21. Rook
ROOK
We deliver Jarrod to the huge refrigerator in the kitchen and make our way back to the clubhouse.
I ensure a couple of the guys stand outside of the refrigerator door, making sure no one can enter and that Jarrod can’t get out.
A couple of the ol’ ladies grouse about it being for food storage, not people, but they’re going to have to manage.
Hopefully, it won’t be for long. I haven’t heard that we’ve got a meeting time arranged yet to do the swap, but Hector is bound to get in touch soon.
“You should go to the office,” one of the bikers tells me. “Something’s gone down.”
My stomach lurches. My first thought is of Camile. Is she safe? It feels like I’ve barely seen her all day, and I hate that. I want to be with her every second of every day, but Jack has needed her, and I’ve been caught up in club business. Ace has been looking after her, though.
Phoenix takes out his phone. “I’ll come shortly. I just need to make a call.”
I give him a quick nod of acknowledgement.
Without asking any questions, I hurry to the clubhouse and straight to Jack’s office.
I see Camile and, without even glancing at any of the others, stride across the room and scoop her up into my arms. She wraps herself around me and presses her lips to the side of my neck.
I bury my face against her soft hair, inhaling the scent of her.
I wish I could bottle it and always carry it around with me.
“I missed you,” she says against my skin.
“I missed you, too. I was worried something might have happened.”
She pulls away slightly. “No, it’s not me.”
It’s then I become aware of Shelley sitting in the corner, looking terrified and miserable.
I look between them. “What’s going on?”
Ace fills me in, leaving me with my jaw hanging.
“Does Saul know?” I ask.
Ace shakes his head. “Not yet. He’s been trying to deal with the shit with the cops, but as soon as I can grab him, I will bring him up to speed.”
I drag my hand through my hair. “Fuck. At least it explains how Hector found out where we’d be. Let’s hope we don’t need to worry about anyone else.”
Ace purses his lips. “Yeah, but it’s turned this thing into a rescue mission for two people now, instead of one. Shit just got a whole lot more complicated.”
I catch my breath. “You think they’re being held at the same place? The airstrip.”
“I’d say so.”
Shelley perks up. “If we know where they are, why can’t we just go now?”
Ace scrubs his fingers across his mouth. “The minute they see or hear us coming, without it being pre-arranged, they’ll put a bullet in both Ghost and Megan. If they already expect us, because they know we’re coming to do the exchange, we can use the distraction to ambush them from all directions.”
I know it’s hard for everyone to wait—I’m a prime example of that—but Ace is right. These people are professionals, and acting rashly will get Ghost, Megan, and possibly the rest of us killed.
“Why haven’t we heard from Hector yet?” I ask. “I’d been sure he’d have made the call by now to arrange the swap.”
“What if something’s gone wrong?” Camile says, worry in her tone.
Ace looks between us. “Like what?”
She bites at her lower lip. “What if Ghost has tried to escape and he’s been killed in the attempt? What if Hector is trying to figure out how to play this, just like we’ve had to do with Ledger?”
So we’d both be trying to exchange dead men? It would be funny if it wasn’t so horrifying.
“That’s unlikely,” Ace says. “Ghost is smart—smarter than the rest of us. He wouldn’t do anything that would put his life at risk. Hector will call. He’s probably just giving Camile time to come to a decision about what to do about divulging the location of the safehouse.”
“Please, you can’t mention to this man that you know about Megan,” Shelley pleads. “If he finds out I’ve talked, she’ll be dead, if she isn’t already.”
Ace nods. “It’s okay, we won’t say a word.”
The phone rings on Jack’s desk, and we all freeze.
This could be it. It occurs to me that we should probably also ask for proof of life for Ghost before we try to do this exchange, but I also don’t want to push Hector in case asking for proof of life delays things further.
Ace jerks his chin, silently telling me he’s happy for me to be the one to answer the call, so I do.
“Yes?”
“Do you have an answer for me?” It’s Hector, and I put him on speaker.
I know what he’s asking. “She said no. She’s not willing to give up the safehouse or her brother’s life.”
“Foolish girl. Then she will have just sacrificed all of their lives.”
Camile makes a choked sound in the back of her throat.
Anger roars up inside me. “Don’t you touch a hair on her fucking head!”
“What happens between me and the Montez family is none of your concern. You should never have gotten involved in the first place. It was stupid of you to have involved yourself in cartel business.”
“Camile is our business,” I growl, “and she always will be. An enemy of hers is an enemy of ours.”
“Then you’re an even bigger fool.” He sniffs down the line. “Despite your stupidity, and hers, I am willing to make the exchange now. I want my son back.”
“We thought we would hear from you sooner.” I’m testing the waters, trying to see if something happened to delay him.
“We had a few… how do you say… hiccups. But everything has been dealt with.”
I look over at the others, trying to read their expressions. Are they buying what Hector is saying? I don’t want to question Ghost’s safety in case it prompts Hector to ask the same of Ledger’s.
Ace shakes his head as if to say not to give him any more information, so I go along with that.
“Fine. Where and when do we make the swap?”
“In three hours.” He gives us the location, which, of course, we already knew. “Bring no more than three men. If we see more, we will start shooting.”
“I assume you will also have the same number of men present?”
“Of course,” Hector lies smoothly.
We suspect he has at least twelve from what Ghost said. What does this mean? That he’s not planning on letting any of us out alive? Or is it just simply insurance, so he knows he can outnumber us if needs be?
“You bring the girl, too,” Hector adds.
Ace stiffens, and we exchange alarmed glances.
“Absolutely not.” My voice is ice cold. “That is non-negotiable. She stays out of this. That was never part of our agreement.”
“Relax. I only wish to speak to her in person. See if I can change her mind myself.”
Panic shoots through me. Is this whole thing about to fall apart at the final hurdle? We thought we had everything covered.
“No,” I say again. “Not going to happen.”
“Then the deal’s off. I will get my son back my own way, and you’re not going to like it.”
Fuck, this whole thing is falling apart. Was that all part of Hector’s plan, to shake us up at the last minute and ruin whatever plans we might have been putting in place?
“We could just kill your son,” I throw at him, feeling desperate.
“Then I will kill your man… what is his name? Ghost?”
“No, please!” Camile cries. “I’ll come. You don’t need to hurt him.”
Ace shakes his head vigorously at Camile, his eyes wide. I know what he’s saying, silently—stop talking, you won’t be going. I agree with him, too, but if we refuse to take Camile, and he kills Ghost, and probably Megan as well, what position will that leave us in?
Will he still come after Camile anyway? We could lose Ghost and still end up with Camile being hunted down.
I want to roar my frustration.
“Three hours,” Hector repeats. “Bring the girl.”
The line goes dead.
Still sitting in her chair, Shelley bursts into tears.