Page 27 of Hidden But Not Safe

The possibility that she’d said the words to manipulate him wiped all the warmth away. Naz stared at her, and her eyes skittered every which way.

“He’s going to kill me!” she shouted in panic. Her hands reached out to grab onto his arm. “Please, Naz, you can’t let him.”

He was back to being Naz to her, not Ignacio. If she had called him Ignacio, if her tone had given him those tingles like it had whenever she said his full name, would he have let her go?

Miguel let out another biting laugh. “Go ahead. It’d be a relief to see Julio kill you, Ignacio.” The sneer in the name made Naz colder.

Meg’s eyes were so hopeful, but her face lost all color as she watched Naz shake his head.

She tried to run for it, but she bumped into Naz’s chest when he moved in front of her. Miguel was the one to grab her arm, then drag her toward the trailer.

“Please!” she shouted over her shoulder, her desperation scraping at Naz’s insides. He’d begged like that before. “Don’t let them hurt me!”

Naz followed Miguel into the trailer with her. Meg wasn’t crying. Her eyes were narrowed in a glare. She jerked, trying to get out of Miguel’s hold on her.

“I’m here. Get your hands off me.”

Miguel took her through to the bedroom she’d been sharing with Julio, shoving her away hard enough that she had to brace herself against the bed. She studied him warily as she straightened, but he didn’t stay inside. He slammed the door shut instead.

“Get a chair or something to keep her in there,” Miguel said.

She didn’t call out to Naz through the door as he dragged the heaviest piece of furniture they had in front of the door.

Miguel was searching through the kitchen drawers. “Where’s that fucking key?” he muttered.

Naz stared at the bedroom door. Meg was too silent. He didn’t like it.

He didn’t like any of this.

His hand ran over his head, and the smoothness made him remember the way she’d helped him shave. Every moment between them had been slowly snapping together like puzzle pieces, creating a relationship he’d never asked for.

Meg was his friend.

He couldn’t let Julio kill her.

Miguel lifted the key in triumph. Naz considered killing him and running away with her. Diego and Ramiro would help him hide her.

But running was never the answer. It just encouraged pursuit. He’d learned that before.

So he watched Miguel lock up the trailer behind them, focusing on what he knew, disposing of the bodies, even though the urge to go to Meg was nearly overpowering.

Chapter 10

Naz figured it’d take more time to save someone than to dispose of them, but he still almost missed Julio entering the trailer. Naz jumped the short steps and caught the door before it could swing shut, shoving himself in front of Julio.

“I’m not up for dealing with your shit,” Julio muttered.

Naz continued to block him. He’d been concentrating for the past hour on the two words he wanted to force out, but his last-minute sprint was making concentration difficult as his pulse pounded in his ears.

Julio’s eyes narrowed. “Get out of the way.”

“No.” The first word was easy enough. It was the one he said the most.

Julio’s nostrils flared. “Fuck you. I—”

“Kill,” Naz finished.

Julio paused. “You think I’m going to kill her?”

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