Cold Hands,

ters like surgical blades. Inside the rear cabin of the lead escort SUV the atmosphere was suffocatingly t

ssibly light almost delicate like a porcelain doll crushed beneath an iron boot. Every sudden turn of the

ed, his voice cold, razor sharp, cutt

knuckles white on the steering wheel as he checked his rearview mirror. If we hi

apped, his dark eyes never le

d growing paranoia. He held an encrypted satellite radio in his hand, his eyes flitti

. But this is crazy. If the police find out a hit and run victim was taken to the Restrepo compound, it gives the Attorney General the exact search warrant

ly against the side of her neck, searching for her carotid artery. Her skin was freezing, s

Thump

itone leaving no room for argument. No

mal title in a rare moment of desperation. You said

his men had gathered seven months ago during the violent purge of the rival Norte del Valle remnants. He remembered the photograph pinned to a wooden boar

thumb unconsciously wiping a smudge of

eyes widened in absolute shock

Matteo sa

t for the Cárdenas clan. He was the one leaking our drop zones in the Caribbean The man who almost got us killed in the coastal amb

torm either Matteo growled, his eyes flashing with a dangerous, lethal intensity that ma

cely. What if Santiago's people set this

strates a trap by throwing an unarmed woman into the path of a four ton armored Mercedes tra

gates hidden deep within the forested hills of El Poblado. The iron gates swung shut be

as, a sprawling, fortress like estate surrounded by twenty foot security walls, h

t beneath the covered portico of the

repo family's private physician for two decades, was waiting w

ting over the sound of the pouring rain th

d striding directly into the grand foyer of the mansion. White marble floors reflected the warm light

l bay Matteo commanded his voice

ehind a concealed door in the wing. It was a room designed to treat gunshot wounds and shrapnel in

back his coat, Dr. Vargas moved in quickly, cutting away the torn

e skin while a paramedic attached a heart monitor. Possible fractured ribs, deep contusions, low

antically its rhythmic tone spikin

Beep bee

ulling a syringe from a tray. I need two units of O-negat

g a long shadow over the medical team. His hands, usually so steady when holding a gun

ous, terrifying whisper. If she dies on this table I will per

ing no fear only because he had known Ma

wn at Isabel's face. Her lips were pale, tinted blue from

open not fully, but enough for the harsh fluorescent lights of the o

ow eyes. She couldn't see clearly through the haze of shock, pain, and

ess Isabel's fingers tightened around Matt

ail of blood running from the corn

anging in the sterile air sent a

s fluttered shut her head fell to the side and the he

led, grabbing the defibrillator pa

e as the medical team rushed in around her. Matteo allowed himself to be dragged back

blood. The blood of the sist

lent hallway the piercing sound of the flatlining monitor continued