Malo - Page 31

“Did she take her phone with her?” he prompts.

“I think so.”

“There’s a tracking device in it,” he explains quickly.

I cock an eyebrow even though he can’t see it. “A tracking device?”

“I made sure she had one when she went out to Mexico with you,” he continues dismissively, as though it should be obvious. “Didn’t want her pulling something on us like this. If she’s got that with her, you’ll be able to access her location. I’ll send you the password to the app, you can check it out yourself.”

He passes along the details, and I log in quickly. I should have known he would have something like this keyed up and ready to go. Beast doesn’t trust people that easily, let alone someone who was previously working for his enemies, and it’s not a surprise that he’s keeping tabs on her, though it is a relief. I flex my fist by my side as I wait for the tracker to come up with something, and, sure enough, a few moments later, it flashes with a location across the city.

“I think I’ve got her,” I tell him. “I’m going to go over there and check it out with Blue. I’ll call you back.”

Blue appears by my side, apparently having heard his name, and raises his eyebrows at me.

“You got her?”

“I think so,” I reply, throwing on my jacket. “Go ask the Desperados if we can borrow a couple of bikes. We need to get to her before she does anything stupid.”

Within ten minutes, we’re on the road, on a pair of borrowed bikes, and heading towards the pin on the map that seems to be her location.

My mind races as we speed toward her – or, what I hope is her, anyway. Why did she leave? What was she thinking? She knows we can’t protect her if she doesn’t play by our rules. I get it, it can’t be easy, but she can’t do this to us. To me.

I’m still surprised by how much it hurt to wake up and find her gone, especially after what happened last night. That connection between us, it’s powerful, intense, and I know she feels it too. So why leave like that? Doesn’t she trust me after all we have been through?

Blue and I screech to a halt outside what looks to be an abandoned warehouse, with large concrete walls rising up on every side. The gate hangs off its hinges, and I approach slowly, eyes sliding this way and that, trying to figure out if we are being set up and led into a trap. I have no idea what to expect as I slip inside, but, as I enter the main square of the compound, I hear something.

Crying.

“Stay here,” I tell Blue, as I rush toward the door. “I’ll call you if I need back-up. Keep watch, okay?”

“Will do,” Blue replies, and I kick open the door. Inside, I find the building completely gutted. The only thing inside of it, sitting in the middle of the floor in a helpless heap, is Maria, her head in her hands, her shoulders shaking with sobs.

Relief hits me first. She’s okay. Thank fuck she’s okay. I rush over to her, and sink down beside her, putting an arm around her shoulders. She jumps as soon as she feels my touch, but when she turns and sees that it’s me, she begins to cry even harder.

“I’m so sorry, Malo,” she blurts out. “I don’t know what I was thinking, I just…I just…”

“Hey, hey,” I soothe her. “Breathe. Take a deep breath. Slow down for a second.”

She closes her eyes, and forces herself to inhale, then exhale.

“What are you doing here?” I ask. I’m not angry, though I likely should be. She shouldn’t be running away from us like that, fleeing in the middle of the night when anything could happen to her. I don’t know this city well, except that it’s infected by Las Rosas Negras, men who’d probably like to get their hands on her to shake loose any information she has on us.

“This…” she begins, gesturing around. “This is where I last saw my father.”

“Your father?” I reply, shocked.

She nods, looking downcast. “El Serpiente brought me here to see him,” she admits. “And I thought… oh, I don’t even know what I thought. I thought if I could come back here, and just see that he was alive, we would be able to get him out faster. But this place…”

She glances around again, as though hoping this time she might see some sign of life.

“This place is empty,” she adds, shaking her head. “He’s not here. And I don’t know what I expected, but seeing this place with nobody else around, it’s just… I’m just scared, that’s all. Scared they might have done something to him. Scared I won’t be able to help him.”

“Hey, you will,” I assure her, as I gently draw her to her feet. I need to get her out of here. We’ve got planning to do today, and I know the guys won’t take well to falling behind because she got it into her head that she didn’t want to wait.

“I don’t know,” she replies, leaning against me heavily. “I just… I don’t see how I can help.”

“Let’s get you back to the compound,” I tell her. “You need some rest.”