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Itrang. Once. Twice.
Each chime cinched a steel band tighter around Gia’s ribs.
On the fourth ring, Vincente answered.
“Ah,querida. Ready to return to Miami? I can have my plane there in a matter of hours.”
Her soul shriveled at the smug confidence in his voice.
She pressed closer to Caleb, breathing in sandalwood, anchoring herself to the heat and muscle of his body.
“You want Gia?” Caleb’s voice sliced the air, dripping menace. “Come and get her yourself, asshole. Where the fuck is my cousin?”
Rather than be intimidated, Vincente chuckled. “Señor Varella, I presume? I have no idea what you mean.”
“I’m not in the mood for games. I saw the photo. You want Gia, you bring Jennie Tsosie back to the rez. Alive and unharmed.”
“A trade then? Reasonable. But why should I believe you’d give up Gianna—she’s quite stunning, no?” Vincente’s voice dropped to a quiet snarl. “Have you tasted her sweetness? Sullied what belongs to me?”
Caleb’s gaze locked on hers. His thumb slid down her cheek. “Here’s what you don’t know about the Navajo, Lopez. Jennie is family. We don’t sacrifice family for outsiders. So yeah, I’ll make the trade. No one has to die.”
His voice was flat, cold. But pain dulled the gold in his eyes, and his grip on Gia tightened. “Gia said you wouldn’t hurt her.”
She gave a subtle nod.
He was playing to Vincente’s ego—just like she’d told him. Vincente couldn’t know she’d already told Caleb about the DEA agent’s murder.
“Of course I wouldn’t,” Vincente said, smug. “She’s to be my wife.”
A growl tore from Caleb’s throat.
Gia stabbed themute button, praying the sound hadn’t carried.
Another voice rumbled in the background of the call.
Juan.
“His cousin,” she murmured. “If Vincente agrees to the trade, Juan will be with him.”
Her stomach clenched. Juan had dumped Antonio’s body in the ocean. Laughed when she’d screamed.
Vincente’s voice returned. “Let me speak to Gianna. She is there with you, yes?”
A muscle ticked in Caleb’s jaw. “You don’t have to talk to him.”
Sweat dampened her hairline. Her heart pounded in her throat. “I do. He needs to believe I’ll go.”
She took the phone off mute, forcing her voice to stay steady. “I’ll return to Miami, but only if you release Jennie and promise no one else will get hurt.”
“Very well,mi amor.” His false indulgence turned her stomach. “You and your soldier will meet me at a location of my choosing. No one else. Or the Indian woman suffers the consequences.”
“I’m not stupid enough to walk into a trap,” Caleb cut in. “Gia and I come alone. Day after tomorrow. Time and place are my choice. I’ll be in touch.”
He ended the call before Vincente could respond.
Gia sagged against him, adrenaline crashing, the taint of Vincente’s voice still clinging like smoke.
“Now what?” Zach had been a silent witness until now, but the tension in his body betrayed the fury simmering underneath. He looked carved from stone, violence just beneath the surface. His eyes mirrored the guilt and fear Gia had seen in her own reflection ever since Jennie disappeared.