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“No, he won’t.” Dorcas tossed the drive to Salazar, and he caught it one-handed.

This was the most dangerous part of the operation, because Rita was absolutely right. There was nothing to stop Salazar from going back on his word and ordering his goons to kill them.

Muscles tensed and ready to spring into action, Nate eyed the other two men. His only comfort came from knowing that Austin and his crew would open fire if the guys made any sort of move toward their holstered weapons.

Salazar nodded to the men, and one of them gave Esperanza a shove. She stumbled toward them, and Dorcas caught her before she fell.

Nate’s temper spiked, but he held it in check, because damn, he was really going to enjoy this next bit. “By the way, you ought to invest in stronger password protection. Our hacker got past it in less than an hour.”

Salazar scoffed. “Yeah, right.”

“What, you think I’m bluffing?”

“I think you’re full of shit.”

Nate stepped closer and looked the other man in the eyes. “Roberto Aranza. Jimmy Carfano. Ring a bell?”

Some of the color left Salazar’s face.

“Not so full of shit now, am I?” Nate paused to let the full weight of his words sink in. “It took some time, but we deciphered your files. We know you’ve been playing with dangerous people. It’s pretty ballsy, running drugs for two separate criminal organizations. Do they know about each other?”

The muscle along Salazar’s jaw clenched. “That’s none of your fucking business.”

“That’s okay; I already know the answer. Just like I know about the Barclays account in Singapore, the one with the seven-figure balance. We know your routes, your delivery schedules, as well as the names and contact information for your entire network of smugglers. In a nutshell, we’ve got all the receipts, and we made a shit-ton of copies. So if anything happens to Rita, her family, or anyone even tangentially connected to them, copies of that drive are going straight to multiple law enforcement agencies. And I mean anything: car accident, illness. Hell, if any of them get so much as a splinter, that shit’s going straight to the cops. Are we clear?”

“Crystal,” Salazar said through gritted teeth.

“Good.” Nate flashed a smile that was anything but friendly. “Oh, and one more thing.”

The vein on Salazar’s forehead was beginning to bulge. “What?”

“M2EW1A. You really should change those passwords more often.”

What little color the other man had drained away from his face. “Stolen emails aren’t admissible in court.”

“Is that right?” Nate shrugged. “I’m not a lawyer, so I’ll take your word for it. But while we were poking around, we used your email account to send Aranza a message. Told him...well, why spoil the fun? I’m sure he’s a reasonable guy. When he comes to visit, you can explain how it’s all a big misunderstanding.”

For a moment, he actually felt bad for the bastard. But then Nate remembered the shit he’d pulled and all sense of compassion evaporated.

Nate nodded to Dorcas, who, along with her sister, escorted their mother toward the exit. All the while, he kept a close eye on Salazar and his men, watching and waiting for the moment when the asshole decided to do something stupid.

Two clicks came over his earpiece, the signal for him to get the hell out of Dodge. “We’re leaving now. Remember what I said. Leave us alone, and we’ll do the same for you.”

Once outside, they piled into the rental car and peeled out of the lot.

Nobody spoke for the first mile or so, while Nate continually checked the mirrors for any signs of pursuit. Seeing none, he tapped three times on his earpiece to let the team know they were okay.

At the next light, he looked over his shoulder to the backseat, where Rita and her mother sat. “Good evening, Mrs. Otero-Lopez. I’m Nate Flint.”The man who’s going to marry your daughter.He didn’t say that part aloud because he’d rather not freak Dorcas out. Things had moved so fast between them, and he understood she’d need time to adjust before he popped the question. “How are you holding up, ma’am?”

“I—I’m okay now. Thank you.” Her expression was a mixture of happiness and confusion. “Dorcas, Rita, who were those people? Why did they—“

“We’ll explain it all later. I promise,” Rita said as she hugged her mother.

Nate hooked a left and merged onto the highway. Now that the excitement was over, all he could think about was getting his hands on Dorcas. But that wasn’t happening anytime soon, especially not from behind the wheel of a car, so he reached across the center console and gripped her hand.

She gave it a squeeze. “Think he’ll come after us?”

“I doubt it. We’re the least of his problems.” Talk about an understatement. The email they’d sent using Salazar’s account didn’t just burn the bridge between Aranza and Salazar. It dropped a nuclear bomb on that bridge and then pissed on the smoldering rubble. Nate shuddered to think of what the drug lord would do if he ever got his hands on the asshole. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he takes the first available flight out of the country. Or maybe he’ll buy a cabin in the woods and live like a hermit for a few years. But first, he needs to access his money, and that’s not happening anytime soon.”