4. Cruz
CRUZ
I don’t say hello.
I never do.
The second the phone connects, I put it to my ear and breathe. Just enough sound to let him know I’m there, listening and waiting. If I say “hello,” he’ll know I’m not in a safe place to talk.
Three seconds pass.
Four.
Then his voice slides through the line. “Cruz.”
“Here, Boss.”
“Hernando Reyes has gone dark for twenty-four hours.”
I tighten my grip on the phone, but my breathing doesn’t change.
Reyes.
I know the name. If he’s missing, it’s probably not an accident.
“I checked his feeds remotely,” the boss says. “Hawk Bellamy paid him a visit. Attacked him and abducted him from his Austin residence.”
Hawk Bellamy.
I’ve heard that name too.
Not in whispers. In warnings.
“Highway cams picked up Bellamy’s vehicle heading back toward Reyes’s property shortly after,” he adds. “Which means this wasn’t a long-distance move.”
“So he’s still local?”
“That’s the assumption.”
Still local. Probably still alive, then.
“He’s most likely keeping him somewhere on Bellamy property,” the boss continues. “I’ll send you coordinates of probable sites.”
My pulse stays level, but something sharp slides under my ribs.
Bellamy land.
I’ve been there before.
Not officially.
Not in daylight.
“Short window,” he says. “You go tonight. Find Reyes. I want photographic confirmation.”
I don’t respond. I don’t need to. He knows I understand.
“Don’t disappoint me.” The line goes dead.
I lower the phone slowly, already feeling the faint vibration of the incoming text.
Coordinates. Three of them. I glance once at the screen, commit them to memory, and slide the phone back into my pocket.
Time to move.
The drive out to Bellamy land is quiet.
I follow the first set of coordinates down a narrow dirt road. The tires crunch over gravel, loud in the stillness, and I kill the headlights before I get too close.
I park behind a line of trees, step out, and move on foot the rest of the way.
The old building comes into view. Moonflowers crawl along its edges, pale blooms glowing faintly in the dark. I pause, scanning.
No movement. No light. No sound.
Still…something makes my skin tighten.
I approach anyway.
Inside, the air is colder.
I step across the threshold, my boots silent against the warped wood floor, eyes adjusting to the darkness.
Empty.
No signs of a struggle. No recent presence.
But the creepy feeling doesn’t leave. It presses in closer, and for a split second—
I’m not here anymore.
I’m back in that place. Standing in the doorway. Staring at my mother’s body.
Emotion coils through me.
Something happened here. Something that can’t be undone.
I force the memory and the feeling down.
This is just a building.
I turn and walk out without looking back. Reyes isn’t here.
The next two locations are the same story. Clean, quiet, and empty.
Either Bellamy moved Reyes already or he never used these places at all.
Which means—
I stop mid-step.
The barn where I exhumed the corpse. It’s not on the list of coordinates, but I know where it is because I’ve been there.
If I were hiding someone…that’s exactly where I’d put them.
I get into my car and head straight for it.
The barn sits near the Mexican border, which makes it perfect for anyone wanting to move drugs. The wood is old and splintered, any semblance of paint long stripped away. Nothing grows within a five-foot radius, as if the building itself is poison to the land.
I circle once, checking the perimeter. No cameras, same as before.
I move to the door and ease it open just enough to slip inside.
I inhale the smell of hay and dust and something else. Food?
My eyes adjust quickly, and I nearly jump.
It’s him. Reyes. Sitting in an old chair bound up in rope, his head slumped down. A plate of half-eaten food sits on a crate beside him.
I move fast. Check his pulse.
It’s strong, thank God.
He stirs as I cut the ropes and snaps his eyes open.
“Easy,” I murmur.
“Jesus,” he breathes. “Took you long enough.”
I don’t answer that. I pull him to his feet, steadying him as his legs wobble. “Can you walk?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Good.” I reach into my pocket, pull out a black marker, and grab his hand.
“What—”
“Hold still.” I press the tip against his ring finger and make a mark that Vega will recognize. It means “found.”
“Smart,” Reyes mutters.
I don’t respond. I pull out my phone instead. “Give me a thumbs up,” I say.
He complies, and I shoot the photo, making sure the mark on his ring finger is visible.
“Move,” I say.
We make it back to Reyes’s Austin property in a little over an hour.
“Stay here,” I tell him. “I need to make sure it’s safe.”
He nods and gives me the code for entry. I walk up the pathway and enter. It’s a gorgeous house, but I don’t dwell on that. This business pays extremely well. I walk through every room, check every corner. In one room, I find a safe in the closet.
And on the safe…
Fuck.
Blood.
I reach into my kit, pull out a small vial, and carefully scrape a sample of the blood into it.
Who would leave without cleaning? Only a sloppy amateur.
Or…
Someone who wanted me—or Reyes—to find it.
I finish casing the house and then go out to the car to get Reyes.
Once inside, Reyes sinks into a chair, rubbing his wrists. He’s not shaken. Not really. Men like him don’t break that easily.
I hand the vial of blood to Reyes. “Blood. On the safe in a bedroom closet.”
He takes it and a slow smile spreads across his face. “Now that,” he says softly, “is useful.”
I don’t ask.
He explains anyway.
“I can lure him back.” Reyes turns the vial in his fingers. “Make him think I have something he wants. Something he needs to keep buried.”
“Who?”
“Hawk Bellamy.”
“So it was him who abducted you.” Good to know Boss’s intel was on the money. Not that I ever doubted it.
“You’ll draw him out,” I say.
He nods. “And when I do, I can take back control.”
I resist an eye roll. Of course he talks about control. Men like Reyes always do.
I don’t argue. It’s not my job. Instead I pull out my phone again and send the image. Then I type a short message.
Recovered. Alive. Mark confirmed. Coordinates not useful. Found in barn where previous assignment occurred. Blood sample obtained at Reyes home. Reyes intends to lure Bellamy using leverage.
I hit send.
The reply comes through almost immediately.
Good work.
No further instructions.
But I don’t need more because I know what Boss means.
He’ll handle the rest.
He always does.