of the truck,” Miguel demanded, “or I blow his head off.”
Wallace stepped down to the warehouse floor and glared at Miguel.
Miguel waved at Wallace. “Drop your gun.”
Wallace did as he was told and kicked the shotgun, sending it along the floor by the SUV.
“Who else is here?” Miguel demanded. “Come out!” he yelled and then turned the gun on Drew, and frog-marched her away from Cross. He frog-marched her with him as he moved to scan the cab of the truck. It was empty.
Drew looked at Cross. If Wallace was here, then Billy must be nearby. Where is he? She raised an eyebrow, but Cross just gave a tiny shake of his head. He didn’t know.
Miguel spoke in rapid-fire Spanish. The last cartel gunman started walking around the truck, gun drawn.
He disappeared around the back, and after the sound of some kind of scuffle, the gunman suddenly appeared on the floor under the truck.
His eyes were unblinking, and a pool of blood was growing underneath him.
“Come out now or I will kill her,” Miguel screamed.
The sound of boots on the floor reached Drew as Billy rounded the front of the truck. She was so thankful that he was alive, but it was short-lived as Miguel shot him.
“No!” Drew yelled and whirled to fight Miguel, but he pointed the gun at her forehead.
“Turn around,” he said, and then grabbed her and spun her, putting an arm around her neck and squeezing while putting his gun to her head. “He killed my man,” he gestured to Billy, “He had to pay the price. You will do as I say. Or it will be you paying the price.”
He pointed at Cross. “Move over to the wall with the rest of them.”
Cross didn’t move.
“Now or I’ll shoot you.”
Cross didn’t say a word but didn’t move a muscle.
Miguel pointed the gun at him, but there was movement on the left. Drew turned to look at the same time as Miguel did. Patch, McGuire, and Stone were moving away from the wall in a wide line.
“Stop moving!” Miguel called. “I will shoot.” He turned the gun on them and then back to Cross, and once again to Drew. “?Sal ya y ayúdame!”
Drew frowned. Who was he telling to get out there? No one was left.
The sound of shuffling reached her. Then footsteps followed by a clanking noise as someone picked up a gun off the floor. Dunlop came to a stop beside Miguel. “Well, you screwed this one up royally, didn’t you?” he growled.
Drew blinked. She almost didn’t recognize the guy. Gone was the doughy, goofy-looking guy with bad posture and a vacant expression. In his place was a tall, thick man with a stone face and cold eyes.
“Dunlop?” she breathed.
He looked at her and gave her one of his dopey expressions, and then followed it up with a grin so evil that her heart skipped. “Thank you for all of your help. I doubt we would have found our shipment if it weren’t for you.”
She blinked. It couldn’t be true, could it? “You’re part of this? You were working for your cousin?”
Dunlop snorted. “Mi primo era un estúpido pendejo.”
That one she knew. My cousin was a stupid asshole. Her breath caught in her throat as the enormity of what happened hit her.
“You made the whole thing up, didn’t you?” Sweat broke out on her back and on her palms. This was all her fault. The whole situation.
“Drew?” Cross said, a question in his voice.
She stared at Dunlop. “This is Rodriguez’s cousin. Dunlop. He jumped bail, and I found him.” Her voice petered out.
Dunlop grinned. “I did a masterful job, even if I do say so myself.”
Miguel interrupted, “We don’t have time for this.”
Another volley of shots erupted from outside.
Dunlop sighed. “I think we have a few minutes before our guys wrap it all up.”
Cross narrowed his eyes. “Drew, what’s going on?”
“Let me answer that,” Dunlop said as he raised the gun and pointed it at Cross.
“After my idiot cousin lost the shipment to the slut over there,” he gestured to Tessa, “I did my research. Where would little Tessa run if not to her cop friends? Why, to her dead brother’s special ops friends.
Only, you all had dropped off the map.” He flicked the hair that had fallen over his forehead.
Drew couldn’t believe it. She was in total shock. She’d felt sorry for Dunlop. Everyone had. He had her convinced he was a total disaster. He’d convinced Billy and Wallace, too. “You put on an Academy award-winning performance.”
He nodded and gave a small bow. “I studied at the school of hard knocks and I aced it.” He turned back to Cross.
“I found out that your ex here, little miss hard ass, was a bounty hunter. It didn’t take long to make up a wild tale that would get me arrested and then released, and of course, I jumped bail.
Not hard at all if you have patience and a brain.
“Your little girlfriend did not disappoint. She helped poor little me out so I didn’t have to go on the run and then led me to you.
I got my cousin to do the heavy lifting there.
He still managed to screw it up and only come back with you.
” He glared at Drew. “I had to play the dope for a while longer while we got everything set up, but Miguel has been a trooper about it.” He patted Miguel’s upper arm. “Now it’s time to go.”
He gestured to Miguel. “Get in the truck and start it. I’ll get one of these losers to open the door, and then we can go.”
“Aren’t you going to kill them?” Miguel asked.
“Let the cleanup team do that. They sound like they’re finished by now.”
He touched an earpiece that Drew just noticed and spoke in rapid Spanish.
Something about being finished with Rodriguez’s men and it being time to go.
The cops would be here soon. His guys could only keep them busy for so long.
Drew wasn’t sure what it all meant, but it didn’t matter.
She understood enough to know that the danger wasn’t over.
Miguel held out his hand for the keys. Cross pulled them out of his pocket and threw them on the floor. Miguel swore but bent and picked them up. He climbed into the rig and turned over the engine, the sound deafening in the warehouse.
Dunlop, who had his gun on Drew this whole time, yelled to Stone, “Go open the door.”
Stone glanced at Cross, then at Tessa, who nodded. Stone walked over and hit the button for the large door. It started up slowly. Dunlop was still facing Drew with his back to the door. The passenger door to the truck was now open, and he reached up as if to climb in.
“You really were so helpful,” Dunlop said, and then raised the gun so it was pointed between Drew’s eyes.
Her heart stuttered as fear roared through her veins.
This was it. She wanted to tell Cross that she loved him.
She wanted a chance to talk to her sister, too, and tell her that she understood why she’d done what she’d done and that she forgave her.
She wanted the chance to grow old with Cross and her siblings.
Why was it that she always realized things too late?
The door continued its upward slide, and lights from vehicles now lit the interior of the warehouse. A line of men with guns slowly appeared. “Jasper, put down your weapon. You, turn off the vehicle,” the cop with the bullhorn said.
Dunlop whirled around and was immediately blinded by the light. He raised a hand to block out the glare, but he was immediately surrounded. In seconds, they had him on the floor and in cuffs with Miguel beside him.
Drew turned and locked gazes with Cross. He came over and wrapped his arms around her, crushing her to him. Her pulse was still racing, fear still clawing at her edges, but with Cross’s arms locked around her, all she could feel was the wild, aching relief of being alive—and being his.