“No need for talking, because this won’t take but just a second. We have the woman you want. We have demands that we need met. And if you don’t want to meet those demands, she dies.”
“Don’t do it!” I heard someone shriek.
Before a resounding crack echoed through the receiver of the phone.
The hairs on the nape of my neck stood on end. “What are your demands?”
The man chuckled. “Cat got your tongue, Stone?”
I peeked over at him, and Stone cracked his neck. “What do you want?”
The man didn’t skip a beat. “You’re lucky I’m in a charitable mood, because a life for a life is usually how I operate.”
Stone barked with laughter. “Never gonna happen. So, outline your demands. What the hell is it that you want?”
Diego snapped to get our attention and I turned my concentration in his direction. And when he mouthed the name “Carlos” to us before pointing to the phone, I slowly looked over at Stone.
Before the deep, resonating voice sounded once more. “We want power, that’s what the fuck we want. The Banderas Cartel isn’t to be fucked with, and I won’t be satisfied until you’re all fucking dead. That’s my demand. Those are my terms. Your lives for hers.”
I shook my head before Stone could respond. “Never gonna happen.”
“Then, I suppose it’s on you to find something that will satisfy me, otherwise. Unless you’d like your sweet, precious Chloe to come back to you in pieces.”
“Don’t do it!” she screamed in the background. “Don’t give in—ugh!”
And as yet another resounding smack filtered through the phone, the call went dead.
Before Lexi stormed right into the living room.
“What in the absolute hell is going on right now!?” she shrieked.
I jumped and whipped around to face her, figuring that she had heard the conversation. But instead, she had her own phone in her hand.
“What’s that?” I asked, nodding to her phone.
She tossed it to me. “I just got a text from Chloe, and you’re never going to believe what the hell it is.”
And she was right. As the guys gathered around to watch the video Chloe had somehow found a way to send to Lexi, all of our jaws hit the floor.
Twenty-Two
Lexi
As the girls and I emerged into the media room, Natty went immediately to the couch. She curled up with her smoothie and a blanket she pulled up from the floor and tucked it around herself. I took a moment to pause, drinking in the fact that my daughter was safe.
But my best friend still wasn’t.
“Hey,” a woman said as she started rubbing my back.
I peeked over at her. “Hey there.”
She smiled softly. “I’m Ella.”
I nodded. “Lexi. It’s nice to meet you.”
She drew in a deep breath. “If you want my advice? Don’t push her to talk about it. Just let her know that you’re there in case she does, then let her come to you.”
I cleared my throat. “Easier said than done.”
