Raven took a deep breath, voice turning resolute. “Wemakethe breaks, Brando. Life passes by the people who sit on their asses waiting for the world to roll up with a silver platter and a billion bucks. You want something, you fight for it. You build it. You bleed for it.”
“Still sucks for them,” Brando muttered. “I know he loves her. I was his comms officer for the years when he was under. Hang on … Fury just came back online.”
After a pause, Brando said, “You’re up, sir.”
“I’ve talked to Lycos and Archangel,” Fury said, voice firm. “If Jinx believes he can pull this off, let him. But,and I cannot stress this enough, if he thinks that woman or the child is in danger, Raven, you’re to get them the hell out of there so he can do his work.”
“And if she won’t go?” Raven asked, eyes still on Jinx as he inched closer to the farmhouse.
Fury sighed. “Shit. Then punt.”
Raven snorted. “Punt it is, sir. You don’t know what she’s built down here. She’s a strong one.”
“Great. Keep me apprised. Brando, daily updates.”
“I copy.”
“Raven, take care of yourself. And Jinx.”
She laughed. “Ha! Likehe’dlet me.” Then, quieter, she added, “I’ll do whatever it takes, sir.”
“As long as it takes,” Fury said before the comm line clicked off.
A beat of silence passed.
“Raven,” Brando said quietly, “I have a feeling this mission’s about to get long … and messy.”
She lowered the binoculars just as Jinx approached his woman, stepping out of the jungle’s edge and crossing the clearing toward her.
Raven didn’t lift the lenses again.
Some things were too sacred to spy on.
“And I only packed three swimsuits,” she muttered with a smirk. “What a shame.”
CHAPTER 6
Eira rocked Teo gently as the little boy slept against her chest. The soft creak of the porch swing beneath her mixed with the distant calls of night birds and the rhythmic chirping of insects that filled the warm Venezuelan evening.
Inside the small clinic, the dog rested comfortably on the exam table, sedated but stable. He would be okay. Whatever poison he’d ingested, it had been potent, but the quick thinking by Ortega’s men had given the animal a fighting chance. She couldn’t identify the toxin yet, but she would.
Still, the thought of Ortega made her skin crawl. She shivered despite the warm air and tightened her hold on her son.
She’d been to his compound twice now to treat his animals. And both times, she’d felt the weight of his gaze. She recoiled at the memory of his slow, appraising look. She’d heard the honeyed tones of his voice, the too-smooth way he’d spoken to her.
He was interested.
She didn’t need him to say it. She could feel it. Every look, every lingering word, had been soaked in intention.
And every time, it was all she could do not to shiver in revulsion.
In that part of the world, Ortegawasthe law. His word meant safety, or annihilation. Eira knew the only reason her small farm had survived, the only reason her family’s businesses continued to operate, was because Ortega allowed it.
Because Ortega wanted her.
She’d turned him down, politely but firmly, several times. She’d declined dinner invitations and cited Teo as her reason. When Ortega had pressed to know who the father was, she’d looked him straight in the eye and told him the truth.
“Mateo Rivas.”
