“Yes, it’s me,” I say, shifting my weight and hugging my arms to my body. The entire group has turned their heads. Their eyes are on me. “I can carry her out of there while the rest of the team secures the guards.”
“Absolutely not, Reagan,” Thomas answers, the harshness in his voice impaling my skin. “You were the original target. In fact, he’s contacted us twice now, saying he wants you in exchange for their lives. We at CORE are all obviously pretty enraged about you breaking multiple layers of protocol to get down to Colombia. You’ve broken pretty much every Black Angel Directive we have so far and you’re not even a full Black Angel agent.”
“I know,” I say, pushing my voice forward, stopping it from shrinking into my body, accepting defeat. “I just can’t sit by and watch. I need to be here to help.”
“Sit by and watch you still will, Miss Hillis,” Thomas says, his voice stern and angry. “I have half my mind to put you on the next flight back but we can’t risk tipping off Torres. So you will help. But you will absolutely stay in that truck and help run intel, do you understand me?”
“I understand but I am a trained fighter and I—” I protest but he cuts me off.
“Reagan, do not question me,” Thomas pushes back. “Half the Black Angel tribunal wants to pull Eduardo off this mission so he can guard you in that warehouse. And then we’ll have an even smaller team in the field to rescue your parents. Do you want that?”
“Of course not,” I answer.
“I respect the fact that you want to help save your parents,” Thomas continues. “But this is extremely dangerous. It’s pretty much guaranteed that if they capture you, you will die. There will be no amount of negotiating or promising to release a prisoner in the United States for your life. Are you sure you want to play a part in this mission?”
“The risk is enormous,” Cooper adds with a nod.
“If they grab you, they won’t hold you like they’re holding your parents,” Sam says, turning around and facing me. “They’ve made that extremely clear. You are their revenge killing. It’s not enough for Torres just to kill your parents. He wants to kill their spirits. So you have to understand that if something happens to you, we won’t be able to get you back. Just think about that, Reagan.”
My fingers are pressing down so hard on my charm, I’m shocked the hearts aren’t bending in the heat. I swallow the fury and fear that has broken out of its box and crawled, like black poison, through my veins, polluting my lungs, my heart, my mind. I breathe in, push it back down, and let the numbness take over my body.
“I understand the risk,” I say, my voice tangled in my throat. I clear it and press my lips together. “I’m done with the questions. Don’t ask me if I’m sure I’m doing the right thing. Don’t ask me if my parents would want me to do this or if I realize the risk I’m taking, because right now, I do not care. I’ll do whatever it takes to get them back home safe, and if that means that I might get hurt or die, then so be it. You can’t change my mind, so save your breath.”
Sam’s and Cooper’s eyes widen. Luke has taken a step back from me. Eduardo’s mouth comes unhinged and Laz … Laz is smiling.
“All right, Reagan.” Thomas finally breaks the heavy silence. I feel my hands begin to tingle. I shake them out as Thomas breaks down the positions of the guards, the guns they’re carrying, the time we’ll hit the compound.
I search the faces of the rest of the team. They are nodding, listening intently to CORE’s instructions. Cooper and Eduardo are crouched down in the truck. Laz and Luke stand side by side, their arms crossed, their muscles rigid. Sam stands with her hands confidently pressed to her hips. No one looks afraid. And I realize just how powerful and amazing the Black Angels are, how impressive their network is, to be able to pull something as complicated and dangerous as this in under twenty-four hours. I see now why my parents love being a part of this team.
“Thomas, the sun is beginning to set here and we’ve got at least an hour’s drive to the ranch,” Sam says, turning around to look out the windows. “We’d better get loaded up. Anything else we need to know?”
“Yes, one more crucial bit of information,” Thomas says. The line crackles, then comes back. “We’ve intercepted a message between Torres and his team about a half hour ago. We are under a definite time crunch. Torres is planning on leaving the ranch sometime tonight with Jonathan and Elizabeth and moving them to another location. We have no idea where. He hasn’t given up that information, and you all know that moving victims is usually a bad sign. We do not have time to waste here. It looks like we’ve only got one shot to get this right.”