The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(120)

“Two or three days. Maybe a week.”

I shook my head. “That won’t work. I need the information today or tomorrow. I have to attack before the seventy-two hour deadline.”

Ignacio snorted. “I’ve known Juan Alvarez for a long time and his deadline doesn’t mean anything. I can’t believe he actually mentioned one. If he plans to hurt her, a deadline won’t stop him.”

I swallowed over the sudden tightness lodged in my throat like a rock. He hadn’t told me anything I didn’t know, but having him utter the words out loud killed any lingering hopes I had about rescuing her before she suffered mentally or physically.

“Yeah.” I rubbed my hand down the side of my face. I hadn’t shaved in days, and the bristles were almost soft to the touch. “You’re probably right, which means every minute counts. I can’t wait a week or two to find her.”

Ignacio lifted a lidded plastic cup of water and sipped from the curved accordion straw. “Are you sure you want to do this? You could fly home and continue your life. Forget about Hattie, the Vargas Cartel, and Mexico. No one would know and eventually no one would care. She’d be another statistic, and you’d be free.”

My eyebrows snapped together. “What the hell is that supposed to mean? I would know. Hattie would know. I won’t let her die.” If Ignacio knew about the baby, I don’t think he’d act so cavalier, but I wasn’t ready to tell him or any other member of my family.

He shifted his weight in the bed. Sadness lined his face. “There’s a real possibility Hattie is already dead or well on her way there.”

I jumped out of the chair and yanked on the collar of my shirt. I felt like I was coming out of my skin. “She’s not dead.”

“If she’s not dead, then she probably wishes she were.”

“No.” I slammed my hand on the rolling food tray next to his bed. His fork clattered to the floor. “Hattie’s strong. She’ll keep fighting. She won’t give up.”

“And that’s what scares me. When we abducted Hattie, we toyed with her because that’s what the Deverons wanted. If she were any other hostage, we would’ve used her, tortured her, and inevitably killed her. With her bitchy mouth, she wouldn’t have made it three days much less three weeks.”

“They need her as collateral.”

“They don’t need anything. There is always another option to get what you want.”

“If they want Anna in one piece, they won’t harm Hattie.”

Ignacio sighed. “You haven’t spent much time with me in the last ten years, but the cartels have changed. Sometimes their crimes and viciousness shock the hell out of me, and I thought I’d seen everything. I hate to tell you this, but I know how Juan thinks, and he believes Hattie and Anna are disposable.”

Rage and fear collided in my chest. My hands shook. I stuffed them into my pockets as I walked to the window to get my emotions under control. I needed to be composed and clearheaded. Knee jerk reactions wouldn’t save Hattie.

I leaned my forehead against the window. There wasn’t a single cloud in the sky and the trees were stagnant, almost frozen in time. Cars packed the two-lane street. Horns honked, and music spilled from their open windows. People strolled along the sidewalk, talking, laughing, joking, and living their lives as if they didn’t have a care in the world. In comparison to me, they probably didn’t. As much as I hated everything about my life, I would spend a hundred lifetimes in hell to give Hattie and our baby the life they deserved. And if living in misery guarantied her happiness, I would do it without regret for the rest of my days.

“I know things have changed since the last time I dabbled in cartel business with you and Rever, but I won’t abandon her.” I spun around. “It’s my fault she’s in Mexico. I left her unprotected while I helped Rever. I should’ve brought her to the Vargas compound until it was time to catch our flight, but I didn’t think the Alvarez Cartel knew about her. I thought they’d be focused on Rever and Anna, not Hattie or me.” I tugged on the cuffs of my shirt. My gut burned like I’d drank too many shots of Tequila on an empty stomach. “I didn’t f*cking think.”

“You’re right. You didn’t think.” Ignacio angled his chin to the side. “Juan Alvarez isn’t an amateur. Not by a long shot. He has informants too.”

“Who the hell would tell that two-bit piece of shit anything? He’s got two f*cking shipping routes. He’s not powerful. He doesn’t have much influence beyond a couple of small towns in your territory.”

“Loyalties shift and bend every day. Juan’s smart. He’s been in this business for over a decade. You have to assume your enemy knows everything you know or you’ll be caught with your pants down.”

“Nobody knew Hattie was with me except you, Emanuel, and Rever.”

“Exactly. Rever probably told a couple of friends and Anna Alvarez.” His face scrunched up when he said Anna’s name. “That’s as good as telling the whole goddamn world. You might as well have left a note with Hattie’s picture and location on the church steps when you and Rever took her.”

“What’s wrong with telling Anna? She’s not going to tell her family anything. She wanted to get the hell away from them.”