ll from Matthew was

the border. It wasn't supp

eedy with fear. I gripped the burner phone, the

rms, Matt? Stick

he bad connection. "They want five hundred grand. In person. You have to b

sent a cold jolt through me, a g

ntrolled drop, surveillance teams in place. A solo delivery

hared cramped safe houses and whispered secrets with for two yea

att? Tell

to a dusty, abandoned war

l, Gabby.

ence. Love. It was part of our cover, a word we used to sell the lie. But he

o. Protoco

ing my handler of the change but i

agent. It was my call. I packed the

cks. It was a self-sacrificing effort, a risk that could

ouette in the desert. I walked in, the heavy bag slung over m

k with the smell

en I s

he vast, empty space, completely unharmed.

so potent it made me di

e. He didn't m

cognized him instantly from the case files. El Martillo's right-ha

ask of cold ambition. He took the duffel bag f

gly calm. Then he pointed a finger directly at me. "And here's

e relief curdled into shock, a b

ld me

ut to save h