Page 91 of No Mistake

“They might kill you.” Her lip trembled.

“Two hostages are better than one. Don’t think that way. Now, tell me what happened. Anything you saw when they brought you here. We’re on a boat?”

Sophie nodded. “You don’t remember the helicopter? We’re on a container ship.”

Shit. Who knew how many of Reborn’s followers might be on board this ship, willing to die for the cause.

“That’s good. Do you know where?”

“No. I had a blindfold on but could see bits. The helicopter ride was only a few minutes.”

That was better news. Made sense. They couldn't be far if they were anticipating a trade.

“These are the same people that took Kelly, aren’t they?”

“The same group, yes.”

“Oh God. I know what they did to her, Ryan, I—”

“Sophie, listen to me. This is different. The men that took Kelly are not here. Reborn never wanted a trade with Kelly. They do with you. We are not in Daram. We are in California. My team is close by. This is not the same. Nothing is going to happen to you. I swear. My team will be working out a plan as we speak to get us out of here.”

“Ricardo’s a fucking asshole. I knew it right from the first time I saw him.”

Ryan smiled. “You sure did.”

“He has a face I just want to slap.”

Ryan raised his eyebrows. “Dr. Summers, you continue to surprise me.”

“Do you think they will go after Chloe?”

“No. She’s at Westside. They can’t get to her. Unfortunately, you were the easy target. I hate that I left you there alone. I promised you were safe, and I let you down.”

“Ryan, you have not let me down. None of this is your fault. It’s those assholes out there. Yes, I’m scared, but if my sister can survive what she did, alone, then I will get through this. I have you.”

Ryan wanted to kiss her so bad. She was being so strong and brave, and he was so damn proud of how she was keeping it together.

“You do have me, Sophie. Always. And we are getting out of this.” He wanted to add ‘I love you’, but this was not the time or place for the first time.

The door opened, and Ryan barely contained his shock when Tracer walked in. Perez and the two Reborn soldiers were behind him. Tracer made no acknowledgment of him so he kept quiet. Maybe Tracer had played them all, working with Reborn all along.

“Good. They’re relatively unharmed. Trust me when I say if you really want this trade to happen, they need to stay that way. They will ask for proof of life again, right before the trade. If they are in bad shape, there’s a good chance they will back down. I’ve seen it happen before. The act of good faith has to go both ways.”

“They will remain unharmed, so long as they do not cause trouble,” Ali said. “I must call my boss and give him an update.” Ali and his fellow soldier left.

“Why isn’t Luis picking up his phone. I tried to call him,” Perez said.

“Do you not think he's got enough to deal with right now? He needs to rally the cartel. Word will spread about Alejandro, and we both know rivals will try and move in. He’s trusting us to handle this and get things back on track. This goes sideways, it would not be good for the Vitelli name.”

“I didn’t need you here. I don’t trust you.”

“I’m well aware of that. Alejandro told me how you were running your mouth off, right before his own guards took him out. I don’t give a fuck whether you trust me or not. I saved Luis’s life. He trusts me and is now the boss. That’s all that matters. You saw his text.”

Ryan listened with interest. It sounded like Alejandro was dead.

“Whether you like it or not, we need to work together. If Ali learns Alejandro is dead, this is going to get very messy. We need to get the trade done, send Reborn on their way, then when things settle down, Luis can let them know he is now in charge.”

Perez looked unconvinced by Tracer’s speech. Tracer folded his arms.

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