“I don’t recognize him.”
One of the bodyguards stepped forward and leaned closer to whisper to Miguel.
“I stand corrected. It seems he does work for Santiago.” Miguel nodded to the man in the chair. “What happened to Alfie’s face?”
“Well, first he kidnapped me and my friends, which is a big no-no. Then, after we agreed to provide him and his coworkers with a safe place to stay while we sorted this mess, he up and decided to kill his own men and leave a huge mess for me to clean up. I’m sorry to say that one of my guys no longer felt the need to play nice and beat the crap out of him.”
Tyler and Wild Card smiled proudly.
Miguel nodded, trying to keep a straight face. “It happens to the best of us.”
“I have a good faith present for you,” I said, taking a piece of paper out of my suit jacket pocket and passing it to one of Miguel’s guards.
The guard passed it to Miguel. “What’s this?” Miguel asked as he looked at the slip of paper.
“The website address and login information for the texting app service we used to text your employees. It’s a handy service. Worked much more efficiently than I’d planned.”
Miguel slid the note along with his hand into his pocket. “What exactly do you want from me, Ms. Harrison?”
“Peace. To achieve that peace though, you’ll need to control your brother and ensure the safety of my friends and family.”
Miguel glared at his brother who was still sitting on the floor. “And if I can’t control him?”
I shook my head side to side. “I’ll tear your world to pieces, starting with your U.S. businesses. Then I’ll come after you and your brother.” I walked over and stood in front of him. “I won’t stop. And there won’t be another opportunity to negotiate. I’m ruthless like that. A dog with a bone you might say.” I looked at Miguel’s guards, measuring them up, before turning back to Miguel. “Next time we meet face to face—one of us will die.”
His guards stiffened, taking a step forward. Miguel raised a hand, a silent order to stop. “If I end this war between you and my brother, it’s over?”
“Yes. We’ll go on with our lives as if we’d never met.”
Miguel studied me for a long moment before nodding in agreement.
I walked over to Tyler who stood at ready, watching the guards. “Help everyone to their feet.”
Tyler holstered his weapon and started cutting the flex cuffs from the prisoners. Wild Card walked over and stood beside me with his arms still crossed over his chest.
“Leave my brother’s hands bound,” Miguel ordered his men. “Get everyone loaded. I’ll be there in a moment.”
When the prisoners and Miguel’s guards stepped outside, Miguel turned back to me. “There’s one remaining issue. I’ll deal with it, but I need more time.”
“And that issue is?”
“Santiago hired a hitman to kill you. I haven’t been able to make contact yet to stop the orders.”
I looked up at Jackson and pointed toward the window. He stepped away from the thick vertical column and walked the few feet to the window, pushing it open to reposition his gun.
“Follow me,” I said to Miguel as I walked toward the door.
“Your men have skill,” Miguel said.
I glanced back and followed his line of sight to where Casey stood, balancing on a beam, holding his rifle pointed at Miguel while he walked sideways toward the window on his side of the warehouse. “All the men at Ace’s are top notch. Fighting, shooting, explosives, you name it, they’re trained.” I walked out the door of the warehouse and down the stairs.
Miguel offered me his arm, but I ignored it. Wild Card chuckled behind us.
“I’ve done my homework, Ms. Harrison. You don’t have to keep warning me. I know what’s at stake. I’ll handle my brother. I just don’t know how to contact the hitman he hired.”
“You mean, this guy?” I asked as I opened the side door of the van.
I stepped aside so he could see the dead guy lying inside the van.
Tyler leaned over Miguel’s shoulder, looking inside. “Where the hell did he come from?”
“He tried to kill me this morning,” I said, wrinkling my nose at the smell. “I’ve had him in the van ever since. He’s starting to smell.”
“Damn it.” Tyler stepped back and looked at me. “Why does the fun shit always have to happen when I’m sleeping?”
“Maybe it’s because you do such a good job keeping me safe when you’re awake,” I teased Tyler, pinching his cheek.
Miguel looked at me, then at Tyler. He glanced over his shoulder at Wild Card who was smiling a big toothy smile. Miguel sighed and turned back to his own men, speaking in rapid Spanish. One of Santiago’s guards jogged over. He looked inside the van and nodded to Miguel, speaking in rapid Spanish.
“I really need to learn the language,” I said to Tyler. “Do you know how to speak Spanish?”
Tyler nodded. “Miguel asked if this was the hitman. The guard confirmed it was. That’s it. The end.”
Miguel’s mouth turned up at the corners into an almost smirk. “What now?” Miguel asked, nodding to the dead man.
“He needs to go with you. I’m tired of burying bodies this week.” I stepped over to the passenger door, opening it. “But before you move him, you should know that I tricked Santiago into handling the knife and exchanging DNA with the body.”
Miguel’s eyebrow rose as he looked back at
