"Is it?"
"It has to be."
My phone buzzes in my pocket, and we both tense. I pull it out, check the screen.
Message from Guardian HRS. Three lines of text that make my blood run cold.
LOS SERPIENTES POSTED $50K BOUNTY ON MAGNOLIA BROOKS—ALIVE
TYLER BROOKS MEETING WITH CARTEL LIEUTENANT IN PHOENIX—2 HOURS AGO
SIX ENFORCERS DISPATCHED TO YOUR AREA—ETAUNKNOWN.
REINFORCEMENTS INBOUND.
Maggie sees my face change. "What is it?"
I show her the screen.
She reads it once. Twice. Then looks up at me. "Tyler met with them. Two hours ago."
"Yeah."
"So he's not running. He's helping them find me."
"Yeah."
She absorbs that without flinching. I'm starting to realize this woman doesn't break easily.
"Six enforcers," she says, looking at the screen again. "That's a lot for two people."
"They're not taking chances after what happened at the warehouse."
"ETA unknown. Could be hours. Could be?—"
The perimeter alarm I initiated when we arrived screams through the silence, harsh and immediate.
We both freeze.
Then I'm moving, weapon up. I shift to the window. Headlights in the distance, multiple vehicles approaching fast.
"They're here," I say.
Maggie's already on her feet, blanket discarded, moving to the weapons locker. She pulls out the Glock I showed her earlier, checks it with the experience of someone who's done this a thousand times.
She looks at me, and there's no fear in her eyes. Just cold determination.
"Rules of engagement?" she asks.
I meet her gaze, and something shifts between us. Not partners. Not operator and civilian. Something else. Something I don't yet have a name for.
"We don't let them take you," I tell her. "Kill them all."
She nods once. Chambers a round. "Copy that."
I've fought worse odds.
But never with someone I’m starting to realize I can't afford to lose.
