Page 49 of Lethal Vengeance

“Of course. Why wouldn’t I be? Raider’s been in tighter spots than this one,” he murmurs.

Interesting statement. “And Quinn? You two seem to be… close. Are you truly okay with leaving her inside?” The last thing I need is for Cruz to go rogue.

He twirls the earpiece between his restless fingers, and I tense. Cruz is never restless. Still. Stealthy. Those are his hallmarks.

“Yes,” he replies. With careful precision, he places the last earpiece on the charger. “She won’t leave until she’s done—with everything. I don’t like it, but it’s her decision. Whatever this is between the two of us, it’s separate and sits outside her vengeance. Whether it survives remains to be seen. But it doesn’t matter; it’s secondary.” He faces me, dark eyes filled with resolution. “I’ve seen the good in her. The conflict she feels. And I refuse to let the darkness have her.”

The magnitude of his declaration hits me like a ton of bricks. Raider said something similar a few days ago, but I’m not sure I fully comprehended it.

My fault entirely. What did Raider call it? Tunnel vision. He’s right. This whole time I’ve been trying to get her to walk away from vengeance and return with us to Miami. And I really thought the closeness she was developing with us meant she was considering it. Stupid, stupid, stupid.

Cruz and Raider plan to save heraftershe gets her vengeance. They know she won’t abandon the path she’s on. Is it even possible? Will there be enough of her to save? If there isn’t, will it destroy us?

23

ZANE

Before I fall into the dark rabbit hole of speculation, I pull myself back to the present. It does no good to dwell on a future that may not even happen if we don’t survive the attack. I look at the plans Sterling’s already detailing out, my eyes quickly finding the strengths and weaknesses in each step. This is what I can do to help Quinn and everyone else. It’s my expertise, and I’m damn good at it.

Margot ends her call with a smile. “Good news. My father can have roughly thirty men here tomorrow, and another twenty in two days.”

A quick tally brings us up to our new total. “Fifty. Good.” Who can I call? Thiago, a friend in Miami, has men, but they’re busy protecting his family and Henley right now. We could contact Raider’s brother, but he’s more of a last resort. I put him on the bottom of my list.

There’s a small group of mercenaries we’ve worked with on rescues in the past. Trustworthy men. I pick up the phone.

Ten minutes later, I hang up. “They have twelve men right now. That puts us at sixty-two.”

“Aria!” Margot exclaims. “Let me have your phone.”

I give it to her while I run through the massive list of contacts in my head. Most of them are military, or ex-military, and would be willing to take on something this important but pulling them together with such short notice might not be possible.

“I’m going to grab coffee. And breakfast. Anybody want anything?”

* * *

Arms full,I return twenty minutes later to a whirlwind of activity.

“What happened?” I set everything down on the small kitchen counter.

“The Luciano family is very grateful for the return of their sister,” Sterling states with a broad grin.

“And very interested in sending a message to Armando and the cartel,” Cruz adds dryly.

I raise an eyebrow. “How many?”

Margot’s practically dancing on her toes. “Fifty men of their own, including the two brothers and their… underboss? I think that’s what Aria called him.”

A grim smile stretches across my face. We have the numbers. “Get some coffee. We’re going to need it.”

It takes all day to figure out the details.

Margot coordinates the arrival of our “army,” finding places for them to stay, along with food and necessities. The money at her disposal goes a long way to getting us what we need without the usual wait. It’s impressive to watch her in action. She’s only nineteen. In another five years, she’ll be running her father’s empire.

Cruz and I work on planning the attack. We determine the best time to be two days after the cartel visit—approximately four days from now—at dawn. It gives the guards time to settle back into their usual routine. We’ll go in from two directions. The rear and the annex.

Sterling sources weapons and other military supplies. He also digs into the captain’s past to see if we can bribe him into unlocking Raider’s cell for us. Taking small bribes from Margot for equally small favors is one thing, but we need him to turn traitor.

“He’s lived in Monterrey his entire life and has a lot of family here,” Sterling reports. “Income is modest. Married. Kids. Used to be on the state police force until he went to work for Armando. He could go either way.”