“How?” Mitch asked, voice laced in doubt. “I know you guys are good, but how do you plan to rescue Tomás, kill José, stop hundreds of narco soldiers and destroy the bunker? Seems a little ambitious, even for the Motley Crew.”
No one said anything. Then Essie spoke up. “We do what we planned. Except… You’re going to trade me for Tomás.”
“No,” Xander stated, voice flat. Firm. Completely unyielding. “Not happening.”
She let go of his hand, and he felt the loss bone deep.
“Xander, we agreed I’d be bait. You trade me and get Tomás to safety. Then blow it all up,” she added through clenched teeth.
“You left out the part about getting you back,” Xander reminded her. “And if you think we’re blowing anything up with you still there—”
“José will hand me over to the Cardenas brothers. I’ll be with them.”
“Even worse,” he hissed. Yeah, they had agreed she’d be the one to lure José to them. But handing her off to the Cardenas brothers? It didn’t sit right with him. He knew too much about the way they operated. Too much about their unsavory predilections.
“She could wear a tracker,” Lex suggested.
“Shut up, Battle,” Xander growled.
“He has a good point,” Mitch said. “I can use my sources to set up an exchange with Barrera—Essie for Tomás.”
“It’s too risky.” Xander crossed his arms.
“Since when are you averse to a little risk?” Essie asked, also crossing her arms. Facing off with him. “Aren’t you the one who went rogue and allowed himself to get captured?”
Fuck.Now she was spilling his secrets. But, God, she had balls, and he respected the hell out of her. So fearless when it came to the people she loved. So goddamn lovely it made his heart ache. He would’ve done the same for Alyssa—and she knew it. Telling her no would make him a hypocrite.
Still…
The idea of throwing her into the lion’s den made him sick. Yes, that’s what he’d originally wanted to do. But somewherealong the way, things had changed. And protecting Essie became more important than risking her life.
“Xander,” she whispered, reaching out and laying both her hands over his stubbornly crossed arms. In front of everyone. “I need to do this. And I know you understand.”
Everyone waited with bated breath as his silence drew out for at least a solid minute.
“Fine,” he finally relented through gritted teeth. “But you’ll wear a tracker and I’ll be coming for you.”
“I know,” she murmured with a small smile, then squeezed his arm and sat back.
No, she had no idea. No clue that she was turning his entire world upside down. Making him care about something more than his godforsaken revenge.
Making him care about her.
“I’ll set up the trade,” Mitch said.
His team started talking, throwing out different plans, but Xander could only see Essie. The rest faded away. “You’re full of secrets, aren’t you?” he asked in a low voice meant only for her.
“Just like you,” she tossed back.
God, they were two peas in a pod. Each with their own agenda, yet somehow inexorably bound together by the most delicate of threads. And it was a precious strand of gossamer he never wanted to break.
The meeting continued a while longer until they came up with a game plan. One which included them all staying together when it came time to meet Barrera. The time to blow shit up could come later.
Now, the only thing they could do was wait for Mitch’s contact to set up the exchange. It could take hours or several days. All Xander knew was his time with Essie would be over sooner than he wanted.
And that certainty made him… feel things. Feelings he much preferred to ignore, and he probably would have if it weren’t for the ominous clock ticking down in the back of his head.
Xander drove them back to his house, still not one hundred percent certain the plan was what he wanted. Essie tried to make small talk, but he wasn’t interested. Couldn’t muster up more than a few nods and grunts. Knowing their time was short, the only thing on his mind was kissing her again. Okay, and maybe a little more.
