With a tilted chin and eyes that stared into his soul, Avery parted her swollen lips and whispered, “Yes.”
Chapter 8
“Is everything done?” Sal looked to his cousin for the answer.
Marcus nodded. “Almost. There are just a few more provisions we need to take care of, but nothing major. When that ship docks in two days, we will be ready.”
We’d better be fucking ready.
Sal’s ability to continue breathing depended on this job going smoothly. So did everyone else’s who’d agreed to help him.
It was a crazy plan, he knew. One he still couldn’t believe Emilio had agreed to. But it was all he had.
And if he wanted to stay alive, things had to go off without a hitch.
“What’s the final count?”
“Twenty,” Marcus relayed the number of tourists signed up for the excursion. “Eleven men, nine women.”
“Any potential sales?”
“One.Maybetwo, depending on how she looks. Both American, ages fifteen and forty.”
Not bad, considering they would be bonus money.
“Good.” Sal nodded. “Everyone familiar with the plan?”
Marcus groaned. “We’ve only gone over it a thousand times.”
“And we’ll keep going over it until I feel comfortable with its execution.”
“Fine.” The other man blew out a frustrated breath. “We ambush the buggies, force the group into the three trucks, and transport them to the warehouse.”
“After that?”
“We split up the men between three cells and separate the two potential sales from the group.”
“And they’ll go…” Sal tested his cousin’s knowledge of the plan.
“Into one of the holding cells at the far end until the ransom’s been made,” Marcus bit out sharply. “I know the plan, Salvador. We all do. So do us all a favor and try to relax, yeah?”
He couldn’t relax. Not with so much riding on this job.
“Emilio won’t give us another chance, Marcus,” he reminded the other man. “We fuck this up; we’re dead.”
“I know.” Marcus put a hand on Sal’s shoulder and squeezed. “But we’re not going to fuck this up. We’re going to take the hostages, get their money, dispose of them, and sell the other three. And then you and I will use our cuts to finally get the hell out of here. It’ll be a fresh start for both of us.”
“A fresh start.” Sal stared back at his cousin who seemed confident with their plan.
Maybe if he said it enough, he’d start to believe it.
* * *
Avery’s heartraced faster than she could ever remember as she waited for Garrett to unlock his door. With a swipe of his plastic keycard, the electronic system beeped, indicating the locks had disengaged, and they were free to enter.
Once you walk into that room, there’s no going back.
Garrett opened the door and moved to the side, his eyes burning into hers as he waited for her to decide.