Page 73 of Faron (The Golden Team #8)

Tag

W e didn’t take him to a station. We didn’t need the red tape.

Blue stood against the far wall, arms crossed, eyes locked on him.

I leaned forward, resting both palms on the desk.

“Let’s make something clear,” I said quietly. “You don’t get a lawyer. You don’t get a phone call. You’re in my world now.”

Knox just grinned. His lip was split, and he had a black eye forming, from his fight with Aponi, but he still looked cocky.

“I gotta say,” he rasped, “your sister’s prettier than you, Tag.”

She’s not my sister; if her brother Faron were here, you’d be dead by now. He’s got that Indian blood in him and does things before thinking.

Blue was on him in a flash—shoving his chair back against the wall, hand on his throat.

“You say one more thing about her, and I’ll make sure you never use that mouth again,” she whispered.

He blinked, stunned. Then—laughed. But it was weaker this time.

“Okay,” he said, choking out the word. “Fine. Let’s play. You must be her sister.”

Blue stepped back, silent again, shaking her head.

I picked up the folder I’d dropped on the table. Laid out three photos—burned girls, cartel stash houses, a grave with no name.

“You trafficked minors for La Serpiente cartel. You cut ties with the DEA after flipping a handler in Tucson. Then you vanished, until Aponi thought she killed you. That’s not the behavior of a man with friends.”

“I have friends,” he said, smirking. “One of them paid a lot to find Aponi.”

My jaw tensed. “Name.”

He chuckled. “You think it’s about revenge? About me?”

He leaned forward. “She saw something. Five years ago. Something she wasn’t supposed to.”

Aponi walked into the room.

“He said, You saw something you weren’t supposed to see.”

“I didn’t see anything,” Aponi said, frowning. “What was I supposed to see?”

“You won’t remember it. I’m sure you never even saw it, and if you did, you didn’t realize what you were seeing.” Knox said. But I’m not the only one looking for her,” He said. I was just supposed to tag her . Someone else is coming to finish it.”

He licked blood from his lip. “You’re out of time.”

Aponi stepped closer again, her voice ice.

“What was I supposed to see?”

He just smiled.

“That’s when I hit him.”

Just once—jaw to cheekbone. He slumped, dazed but still conscious.

I looked over at Aponi. “You believe him?”

Her mouth was tight. “I believe someone wants me dead bad enough to wake this piece of shit from the grave.”

I nodded slowly. “Then we don’t wait.”