My brows flattened. “How can you talk about her like that? She’s carrying your grandchild.” His words didn’t jive with the father I knew. Family meant everything to Ignacio, and Anna would be part of his family any day now. Rever planned to marry her as soon as possible.
He snorted. “I’ll believe it when I have the paternity test in my hands. From the little I know about Anna Alvarez, that kid she’s carrying could belong to a half dozen men.”
I shifted on my feet. “Rever was pretty confident it was his.”
“Because Rever is a dumbass. He spent the majority of the last three or four months in prison or with you. The timing doesn’t add up.”
“He came back to Mexico for a while,” I argued, even though I was starting to believe Ignacio had a point. This whole thing could’ve been a set-up and the Alvarez Cartel played Rever or Rever played me. The thought caused my stomach to knot with anger.
“It’s possible. I know,” Ignacio agreed, nodding his head. “Rever could be the father if she’s pregnant, but like I said, Anna Alvarez isn’t a blushing virgin by anyone’s account and she’s not above lying either. This could be one more game in the war between our cartels.”
I pinched the bridge of my nose. “So what do you think I should do?”
“Don’t involve Rever in any of your plans. He can’t be trusted right now. His relationship with Anna is clouding his judgment.”
“I need his help. He owes me, and he has Anna.”
“You’ll have to collect on that favor later. Right now, you have to assume anything you tell Rever will be fed to Juan Alvarez.”
“You think so?”
“I know so,” he countered.
Pacing the length of the hospital room, I weighed my dwindling options. Nothing was foolproof. Nothing would unwind the damage. Nothing would make Hattie whole.
I paused, sucking in a deep breath. “In that case, I think I’ll call Rever and tell him I’m not going after Hattie. I’ll tell him I’m going to report her disappearance to her family and the U.S. Embassy, and let them deal directly with Juan Alvarez.”
Ignacio rubbed his hand along his jaw line, his dark eyes narrowed. “That’s risky. They might decide she’s not worth the hassle and kill her.”
“I know, but they’re probably expecting me to launch an attack any day. If they think I’ve changed my mind, they might lower their defenses, and I could catch them off guard.”
“You might be right.” Ignacio squinted his eyes as he stared over my head. “You need to get going. Emanuel is waiting for you at the compound. He wants to discuss a few things with you. Before you call Rever, ask him what he thinks.”
I rubbed my hands along my thighs. “Do you think I can trust Emanuel?”
“Yes,” he answered without hesitating. “He’s the best man I have.”
“Okay,” I said as I walked to the door without a backward glance. Ignacio had told me to trust Emanuel more times than I could count, but something about him got under my skin.
“Call me tonight.”
“I will.”
Chapter Three
Hattie
“Are you hungry?”
I didn’t move. I didn’t open my eyes. My bones ached. My head hurt. I wanted to die.
“Hello?” Cold fingertips trailed across my forehead, and I flinched, anticipating more pain or torture. “Are you awake?”
“Leave me alone,” I mumbled, but the words bled together. They sounded like a stream of incoherent grunts and moans.
“Sorry, I can’t do that.”
Lukewarm liquid dribbled across my lips, and I cracked my painfully dry eyes open. For a frozen second, I couldn’t see anything. Black spots dotted my vision. I licked my lips, trying to draw every molecule of the unknown liquid into my parched mouth. My throat burned when I tried to swallow. I blinked my eyes, struggling to bring the person in front of me into focus.
“Who are you?” I croaked, staring at the gray-haired man hovering over me. Hard lines bracketed his eyes and mouth. His skin resembled a worn leather jacket. A sheen of sweat beaded at his hairline.
“The closest thing you’re going to get to an ally while you’re here,” he whispered, his dark eyes unreadable.
Focusing on the cement block wall, I rolled to my side and pain ricocheted up my arm. Crap. I had forgotten about the cigar burns. Straining to move, I flattened my palms on the cold concrete floor and pushed my body upright, folding my legs to the side. Chains scraped against the concrete and the metal shackles bit into my wrists. “I don’t have any allies here. Don’t pretend otherwise.”
He frowned. “You have a couple, but we can talk about that later. Right now you need to eat and drink.”
My stomach rumbled as he placed a paper plate with some cut up fruit and rice on the floor next to me.
“What’s your name?”
He cocked his head to the side as though he couldn’t decide whether he wanted to tell me. He blew out a breath. “Raul.”
I attempted to smile, but I strongly suspected it resembled a grimace. “Thanks for the food.”
“It’s not much, but it should hold you over for a while.”
I nodded. “It’s better than nothing. Can I have a fork?”
“No,” he answered, shaking his head. “You might use it as a weapon.”
“With these on?” I lifted my shackled arm and flinched. “Fuck,” I mumbled. It felt like Enrique had dipped my arm into the fires of hell.
He pursed his wiry lips. “Let me see your arm.”
“It hurts to move it,” I said as I stared at the angry puckered flesh on my bicep.
“This will help.” He pulled a silver key out of his pocket and unlocked the shackle on my right wrist.
Red cuts encircled my wrist. I bent my wrist up and down and then in a circle. “Thanks.”
“Eat. I have to put those back on soon. Juan or his son will stop by to check on you soon. They don’t trust anyone.”
I shoved a piece of watermelon into my mouth. The sweet juice burst in my mouth and coated my cracked lips. I hadn’t eaten anything since I left the hotel room for a jog.
“What day is it? How long have I been here?” I asked as I grabbed a handful of white rice and shoved it in my face like an animal. If my mom were here, she’d be shaking her head.
“Thursday. You’ve been here almost two days.”
“Do you think they’ll let me go?”
Raul glanced over his shoulder.
“Or are they going to…” The words stuck in my throat. I wasn’t ready to hear his answer.
He drummed his fingers on his thigh and his gaze flicked to the side. “I don’t know. They haven’t discussed their plans with me.”
“Are you friends with Ryker?”
“No,” he answered.
My brows scrunched together. “Then why are you being nice to me?”
He chuckled. “Money. Everything is always about money. Don’t you know that?”
“Who’s paying you?”
“Here.” He handed me an open bottle of water. “Drink this.”
I drained the entire bottle, shaking the last few drops onto my tongue. I still felt dehydrated. I could’ve drank ten bottles. “Are you going to answer my question?”
“No. Are you done eating?”
I popped the last grape into my mouth. “Now I am.”
“Good.” He grabbed the empty paper plate and the plastic bottle. “Get some rest.”
“As opposed to what? Doing jumping jacks while chained to the wall? Talking to myself? Watching the non-existent TV?”
He squeezed my chin between his thumb and index finger. “Listen,” he growled. “Your friends and family might dismiss the way you talk to them, but the Alvarez Cartel won’t and neither will I. If you want to get out of here alive, you need to shut your fucking mouth. This isn’t a game. This is real. There are no second or third chances. They won’t hesitate to carve you up into a hundred pieces and feed you to the animals.”