“Who is paying you?” She had to ask, needed to know.
If the worst was about to happen, would Amir step in to save her?
“How should I know?” He looked bored more than anything. “It was anonymous.”
And he’d taken that deal? Getting paid to commit a crime in exchange for revenge. He would spend his life in prison, so how did that make accepting money a good idea? It wasn’t like he could spend the funds.
Unless Stuart was figuring he could spend the money when he got out. Eventually. He’d be old and gray by then, but it could be his plan.
The question was whether Kira would be alive.
Eighteen
“Don’t move.” The uniformed SWAT officer dragged the cartel guy’s hands behind his back, and Luca heard the metal snick of the cuffs around Hector’s wrists.
He peered around the corner of the wall, trying to get a look at Kira in the infirmary, but wasn’t able to see her. If he got closer, he might, but that meant potentially letting Stuart know he was out here.
“Let’s go.”
Luca realized the cop was talking to him and shook his head. “I’m staying here.”
“Wasn’t a question.” The cop waited.
Luca didn’t want to, but he followed the guy back to the entrance on the secure side of the security scanners. Past the office, where the corrections officer had murdered three of his colleagues in cold blood. Hector might’ve helped, but in the end, it was the dead officer who had betrayed his oath and put this entire facility at risk.
“I’m going back in there.” Luca announced it, unsure who he was talking to. Didn’t matter.
He spotted Mike Martinelli coming over to him, wearing a bulletproof vest with POLICE on it over his dress shirt. The detective passed through the scanner and set off the alarm.
“Someone shut that off.” A man with a white-shirted uniform that had bars on his shoulders turned to Luca. A lieutenant and African American, his name badge said Rutherford. “You’re Saxon?”
Luca nodded.
“Any relative of Amir Saxon, one of the inmates?”
“My brother. I asked the Marshals to transfer him in so he could protect Jenkins.”
Lieutenant Rutherford frowned. “If he’s in the middle of this, I can’t guarantee his safety. Got that?”
Luca nodded, and Detective Martinelli didn’t argue.
“A snitch!” Jenkins had been uncuffed from the table, and one of the SWAT guys walked him into the entrance lobby. The guy looked like he was about to pass out from the pain. “You put a snitch in here!”
Rutherford said, “Makes good company for you.”
Luca pressed his lips together. “I say we send in Jenkins and trade him for Dr. Yassan. Get her out.” He folded his arms, unwilling to debate the issue.
“You think our intention is to leave her in there with those wolves?” Rutherford turned to one of his guys. “Get ready to breach.”
Mike turned to Luca. “The other cellblocks are locked down. Most of the inmates in this one are behind doors. They’re contained, but it’s kicking off back there. We need to get this situation under control now.”
Rutherford picked up where he left off. “Means we need everyone to go in at once. We’ll get the doctor out, but the priority has to be containment. There are corrections officers shut in with the inmates beyond the infirmary, and we need to get them out as well.”
Right. Luca nodded. “Understood.”
Even if that was the last thing he wanted to say. What Luca wanted was to rush into that room and rescue Kira. Which would, of course, get him killed, since Stuart had a gun. But everything in him was pushing him to sweep her up into his arms and get her out of there.
He loved her.