Hesitating, my foot froze mid-stride. Images of the first time I entered this room flashed through my mind, but I tamped down my fears and settled into the brown leather chair. I hoped this time ended better than the last time.
My eyes surveyed the room, taking note of every person. Javier. Caesar. The security guards with guns. No Ryker. “Where’s Ryker?” I asked.
Ignacio tapped his fingers on the desk for a few excruciating ticks of the second hand. “Ryker is no longer involved in this mission on a daily basis.”
Without any further explanation, he leaned toward the computer monitor and turned it on. After a few strokes of his fingers, I heard a ringing noise. Instead of hovering over the back of my chair like last time, Ignacio shifted to the side.
Two rings later, Evan, Senator Deveron, and my dad appeared on the screen. Tangible relief warmed my body, starting with my heart and spreading outward in the form of a warm, fuzzy glow. I missed my dad. I missed his dark hair, his even darker eyes, and the strong, firm set of his mouth.
“Dad,” I said, my voice barely a whisper.
“Hattie,” he said, drifting forward. “Are you okay?
“I am now,” I answered, not realizing how much I missed him and even my mom until right then.
“Are you hurt?” my dad pressed.
“Not really.”
His eyes surveyed my face and my chest, clearly cataloging the scratches and bruises marring my skin from my failed attempts to escape. “What. Happened. Hattie?” Rage laced every word.
“Oh,” I said, the pads of my fingers coasting down the side of my face. “It’s my fault. I ran and—”
“Are they responsible for those marks?” my dad asked, interrupting my explanation.
“No,” I said a little too animatedly. For some reason, I wanted to protect Ryker. Ryker did a lot of things to me, but he didn’t hurt me physically. “It’s from the trees, and I tripped a few times.”
He nodded, but he looked unconvinced. “You’ll be home soon, Hattie. Just hold on and be strong, okay?”
“I will.” My voice quivered. “I love you, Daddy.”
“We love you, too, Hattie,” my dad answered.
Ignacio dropped his hand on my shoulder, and I flinched, despising the contact with him. “You can leave now.”
I braced my hand on the armrests of the desk chair for a moment, not wanting to sever contact with my dad.
“Go ahead, Hattie,” Senator Deveron interjected. “We have a few details to discuss in private, but Evan will meet you in Mexico when this is over.”
“Okay,” I answered, even though I didn’t want Evan to meet me here. In an ideal world, I’d have a few days to unwind and deconstruct my thoughts before I faced him, but fate hadn’t been kind lately. I didn’t expect it to change course now.
Chapter Twenty-Four
When I finished swimming my laps the following day, Ignacio was waiting at the edge of the pool. Just like every other time I’d seen him, he dressed in all black.
“I’d like you to take a drive with me,” he said as I stepped out of the pool.
I draped my towel over my shoulders. “Do I have a choice?”
He chuckled, and for the first time I saw amusement in his dark eyes. “No, you don’t.”
I frowned. “I didn’t think so. Can I dress first?”
He pointed to my navy and white striped cover up. “That will work. It’s just a drive.”
“Okay, then,” I mumbled, pulling the cover up over my still damp hair and swimming suit.
“Follow me,” he said without turning around as he started down the pathway to the front of the villa.
A black SUV sat in the driveway. Ignacio opened the front passenger door for me and he slipped into the driver’s seat a minute later.
“No driver today?” I questioned as the car pulled away from the house.
“Not today. I don’t want any witnesses.”
“What?” I said, my heart slamming against the walls of my chest.
He reached over and patted my leg before returning his hand to the steering wheel. “I don’t plan to kill you.”
“I’m not a target?” I questioned, recalling Ryker’s conversation about cargo and targets.
Ignacio chuckled. “Nope, you’re still cargo.”
“Then why?” My mind scoured his face, searching for the answer in his eyes, but he was unreadable. “Wait. Am I leaving for good?” My words betrayed my excitement.
“Are you ready to go home?”
“Of course. Why would I want to stay?” The moment the words left my mouth, grief lanced through my chest. I wanted to go home, but I craved Ryker. I wanted—no, needed—to see him, touch him, talk to him, one more time before I disappeared from his life forever.
Ignacio smiled, but his eyes lacked warmth. “I think we both know why you want to stay—”
“I don’t,” I protested before he could finish his thought.
“If you say so, but you’re not leaving us yet. We have to make a few more arrangements, but it shouldn’t take longer than three or four more days. How’s that sound?”
I sucked in my lower lip and ducked my head to hide my relief. “Perfect,” I replied sarcastically, even though it was the truth. I had three or four more days to see Ryker. “So where are we going now?”
“For a drive to Highway 307.”
“Isn’t that the highway to the airport?”
“It is,” Ignacio answered without glancing at me.
“Why are we going to the airport if I’m not going home?”
“We’re not. We’re going for a drive.”
I slumped in the seat. “So we are,” I mumbled.
“What do you know about the Vargas Cartel?”
“Other than that it smuggles drugs across the border? Not a lot.”
His ebony eyes landed on mine. “Law enforcement agencies, on both sides of the border, describe drug cartels as snakes that grow another head as soon as the other is dismembered. It’s interesting imagery, but this characteristic has allowed cartels to thrive despite the all-out war launched by the DEA and the Mexican government when former President Calderón took office in 2006.”
Ignacio turned onto Highway 307.
“How did you get involved in the cartel?”
“When I graduated from high school, I became a police officer, but I quickly realized I could make more money working for drug smugglers. I worked my way up the chain of command, and here I am.”
“So you’ve done it all?”
“I started at the bottom. I’ve donned a ski mask and dragged men away from crying wives and mothers. I’ve tied people up and cut them apart, piece by piece. I’ve hacked off heads. I’ve ordered countless assassinations.” He spoke slowly, and his eyes were distant, almost unfocused. Otherwise, his face was void of emotion. “Living that life robbed me of my compassion, and I didn’t want that for Rever. I wanted him to start at the top, and maybe that was my mistake. He didn’t appreciate the gift I gave him.”