by J. L. Drake
Twenty-eight painful minutes later, I slowed my pace and dropped to the speed limit and started to scan every single vehicle on my horizon.
Lane four caught my attention, and I eased my way over to claim a place in line. With my heartbeat in my throat, I pressed two fingers to the button on my neck.
“Lopez, do you copy?”
“’Bout time you showed.” His relief was evident, and I was able to breathe.
“Has Logan made contact with you yet?”
“That’s a negative on the boss connecting with me.”
Shit!
Slowly, I felt them, a set of eyes two lanes over. I prayed it wasn’t one of Salvador’s men, but it made sense they would be watching the border.
I looked up ahead where Mark was five cars deep. There was no way we could move if we needed to.
“Lopez.”
“I see them. Do you have a Plan B? ’Cause I don’t.”
“Plan B would be a worse nightmare.”
“Copy that, brother.” Mark laughed darkly, which made me smirk. I couldn’t count how many times our missions went to shit, and we’d had to improvise.
A border agent started to direct the cars in different lanes to speed up the process. The cars in between Mark and me were moved to lane five, and thankfully, we stayed together. I caught a glimpse of Mark’s girl as she peered out the window. She looked drained and white. That was good; we needed them tired. We needed to look exhausted. After all, we just had finished a long, grueling race, and we had been on an epic journey through the desert, I reminded myself.
“Made it through. I’ll meet you at the next checkpoint,” Cole’s voice chirped over the radio.
A wave of relief broke through me. Elena was over, the main purpose of the trip.
Suddenly, two drug dogs sniffed their way over and around my wheels, and their handlers started to poke around. Mark adjusted his mirror so he could see what was happening.
I checked myself out carefully and caught a little powder in the grooves of my watch. Using the rest of my water, I dumped it over my head and arms to free myself of any evidence.
My brain spun, and it took all my effort to keep it still. Thankfully, I only ingested a little of the drug.
I reached back, while keeping my face forward, and snagged the cartel’s phone from the back seat. I pretended to watch the screen. I needed to appear relaxed and calm.
With my head bent down, I watched as they moved up the body of the truck to my window.
“Where are you coming from?” The agent held his hand out for my ID.
“La Paz.”
He squinted up at me. “Why?”
I was driving a billboard for off-road racing, but I knew they wanted to hear it from me. I kept my voice respectful and friendly.
“Just raced the Baja.”
He nodded as he looked at his phone. “How’d you do?”
“Placed third.” I grinned. He must have Googled me.
“Stay in this lane.” He handed me back my ID. He called off his dogs and moved to another lane.
I sagged into the seat and lifted a small, friendly wave toward Mark’s truck as he moved forward. I knew he would have been sweatin’ it along with me.
The sun beat down, and I was thankful for the AC that blasted my face. I normally ran hot, so days like this nearly killed me. I missed my cool mountains.
There was activity ahead just as Mark’s truck was about to arrive at the gate. Shit, they changed agents.
Mark was up next, and I had no clue what would happen now. The new agent waved him up, Mark handed him the paperwork, and everything went still for me. I felt like I was punched in the stomach when he was directed to drive over to secondary holding.
Here we go. I was up.
“ID, proof of where you stayed, and vehicle registration.”
I handed him what he asked for and glanced over to Mark, who stepped down from his truck.
“Are you two,” he nodded at Mark, “traveling together?”
We were obviously both racers but had been ordered not to say we were together. However, I wasn’t going to leave without Mark.
“We both raced the Baja, but we aren’t exactly together.”
His head leaned to the side like he tried to read my mind. “Welcome to secondary holding.”
I nodded once and followed directions to park and exit my truck.
The girl stood like stone while Mark answered the questions, and two men who were obviously cartel talked with the guard. These guys must just work with the border. I could see they were confused, as they’d probably been instructed that cartel members were traveling with the trucks they were to watch for.
“Do you understand why you were pulled from the lane?” The agent watched my expressions.
“Yes, sir, I understand, and I welcome you to look around.” As he moved toward Mark, I moved a little closer to the girl.
“Darlin’,” I whispered in a warm tone, and she stayed with her eyes locked to the ground, “you need to breathe. You’re sending a red flag right now. You understand?”
Her lips opened, and air escaped.
There she is.
“They are monsters. They are everywhere.”
“Yes,” I smiled at her, “but you are with us, remember. Baja racers. You must relax.”
“You,” the agent pointed at her, “come with me.”
The girl looked up at me with such terror I wanted to grab her hand and run.
“She doesn’t go anywhere without one of us.” I stepped forward, and Mark joined me.
The agent smirked, loving that he had control over the situation. “I don’t think so.”
“I want a female agent to escort her over.” Mark held up a hand. “We have rights.”
The agent prattled something over his radio and waited for a response. Mark glanced at me, and we both knew what we’d have to do next. We’d have to identify ourselves, but we weren’t there yet, and the repercussions of doing that would be hard to come back from. Plus, the girl would be put into holding, and it would take weeks to get her out if we could even get to her before the Salvador did.
Another agent approached and started to yell in frustration at the agent who, he complained, wasn’t moving us along fast enough. He pointed to the girl, and she stepped a little closer to me.
“What are—” The agent pointed at her, when suddenly a giant wave of energy blew by us, nearly knocking us off our feet. The roar of a fireball shot straight into the sky, and then alarms and lights started to go off in all directions. Instantly, I grabbed the girl and used my body as a shield to protect her from what might happen next.
“All units to lane three. I repeat, all units report to lane three!” The supervisor looked directly at me and yelled, “Hurry! Go, get out of here!”
We didn’t waste any time, and I made sure the girl got into Mark’s truck as we turned our engines over.
“Go!” I commanded, and we tore out of there.
Agents waved the already cleared trucks through a small break they’d cleared to rush us out faster. Once we were a few yards away, I eased back into my seat and took a breath.
“Holy shit!” Mark laughed into my ear. “Someone somewhere was looking out for us, brother! I think that was our guy.”
I squeezed a bottle of water at my face and fought to clear my head. When I tossed it on the floor, I spotted the phone. I fumbled to remember the numbers through my murky head.
“Who the fuck is this?” Trigger barked over the line, confused by the number.
“We barely made it, but we crossed.”
There was a brief pause before he spoke again. “I think it would be best if you made a detour, to me.”
My stomach bottomed out. “Why?”
“Because I’m sitting here with your girl.”
What?
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
Catalina
The lake was like glass. I watched a dragonfly as it dipped its wing to the surface to send tiny ripples out
ward, and the sky wobbled in its wake.
Trigger sat next to me on the top of the picnic table. His silence was comforting, but in time I grew nervous. He must have checked his phone roughly six times in the thirty minutes we’d been here.
“When I was eight,” I said quietly, not wanting to disturb our moment, “I used to follow a little path down to this quarry. It was my happy place. Javier and I used to play mud fights, and once it dried, and we could barely move, we’d jump in the water and wash off.” I smiled at the memory. We had some fun times despite everything going on around us. “One time, after we were coated head to toe, we heard voices, so we hid behind this huge bolder. If my father caught on to what we were doing, he’d probably fill the quarry or something. God forbid we act like kids. We spotted our father with a man. The man was begging for his life. My father pushed him to his knees and shot him. Just like that. My brother tried to cover my eyes, but I saw everything. Blood from that man mixed with the water we had played in. Our favorite place in the world was tainted by our own father just like that.”
“Why are you telling me this?” Trigger asked gruffly.
“I guess I just had a feeling something is coming.”
“Are you always this paranoid?”
“I was born paranoid.”
He laughed, and as odd as it was to hear someone as scary looking as Trigger laugh, it made me join in. “You’re funny.” He sucked back on his joint before he offered it to me.
I shrugged. Screw it. I held the little white stick between my fingers and inhaled. Two-point-five seconds later, I was hit with a relaxing rush.
“Better?” He smirked.
“Well, guess I’ll be relaxed now when you off me. So, yeah, better.”
“You know if North Carolina doesn’t work out, you can always squat at the DR.”
I knew he was kidding, and he tried to be kind, but my stomach twisted into a hard knot. “Be careful what you offer.” I leaned back and let the sun warm my face. A truck’s engine roared, and my lake companion moved as his phone buzzed.
“Yeah,” was all he said before he flicked his head for me to follow him.
“Where are we going, anyway?”
“Just keep up, Catalina.”
I tried to keep up with his long legs, but my shoes weren’t made for a hike in the woods.
“You promised you weren’t going to kill me.” I half laughed.
“I’m not.”
“I beg,” I slipped, and he caught my elbow before I took off down the hill, “to differ.”
A truck arrived as we hit a clearing. A sad-looking piece of property, if there ever was one.
“Who’s that?” Company?
The door flew open, and my heart leapt into my throat. My emotions welled up, and I wasn’t sure what to do with myself.
“Hey, man, thanks.” Mike shook hands with Trigger then moved his attention over to me.
I chewed on my bottom lip. I wasn’t ready to see him yet. I wasn’t ready to say goodbye in person.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out a paper and held it up. “You’re breaking up with me in a letter?”
I fought to hold my breath.
“I need a beer,” Trigger muttered before he disappeared to the front of a trailer.
Once we were alone, he took a few steps closer, and the hurt on his face sent a sharp pain through my chest.
“Are you okay?” His gaze raked over me as he muttered, “You’re okay.”
I started to laugh like a crazy person. He had no idea what the hell I’d been through this week. “Trust me, Mike, I’m far from okay.”
He closed his eyes and acted like he wanted to say more.
“So, now what?” I asked. We had so much to say to one another, but neither of us knew where to start.
“Now?” Mike grunted. “Now, we go visit my friends.”
“What?” I didn’t want to see anyone.
He stepped closer and towered over me. “These people are important to me, and they made sure you got home all right. I owe them a lot more than a hello.” I nodded and followed him; he was right.
A blonde bombshell stepped out of the trailer holding a plate full of raw meat. She was dressed in jean shorts and a leather top that made her boobs look huge. She shot me a smile then dragged her eyes up the length of my body. I could feel the heat.
“Mmm, I wouldn’t kick her out of bed. Dibs.”
Mike muttered something I couldn’t make out, then took my hand to pull me closer. We were not okay, but I welcomed his touch.
Rail whistled and took a step toward me. “Well, well, well. Mr. Army has finally come to get his Latina hottie. Don’t worry, I took good care of her.”
“Thanks, man.” Mike leaned forward and shook his hand.
Once he stepped back, I got a good look at the rest of them. It took me a moment to realize they were more of Trigger’s club.
“Trigger.” Mike waved him over, and I felt my hands go cold.
“How was it?”
“Rough.” Mike ran a hand through his hair.
“You shake your tail?”
“Hope so, though two were left at the border after a truck exploded.”
“Yours?” Trigger tugged at his beard.
“Yeah, plan B.”
“Nothing like a ball of fire to scatter the rats.” Trigger handed us each a beer. I swore all these guys did was drink and get high.
“Spend the night here, and we’ll get you off in the morning.”
“Thanks.” Mike pulled out a phone and turned to me. “I need to make some calls. Here, sit,” he ordered, pulling out a chair.
I grew frustrated. “I’d like to go home now,” I called after him, and the place went quiet. I scanned the eyes that looked at me.
What?
Mike marched back to me with a face that told me not to push right now. “You should have thought of that before you took a trip back home.”
What? Oh, hell no!
“No one asked you to save me, Mike.”
Mike licked his lips like he was trying to calm himself. “I wasn’t there to save you,” he hissed through a clenched jaw.
I know.
“I was perfectly capable of looking after myself. I was on my way home when your friend,” she looked at Trigger, “picked me up.”
“Right, and your friend Abel was probably on his way back to tell Daddy exactly where he left you,” Trigger interjected.
“You have no idea what my family would do.” I addressed myself to Mike. “You have no idea what my past was like.”
“Right. That’s because you never shared your past,” Mike spat back.
I crossed my arms and felt my bones burn with fury. “That’s calling the kettle black.”
The anger and sexual tension charged the air around us. I stood my ground, and so did he. We’d never fought like this before, so it was new to both of us.
“Um, Catalina, is it?” The girl came to my side, wrapped an ivy tattooed arm around my shoulders, and directed me away from Mike, who had a death stare on me. “You look like you could use something a lot stronger than this.” She eased the beer from my hand. I couldn’t help but study the artwork that graced her skin.
“Nice tat.”
She smiled and led me inside the old trailer. “Damn, did Mike ever find himself a girl after my own heart.” She laughed and held up a bottle of tequila. “You'll fit in fine around here.”
Great…
“I’m Tess, by the way. If you need anything, come to me. The guys are useless.” She handed me a shot and held out her hand for me to lick the salt. I licked the stem of her thumb and watched as her eyes flared with arousal. My head tipped back and let the hot amber burn down to the pit of my stomach. “You really should think of relocating to the west coast.”
“I just might.” I smirked, amused she was amused. We did another shot when Rail came in like hell on wheels and knocked a bowl of watermelon down my front.
“Oh, shit!”
he cursed. “I’m fucking sorry, doll.”
“It’s okay.” I batted his hands away from my chest with a laugh. Rail reminded me of a giant kid. He meant well but was so jacked up inside he was a mess.
“Come on. I’ll find you something to put on. I have left the odd thing here.”
Tess tossed her phone on the dresser before she started to go through the top drawer.
“Here you go.” She tossed a few items on the bed. “I’ll give you a minute to get cleaned up.”
“Thanks.” I waited for her to leave before I stripped down.
I held up the short jeans shorts and eyed the ripped halter top that was mostly held together with safety pins. It wasn’t something I would wear, but it was cute, and I was pleased to discover it fit me like a glove. I examined the back of it in the mirror. The way the pins trailed down the center of my back, it gave my angel a metal spine.
I liked it. I slipped back on my flats and headed outside since I couldn’t hide out inside anymore.
“Mike!” A guy tossed his beer can in the rusty garbage bin. “I’m officially stealing your girlfriend.”
“That so, Brick?” A redhead punched his shoulder hard. “I’ll remember that.”
He laughed, and Mike turned around with his ear to the phone. His eyes widened at my outfit, and he looked like he might take me right here in front of everyone.
“Give it a rest, boys,” Tess snapped. “Rail spilled shit down her front.”
“Hey, Catalina,” Rail tucked his hands in his pockets and grinned like the charmer he was, “ever rode on a bike before?”
“No,” Mike bit out in a voice that made me jump.
“Rail,” Trigger warned as his hand ran up Tess’s thigh without a lick of shame.
“Don’t mind him, Cat.” Tess rolled her eyes at Rail. “He has the mentality of a seventeen-year-old with a morning woody.”
“Never bothered you before.” Rail winked at her.
“And it still doesn’t, baby.” Tess played along until Brick groaned.
“There’s too much vagina here.” Brick reached for another beer and tossed me one before he popped his open.
More booze? The tequila was already kicking in.
“Then why deny me at night, Brick?” Rail kicked his knee, and I shook my head and tried to keep up with their crude banter.
