As they approached their destination, her hand grabbed Malco’s, who squeezed it back.
“I know you won’t hear it, but it’s not too late to back out. We’ll find another way to get to Alex without risking you.”
He still wanted to protect her, but instead of ordering her around, he suggested, which made her melt and warm her cold bones. With a smile, she turned her head to him.
“I know. But it’s the quickest way. I’m just impatient for it to be done, so I know Alex is safe, and we can focus on bringing them down. Before we left, I asked Ward to start gathering information with JaKheel. Caitlin will help. Having been a cop, she knows the drill.”
Malco turned into the boulevard, and from her estimate, they were ten minutes away, not much more.
Rina lived south of Little Havana. Frida had only been there once but remembered it as a nice area, upscale by her standards. It was probably another aspect to check as even though she paid Rina well, it wasn’t enough to be able to afford such an apartment. She should’ve known and questioned it.
At night, the neighborhood was lively, as was often the case in Miami. People lived at night, enjoying the balmy weather and laid-back atmosphere.
Just as they were about to turn onto Rina’s street, a siren sounded behind them, and the night was filled with red and blue lights.
Malco moved to the curb as Frida turned to see a patrol car parking behind them.
“Were you speeding?”
Malco shook his head. “I was under the limit. No clue why we’ve been stopped but be ready for anything.”
In the side mirror, she could see two cops coming, one on each side of the car. Malco lowered his window and waited, tense as a bow and ready for anything. She saw him wiggle a little bit, followed by a thump, and he kicked his gun under the seat with his heel just as the cop came to his side.
“Step out of the vehicle, sir.”
“What’s the problem, officer?”
“Just step out of the vehicle.”
As Malco unlocked and opened his door, Frida unbuckled her seatbelt and opened her door to unleash on the cop with full force when she bumped into someone. She froze as her eyes went to his face.
The man in blue with the cap low on his face was Charles Kasten. Fear and fury exploded inside her and she took in a breath.
Anticipating her reaction, he tsked at her. “I wouldn’t say a thing if I were you, Ms. Montalvo.” When she followed his gaze, she saw Malco plastered against the hood of his car, being handcuffed. “As you can see, our dear boy is not resisting because he knows what I could do to you, and also because we have that other one, Alex, sitting in the back of our patrol car.”
Her eyes went to the car. It was difficult to see, but there was someone in the backseat, and the patch of reddish-brown hair was a tell-tale sign of what she feared.
People were gathering in increasing numbers and when Malco was taken to the car, they exchanged a quick look. Frida hoped she conveyed all the love she had inside her, and she understood how he couldn’t do anything other than submit for the time being, but he was fighting against everything in him not to strike out.
“You have no right to arrest those men. On what grounds are you doing this?”
Kasten grabbed her arm to make her turn and face her. “Drop the lawyer act, because that won’t get you anywhere, and your boy toy knows it. That’s why he’s cooperating, and you should too, especially if you want him to stay alive.”
When he smiled at her, she knew he could see her fear. “I never thought I’d use my old blues again, but the look on your face makes my day. My friend and I aren’t here as cops. This little masquerade is to give you a message. Do whatever you have to do, but if you want those men to live, you’ll drop the investigation into DA Pool and me. You’ll deliver the kids you took back to me. Whatever evidence you have against us, you’ll destroy. This has to stop now. I still have resources in the force. I’ll know if you try anything. Don’t try and be a hero if you want them to stay alive. And if you’re quick enough, maybe we’ll return them still standing and almost unharmed.”
Frida wanted to spit in his condescending face, but there was nothing she could do. Not now, not while they were dressed as legit policemen and onlookers were watching their every move.
“How did you know we were coming?” If she couldn’t do anything now, Frida had the sense to gather as much information as she could.
“I may hate your guts, but Pool was right to trust that Latina slut. She did one hell of a job keeping an eye on things for us. Bring the paperwork you have and the boys to the Latina’s apartment as soon as possible. We’ll be watching the place. And the clock is ticking… don’t forget. Tick. Tock.”
And with an awful smile, he turned back to the patrol car. As he drove away, he had the nerve to wave at her, but all she could do was watch Malco looking back at her before disappearing at the next light.
Nicholas was the first to reach her, quickly followed by Emme and Shane. Nicholas quickly disappeared with Malco’s car while Emme put a hand on her shoulder and made her sit in Shane’s car as he drove them back toward the compound.
Once the car started moving, she told them what happened, including her suspicions that
