Page 67 of Savage Ruin
He’s silent for a second. “Fine. They stay on the ground.”
“Door stays open. One stands at the top of the stairs.” I spit out my own conditions. Henley’s right. This isn’t the time to be lax.
Instead of answering, he jerks his head.
I head up. Thomas follows but stops at the entrance. He pulls his weapon out and holds it ready.
The plane is empty except for my father. “Where are your guards?”
“I sent them to get dinner. Their loyalty is to Paulo,” he states, with an offhanded shrug.
Paulo Costa Fontes, the leader of the cartel and my father’s boss. I smirk. “I know you’re not here for a reunion. What do you want?”
He chuckles. “To the point. I like it. I need an exit plan, and you’re going to help me.”
My brow furrows. He wants an exit plan from the cartel? Fuck, that’s the last thing I expected to hear. “What can I do?”
He gives me a wry look. “It’s simple. You have the means to fake my death and put me on a plane. Not too much to ask after all this time, right?”
“Why should I?”
His eyes gleam from the volley between us. “If you don’t, I’ll bring everything down on top of you. Imagine everyone’s shock when they find out the CEO of SEI is an illegal immigrant. Oh, and let’s not forget about Mateo. Marcos, too, although he’s dead. A pity.”
I lunge for his shirt and jerk him up. “Don’t you ever say their names. None of them. Got it?”
The need to remove this threat is tearing a hole in my gut, but if I kill him, the cartel will come down on us like a ton of bricks. If I help him escape and they find out, they’ll kill me. Somewhere in the middle is the answer I need, but what?
He smirks, knowing he’s got me over a barrel. “Is that a yes? In two days, I want to be on a plane to a destination of my choice.”
“Two days is impossible. We need four days,” I insist.
“Three. Final terms,” he retorts. His dark eyes gleam with satisfaction and victory.
“Fine. Three,” I tell him. “Remember, you have as much to lose as I do. I’ll be in touch. Same number?”
“I wouldn’t be so sure about that,” he replies with a laugh. “Same number. And Thiago—someone will be watching you and your pink-haired girlfriend.”
“Fuck you,” I snap, and head off the plane. “Let’s go. We’ll drop Allison off and pick up the rest of my security for tonight. Then home.”
* * *
The house isin an uproar when I walk in the door. Zane, Sterling, and Raider are here. Henley’s staring down at the kitchen island. Her face is furious and swollen from crying. What the hell is going on now?
When I get closer, several photographs are spread out over the surface. A pretty blonde woman laughs at the camera in a couple of them, but the rest are sick. Documented torture. The pressure builds behind my neck.
Henley looks up and meets my eyes. She hurls herself into my arms. “It’s all my fault. I brought him home, and he killed her.” She sobs, pointing to the images.
Jerking out of my arms, she paces rapidly around the island, unable to take her eyes off the pictures. “It wasn’t enough for him to take her out. He was angry at me for escaping the night before, and he took it out on her. He tortured her. I can’t… I can’t breathe. Oh God. Why? Why did he do this to her? She never hurt a fly.” Her breaths are coming quicker and quicker.
I grab her by the arms. “Deep breath in. Come on, you can do it. Breathe in, Henley.” She draws a shaky breath. “And out. That’s it. Again.”
Raider comes over. “He would have done this for the sheer pleasure of it. Nothing you did would have caused or prevented it. It was a move in the game he was playing. The goal was to isolate you. He succeeded. Memorize these images. Use them to burn away the fear.”
She eases out of my arms and tilts her head to study him. While the tears still flow, something he said resonated in her. Her chin lifts, and she returns to the photos, but with an air of purpose this time.
Grayson comes up to stand by me, his eyes glued to Henley and filled with… emotion.
When did that happen? Are they both involved with her? My gut tightens. Jealousy rushes over me like a wave, and I stagger.
