Page 11 of Hostile Love
The exhausted guy looking back at me is Matheus. However, the guy underneath––he’s not locked up, hidden behind the good looks anymore.
And I’m ready to find out who that man could really be.
What he’s capable of. What heneedsfrom this life.
When Dario leaves, I grab my backpack and dig out my satellite phone.
After a few rings, Giovanni answers, “Crow. Did you get the job done?”
“Affirmative, Dragon,” I reply, the buzz in my veins giving me energy.
“Where are you?”
“Colombia.” I keep my location vague. “After the mission, Buffy was kidnapped. I won’t be back until she’s safe.” The line goes silent. “Dragon? Did you hear me?”
“You said you're in Colombia,sì?” My pulse picks up. “Where exactly in Colombia are you, Crow?”
I look to the ceiling.
“Why ask when you can see my location on your monitor? You’re tracking me right now, aren’t you?”
Giovanni sighs. “I’m ensuring your safety.”
“What about Buffy? Can you track her location too?”
“Give me a second.”
The line goes silent for only a heartbeat, but it feels like an eternity.
“It says she’s with you in the city…in a mansion.”
I growl out my frustration. Dani had two phones—one for The Covenant and the other to keep in touch with Blanco.
“The SAT phone must be in her backpack where she parked her motorcycle.”
“Whose house are you at? I don’t recognize the coordinates as one of our safe houses.”
“You’re losing sight of the issue here, Dragon,” I snap. “One of your agents was taken.”
“I asked you whose house you’re at?” Giovanni repeats, low and dismissive.
“Carlos Blancos.”
“Jesus fuck, Crow,” he bites out. “Are you for real? Did Buffy make you go there? You’re a sitting duck at his place.”
“Don’t worry. He’s not here,” I say, purposely not telling him about the conversation I had with Blanco or that Dani is his daughter.
I need time to process everything and hear the whole story.
“My focus is on Buffy, right now. So, either help me, or I’ll do this on my own.”
“On your own?” he says sharply. “You’re one ofmyagents, remember? You don’t do anything on your own unless it goes through me first. That was the decision you made, Crow.”
My hackles rise. “You know Buffy saved my life in Blackwater. I’m repaying a debt and saving one ofyouragents.”
“Crow,” he warns. “I need time to find out what we’re up against. We never go into a mission blind. For all we know, it could be the Italians.”
“They wouldn't risk it. Not when we still have their daughter.”
