“Honestly, I’m tired. Tired of talking about this, tired of following you, and worrying about getting caught. I’m weary. Let’s just get back to Mexico and be done with this once and for all.” My whole life passes before my eyes. I think of my friends. Of Aspen. There’s an in case of emergency file on her computer. I added a ton of information on there over the past few weeks. No details about my whereabouts, or anything like that, but what to do with the finances of the office. I updated my will and the deed of my house. Everything is in order. That’s one thing I can be thankful for in all of this. I will be the only loose end.
Funny, I’m also sick of all of her bullshit. I pocket the ring and rub my wrists where they are bleeding and raw from being restrained. One of the men rolls her suitcase and takes her drug bag. One holds me with my hands behind my back, and the other is in front with his weapon pointed like a dagger as he opens the door. “Is the plane ready?” Rena asks mindlessly, walking next to me. There’s no way I can tell what hotel this is, but I do notice it’s empty. Like, no staff at all.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“It’s our hotel. I bought it when I discovered your dumb girl’s trip plan. All the employees now work for us.” I’m trying to wrap my brain around this, how someone just buys a hotel and commandeers staff when I see a helicopter on a vast expansive lawn, out the stairwell window. “Oh, God,” Rena whispers as she moves in for a closer look. “They found us.”
My heart pounds, because I don’t deserve this luck. Wait, I can’t call it luck yet. The guy holding me speaks to the others in a different language and Rena joins in on the conversation, leaving me out of it altogether. I understand words like death and kill, but I can’t keep up as they hatch their plan. His hands tighten on me, and fear is radiating off him.
We continue going down the stairs, now just at a quicker clip. I stumble and trip as I’m forced forward before my feet can catch up. There’s a metal door to the side that opens to some kind of storage room where electrical equipment is held. Rena handcuffs me to a pipe, looks me dead in the eye, and says, “This is all your fault.”
“How is this my fault? I didn’t kill a man, Rena!”
“You’re so dumb and naïve. The military landed on the lawn of a cartel-owned property, and you haven’t pieced together who is responsible for this? They’ve been after us for weeks. Do you know how many men I’ve lost? How persistent the special ops squads have been in trying to eradicate the underground drug smuggling when they haven’t given a fuck for years? Not until you, Maeve. Not until Lincoln’s prized piece of destroyed meat was in danger.”
A commercial-sized radiator hums to life next to me and makes it hard to hear. “You’re telling me one man. Lincoln. Is responsible for directing this? Because of me? Bullshit.”
Rena laughs. “Again, you’re forgetting how persuasive he is. It won’t matter for long, though. I’m going to burn this place to the ground with you in it. To think, I almost had a sister. It’s too bad you turned out to be a huge disappointment.” Rena reaches into her pocket and pulls out a metal box. She dips her pinky nail in and snorts thick white powder until she needs a breath. “I’d offer you some, but you probably want to be lucid when you die.”
My breathing speeds, and I’m open mouth breathing. Rena reaches down her leg and comes up with a tiny gun she had tucked in her boot, and tucks it into her waistband. “My guys should be getting the armored vehicle from the garage right now.”
I’m desperate. “Why not take you with me? Why the change in plan? Give me time. I could be a better sister.”
“He knows now, Maeve. Lincoln knows and he’ll never give up on you.”
I shake my head. “This isn’t him. It’s just the cops outside. He doesn’t have anything to do with what’s happening today. He’s on a trip! It can’t be him. He has already given up on me.”
“Shut the fuck up, you idiot. He told me he wouldn’t stop. He would hunt me down to get to you for the rest of his life, until he was old and on his deathbed. Does that sound like he’s given up? Like a man who wouldn’t orchestrate a war on drugs to find the woman he loves?” Her eyes well up with tears. “He didn’t do that for me, no. Lincoln never looked for me at all.”
She slides my engagement ring off her finger, admiring it as she does. Rena reaches over and pinches my cheeks until my lips pop open. She stuffs the ring into my mouth. “Bite down on that when the pain gets to be too much.” I spit it back in her face and notice the key to my cuffs is on a ring hanging out of her jacket pocket.
You can do this, Maeve. You are enough. All by yourself.Rena’s pupils are enlarged and with the substance coursing through her veins she’s less predictable. I remember that from the last time she had a gun. This time, I’m more unpredictable. My breathing speeds as I come to the only possible conclusion. I have to follow the course of my family destiny and kill. To live, I must kill. Autumn’s words and reassurance float in, and I’m momentarily distracted that I’m drawing inspiration from her. Rena floats closer, swaying as she hisses mean words. She’s jealous. That’s all this is, and nothing more—amplified by drugs. Jumping up as hard as I can, I kick out both legs. One hits her square in the face, and the other lands on her chest, pushing her, and the keys further away from me.You can do this, Maeve.Survive.
Rena is splayed on the ground, so I kneel and kick out my feet and capture one of her feet between mine. Then I bend my legs and pull to drag her closer. It’s tedious and blood is pouring from my wrists where the metal cuffs are cutting in from the pressure. Her head lolls from one side to the other. One more time. Close enough, but I have to switch positions to be able to reach the keys. Rena bends her arm, and I lose my breath. She’s going to kill me if I’m unsuccessful. Lincoln will never know I’m sorry. How it was all for him, or why I did what I did.
I have to use my knees to move her top half closer to me so my fingers can reach the keys. The keyring has a big Chanel logo. I’m able to pull the top of the C and pull them toward me. I slide them on the pavement by flicking my finger over and over until the keys are firmly in my hand. It was a mistake on her part cuffing me in the front, but it’ll be the only reason I’m able to shuffle the key into the small hole and set myself free. As I rub my wrists Rena rolls over, and I take the gun from her waistband and aim it at her body. My hand isn’t the only thing shaking—my whole body quakes, teeth chatter, and my legs are wobbly.
Ramona and I took a gun safety class with Lincoln, so I know to pull the hammer back to check the chamber. There’s a bullet. It’s loaded and the safety is off. The gun, if working the way it’s intended, will fire the second I pull the trigger. I find it odd that I’m taking comfort in the mechanics right now instead of the emotional side of putting a bullet into my twin sister. I set my finger on the trigger and remember the warning:only put your finger on the trigger if you intend to fire the gun.I’m going to fire the gun.
The metal door blows open, and on impulse, I raise the gun toward the noise. It’s a… SEAL Team? I recognize the tridents emblazoned on their uniforms and the gear that is all too familiar for comfort. I’ve feared what their helmets and bulletproof vests mean. The reason I run is because of this uniform. What it stands for. They clear the room and the gun disappears from my hand. I’m not sure who took it, but the men seem to know I never planned to use it on them. It’s because of them that I’m alive. What I fear the most ended up being my savior. They drag Rena away in cuffs. A man in full uniform lowers his gun and approaches me carefully. My sobs only add to the tremors shaking my body. He puts an arm around my shoulders, pulls me close, and guides me out of the room, and out to the lawn where there are people in uniform everywhere. More SEALs and the SWAT team, and I only recognize them because they’re not in uniform, my friends. Tasha, Ramona, and Aspen are huddled in a group over by a dark SUV parked on the lawn.
“My, my, my, friends,” I say. “Can I have my friends?” I can’t even string together the right words. A medic comes over and the SEAL tells him to check out my wrists.
They’re ignoring me, but I’m not sure if my question even made sense. I’m in shock. “Lincoln,” I say, and that I know they understand because the SEAL looks me square in the face.
He nods, and throws a hand in the air. My gaze trails where he’s looking, and there he is, jogging out of the helicopter toward us in what looks to be a slow-mo action movie.
“Fuck! Is she okay?” Lincoln asks the SEAL before looking at me. The medic is bandaging me, but I can’t stop staring at the side of his face. He resembles an avenging angel. I don’t hear what his response is, but I can tell you the second his worried eyes meet mine; heartbreak returns full force. My lip pouts as I try to control the emotions. “I’m so sorry, Lincoln. I’m so sorry!”
I fall into his arms, into his fully uniformed arms, and give in. I lay down my weapons. Defenseless. From now until forever, if he’ll have me back. “Give us a minute.”
“They need to interview her, but she should calm down first. You’re the best bet for that.”
“Yes, I am, she’s my fucking fiancée,” Lincoln hisses. My chest warms to hear him use the word and it’s the only reassurance I need.
“Exactly,” the SEAL replies. “Which is why you couldn’t be on this mission.” He clears his throat. “You have ten minutes before they’ll be surrounding her like vultures. We cleared the hotel, got the mules, and… Rena. They’re recovering a massive amount of product right now.”
Lincoln says something, but all I hear from the safety of his arms is a low rumble of words. He leads me to a tree on the border of the lawn and we sit down.