Blaine releases a snarled curse. “We have no choice.”
“I’d rather die,” Hyland lashes out.
At his grumbling, Carlos’s calm façade shatters. “Now! Do it!”
“Weapons down,” Warner concedes defeat in a huff. “Now, Hy.”
Metallic clanks signal the discarding of multiple guns, tossed aside and out of reach. I tug mine from my holster then lob it into the mix. If I surrender my gun, Carlos may wait to search me. I can use that to my advantage.
Hyland is the last to surrender his pistol, lip curling in revulsion. Still, Carlos refuses to lift the cavalcade of scopes trained on us, a hair’s breadth from sending every single one of us into an early grave.
“Why are you here?” I silently count the men circling my nemesis. “You’re a long way from home.”
“For you.”
“Then it was a wasted trip.”
“That remains to be seen.” Carlos’s laugh is downright sinister. “This all could’ve been avoided if you’d simply obeyed. No one had to get hurt.”
Venom turns my mouth sour. “You killed Josh.”
“Señor Gael is most concerned by your continued refusal to return home,” Carlos explains pointedly. “This bloodshed is all your fault.”
Casting a critical eye over my entourage, Carlos pauses at Blaine’s presence. The sneer he unveils is sickeningly smug.
“Blaine Madden.”
“You’re looking better than the last time we met.” Blaine smirks in cold, calculated rage. “I’ll take great pleasure in amending that.”
“I believe you’re standing on the wrong side of this dispute. Your interests would be better served over here.”
“I’m fine where I am.”
“Your father will be disappointed to hear that.”
I don’t need to look at Blaine to feel the impact of Carlos’s cheap shot. Armed or not, I’m certain that Blaine wants to tear his head clean off with little more than a huff for the inconvenience.
“Where is dear old dad?”
“Give me the girl, and I’ll be happy to share,” Carlos offers.
Blaine’s mouth slams shut, his expression stormy.
“Pity. You’re all fools.”
“We’re here for Thomas Lawson.” Warner clutches to a facsimile of control. “This doesn’t have to end in a fight. Surrender him to us.”
“Ah, the infamous Anaconda Team, I presume.” Carlos rolls his neck from side-to-side. “You just couldn’t give up on the bitch or her pathetic brother. Could you?”
“Coming here was a mistake, Mr Morello. You’re in our jurisdiction now.”
“How has that worked for you so far? We’ve been operating in this country for two decades,pendejo. It’s never stopped us before.”
“You know what happened to Dimitri Sanchez,” Hyland interjects from my right side. “Would your employer care to follow in his footsteps?”
“Dimitri was eliminated by his own foolishness,” Carlos dismisses. “He had grown reckless, obsessed. We don’t mourn his loss.”
“Then what happens when you meet the same fate? Who will Gael have left then?”
