Confessed (Vargas Cartel #3) Read Online Free Page B

his face for a clue. His eyes darkened momentarily, then a mask of nothingness slipped into place.
    “I don’t have all fucking day. You have five seconds to decide, or I’ll kill you both,” he growled.
    “Please, don’t do this. Nobody needs to get hurt,” I said, my body trembling like a leaf in a thunderstorm.
    “Five.”
    The number bounced off the cement walls, and I bit the inside of my cheek until blood tainted my mouth.
    “Four.”
    Air burst from my lungs.
    “Three.”
    My vision swirled, and I closed my eyes so I didn’t collapse on the floor. Enrique ensnared me in a nightmare, and I couldn’t wake up.
    “Two.”
    “Him,” I screamed as my stomach plummeted.
    Pop!
    A gunshot exploded, ringing in my ears. My heart stopped for a frozen second. I couldn’t move. I couldn’t breathe. Time fractured.
    “Good choice, Miss Covington,” Enrique said. “I was starting to question your sanity.”
    I pried my eyes open. Raul’s lifeless body was sprawled out on the floor. Inky blood spilled from a hole in the center of his forehead. Vacant eyes stared sightlessly at the ceiling. His lips were lax. Blood splattered the ground behind him like an experiment in modern art.
    Sobs bubbled from my lips. I was a murderer. I chose my life over his. He wanted to help me, and I repaid him by ordering his death. I wanted to curl up and die. I deserved to die. I was evil. Ice crystals formed in my veins. I gagged and swallowed simultaneously, fighting back my nausea, but it didn’t work. Chunks of the watermelon and white rice reversed course, spraying my sneakers.
    “Why?” I cried as I wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Tremors conquered my body one muscle at a time until my entire body shook.
    “Because I didn’t have a choice.” He pulled a white cloth out of his back pocket and tossed it in my direction. “Have a good night, Miss Covington.”
    “Are you going to do something with his…?” My voice faded to silence, and I angled my head toward Raul’s body.
    “No. I thought you’d enjoy some company.” He laughed. “I’ll think of a way for you to show your gratitude later.” Enrique turned and strutted out of the room, slamming and locking the door. I could hear him humming as he walked down the hall to whatever hell he came from.
    I slid down the wall and covered my face. Guilt consumed me inch by inch, creating a crater-sized hole in my stomach. I couldn’t look at Raul’s lifeless eyes. I felt like I had an anchor attached to my ankle pulling into pool of quicksand. I was drowning.
    Drowning in guilt.
    Drowning in self-pity.
    Drowning in pain.
    Drowning in heartache.
    I didn’t even know if I wanted to be saved.

 
     
     
     
     
     
     
     
    Chapter Four
     
     
    Ryker
     
    “You think she’s here?” I pointed at the pictures covering Ignacio’s desk.
    “I’m eighty percent certain that’s where she’s being held,” Emanuel responded, lacing his fingers together on top of Ignacio’s desk.
    I snagged one of the pictures off the desk and studied the dilapidated, two-story, white stucco building. Black crisscrossed bars covered all of the windows. Twisting green vines crawled up the columns bracketing the faded wood front door. Glass blocks spaced every couple of feet circled the bottom of the first story of the home in a linear pattern, indicating the home had a cellar or a basement.
    Seventy-two hours had passed since the Alvarez Cartel abducted Hattie. The deadline for returning Anna Alvarez had officially expired. Juan had threatened to dismember her part by part after the deadline, starting with her fingernails and moving on from there. Rage simmered in my gut at the thought. If he or any of his minions hurt her, I’d kill every last one of them and tear them to pieces with my bare hands.
    “I need to know for sure. If we show up at this place and she’s not there, they’ll find out and kill her.”
    Emanuel licked his lower lip and looked away. “You’re right,