Page 51 of The Riders’ Reign

This could be it. It occurs to me that we should probably also ask for proof of life for Ghost before we try to do this exchange, but I also don’t want to push Hector in case asking for proof of life delays things further.

Ace jerks his chin, silently telling me he’s happy for me to be the one to answer the call, so I do.

“Yes?”

“Do you have an answer for me?” It’s Hector, and I put him on speaker.

I know what he’s asking. “She said no. She’s not willing to give up the safehouse or her brother’s life.”

“Foolish girl. Then she will have just sacrificed all of their lives.”

Camile makes a choked sound in the back of her throat.

Anger roars up inside me. “Don’t you touch a hair on her fucking head!”

“What happens between me and the Montez family is none of your concern. You should never have gotten involved in the first place. It was stupid of you to have involved yourself in cartel business.”

“Camile is our business,” I growl, “and she always will be. An enemy of hers is an enemy of ours.”

“Then you’re an even bigger fool.” He sniffs down the line. “Despite your stupidity, and hers, I am willing to make the exchange now. I want my son back.”

“We thought we would hear from you sooner.” I’m testing the waters, trying to see if something happened to delay him.

“We had a few… how do you say… hiccups. But everything has been dealt with.”

I look over at the others, trying to read their expressions. Are they buying what Hector is saying? I don’t want to question Ghost’s safety in case it prompts Hector to ask the same of Ledger’s.

Ace shakes his head as if to say not to give him any more information, so I go along with that.

“Fine. Where and when do we make the swap?”

“In three hours.” He gives us the location, which, of course, we already knew. “Bring no more than three men. If we see more, we will start shooting.”

“I assume you will also have the same number of men present?”

“Of course,” Hector lies smoothly.

We suspect he has at least twelve from what Ghost said. What does this mean? That he’s not planning on letting any of us out alive? Or is it just simply insurance, so he knows he can outnumber us if needs be?

“You bring the girl, too,” Hector adds.

Ace stiffens, and we exchange alarmed glances.

“Absolutely not.” My voice is ice cold. “That is non-negotiable. She stays out of this. That was never part of our agreement.”

“Relax. I only wish to speak to her in person. See if I can change her mind myself.”

Panic shoots through me. Is this whole thing about to fall apart at the final hurdle? We thought we had everything covered.

“No,” I say again. “Not going to happen.”

“Then the deal’s off. I will get my son back my own way, and you’re not going to like it.”

Fuck, this whole thing is falling apart. Was that all part of Hector’s plan, to shake us up at the last minute and ruin whatever plans we might have been putting in place?

“We could just kill your son,” I throw at him, feeling desperate.

“Then I will kill your man… what is his name? Ghost?”