My heart sank. No. It broke. I shook my head. Had Lupe just gotten it wrong? Or was there more to this? Why was the universe fucking with me? With Mo and Harper, I felt I was on the verge of finally having something good and pure. This news proved otherwise. Perhaps I couldn’t haven’t them because of my past misdeeds. I supposed I deserved punishment for building my empire working for questionable people.
Movement into the booth seat across from me had me looking up, planning to greet Dax. But it wasn't Dax.
The man who sat across from me was well-dressed in an expensive suit, but there was no denying that he was a lethal killer. He had a darkness in his expression that gave no doubt that killing wasn’t a problem for him. He had a large scare and wore an eye patch. That alone should've concerned me, but it was the fact that I knew this man that had my world spinning away again.
"Bastion?" I wanted to leap the booth and give him a hug. I was thrilled that he was alive. But something in his expression kept me in my seat. That and the realization that this was probably the man that approached Harper and sent her down here. He had to be El Pirata, Lupe’s right hand man. What an odd set of coincidences.
He smiled, but it wasn't friendly. "Once again, you failed to keep your promise about never leaving a man behind. You left me behind, and now you left your own son after you promised his mother you wouldn't abandon him."
Fuck. Was Mo tied up in all this? "I haven't abandoned my son." Did he know the truth of Mo’s paternity and was perpetuating the scam or did Lupe really believe he was mine when he was the son of another lover?
Bastion scanned the restaurant as if he were looking for the child. His one good eye returned to me. "I don't see your son here with you."
"What are you doing here? I thought you were dead." God. How many times had I dreamed of seeing him again? I wanted to apologize. In my dreams, he forgave me, and we got drunk on expensive booze and picked up sexy women.
Bastion barked out a hard laugh. Then he leaned forward, looking fiercer than I'd ever seen him before. "That's because you didn't bother to follow up, did you? I spent months in a prison hellhole because you couldn't be bothered to come get me. I waited for you like a fucking idiot, but you never came. When I lost my eye and my soul, I realized you weren't coming and I spent the rest of my time there plotting my revenge."
I'd felt the panic of danger many times in my life, but never so acutely as I did in this moment. This man knew about Mo and Harper. He also knew how to get to a man in a way that could kill his soul. Bastion knew that while torturing me would be fun, taking Mo and Harper would be a far greater punishment.
I needed to get Harper out of Mexico now. I needed to take her and Mo far away into hiding, a feat I knew would likely be impossible because Harper wasn't a woman to be boxed in. She’d fight me on it just like she fought against her protection unit when she was being stalked.
Bastion’s smile turned even more sinister. "And finally, after all this time, I have my chance."
The doors to the bar opened and several uniformed police officers rushed in, grabbing me, yanking me out of the booth, and pushing me down on the table as they handcuffed me.
Bastion leaned down to look me in the eyes. "In case you don't understand Spanish, you're being arrested for human trafficking."
Once cuffed, I was grabbed by the arm and jerked upright, then tugged toward the door. The fact that my brain was in a fog was proof that I'd been out of the business a little too long.Think of something God dammit, I inwardly chastised myself. But there was nothing I could do that wouldn't get my ass beaten or killed. I would have to go along with whatever Bastion set in motion for the time being.
I had to hope that Dax was somewhere around seeing this and would be able to get to Archer and pull a team together to come get me.
Then again, maybe they wouldn't. Maybe that was what Bastion was counting on. He did say he wanted revenge. Having me arrested was one way to get it.
As the police drove me to jail, I thought of Harper and how she would react when she discovered I wasn't in bed or the hotel room as I’d told her I would be. I made a promise that I couldn’t keep.
There was no doubt she would think I had taken off just like I had the other day. But maybe that would be a good thing. Maybe she’d be so pissed that I’d left that she would pack up and go home where she would be safe. I knew Archer would watch out for her. And Bran would go to the ends of the earth to keep her safe. For the first time since meeting Bran, I was glad he could be such a stubborn asshole.
At the jail, I was tossed into a dark, dank, squalid cell.
“Welcome home,” Bastion said.
I looked at the man who’d once been my best friend. That man was gone. I suppose I couldn’t blame him for being angry. Had I failed him by not following up? I had stayed as long as I could and even began to plan a mission to recover what I thought would be his body. But the danger was too high to risk losing more men.
“The good news is, you’re not alone.” He nodded to the cell next to me.
I looked and if I thought I was in a bad place now, seeing Dax sleeping or unconscious proved that I was well and truly fucked. Archer knew I was in Mexico, but he didn’t know where or enough detail to save us.
Whatever game Bastion was playing, he’d planned it well. He’d had me arrested. There was no way Archer could bust me out without creating an international incident. I’d chosen him to take over Saint Security because of his strong moral code. He wouldn’t kill people or break laws. Bastion must have known that too.
The only question I had left was how Lupe and Mo fit in. I didn’t have a chance to ask though as Bastion pulled out his gun and swung hit hard. I had a moment to register the explosion of pain on my temple before everything went dark.
CHAPTERTHIRTY-TWO
Harper
I woke up after one of the best night’s sleep I’d ever had. I rolled over catching Noel’s scent making me smile. Last night was eye opening and gave me hope that Noel and I might make it. Yes, it was early days, but he was trying.
We both suffered from gross misunderstanding of the other, which meant we needed to do better at communicating. Noel definitely needed to learn to talk to me, but I’d made some mistakes too.