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“Listen to me. Vincente doesn’t know about your estrangement from your family, and though he might suspect something between us, he has no proof. Tell him Jennie’s your cousin. That you won’t let family suffer for some outsider. Tell him it’s me for her.”
“He won’t buy it.”
“He will,” she insisted. Her stomach bottomed out at the thought of being anywhere near her ex-lover again. “He’s arrogant enough to believe it.”
When his expression didn’t budge, she threw out her trump card. “You can get justice for your mother.”
Caleb spun away, raking a hand through his hair.
Gia held her breath. Waited.
He wheeled back around, jabbing a finger toward her. “As much as I’d like to avenge myamá, this isn’t about her. This is about you.”
His voice dropped, rough with emotion. “I won’t sacrifice you.”
Her heart fluttered at the look in his eyes. “It’s the only way,” she whispered.
Surely he could see that.
She saw the moment his eyes registered defeat. Then his gaze shuttered.
“I have a call to make.”
The missing DEA agent.
Caleb stepped outside the cottage in nothing but his navy t-shirt and jeans, letting the bite of high desert winter air slap against his skin.
Maybe it would shock some sense into him.
Make that the murdered DEA agent.
Nathan mentioned the DEA had put a man in Lopez’s Miami operation—an agent who vanished two months ago.
It could be the key to putting Lopez away for good, and a crippling blow to Espina Negra.
Exactly what Caleb had wanted.
But if Gia had to testify, she’d never know peace again. She’d spend her life in hiding.
And he’d lose her.
Fuck.
He couldn’t do this. Couldn’t use her, not after everything she’d survived. Not after she finally started to feel safe with him.
But there was no other way.
One of the horses grazing nearby nickered softly, its tail swishing. Caleb envied the animal’s uncomplicated existence.
Zach, he could trust.
The rest of the Navajo Police? Gallup PD? Too many unknowns. Cartel informants were everywhere—and if Espina Negra didn’t have someone in the area, the Aztec Kings did.
No, whatever plan he made had to be airtight. On a need-to-know basis.
Gia’s life depended on it. Jennie’s, too.
He scrolled through his contacts.