I stared at him for a second. “You’re the boss, then.”
“Team leader, but yeah. I’ve been running you this whole time.”
“Jesus fuck,” I said. “Where have you been?”
He sat up and looked at me. “You did a damn good job when you ran, Camden. Impressive stuff, honestly. We had a tough time tracking you.”
“But here you are.”
“Here I am.”
“What’s going on?” Lacey asked, annoyed. “You just show up? What about our parents?”
“One thing at a time,” he said. “First, I’m here to help. Although Camden has a low opinion of me and my people, we’re not the type of agency to leave anyone in the lurch.” I snorted and shook my head at that. “Second,” he continued, “your parents are the next top priority.”
“Okay then. So where’s the rest of the team?”
“They’re not coming.”
I stared at him. “What?”
“We aren’t supposed to operate on American soil. I’m running this off the books.”
“You’re the cavalry?”
“I’m the cavalry. But I know where your parents are.”
“Where?” Lacey said, eager.
“Not far from here, actually.” He looked back at me. “They’re with Trip. And I’m pretty sure Castillo is there, too.”
I let that sink in for a second. Trip and Castillo in the same place was a pretty big deal. Trip was the guy I wanted to get my hands on the most in this world, and Castillo was the guy Jared most wanted. It looked like our stars were aligning.
“I want that bastard,” I said softly.
“I know you do. I can’t blame you.” He lay back down and covered his eyes. “But we need Castillo alive.”
“What about Trip?”
“I don’t give a fuck what you do with that sewer rat.”
I smiled. “Is that official American policy?”
“Son,” Jared said tiredly, “none of this is official policy. I don’t even exist. Now let’s get some rest. We’ll plan more in the morning.” He rolled over onto his side and seemed to fall asleep almost instantly.
I looked at Lacey and she shrugged.
“Are you okay?” I asked her softly.
“Yeah. I think so.”
“That guy back there—”
“I don’t want to talk about that.”
“Okay. But I promise, you’ll never be in that position again.” I felt a white-hot fury deep in my chest thinking about what I had walked in on when I saved Lacey. Brent, that sick fuck, his cock out, Lacey’s pants off. The piece of shit would have raped her if I hadn’t blown his skull off.
“I’m just happy you’re alive.”
I took her hand. “Now we need to get our parents back.” I paused and squeezed. “And I need to murder Trip.”
“You don’t need to do anything,” she said.
“What?”
“We can let Jared handle it. He seems capable.”
“I’m not sitting this out, Lacey.”
“I almost lost you once,” she said fiercely. “Let Jared handle it.”
“No,” I said, leaning back, releasing her hand. “I’m seeing this through.”
“Then I am too.”
“Not an option.”
“Yes, an option. If you go, then I go.”
“It’s too dangerous, Lacey. You saw what happened last time.”
“I don’t care. I’m not leaving you.”
I sighed, shaking my head. She could be so stubborn sometimes. I knew she was tough, but I had no clue how tough she really could be. If I were her, I’d probably want to take a little break from messing with violent gangsters. Instead, she was ready to go riding off to fight some cartel guys.
“You’re amazing,” I said softly. “But I can handle myself. You can’t.”
She stood up and smiled at me. “We’ll talk about it in the morning.”
“Lacey—”
She gave me a small kiss on the mouth as she walked by and lay down on a cot. I half turned toward her and watched as she crawled under the blankets.
I shook my head softly and snapped off the light. I walked over to the refrigerator, frowning at its empty cavity. I walked back to the chair and sat down heavily, sighing.
It was late, and we were safe, but I couldn’t take any chances. I resolved myself to staying up and keeping watch.
I leaned back in my chair, thinking about what the next day would bring.
Trip was a dead man. And I’d finally see Castillo taken down for all the fucked-up shit he did.
Tomorrow was going to be a good day.
17
Lacey