She walks to me again, gripping my shoulder and shoving me forward. “Take her.” I gasp, nearly tumbling down on my raw palms, but Draco snatches away from the guards and rushes forward, catching me before I can hit the ground. He picks me up in one fell swoop, and as he does, I hear all the guns in the room cock, ready to blast lead into us.
“Settle down, boys,” Yessica says, holding her hands out. “Let’s not make them any more uncomfortable than they already are. Draco, you’ll bring her with you and come with me to my office? Let’s look over a map, decide which places will be mine, yeah? Thiago will be waiting inside. I’ll even give him some water. Keep him hydrated.”
He looks from her to me. He gives a small bob of his head and nothing more.
She looks between us, a smirk tugging at the corner of her lips. “I know you don’t like to feel beaten, Draco, but don’t consider it a defeat. Consider it a victory! I get what I want, and you still get to have a share of Mexico and keep her too. You’ll have a little less money coming in, but you’ll be okay. We both win, really. And all because I gave you mercy. It’s just business.”
Draco doesn’t speak, but I can read the words in his eyes. He is pissed, wanting so badly to unleash the monster inside him. I’m certain if I weren’t here, he would, but he’s holding back, doing his best to remain calm and collected so that I may live.
Do I really mean that much to him?
Giving up half his country.
Coming here to this place— alone —with no weapons, just to get me? He could have let me die and moved on with his life and still have his country, but he came without hesitation. Without fear.
“Let’s wrap this up so we can go,” he grumbles. He places me down on my feet and the men with the guns lower their weapons, taking a small step away.
“Okay, then.” Yessica twirls around and saunters away in her spiked heels. “Follow me back inside, Jefe.”
26
I’m on edge. My nerves are a chaotic mess as Draco sits across from Hernandez. She points out which cities she wants, and he reluctantly obliges. All for me.
He’s doing this for me.
Why? He should know better.
He shouldn’t let her win.
When they’ve come to an agreement, Hernandez claps like a seal. “See! That wasn’t so hard, was it? Let some of that pride go, and you’re a reasonable man to work with!”
She pushes to a stand, walking around her desk and behind his chair. He tenses up, keeping his eyes ahead. She whispers something in his ear while she looks at me. I hold her gaze, face hard, fists balled.
Draco stands up, glaring down at Yessica for several seconds before shoving past her and coming for me. “Get my fucking cousin so we can go.”
Yessica puts on a small smile. “Sure thing, partner.”
He narrows his cold gaze on her, gripping my hand. She snaps her fingers at one of the guards and they take off.
Another one steps forward, a large rifle in hand. “Take them back to the van. Take them to the city, back to the church he was picked up at. I know he has guards of his own waiting there to pick him up, so keep a watchful eye. Make sure you have plenty of backup.”
Draco’s jaw clenches tight.
The guard nods and turns and he walks right after him, his grip tight on my hand as we walk past her. But of course she follows us out. I keep my eyes ahead as we go through various hallways to get to the front door.
When it’s open, relief sinks in.
I see the guard she sent to fetch Thiago now dragging him toward the gates. A growl scratches at Draco’s throat, but he keeps his head held high and his glare solid, watching his cousin get tossed and thrown around like some kind of trash.
I hate it too, and he’s not even my family. But he helped me—almost saved me.
Draco can’t blame him anymore. He was on our side. He fought for him. For me, and he doesn’t even care for me like that. He knows how much I mean to Draco, and he was willing to protect that.
As we walk out, though, a heavy feeling sets in. It turns my gut into a block of lead, my veins running cold. I look all around me. It’s too quiet.
This . . . this is too simple.
Too easy.
And as if Draco senses it too, he tightens his grasp on my hand even more, pulling me close to his side.
Yessica’s heels click behind us. She’s quiet. Very quiet.
The hairs on the back of my neck stand up as the gates open. We pass through them and once we reach the van, the guard that has Thiago pulls the door open.