Page 54 of Tango

“Oh?” She stood next to Ivy. “Just what kind of session?”

“These two need to clear the air.” Ivy stared at Ty and me as she tossed Ty’s gloves back over the rail. “And they’re far from done.”

“I got a better idea.” Cole had entered quietly behind Savannah and shot her a look that she ate up with that award-winning smile reserved only for him. He dropped two duffle bags on the floor. I figured they both planned a workout. “You two either clear the air here or spend a night on the peak.”

“Shall we?” I held up my hands, ready to fight, and he didn’t miss a beat. He tugged his gloves back on and took a quick shot at my chin. I just managed to block it. We sparred for the next hour or more. I lost track of time, my body ached, and we both dripped sweat and began to slow down. Our swings lost their power, but neither of us stopped.

My phone rang, and I glanced at it as I recognized the ring. Ty took advantage and landed a solid punch.

“Will he answer it?” John shouted, and Mark hooted.

“Game’s yours.” I ripped the Velcro away from my wrists and dropped the gloves. I stumbled out of the ring and grabbed my bag. Ty swiped a water off the stool and eyed me as I took a breath to steady myself then answered it.

“What have you got?”

“I…” He paused. “I found out who killed Lexi.”

“Hang on.” I picked up my bag, aware that everyone stared. I pushed open the door to the showers and glanced in to be sure it was empty before I responded. “Go on.”

I listened as my blood turned cold. Tears fought their way to the surface, and I lowered my head as I tried to keep control of myself. I was supposed to have protected her, but I’d let her down. I let them all down. The memory of that whole night flashed in front of me from the ambush at the convoy, to racing through the streets with her, to the moment she was shot, to…

How did I not know?

“I’m sorry, Eric.” He used my fake name, which meant he didn’t trust where he was. He was taking a risk even to call me. “I’m sure this is a lot to take in.”

“I’ll be in touch.” I tossed my phone into the sink and covered my face with my hands and let out a silent sob.

“You okay?” I looked up to find Ty in the doorway.

“No, not really,” I confessed and lowered my head again. I hated that my emotions were at the surface and caught in my throat. “That was my informant in Mexico.” I cleared my voice, but it didn’t help. “Jesus.” I drilled my fist into the mirror, and he moved closer and leaned his back against the wall to face me. I turned to him and ignored the blood that now ran from my hand, glad of the pain.

“What’s goin’ on?” Ty asked quietly.

“Every woman who was moved through that tunnel went through me. She was sold to my buyer, then we made sure she went back to the States. It was a smooth, clean-cut operation. Then the one time it goes wrong, and it’s his wife. I thought I’d done everything right. I played my cards perfectly.” I snatched my phone and held it up. “And now to find out who it was, who killed her.” I felt tears rim my eyes. “I could have stopped it.”

“I understand that feeling.” He held my stare. “I kept my team alive until the very end, and then just like that, Anderson and Gail are killed and my friend Brown was shot in the head by one of our own. Those last moments play over and over again in your head. You replay it and replay it to try to think what you could have done differently.”

“Shit. You hear about shit like this happening, but I’ve never known anyone who personally went through it. Does it ever stop?”

“Not so far.” He pushed off the wall. “Guess it’ll keep going until we find a way to make it right and stop it. Guess it’s up to us to do that.”

“I can tell you date a doctor,” I mumbled.

“She’s the best part of me.” He started for the door.

“Hey, Ty?” He stopped and turned around. “I guess if we’re gonna take these fuckers down, I need to know we’re good.”

“Yeah,” he leaned forward and held his hand out for a shake, “yeah, we’re good.” I waited for him to leave, took a few deep breaths, and focused on getting my head on straight.

I quickly showered then changed and made my way to the office. I found my box of belongings and dropped it on the desk. Cole had given me this room to use as an office. I knew it was a safe place to watch the cameras and keep my things.

I dug around and found the USB stick where I’d downloaded the recordings from the house. I was thankful I’d taken it with me before I left for Castillo’s on the night of the auction. It was old school, but uploading anything would have been too risky. I dug farther and found my old wallet. I pulled it apart and fingered out the sim card I’d hidden between the pieces of leather.

I pushed it into one side of my laptop along with the USB stick. I clicked on the icon and started to download the voice messages from my phone to the stick. Once everything was moved over, I did my best to organize it. Since I’d decided to share it, I decided to hold nothing back.

It was time.

I tucked it and a few other pieces in my pocket and went upstairs. I walked through the house to check where everyone was. Some of the guys were in the living room, the kids were outside making snow forts, and the girls were chatting it up in the kitchen. They showed me the cookies they’d made for the kids to decorate later with Abby and June. Cole swiped a finger taste of the frosting, and Savi took a swat at him with a dishtowel.

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