The Vargas Cartel Trilogy (Vargas Cartel #1-3)(153)

Ignacio’s brow furrowed. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

My hands shook, and I shoved them into my pockets, hiding them. “I thought I loved her, but I don’t. We’re too different. We’d never work.”

“What’s going to happen with the baby?” Ignacio asked.

I rolled my shoulders, and I sucked in a breath through my nose. “I don’t give a f*ck,” I hissed.

I didn’t wait for his response. I needed to get away from him. I was going to be sick.





Chapter Nineteen




Hattie



I clutched the handle of my suitcase in one hand, dragging it behind me out of the automatic airport doors. It had been a long twenty-four hours, but now I was back in D.C. It didn’t feel like home. It felt foreign. In fact, without Ryker I felt like a drifter clasping onto meaningless things that used to be the center of my world.

Taxis zipped in out of the parking lanes. Cars honked. Police officers directed traffic. Tourists and businessmen fumbled with their phones. Nothing about this felt right. I sucked in a deep breath, drawing the muggy air into my body. I’d spent so many years of my life being practical and making socially acceptable decisions, but every cell in my body begged me to turn around and run right back to Ryker. Frozen with indecision, I tapped my fingers on the hard plastic handle of my suitcase. I backtracked a few steps.

With his ear pressed to his cell phone, Noah glanced over his shoulder. “What the hell are you doing?” he mouthed.

My body sagged and I shook my head. “Nothing,” I said. I had to stick with Ryker’s plan. We needed to put all our ghosts to bed if we wanted to be together, and that meant eliminating the Deverons from my life permanently.

Frowning, he popped the trunk and loaded my luggage into the car. He didn’t have anything except a small black bag. Then, he opened the back door of a black sedan and gestured for me to get in. He climbed in next to me, and the car pulled away from the curb.

“Do you have the papers?” he asked.

“Why?”

His heavily fringed eyes narrowed. “I need to review them before we walk into the meeting.”

I folded my arms across my chest. “You’re not coming in with me. I’m going to do this alone.”

He angled his head to the side, and one side of his mouth curved up into a grin. “Yes. I am. Ryker wanted my help. I don’t do things half-assed. I’m either all the way in or I won’t bother.”

“He wanted your help keeping me safe. Nothing else,” I countered.

He squeezed my leg, and I scooted across the seat out of his reach. “He wanted my help with everything.”

I drummed my fingers on the soft leather seat. “He didn’t mention that to me. If he wanted you to see everything, he would’ve given you a copy or showed them to you last night.”

“His mind was focused on other things.”

“Like what?”

He stared at me wordlessly for a few seconds, his face inscrutable. “Warning me to keep my distance from you.”

“What? Why the hell did he do that?” My mind swirled. Didn’t he trust me?

Noah shrugged. “Who knows? I’m not privy to his inner thoughts, but you can call Ryker and talk to him about it.” His lips twitched. “But he probably won’t answer his phone. He can’t risk anyone listening to his calls. For his plan to work, we need everyone to believe he severed all contact with you.”

“I don’t know if I should trust you.” It wasn’t entirely true. Since the moment he dragged me to the helicopter, he treated me with respect. He treated me like a friend, but being back in D.C. and knowing what we needed to accomplish, made me feel on edge. Part of me wanted to run to my dad with the evidence and beg him to help me, and wash my hands of the whole thing.

His eyebrows lifted in question. “Look, Hattie, Ryker asked for my help. He’s paying me to help. In order to make this work, I need to know everything. I won’t go into a mission blind.”

I chewed on the inside of my cheek, debating what to do. “Fine,” I conceded. “Tell me what you know and I’ll fill in the blanks.”

“Hattie,” he said, drawing out my name, a mysterious smile toying with the corners of his lips. “Do you really think Ryker would send me here expecting you to keep me in the dark?” He glanced at his watch. “But if it makes you feel any better, I’ll tell you what I know. We’re meeting with the D.C. Times in less than an hour. I know we will hand over evidence concerning Senator Deveron’s ties to the Vargas Cartel if they agree to write the story.”

“That sounds about right,” I said.

“Good, so now you see why I’d like to see the papers before we give them to anyone else. They’re going to be public soon enough anyway.”

I sighed. He was right. “The papers are hidden in my luggage.”

“Good.” Smirking, he tugged on a strand of my hair. “We’ll go over them at lunch and come up with a game plan.”

Deciding I needed to tune everything out and relax for a few minutes, I snagged my ear buds and phone from my purse. I scrolled through my playlists and selected one I used when I couldn’t sleep.

I glanced at Noah, and I noticed him eyeing me with one eyebrow raised.