Page 79 of Darlin'

Miguel frowns. "Why won't you need to work?"

I snort. "Cause us Kingsley women aren't workers, Miguel. We're potentialwives. At least that's what I've been told since I was five."

"You don't seem happy with that," he notes, sitting down on the mat.

"Happiness isn't a choice in my household." I shrug, facing my feet together and stretching out my inner thighs. "But it is what it is."

"Hmm..." Miguel pauses for a moment. "Is that why your brother ran away from home, then?"

I frown. "You know about that?"

"I know a lot of things, Miss Kingsley," Miguel says,tone professional.Miss Kingsley?!"For one, I know the troubles you went through to locate your brother."

"I—"

What is happening right now?

"I know you've recently gotten very close to The Sons of Sorrow." Miguel shifts his position on the mat, his voice dropping to a quieter level. "And I know they've told you that I'm member of the cartel."

"I'm—" A shiver spiders down my spine as I blink at Miguel. "What?—"

"I know a lot about you, Miss Kingsley," Miguel says. "But you?" He shakes his head. "You know nothing about me."

"What—" I clear my throat, scanning the park for potential escape routes. "What do you mean?"

"You think that I am a member of El Cartel de Los Caballero," he notes quietly. "And while that may be true, it is notallI am." Fear rips through my veins as he reaches into his pocket and hands me a business card. With a thumping heart, I take the card, my vision blurring as I stare at the logo for the Department of Justice. "I work for the DEA, Miss Kingsley."

"DEA..." This can't be happening. He's a federal agent? Anundercoverfederal agent? "Mr."—I swallow, throat drying as I read the card—"Ramos...I don't?—"

"It's okay, Miss Kingsley," he says gently. "You're not in any trouble, but"—he forces my frightened gaze—"your brother will be...unless..."

"Unless what?" I whisper, hands shaking.

"Your new...acquaintances," Miguel begins, "they're not good people, Savannah. Their partnership with LosCaballero has resulted in the deaths of many people, and my team is on the precipice of shutting down The Sons for good."

"Shutting them down?" My voice falters. "As in jail?"

"As in life sentences," Miguel clarifies, verbally punching my gut. "I know you care about your brother, Miss Kingsley, and from what I've seen and heard, he's not a bad kid. He simply got mixed up with the wrong crowd. A very wrong crowd." He reaches over, covering my hand with his. "But I'm willing to make you a deal."

"A deal?" I ask, picturing my baby brother behind bars with grey hair and lifeless eyes. "I don't understand..."

"It's simple," he explains. "I need you to find and send me a document. A list."

I blink at him, unable to focus on his demands as my world crashes. "A list?"

"Yes, of all the stash houses The Sons currently hold," he states. "It's probably a page long, most likely handwritten." He pauses as I catch my unsteady breath. "You do that, Miss Kingsley, you find me that list and send it to me, and I will guarantee that your brother will serve a minimal sentence."

My head spins. This ain’t a situation I can mentally erase or run away from. Jail. He’s talking about jail.

"You have a week." Miguel gives me a knowing smile. "His future is in your hands, Miss Kingsley." He nods down at the business card. "What will you do with it?"

CHAPTER 24

Tell Tale Heart

When I was fifteen,I broke my ankle at a gym meet. It was a bad break. The pain was unbearable. The doctors prescribed me painkillers for the first few months. Those months were a blur. I couldn't walk. I couldn't think. I could barely see straight. I felt like the whole world was moving forward, and I was stuck. Frozen in time. I knew that life was happening around me; I could hear muffled laughter and vaguely see day turn to night. But I wasn't there. Not really. I wasn't mentally present. I was numb. So numb.

It's not an ankle that's broken this time around.

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