Falling with Grace - Page 152

“Should we chase him?”

“Tell them to be ready.” I pulled in a deep breath.

A tight line formed between Carter’s eyes as he glanced over his shoulder from his frenzied sprint, sand scattering behind him as he stumbled.

We retraced our steps through the hotel welcome center, exiting through the valet parking area while Javier spoke to my waiting team. Rodrigo opened my door, and I slid inside.

Unbuttoning my suit jacket, I slipped it off my shoulders as he closed the door behind me, placing it on the console. They sat in the front of the vehicle and drove off, parking a mile down the road on a darkened street.

Rollingmy sleeves up to my elbows, I tucked my cufflinks into my pockets. “Now we wait.”

“I take it you didn’t tell her that’s why we’re here?”

I rested my elbow on the window jam. “Why would I do that?”

“You are doing this for her.”

“I don’t want it weighing on her mind.”

Javier glanced at me. “Perhaps it would encourage her to open up a bit. You know, tit for tat.”

This isn’t an act of leverage…

The doors swung open a moment later, and Ramirez thrust Carter Patraeus into my vehicle, his sweaty, heaving face sliding against my leather seats.

“Welcome back, Carter.” He groaned, and my fist crashed into his temple, rendering him limp like a tub of jelly.

Ramirez thrust his limp legs into the vehicle and slammed the door shut.

“Let’s go. We have so much to do.”

A brief car ride to the southern district had us arriving at a dim, dilapidated house that had served as a base for my sicarios on more than one occasion.

“Bring him in and make sure he doesn’t attract more attention.” Slipping out of the car, I walked into the building with Carter’s feet dragging along the cracked cement.

“Put him right there.” I pointed to the dining table in the center of the room

Javier and Rodrigo wrapped the thick rope tight around his feet and the chair he sat on, then placed his hands on the surface of the table.

“Wake him.” I walked into the kitchen and snagged two large knives from the butcher block.

A crisp snap echoed in the room, followed by Javier’s jovial laughter.

Carter woke with a groan, Ramirez pinning his wrists to the table as I walked back. His eyes bulged. “What’s this?” He glanced around. “No. No. No. Please.” He jerked against his hold as I stood in front of him.

“Too late,cabrón. It’s the end of the road for you.”

Ramirez stepped aside, and my knives came down on Carter’s hands, piercing through bone, tendon, and table, his screams shattering the crisp night air.

His mouth gaped, saliva dribbling over his lips as though his jaw locked in an open position. “Carter.” I grimaced at the shiny trail pooling on the table. “How is it that aputalike you lands a wife like that?”

“Especially since we know she’s like the Virgin Mary in the sheets.” Javier laughed. “There’s no way she’s kinky.”

“Uh, Jefe.” Luis, a guard keeping watch, poked his head into the room. “There’s a girl here.”

“Move aside, I don’t need an introduction.” A woman with brunette hair pushed through, clad in black jeans and a leather jacket. “Pooch. You started without me?”

I gripped my pistol and pointed it at the woman in the door.