“What’s to stop me from coming over there and cutting you up until you tell me?” the shorter guy said, taking another couple of steps toward her.
Drew tried not to panic. “Because knowing where the money is still won’t get it to you. You need me to get it, and besides, if Rodriguez comes back and I’m here and you aren’t, then he’ll know you jumped ship. You two will be dead for sure. He’salready shown he’s not the forgiving sort.” She nodded toward the stain on the floor where the dead man had fallen.
“She’s right,” the tall one grunts. “We can’t touch her. We have to take her with us; otherwise, Rodriguez will suspect us. I don’t want him on my ass if he lives long enough, and I don’t want anyone talking about us to the cartel guys if they kill him. If we all disappear, he’ll think someone came and rescued her, or the cartel got her…or something.”
Drew sucked in a deep breath. “So, are you game or what?”
CHAPTER 22
Cross limped acrossthe length of the office. What the hell was taking so long? “Shouldn’t Rodriguez have been somewhere by now?”
Tessa gave a small shrug, but there was a spark of worry in her eyes. If this fell apart and Drew got hurt or worse, there would be hell to pay, and Tessa would be the one paying it. Not that he would hurt Dane’s little sister…
“Be patient. He’s not gonna go in guns blazing,” McGuire pointed out. “He’s going to be cautious. He’s already been burned. Tessa stole the drugs and got away. He didn’t manage to take you in either. The cartel is breathing down his neck. If he doesn’t get this right, he’s a dead man and he knows it.”
Stone leaned against the window with his arms crossed over his chest. “Maybe we should check in with everyone…just to be sure.”
“Good idea,” Tess commented as she picked up a phone and called Billy and Wallace. “Anything?” she asked when Billy answered.
“You’re on speaker and no. Nothing yet. It’s quiet.”
“Is it quiet or too quiet?” Cross asked. He knew Billy well enough that the other man would understand what he meant.
Billy was silent for a second. “It’s just regular quiet. If Rodriguez was coming, he might be here by now, but if it’s gonna be the ATF, I’d say they need another ten minutes or so to be fully ready and get here for a midnight exchange. You know how long it takes them to get their shit together for an op like this.”
Cross glanced at his watch. It was ten forty-five. Billy was not wrong. As a former SWAT guy, he knew the inside track on this type of thing just as well as Cross did. “We’ll leave the line open. Let us know if anyone shows up.”
Tessa picked up the next phone and keyed in a number. Riven answered on the first ring, “Hello?”
“You see anything yet?” Tessa asked.
Frankie responded. “Nope. Nothing. It’s quiet. Sorry, we’ve got you on speaker.”
Cross’s gut churned. They needed something to break their way.
“Wait,” Riven said. “I think…” her voice trailed off.
McGuire waited a beat, and then he said, “You think what?”
“I thought I saw a guy on a rooftop. Wait. There he is again.”
“What does he look like?” Cross asked as he came to a stop next to the desk.
“He’s in full tactical gear. It’s definitely ATF,” Frankie responded. “See? There’s another one.”
“We can’t see, Frankie,” Stone said in a calm voice.
“Shit, sorry. There’s another guy on the roof across the street, and a homeless guy suddenly appeared on the corner.”
Cross checked with Stone and McGuire, each man nodding slightly. “Okay, ladies, pack it in.”
“Do you want us to come back there?” Riven asked.
“No,” McGuire cut in. “It’s going to be a fire fight and I don’t want you caught up in the middle of it.”
“But maybe we can help,” Frankie cut in.
Stone said. “McGuire’s right. You two need to be clear.”
