Holy shit.
Thomas spins around, leveling the gun on Agent Hammond. “Sorry, but he’s right. They will be looking for someone to blame for this but it won’t be me.”
“Stop!” I scream. The gun is out before I finish the word. Ethan’s instructions are flying through my head. I stare at Thomas’s chest and try to get my hands to stop shaking. I’m close to him, just a few feet away. Surely I can’t miss at this range.
“Well, well, well…there is the missing gun.” Thomas keeps the gun trained on Hammond, but his eyes dart between the two of us.
I’m outnumbered. I’ve got to try to turn Mateo.
“Mateo, do you know he’s leaving for Brazil?” My voice is shaky and I hate how weak it makes me sound but I can’t help it. After seeing Thomas shoot the man who let him pass through with a gun, I know whatever deal he made with Mateo was a lie.
“She’s lying,” Thomas says, coolly. And convincingly.
Mateo doesn’t answer me, but I can tell he wasn’t expecting that.
“He’s got money. And a passport in a fake name. And a deed for some property in Rio. Did you know all that? He’s not planning on taking over the cartel. He’s planning on getting revenge then disappearing. I wouldn’t be surprised if you’re the next on his list to die.”
Mateo now has his gun raised and he’s moving it between Thomas and me.
“If you let this girl outmaneuver you, then you will be a great disappointment.”
“She’s smarter than you gave her credit for, my friend,” Mateo says.
“We have a deal, Mateo. Think about what you will lose if you make the wrong decision today.”
Mateo’s head nods to one of the dead henchmen and he says, “I’m sure poor Miguel wishes he would have taken that gun from you.”
Thomas looks frustrated. “You knew that was part of the plan. You didn’t seem too concerned for poor Miguel when you mentioned how open he would be to flipping sides.”
And then the room is quiet, both men weighing the other. Mateo’s gun slides in my direction. I’m losing him.
“This gun is loaded. I know y’all are better at this than me but my finger is on the trigger and it won’t take much to fire off a round. He may get me but I’ll get you, Thomas.”
Mateo puts one hand on his waist. “Maybe I should let her kill you. Then I won’t be worried about if you’re double-crossing me or not.”
The one thing neither of them is doing is paying attention to Agent Hammond. I can’t tell what he’s doing but he’s been making slow, steady movements ever since Mateo raised his gun.
Thomas takes a tiny step toward me, the gun still pointed where Agent Hammond is crouched on the floor. “I didn’t give you enough credit.”
I have to keep them talking. “So you plan to frame Agent Hammond for this?”
“Everyone in the Marshals Service is looking for the mole. Everyone in the cartel will be looking for Señor Vega’s killer. I’ve given both groups their answer.”
“And no one is looking at you,” I finish for him.
“Precisely.”
Agent Hammond explodes off the floor, shooting Mateo in the chest, then yells for me to get down. I scream and fall to the ground the second before Thomas turns his gun on me. The wood in the wall behind me rains splinters on my head. I raise the gun up, keep my eyes open, and focus on pulling the trigger, but Thomas is already falling to the ground in front of me.
Agent Hammond got to him first.
Thomas and Mateo are on the floor, dead. My ears echo with the vibrations and my nose burns from the smell of gunfire. I look around the room and see nothing but dead bodies and I sink to the floor. Agent Hammond moves to me, making sure I’m okay.
“I can’t believe you got them both,” I say. I collapse and Agent Hammond drops down beside me.
“Anna, it’s over. They can’t hurt you.”
“I don’t know if I could have done it,” I say in a ragged breath. They’re dead. They’re all dead. I can’t bring myself to look at the bodies. “I wanted to shoot him. I wanted to protect myself but I don’t know if I could have gone through with it.”
