Page 36 of Secrets

“Frances.” I don’t mean to snap at my uncle, but holy shit, talk about bad timing.

“We need you to come in.” His voice is tired and serious. Still, I push because…well, because I’m me.

“It’s ten. What the hell is so?—”

“Ineed you to come in.”

My heart stutters in my chest, realization washing over me. “Are you okay?”

He clears his throat, and I can envision him checking over his shoulder like he does anytime he’s about to tell me something he shouldn’t. “I have a messenger here.”

Realization and surprise grip me around the throat, tight.

“Tell me you’re not there alone, uncle.” My eyes stay on Elena, as she gives a solemn, knowing smile, and I swear I’ve never hated my job—rules and all—as much as I do in this fucking moment.

“Hurry and get here,” is all he says before the line goes silent.

When I drop my hand, Elena’s is already on her doorknob. “Duty calls?”

I sigh, running my hands a little too roughly over my face. “Yeah, I’m so sor?—”

She stops me, moving quickly to plant the softest fucking kiss on my cheek. Fireworks and a balloon parade set off inside of me, euphoria whipping through my limbs, making them weak. “Be safe.”

Her whisper against my flesh is like fire in the middle of a blizzard and I wish, just for a second, I could wrap myself up in it. But knowing my uncle might be alone with this mysterious messenger means I can’t even dwell in it. “I will. Until next time?”

Elena’s smile is soft and fleeting, stealing my breath and hammering in the guilt threatening to consume me. “Next time.”

The outside of the building is quiet. Beyond creepy, past eerie, something is definitely hiding around the side of the building waiting to jump out and kill me, type quiet.

It also doesn’t help that one of the parking lot post lights is flickering, and another that was hit by an agent last month leans a little, casting a long wavering shadow from the entrance to my car. Not to mention the crickets are unusually loud, the wind is whistling with the incoming storm, and goosebumps now cover ninety-six percent of my body.

Don’t get me wrong, I’ve been in much scarier, more dangerous situations without so much as batting an eye, but something isn’t sitting right in my gut. In fact, it’s been bubbling with something disgusting since that meeting with the chief of police. I get that the department is dealing with two serial killers, a lethal cartel that has the one up on every branch of law enforcement, and new drugs being introduced to the streets. But the way things are being handled doesn’t mesh well with my gut bacteria.

Pushing forward through the sudden alarm that’s begun signaling in the back of my mind, I scan my key card at the entrance and am welcomed inside with the faint beep and heavy thud of the door unlocking.

When I open the door, the fine hairs on my neck and forearms rise in tandem, but I push the annoying trepidation aside enough to walk through the normally bleak halls. Each step, my pace quickens with the beat of my heart and by the time I get to the work floor, I have to take a steadying breath to keep from getting dizzy.

Get your shit together!I bark at myself, shaking my hands and moving faster through the long row of desks.

I’m frustrated with how worked up I am, but with everything happening, I’m unable to compartmentalize how I normally can. It doesn’t help that, unlike a month ago, I didn’t have anything to truly lose. Now…well, my involvement with the cartel and Alexi could put Elena in harm’s way.

My cheeks warm with the memory of her lips, followed by a sharp slap of shame.

Why couldn’t I have met her before? Back when I was a different, much lighter and happier person. Back before the grief and bad decisions, before the heartbreak and vow at vengeance. Before my obsession became my life, even at the expense of others.

My heart squeezes in my chest. The notion that now my vendetta could affect her, sinks nails into the tender muscle.

Luckily, before I decide to simply give up two years of my life for a woman I just met, a yellow glowing light that illuminates my uncle’s blurry window catches my attention. A singular shadow walks in front of the door, and my pulse thrums as his muffled voice comes from behind it.

“And why are you telling us this?”

Another voice, this one much deeper and arrogant, responds. “Because the boss wants him gone.”

The hand I lift to open the door pauses, ice running down my spine. The person doesn’t have to say the boss’s name for me to know who he’s referring to. It’s all Julio talked about when we worked together.

“I know this is going to sound crazy, but my cartel boys want Babin’s head on a stake even more than you do.” Julio pushes back a thick lock of black hair that had fallen over his forehead as he lines up his cocaine using a silver-plated card. “Every time we meet, it’s something new. Something else for them to be pissed off about.”

“I mean, it could definitely be how many businesses of theirs he’s blown up.” I try to tug my arms from their crossed position over my chest, but fail miserably. “And even so, I doubt anyone wants Babin more than I do.”

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