Page 20 of Fighting for Ella

The beginning.

Right.

A good idea, only words seemed to stick in her throat.

You can do this.

Youhaveto do this.

If she didn't, this might all have been for nothing, and her family might die anyway.

Drawing in a deep breath, Ella did her best to settle her nerves. Nothing she could say would make her situation better so she may as well just tell Miguel everything and get it over with.

“I'm not the mole,” she whispered, hanging her head.

“Eyes on me, Ella,” Miguel commanded, but there was no anger in his voice, and she drew strength from that and lifted her head again to meet his gaze.

“I didn't write any emails to Raul Castillo offering him the Reactivator. I would never do that to my friends. I didn't have anything to do with Scarlett getting kidnapped, or the plane crash that almost killed Lucy and Zander, or the bombs.” With each word she spoke her confidence grew. It felt so good to say all of this out loud.

“When were you contacted?” Miguel asked, and the fact that he was asking as though he believed her gave her even more confidence.

“The same day that Cassie disarmed the bomb on the cruise ship. I was ambushed at home. Four men. They shoved me into a chair and showed me a video of someone setting a bomb under my parents’ house. My sister and her family live there, Miguel. Her youngest is only five months old,” her voice hitched, and Miguel grew blurry as tears filled her eyes.

He didn't say anything, just stood there watching her, and she knew he was assessing every word she said, trying to determine if she was telling the truth.

What she really needed now was a little comfort. Someone to hold her and tell her that everything was going to be okay.Reassure her that the mess the mole had thrown her into wasn’t going to keep dragging her down like quicksand.

But she didn't get that.

All she got was a SEAL staring at her, not unkindly, but not with the gentleness she needed right now either.

Dragging in another breath Ella continued, “I was scared, and I fought them, but I was outnumbered and outmatched, and it was hopeless. They held me down and … and … burned the soles of my feet with cigarettes while they gave me instructions. I was told that I had twenty-four hours to be on a plane to Mexico with the vial of the Reactivator or the bomb would be set off, killing my parents, my sister, her husband, and three children. I didn't have a choice,” she whispered.

“We always have a choice, Ella.”

Anger sparked inside her at the calm way he said that. How dare he belittle her fear for her family and act like she had options when the facts were she hadn't.

“Yeah?” she challenged, shoving to her feet, consequences of disobeying him be damned. “What other choice did I have? The bomb could be set off remotely, which means as soon as the mole got word that I’d told someone, my family would be dead. The mole works at Prey so they have access to our communications. We know Scarlett’s phone was bugged which means the mole had the skills to listen in on other devices. Even if they weren't, they were likely watching my parents’ house, and as soon as they saw my family being evacuated they would have known I'd talked and set the bomb off anyway, killing not just my family but whoever went there to transport them someplace safe. So tell me, Miguel, what other choice did I have?”

When he said nothing, her anger only grew.

How could he judge her when he would have done the same exact thing she did?

“Are you telling me if it was your family who had been threatened you would have risked their lives?” she asked, cocking a brow, knowing he had no choice but to confirm she was right.

“If it was my family, I would have done whatever it took to protect them, consequences be damned,” he acknowledged. “But you took the drug, Ella. You brought it here.”

“I didn't,” she informed him.

“You're on camera stealing it.”

“I took it from the lab, yes. I had to. The mole was likely watching the security footage, so I didn't have a choice, I couldn’t risk faking it. But I did not bring it to Mexico.”

Arching a brow like he didn't believe he asked, “Then what did I see you hand over to Raul a couple of hours ago?”

“A fake. Something I threw together from whatever we had on hand at the lab. I wouldneverrisk a man like Raul Castillo getting his hands on the real drug. I rented a storage locker at the airport, the real vial of the drug is there, safe and sound.”

Surprise flickered through his dark eyes. “So how did you think this was going to play out? You had to know that once Raul’s scientists discovered the drug you brought was a fake he’d torture you for the information.”

---