“Right,” Javier scoffed. “I’m sure the car isn’t wanted by a few people either.”

“You mean other than you?” I asked.

He grunted. “The past is the past. We’re better off getting something more inconspicuous, don’t you agree?”

“We’re getting my stuff out of the car, at least,” I told Javier. “You can add that to your plan.”

He made another disagreeable sound but didn’t argue. “Fine. Get your stuff. Get a new car. Head to Mexico City to check on Violetta.”

I frowned at the mention of his sister. “Check on?”

He nodded. “I’ll tell her to get out of town, go to Marguerite or Alana’s in Jalisco.”

“And she’ll listen to you?”

He bit his lip for a second. “She knows what happened to Beatriz. She’ll listen.”

“Who is Beatriz?” Camden asked.

Javier shot him a look as he brought the Jeep onto the main highway. “None of your fucking business.”

“It’s one of his sisters,” I quickly told Camden. “Travis murdered her.”

“Of course he did,” Camden said with a sigh, leaning back into the seat. I finally had the strength to watch him for a few moments. The wind was ruffling up his dark hair, his glasses reflecting the lights of the few cars on the highway that were braving the storm. His jaw was strong, lips full but held together tightly. I knew he was tormented but I didn’t know by whom. Was it Javier?

Or was it me?

He took his glasses off and wiped the rain off of them with the sleeve of his tuxedo he had gotten for Travis’s party. It took effort, his brilliant blue eyes wincing with pain. His shoulder was still messed up from being shot.

“Do you have any more of your painkillers?” I asked him.

He closed his eyes and nodded while he slipped his glasses back on. “Now’s not the time. I’ll deal.”

“Well you certainly dealt with Javier’s face,” I said. It slipped out before I had a chance to take it back. I wasn’t about to start provoking the monster but it was easier said than done.

And provoked him I did.

Javier’s grip on the wheel tightened and he slammed on the brakes so we went skidding across the highway. I screamed, the tires squealing beneath us, as we came to a shuddering stop on the shoulder and he flipped it into park.

“Jesus!” Camden yelled. “Are you trying to kill us?”

Javier immediately whipped out his gun so it was in front of my face and pointed it at Camden.

“No. Now I’m trying to kill you,” Javier sneered, staring down the barrel of the gun.

“Then fucking do it,” Camden said, his eyes blazing, meeting the challenge.

“You shouldn’t tempt me,” Javier countered.

My eyes darted between the two of them and the gun. It wavered slightly, betraying Javier’s smooth exterior. He was damn angry, angry enough to do something stupid. He didn’t need Camden egging him on.

I raised my hands slowly, careful not to touch the gun that was inches away. I spoke carefully, trying to keep my voice from shaking. “Please, please, Javier, Camden, let’s just … let’s just calm down.”

“Shut up,” Javier said, his eyes flitting to me and back to Camden. “This is all your fault.”

“How is this my fault?” I exclaimed and then realized it was. I needed to keep my mouth shut. We all did. I looked between the two of them and said, “Okay, I’m sorry. It is my fault. Obviously we’re not getting anywhere if we can’t get along.”

Javier’s grip tightened on the gun. “This isn’t a matter of getting along, angel.” He licked his lips and nodded at Camden. “Tell me, Camden, how did you manage to escape from your ex-wife and the mighty Vincent Madano?”

Camden frowned at him, his jaw tensing. “How do you know about that?”

Javier grinned. “I read it in the newspaper like everyone else.”

“Bullshit.”

“I have to say, I’m impressed,” Javier went on. “Vincent Madano is not a man you can just mess up and walk away.”

“How well do you really know them?” I asked Javier, remembering that Camden had said something about it all being a set up, that Sophia and her brothers, and possibly Javier were all in on it. The exchange, the kidnapping – it was all for show. All to get me away from Camden and maybe to put Camden in danger.

It must have been driving Javier crazy to have Camden here with us. Camden could not be caught that easily.

“I know them well enough,” Javier said. He loosed his grip on the gun, shook the rain off of it and put it back in his waistband. I exhaled in relief. “But I suppose that’s neither here nor there at this point.”

I was sure that Camden wouldn’t let it go that easily. Just how deeply was Javier tied to his ex-wife and her brothers and why? But Camden only gave Javier a final glare before turning his attention back to the darkened farmland we had stopped beside.

“Let’s just get Gus back,” he said and pressed his lips together as if to prevent himself from saying something else.

Javier watched him for a few moments before putting the Jeep back into drive and returning us to the highway.

We sat in unbearable silence as we made our way into Veracruz, yet it was safer than saying anything. I felt like we were a word away from incinerating each other. Camden only spoke up to give directions to where he had ditched Jose.

Unfortunately it was a bit too close to Travis’s compound for comfort. We pulled down a quiet residential street only a few blocks away, the leafy trees blowing wildly in the wind, the rain having thankfully dropped off. The sound of helicopters buzzed in the distance.

Javier eyed the sky and I asked, “Are those his or news choppers?”

He nodded subtly. “They’re his. The news wouldn’t dare cover this.”

“Turn right down here,” Camden told him and we came down another street, this one more narrow, with the trees blocking out the streetlights that were few and far between. This was still a well-to-do area, though the houses were smaller and spaced further apart, all behind tall gates and walls. I did note that it was a dead-end road, which meant there was only one way out if something were to happen to us. We couldn’t be too careful, not with the choppers circling in the distance, their spotlights occasionally lighting up the sky.

“There she is,” Camden said, pointing to the end of the street where jungle seemed to have taken over and there were no streetlights. I could barely make out the shape of the car in the darkness.

“She?” Javier asked, eyebrow cocked. “Its name is Jose.”

Camden shrugged. “Guess she’s a cross-dresser.”

Javier sighed, shaking his head in disgust, and pulled the Jeep up to it. “Let’s make this fast.”

We hopped out and it was only now that we were closer that I saw what Camden meant by “battered.”

“Holy shit, Camden!” I cried out at the sight of the poor vehicle.

“What the hell did you do to my car?” Javier yelled, his hands thrown up in the air.

The GTO had the paint scraped off all along one side, the windows on the driver’s side were all shot out, the driver’s side mirror was missing, the front was totally crunched up with only the right headlight intact.

“Your car?” I asked Javier once I managed to look away from poor Jose. “What happened to the past being the past?”

“Now’s not the time to argue semantics,” Camden interrupted us. “She’s broken but she’s a survivor.” He fished the keys out of his suit jacket and tossed them at me. “Just like you.”

I caught them and he held my eyes for a moment before walking past me back to the Jeep.

Javier scoffed, though I didn’t know if it was for the state of the car or Camden’s comment, and made his way to the trunk. He bumped it with his fist. “Come on, let’s get her open.”

I was about to hurry over to him when Camden suddenly said, “Fuck.”

I spun around and looked at him. He was frozen in the act of taking off his jacket, his good arm free, his head cocked upward, eyes searching the sky. The sound of the choppers had gotten louder and over the tips of the waving trees I could see the spotlight in the sky, the blades whirring.