Smoke from the kicked up gravel fills the rear view as we burn down the drive. Gunshots ring out behind us but nothingtouches the car. Still, I hold my breath until we’re well out of sight of the retreat. We’ve been driving for a good ten minutes before I finally feel able to breathe.
Augusto speaks to the driver in a voice so low I can’t make out what he’s saying. I lean forward as far as the belt will let me.
“Where are we going?”
Augusto turns slightly, his sharp jaw making my stomach turn over. “There’s a safe house a few miles from here. Arrow is meeting us there with Mallorie and your mom is on her way. You can all stay there until we’ve finished this thing and you’re no longer in any danger.”
“What do you mean ‘finish this thing’?” I ask, frowning. “Gerard was the main guy wasn’t he? Isn’t it over?”
“He was the orchestrator, yes,” Augusto says, long thick lashes fanning over his cheeks as he patiently explains. “But there are still sellers and buyers and highly coveted weapons. The goods are already in transit, and the other guests will want to make sure the deal goes ahead.”
“But, what did Gerard mean when he asked you to call off the dogs?”
Augusto runs his tongue along his top teeth. He seems to be deliberating how much to tell me. Then he decides.
“The goods are being held in a port that we operate in. They don’t go anywhere unless we release them. By ‘dogs’ he means port security. We don’t want to release the goods at all, but if we stall for too long, we’ll attract unwanted attention, and the whole reason I came up to this retreat was to stop that from happening in the first place.”
“So, what will happen if you let the goods go and those firearms make their way to the middle east? And what will happen if you don’t release them? What will happen to us?”
Augusto doesn’t answer straight away.
The world outside blurs into streaks of green and blue, but inside the car everything feels suspended. Paige’s head is tucked into my shoulder, her fingers fisted in my shirt like if she loosens her grip for even a second I might disappear.
I stroke her hair, soothing us both.
Finally, Augusto exhales.
“If we release them,” he says evenly, “those weapons will reach a part of the world that is already too fragile, giving those who don’t know how to handle power, more than they know what to do with.”
My stomach drops.
“And if you don’t?”
His gaze flicks to me in the seat behind.
“Then the buyers lose millions. The sellers lose leverage. And every man who came to that retreat will start looking for someone to blame.”
My throat tightens. “Us.”
“Me,” he corrects. “Primarily.”
The car falls silent again, heavy with the weight of what he isn’t saying.
“And you,” he adds, softly. “Because you are with me.”
Paige shifts against me, her breathing uneven but slowing. I press my lips to the top of her head.
“What happens if they find us?” I ask.
Augusto’s jaw flexes. “They won’t.”
“That’s not an answer.”
“No,” he agrees. “But it’s a promise.”
The driver takes a sharp turn and the car slows, gravel crunching under the tires again as a narrow, tree-lined road comes into view. Tall pines line both sides, swallowing the light.
My pulse hasn’t stopped racing since we fled the retreat.
