Page 8 of Forbidden Fate
Which means—
I stop mid-step.
The barn where I exhumed the corpse. It’s not on the list of coordinates, but I know where it is because I’ve been there.
If I were hiding someone…that’s exactly where I’d put them.
I get into my car and head straight for it.
The barn sits near the Mexican border, which makes it perfect for anyone wanting to move drugs. The wood is old and splintered, any semblance of paint long stripped away. Nothing grows within a five-foot radius, as if the building itself is poison to the land.
I circle once, checking the perimeter. No cameras, same as before.
I move to the door and ease it open just enough to slip inside.
I inhale the smell of hay and dust and something else. Food?
My eyes adjust quickly, and I nearly jump.
It’s him. Reyes. Sitting in an old chair bound up in rope, his head slumped down. A plate of half-eaten food sits on a crate beside him.
I move fast. Check his pulse.
It’s strong, thank God.
He stirs as I cut the ropes and snaps his eyes open.
“Easy,” I murmur.
“Jesus,” he breathes. “Took you long enough.”
I don’t answer that. I pull him to his feet, steadying him as his legs wobble. “Can you walk?”
He nods. “Yeah.”
“Good.” I reach into my pocket, pull out a black marker, and grab his hand.
“What—”
“Hold still.” I press the tip against his ring finger and make a mark that Vega will recognize. It means “found.”
“Smart,” Reyes mutters.
I don’t respond. I pull out my phone instead. “Give me a thumbs up,” I say.
He complies, and I shoot the photo, making sure the mark on his ring finger is visible.
“Move,” I say.
We make it back to Reyes’s Austin property in a little over an hour.
“Stay here,” I tell him. “I need to make sure it’s safe.”
He nods and gives me the code for entry. I walk up the pathway and enter. It’s a gorgeous house, but I don’t dwell on that. This business pays extremely well. I walk through every room, check every corner. In one room, I find a safe in the closet.
And on the safe…
Fuck.
