Her head shook back and forth and strands of her brown whipped in front of her face. “No. Absolutely not. It’s not happening. Don’t even try to force to me leave. You’ve already done that once.”

“Why not?” I grumbled.

Her entire body tensed. “I won’t be any safer there than I would be with you. In fact, I think I’ll be in more danger. I’ll be a sitting target for any of your enemies and the Deverons.”

I rested my head on her knees for a minute gathering my thoughts. She was right. We had so many enemies.

Ignacio.

Juan Alvarez.

Senator Deveron.

Evan Deveron.

Emanuel.

And those were just the ones I knew about. As more people got wind of my connection to the Vargas Cartel, I’d have enough enemies to fill a ballroom.

“I think you need to deal with Senator Deveron and Evan and I’ll find a way to make sense of Ignacio and Juan Alvarez.”

“What do you mean deal with Senator Deveron and Evan?”

I sat on the bench next to her. “We need to expose their connection to the cartel. Then, they’ll be discredited or worse. Senator Deveron won’t have any power to hurt you anymore, and you won’t have to worry about Evan.”

“And how are we going to do that?”

He rubbed his lips together. “You’ll leak information and evidence corroborating the connection to any newspaper or website that will listen.” I’d have to search Ignacio’s office, which wouldn’t be easy, but I’d find a way to do it without alerting him. I needed at least a week to put the rest of my plan in motion before Ignacio discovered my deception.

Hattie didn’t move or speak for a few drawn out seconds. “And you want me to go back to D.C. to do it.”

My chest tightened. I didn’t want her to go anywhere. I wanted to chain her to my side forever, and never let go. “Yes. I think it’s the smartest way to get this done,” I said instead.

She closed her eyes and bowed her head, even as her hands fidgeted in her lap. “And you won’t come with me?”

“No. I need to stay here and take care of Ignacio and Juan.”

Hattie stilled, and her eyes blinked open, wide and alarmed. “I can’t do it alone.”

“I know. I was planning to send Noah with you,” I said quietly.

The words tasted like ash in my mouth, and something inside of me splintered. I didn’t want Noah anywhere near her. I saw the way he looked at her this morning. He wanted her, but I trusted her, and I hoped to hell it wasn’t misplaced. Either way, she deserved to be happy regardless of who made that happen. My lips twisted in perfect synchronicity with my gut at the thought. I shook my head, trying to eradicate the jealousy from my mind. The jealousy could wait. The rest of this mess wouldn’t.

“Who will help you?”

“Don’t worry about me.” I placed my hand on her lower belly, and she pulled her bottom lip through her front teeth. “Just take care of yourself and our baby, and I’ll find you when this is done.”

She leaned her head against my shoulder, gazing at me. Tears shimmered in her golden eyes. “You promise?” she said quietly, her voice breaking on the last word.

Our gazes held, and I smiled softly, my heart drumming hollowly in my chest. I slid my hands into the silky strands of her hair. “I promise. I wouldn’t have it any other way.”

It’d be damn hard to keep my promise. If Ignacio got wind of what I was planning, he’d kill me, but there was no turning back. She’d always be my soft spot. My enemies wouldn’t hesitate to use her to get to me. I had to finish this once and for all. It was the only way I could guarantee Hattie’s and our baby’s safety. I understood that now. I had to eliminate them before they eliminated us.

Kill or be killed.

Destroy or be destroyed.

Attack or be attacked.

It wasn’t even a question. No more waiting. We had to go on the offensive and wage our own war.

Chapter Seventeen

Hattie

I tossed and turned, chasing sleep, but my mind had other plans. Ryker had left me in his room over an hour ago while he went to search Ignacio’s records. He told me to go to sleep, and I’d tried. I really did.

My mind circled relentlessly. My ears labored to hear every noise. My shoulder muscles crawled up the back of my neck. Minute after minute passed, and I swore I heard footsteps a million times, but nothing happened. No one came in the room. I finally gave up trying to sleep and turned on the lamp on the nightstand.

Just when I convinced myself Ryker was bleeding to death somewhere in the house, and I needed to go find him, the door handle dipped. I sat up in bed, clutching the sheets to my chest with one hand and fingering the gun Ryker gave me with the other. My irregular breaths echoed unnaturally in the room.

The door cracked open. A sliver of yellow light spilled onto the creamy travertine tiled floor. Afraid to make a sound, I held my breath and stared as the yellow sliver grew, inch by painful inch. A silhouette shaded the opening. My heart rapid-fired inside my chest.

Thump.

Thump.

Thump.

At its current rate, my heart would explode by the time the door fully opened. The hinges squeaked. My breath hitched.

Please don’t be Ignacio or worse…

“Hattie?” Ryker said, pausing in the entrance. “Is everything okay?”

I swallowed over the lump lodged in my throat. “Oh my God. You scared the crap out of me.”

His dark eyebrows knitted together. “Did something happen while I was gone?”

I shook my head. “No. I couldn’t sleep. I was worried about you.”

He closed the door behind him. “You should be sleeping. Your flight leaves early in the morning.” He leaned against the door with a wicked smile on his face. “But I can’t say I’m sad you’re awake.”

“Why’s that?”

“Because now I can kiss you goodnight.”

I rolled my eyes. “Did you find anything we can use?”

He tapped a large yellow envelope against his leg, and his lips pinched together until they almost disappeared entirely. “I found more than enough.” He held up the envelope. “Everything you need is in here. Don’t look at it until you get back to the States with Noah.”

I frowned. “I can’t read it on the plane?”

“No.” He unzipped my suitcase and emptied out my clothes.

I tossed the sheets to the side, and I jumped out of the bed. “What are you doing?”

“I’m hiding this,” he answered without looking at me.

I looked at him askance. “I can put it in my purse.”

“This is better.” He pulled a switchblade from his pocket and sliced open the silky black lining in the suitcase. He slipped the envelope inside and squirted a few dots of glue on the lining, temporarily sealing the cut.

I nodded. “What am I supposed to do with the information?”

He tapped me on the tip of my nose. “Noah knows what to do. He’ll talk to you about it on the plane.”

“When did you talk to him?”

His eyes turned serious, but a faint smile remained on his face. “Just now.”

“Oh.” I sat on the edge of the bed. “Why do I need to go with him? If he’s taking the lead, I can stay with you. I want to be here to support you.”

He sighed as he settled onto the bed next to me, his hand weaving around my waist. His soft touch seared my side, his thigh leaning into mine, and his long fingers flexing into my skin.

“It’s better that way,” he said, his voice heavy with emotion. “I don’t know what will happen here. There are so many moving pieces and things I can’t control. If you leave, it’s one less thing I need to worry about.”

“Yeah. You’re probably right,” I said softly, even as a dull ache burrowed under my breastbone. As much as I wanted to glue myself to Ryker’s side, I sure as hell didn’t want to end up chained to a wall again because he couldn’t protect me.