Page 174 of When Lies Unfold

Nope. It’s right there in black ink, in Hidalgo’s fuckin’ penmanship. My mind races, thinkin’ back to all the times I’ve had my men help intercept the women Hidalgo’s trafficked—when we’ve teamed up with Juarez and his crew.

My eyes lift, landin’ on Gordo. Whatever he sees on my face has him lookin’ alarmed. And with good reason.

“What is it?”

I glance down at the paper before scrubbin’ a hand down my face. “Think we need to round up the men. And pretty fuckin’ quick.”

His expression turns wary. “Yeah?”

“Yeah.” I hand him the papers with the game changer on top. Grippin’ the knotted muscles in the back of my neck, I shoot up to my feet and pace while he scans it.

When a low, muttered “Fuuuuck” reaches my ears, I stop and face him. He looks as shell-shocked as I feel. “Boss, we had no way of knowin’—”

I cut him off, my tone pissy. “I should’ve known.”

“You can’t pick up on everythin’.”

“We worked together for fuckin’ years.” My jaw goes so tight, my molars start to ache. “And all this time, we’ve been helpin’ that bastard intercept these innocent women from Hidalgo.”

I grip the knotted muscles in the back of my neck that grow tighter by the second. “We’ve been handin’ them over to his motherfuckin’ team, only to find out Juarez’s sellin’ those women to an even higher bidder?!” I slam my fist against the table, rattlin’ the few items atop it. “Here we thought we were helpin’.”

With my fists clenched so tightly, my blunt nails dig into my palms. “We’ve been fuckin’ played, goddammit.”

I brace myself to say the words out loud. “Lola’s plannin’ to take out Hidalgo by herself.” My throat fills with razor blades. “And she’s gonna go down with him if we’re not fast enough.”

“Can’t get in touch with Agent Garcia. Tried again and again but got nothin’ but radio silence.”

I’m securin’ my bulletproof vest when Gordo relays this. Once I drop my hands at my sides, our eyes meet, but we’re interrupted by Alma.

“You’re gonna rescue Lola, right, Daddy?” Her big brown eyes peer up at me with all the faith in the world.

“I’m gonna do my best.” I bend my knees to bring us closer to eye level.

While pride roars through me at how resilient and strong she’s been throughout this shit, on its heels comes the nauseatin’ reminder that my other girl’s still trapped inside with that motherfucker.

“Now, you gotta stay safe with Diego, got it?”

“Got it.” She smiles and pats my cheek. “Love you, Daddy.”

The words catch on invisible barbs in my throat, but I force them out. My voice sounds harsh and ragged to my own ears. “Love you, too.”

When I cover the hand she patted my cheek with, my fingers encounter somethin’ metallic. Every muscle in my body goes still as I stare at the butterfly chain wrapped twice around my daughter’s wrist.

My eyes lift to meet Alma’s. “Where’d you get this?”

“From Lola.”

“When?”

“When she hugged me in front of that fucker’s house?—”

“Language.” Urgency has me rushin’ on. “She gave that to you then?”

She nods. “She put it in my pocket with this.” Alma reaches into her pocket and pulls out a small, folded paper and hands it to me.

My fingers fumble with it before I get it opened.

Alma,

---