Page 56 of Skull

A flurry of confusion rose from the table as Boomer and GQ half sprang from their seats, Anna and Walker drew back, and Skull stepped between the intruder and Walker.

“Stand down,” Iceman ordered the Marines with deliberate calm. The guards slowly lowered their rifles. “Jose,” Iceman said warily, “what the hell are you doing here?”

Jose swallowed hard, taking in the hostility in the air. “I’m here because I’m done running,” he said, his voice rough. “From the CIA. From the DEA. From you all. From Alzate. From Pincho. I want asylum. Immunity for me and Astrid. We…we just want a life together.”

A storm of angry scoffs and bitter remarks rippled among the team, but Jose raised his hands again, desperate. “Please. I know I don’t deserve your trust. I betrayed you, forced Hazard and Leigh to help me rescue Astrid from Alzate. I did a lot of awful things. But I’ve always kept my mouth shut about Nacho’s daughter because I’m her godfather. I tried steering her away from a life in the cartel. It was her father who insisted, said it was her legacy. Pincho never even wanted that, but Nacho didn’t give her the choice.”

Skull’s jaw tightened, remembering that Jose had once worked hand in hand with them briefly. Then his betrayal had nearly cost Hazard and Leigh their lives. “You said you’ve come to give yourself up,” Skull said, voice taut. “But I don’t see your angle.”

Jose straightened. “Because I brought Hazard and Leigh. They’re alive. I saved them from the cartel through an escape tunnel Nacho built behind Pincho’s back. Pincho never knew it existed. I did what was right. That’s why I’m here.”

“But the men she sent to kill them?—”

“Dead in the jungle. Astrid is a wicked shot.”

19

Skull couldn’t believehis ears. He looked around the room at everyone. Boomer’s grief shifted at once into disbelief. GQ just stared, anger replaced momentarily by shock. Hummingbird’s breath caught audibly. His gaze went back to Jose.

“You didn’t know. You…you thought they were dead. I’m sorry. I got here as fast as I could. It was hell getting Hazard through the gap.”

“Where are they?” Iceman demanded, shooting to his feet.

Jose nodded toward the door. “Outside. In a sedan with Astrid, waiting.”

For a heartbeat, nobody moved. Then chairs screeched and bodies rushed for the exit. Skull reached the parking area first, spotting the dust-colored sedan. Astrid sat behind the wheel, eyes darting nervously at the armed Marines who’d followed them out. The back door opened, and Leigh emerged, dirty, cuts and bruises healing and fading, trembling, but very much alive.

“Leigh!” Anna cried. Boomer stumbled forward, tears still clinging to his lashes. Leigh burst into fresh sobs, half-laughing and half-crying as she saw them.

“We thought—” Boomer started, voice choked. He couldn’t finish. She threw her arms around him, hugging him like she’d never let go.

In the backseat, Hazard was slumped, barely conscious, his face drawn and pale. GQ slipped inside, took one hard look at their brother, then grabbed him in a hard hug. Kodiak, the team medic, pulled GQ out.

“Hang on, buddy,” Kodiak said urgently, checking Hazard’s vitals. “We’ve got you now. Someone call an ambulance!”

“On it,” GQ barked, snatching his phone out.

Within minutes, sirens wailed in the distance. Leigh looked around, half delirious with relief but still terrified for Hazard’s condition. Anna and Walker hovered beside her, offering water and a shoulder to lean on.

Skull placed a hand gently on Hazard’s shoulder as Kodiak worked. “Hazard, you’re safe,” he said, not quite able to keep his voice steady. “Stay with us, man.”

The ambulance squealed to a stop, medics spilling out, loading Hazard onto a stretcher. Leigh practically refused to let go of his hand, fear etched plainly across her face. The rest of the team formed a tight shield around them, not letting the paramedics out of their sight.

Moments later, they piled into vehicles, following the ambulance to the hospital. In Skull’s mind, the entire ride replayed the last few weeks of horror in a rapid loop. Pincho’s twisted vengeance, the father-in-law’s unthinkable revelation, the suffocating guilt of not rescuing their friends sooner. Now, unexpectedly, there was a new glimmer of hope. Hazard and Leigh were alive.

Yet, as they drove, Skull’s heart still felt heavy. They’d come so close to ultimate failure, but he was so damned relieved. He had to wonder if Leigh had already found a way to deal with Jose and Astrid’s request for asylum.

He exhaled, glancing back at the sedan behind him where Jose and Astrid trailed, guarded but hopeful. This was not the end, and it might only be the beginning of another fight. But at least they weren’t burying Hazard and Leigh. That small mercy, for now, was enough to keep them going.

A half an hour later, the hallway of the hospital ward was eerily silent, broken only by the hum of overhead fluorescents and the muted chatter of medical staff passing by. Skull stood near the wall, shoulders tense, gaze flicking back and forth between the swinging double doors that led to the exam rooms.

Leigh, trembling from residual shock but in one piece, clutched Walker’s hand. Iceman, solemn-faced and upright, was the calm center, keeping them all together. Strekoza lingered off to the side, arms crossed over her chest. Boomer, GQ, and Anna formed a protective cluster around Leigh, reassuring her in hushed murmurs. Iceman, Kodiak, and Preacher’s focus never left the door.

They had left Jose and Astrid back at the compound, under close watch by the Marines. No one wanted that confrontation to overshadow Hazard’s urgent need for medical care, especially given everything the couple had put them through. All that mattered now was whether Hazard would pull through.

Skull’s foot tapped an agitated rhythm against the tile floor. Every second felt interminable. He replayed the last moments at the compound, Hazard barely conscious, then whisked away by ambulance. The entire team had piled into vehicles to follow, hearts pounding. Now, they waited.

Finally, the doctor pushed through the double doors. He was a middle-aged man, hair sprinkled with silver, eyes warm but weary. Instantly, everyone straightened. Leigh stopped breathing for a moment, her grip on Walker’s hand tightening as though she might otherwise collapse.

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