Page 57 of Jacqueline's Quest

Hannah swiped away her tears. “Now. The sooner the better.”

“Should I have Carlos drive us?”

She shook her head. “Only us.”

A bit of the knot tightening his gut released and he could breathe better. “Sure. I don’t have anything pressing at the moment.” He stood then and crossed to her. “You’re too pretty to cry, butterfly.” He placed his finger under her chin. “Too strong.”

She flashed him a watery smile. “I hate all of this.”

So did he. “It’s almost over.” There was a double meaning to his words. It was subtle and he feared Hannah might have missed it. Yet, as he stared down into her stunning blue eyes, he caught a glimpse of her determination and resolve there.

“Yes, it is.” She squared her shoulders and pushed off, rolling toward the door. “We shouldn’t be out long. I have to be ready.”

The trip down the elevator and out of the building, into the garage, had been silent. Since everything was bugged throughout the establishment, it meant not being able to say all the things he'd wanted to say. Including not wanting to let her go. Once they were situated in the car, he pulled the jammer from his jacket pocket and placed it on the dash.

After he turned it on, he sighed and glanced at Hannah. “There, now we can talk freely.”

She stared at him. “Then it’s true?”

“You’ll have to be a little more specific,” he said, pulling away from the building.

“Scotty said I shouldn’t trust you.”

Santiago snorted. “Scotty has a point. Mierda, Hannah.” Nervous energy wriggled through his stomach like a pit of vipers anxious for their next meal. “I am going out on a limb here—”

“I’m not loyal to Raul. Never have been. I’ve done whatever it took to survive.” She wouldn’t look at him and he understood the implications of her words.

His heart sank. She’d bartered with her body to stay alive. And, like the ruthless bastard he was, he used her too. “Hannah, I—”

“I have a plan.” She turned in her seat. “It’s a last resort situation. I won’t go to some man who’ll use me because of my malady.”

Every word she spoke had been another knife wound to his heart. Santiago heard it in her tone. The conviction in her voice, made him want to keep driving and never go back. “Don’t.” The word fell from his lips, strangled by the emotional toll his body was taking. “Don’t say it.”

"There's nothing left for me," she whispered. "Nothing. I have been stripped of everything. My dignity. My self-worth. My mind and body. I am a plaything to these men. Nothing more. Nothing less. If I leave the club tonight, I will die. I'd rather take my own life on my terms than being forced to live another day a shell of my former self."

Oh, God. He was going to puke. The idea of Hannah, his beautiful butterfly ending her life because of Raul, brought him to his knees. "I have something to tell you." He couldn't wait any longer. He had to confirm everything Scotty said and hope to God she forgave him later. As long as she lived after everything was said and done, he didn't care about the rest. "What Scotty said is true. Only, I'm not who you think I am either."

She stared at him, a blank look on her face as tears continued to stain her cheeks. “Who are you?”

“My name isn’t Oscar—” Santiago closed his eyes and blew out a slow breath. “It’s Special Agent Santiago Velasquez. I’m undercover for the FBI.”

Her startled gasp did nothing to settle him. For long moments she said nothing, and he worried maybe she’d laid a trap for him instead. “You are working with Scotty?”

“Kind of?” Santiago rolled his shoulders. “He wasn’t supposed to be in the club.”

“Wait.” Hannah stared at him in confusion. “What do you mean?”

Santiago explained as best as he could what happened to Scotty. “He’d been on his way here to help you.”

“No. None of this makes sense.” Hannah shook her head while pressing her fingers to her lips. “How—I don’t understand.”

Again, he tried to explain the situation. He’d been placed there to find out if the rumors about the club were true, along with finding out if Bexley Alexandria Iniguez was Raul’s daughter. He never expected to be embedded with the cartel for over a year, nor had he expected to meet Hannah. It was a fluke.

“There is a determined woman on the outside as well,” Santiago said. “She’s the one who found you and her brother inside the club.”

“How?” She rubbed her forehead. “I sound like a broken record. Scotty said my brother is coming for me.”

"I'm not sure how," he answered. "What I can tell you is everything Scotty said is true, except for not trusting me. I hope you can believe me."

---