A hand stroked the back my head. Two sets of dark eyes searched mine. Two mouths moved open and closed. Shouts and rapid-fire questions echoed through my ears, but I couldn’t understand anything. I didn’t want to. It was too hard. I didn’t want to fight any longer. My emotions turned off like a spigot. Numbness slithered through my veins like a lethal injection. I felt so heavy.
Too heavy.
Too tired.
Worn out.
Just like that my eyes slid closed, and I embraced the darkness. I invited it in, and willed it to claim me. Giving up had never felt so peaceful.
Chapter Fourteen
Ryker
“She fainted?” I squeezed my phone against my ear as I ran up the front steps of the Vargas compound. “How the hell did that happen?”
“Calm down,” Emanuel said. “Dr. Mendez took care of her. She’s resting in your room.”
“Is he still there?”
“No, he left, but you can call him if you have any questions.”
I pressed the code to unlock the front door and flung it open the minute the light flashed green. “I’m here. Where’s Ignacio?”
Emanuel sauntered around the corner and slipped his phone into his pocket. “He went to his room to rest. He wasn’t feeling well. He’s still not one hundred percent.”
“Did he do something to upset Hattie?”
Emanuel rubbed the back of his neck as he glanced to the side. “I don’t think he did anything to her.”
Anger vibrated through my nerve endings. “But he said something, right?”
“Apparently, he told her you intended to stay in Mexico and work with Ignacio.”
“What the fuck? Why would he do that?”
He shrugged. “How the hell am I supposed to know? I wasn’t there. It probably came up in conversation. It’s not like he lied to her. He told her the truth. She didn’t like it. She fainted.”
“I wanted her to hear it from me,” I growled.
“Then you should’ve told her this morning instead of hiding your head in the sand.”
I pointed my finger at him. “You don’t know what you’re talking about. Shut the fuck up.”
Smirking, he raised one eyebrow. “Or what?”
I shoved him in the shoulder. “Get out of my face or I’ll take this up with Ignacio.”
“Oh please.” He snorted. “Ignacio listens to me. He trusts me. Look what happened with Rever.”
“What are you talking about?” I spat.
“I discredited him.”
“He did it to himself.”
He chuckled. “Maybe so, but I gave him the push he needed. He’s not that smart. I planted ideas in his head, and he took the bait.” He shrugged. “Then lo and behold, Ignacio started doubting him, pushing him, and he spiraled in a mess of his own making. Now he’s holed up in some shithole in Panama with that Alvarez whore.”
I didn’t think. I lunged for him. My hand curled into his shirt, and I pinned him against the wall. His head whipped backward, crashing into the wall like a rag doll. The heel of my hand pressed against his windpipe. His eyes bulged. I wanted to kill him. I was so sick of this shit. I didn’t want anything to do with Ignacio, Emanuel, or the Vargas Cartel.
“You think you’re smart enough to manipulate me?”
“I know I am,” he croaked.
“You don’t know anything.”
He spat on my face. Saliva dripped down my cheek. “I got rid of Rever and I’ll get rid of you too if I feel like it. You think Ignacio’s in control, but he’s not. I call all the shots.”
Poison laced laughter exploded from my mouth. “What happened to all that sanctimonious bullshit about not wanting to lead the cartel and being happy with your lot in life?”
“I could wrestle control from Ignacio in a second if I wanted to.” He snapped his fingers. “That should tell you something.”
I slammed his body against the wall. “That I’d be doing Ignacio a favor if I killed you.”
“Rever was too impulsive, and I’m starting to think you’re not much better.”
My fist had a mind of its own. It landed in the dead center of his right cheek. His head jerked to the side. Fire shot up my arm, and my knuckles buckled, but I didn’t care. I welcomed the pain.
“Listen,” I hissed through clenched teeth. “I don’t give a shit about the Vargas Cartel or Ignacio’s legacy. You can have the cartel. I don’t want anything to do with it, but don’t play mind games with me. You won’t win.”
The veins on the side of his neck bulged, and his jaw muscle ticked. “Is that a challenge?”
“Make what you want of it. All I ask is that you stay far away from Hattie and me. When it comes to either of us, keep your opinions to yourself.” I shoved him to the side. “Now get the fuck away from me before I change my mind.”
Emanuel ran his hand down the side of his swollen cheek. “Ignacio won’t like this.”
Smirking, I raised one eyebrow. “What gave you the impression I give a shit what Ignacio does or doesn’t like?”
“What won’t I like?” Ignacio said as he strolled into the room.
“I thought you were sleeping,” Emanuel said, his eyes boring into the wall above Ignacio’s head.
Ignacio leaned his shoulder into the wall, his narrowed eyes boomeranging between Emanuel and me. “How could I sleep with this noise? Now are either of you going to tell me what the hell is going on or do we have to play twenty questions?”
I stuffed my swollen hand in my pocket. Not that it’d conceal what happened. Emanuel’s face looked like he had a third eye growing out of his cheek. “We had a disagreement.”
“A disagreement that ended with your fist in his face,” he said wearily.
I glared at Ignacio. “Something like that.”
He scowled for a second, then his hardened stare cut to Emanuel. “Do you have something to add or did you suddenly become mute?”
Emanuel folded his arms across his chest and drummed his fingers against his biceps. “It was a misunderstanding, but we’re good now.”
“Is that right, Ryker?” Ignacio asked.
“I don’t trust him.” Ignacio sliced his hand through the air in front of him, interrupting me. “No,” I said, shaking my head. “I know you trust him, and I know he’s worked for you for a long time, but that doesn’t mean I should trust him with my interests. With the people I care about. I don’t think you should either.”
Emanuel scoffed. “Your cryptic bullshit doesn’t make sense. I know you have a long résumé back in the States, but you don’t know anything about the way things work in Mexico.”
“And you just proved my point.” I pinned Ignacio with my eyes. “He’s trying to undermine me just like he undermined Rever.”
Emanuel chuckled. “You don’t need me to do it. You’re doing a good job all by yourself.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“Juan Alvarez is alive. You killed his son. You helped kidnap his daughter. If you intended to escalate the war between the two cartels, you succeeded. This whole mess is going to get a hell of a lot bloodier before it’s put to rest.”
Ignacio’s mouth tugged down in a disapproving frown, and he scrubbed his hand down his face. “I don’t have time to mediate this pissing contest right now. What’s done is done. As for Juan, we’ll figure out how to deal with him later. He’s a sick fuck, but he can’t do anything from his hospital bed. We still have time to come up with a plan.”
I clenched my hands. “But you had time to spill all my secrets to Hattie,” I said bitterly.
Ignacio rolled his eyes and blew out an exaggerated breath. “So what? I ripped the bandage off. It had to be done. You were dragging your feet. You and I both know she doesn’t belong here. The quicker you sever your connection with her, the quicker you’ll learn what you need to know to help me.”