Page 83 of Fast Vengeance

His mouth stretched into a grin as he chewed. “I could get used to this. You hand feeding me while I lie in bed.”

“I’ll bet you could.” And so could she. She loved being able to take care of him when he needed her.

But it wasn’t going to last. They weren’t meant to be.

Her heart lurched. Threatened to turn to ash in her chest.

She fed him his breakfast until it was gone, then gave him more water to finish. When she turned back he was wiggling the outstretched fingers of his left hand toward her. She took his hand, lowered it to the bed so he wouldn’t move his wrist. She remembered how much hers had hurt.

“How long do we have left?” he asked.

The ache in her heart intensified. “Not sure. I’m kind of on borrowed time here. They want to get me back to D.C.”

“Yeah.” He squeezed her hand. “I’m real glad you were here, though.”

Everything they hadn’t said to each other swirled in the air between them. Making her pulse pound in desperation. “Me too.”

Before she could say anything else, a light tap on the door made her twist around. Commander Taggart stepped inside. “How’s our boy doing?”

“He ate some breakfast.”

“That’s good.” He strode over to the other side of the bed, gripped the railing as he peered down at Brock. “Rest of the boys are all down in the waiting room. I told them no visitors until after you got some sleep. And I told Maka and Granger they’re banned until further notice.”

One side of Brock’s mouth kicked up. “Bet they didn’t like that.”

“Nope. Now they’re both pouting.” He put his hands in his pockets. “So. Something big just happened.”

Victoria turned her full attention to him. “What?”

“Mexican SF got el Escorpion. He’s dead.”

The news was such a shock Victoria could only stare at him. Was it possible? “Who was it?”

“Guy named Fernando Diaz.”

Her brow furrowed as she tried to place the name. She’d come across someone named Diaz rumored to be part of the cartel back when she had done her research for her second book. He hadn’t seemed to be all that important in the chain of command she had uncovered, though. Was it the same man?

“That’s good news,” Brock said.

Taggart nodded. “And there’s more. Sanchez was arrested too. He’s already admitted to being one of Ruiz’s, and now he’s working for Montoya. He gave them a possible location on Montoya. Some codenamed location Ruiz used to use. If they can figure out the location, they’re going after him tonight.”

At his words, Victoria’s pulse thudded. “What’s the code name?”

Maybe it was the tension in her voice, but Taggart looked at her sharply. He considered her a moment, then answered. “Can’t remember. Something about a rattlesnake in Spanish.”

Rattlesnake? She stared at him, the word tweaking something in her memory. It was familiar. She remembered learning something important about it during her research for her second book. Something that related to a place. Dammit, why couldn’t she remember?

“What is it?” Brock asked.

“My files. I need to access my files online.” She turned to Taggart. “I need a laptop.”

“I’ll get one. Wait here.”

She got up and paced as he left. She thought best on her feet.

“What’s going on?” Brock asked.

“I recognize the rattlesnake bit.” Wait. She stopped. “You read my second book. Do you remember it being in there?”

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