"Nos pusimos en contacto con el filtrador," (we've gotten in contact with the leaker) my guard said, holding the phone out to me.

  For a second, I just stared at it.

  Then I took it.

  The pstic felt warm from her hand. I pressed it to my ear and didn't say anything at first.

  A woman's voice came through the line — calm, almost steady in a way that made me uneasy.

  "Escucha, te dejaré entrar. No hay nadie más que yo. Solo quiero compartirlo contigo, y unirme con el cartel de Sinaloa." (Listen, I'll let you inside, there's nobody in here except me. All I want is to share him with you, and join your organization)

  I bit my lip, eyes fixed on the stretch of road ahead of us. The truck's engine hummed beneath me, steady and grounding, but my thoughts weren't.

  She'd let me in.

  Alone.

  No one else there.

  Just her.

  Every instinct I had told me this could be a trap.

  But every second I wasted was another second Miguel sat in that concrete room.

  My grip on the steering wheel loosened slightly. I hadn't realized how tightly I'd been holding it until my fingers ached.

  The tires rolled over uneven asphalt. The sky was starting to dim at the edges, the sun lowering just enough to cast long shadows across the road.

  If this was real—

  If she actually had something—

  It could change everything.

  If it wasn't...

  I exhaled slowly through my nose, forcing my heartbeat to slow.

  "Está bien..." (alright) I said finally, the words leaving my mouth before I could second-guess them.

  There was a small pause on the other end of the line.

  Then a quiet, "llámame cuando llegues" (call me when you're here)

  The call ended.

  I lowered the phone slowly, staring ahead at nothing in particur.

  I couldn't believe what I had just agreed to.

  Walking into this, something I didn't even know if it was a setup, it went against everything I'd built. Every rule. Every lesson carved into me through blood and betrayal.

  But if there was even a chance—

  Even a small one—

  That this led to Miguel...

  I would take it.

  I tightened my hands back on the wheel.

  And kept driving.

  ——

  (Miguel pov)

  "And she'd also take me on really expensive dates. The best restaurants, the best shopping pces. Anything I even looked at for more than a second, she'd tell me to try it on."

  I let out a small breath through my nose. "All I could have... I don't know how possible it'll be to ever experience that again though."

  The words felt heavier once they were out.

  For the past hour I'd barely stopped talking. It had started with something small—a memory about a dinner, then a trip, then the way Car used to look at me when I got excited over something stupid.

  I hadn't realized how badly I needed to speak until it all started spilling out.

  I went quiet suddenly, aware of how much space my voice had taken up.

  "Sorry," I muttered, rubbing the back of my neck. "I've been talking your ear off."

  Tina was sitting beside me, back against the wall, legs stretched out casually like this was just another room and not a holding cell.

  She didn't look annoyed.

  "Don't worry, Miguel," she said. "I have a surprise for you after all."

  I blinked at her.

  "A surprise?"

  That word didn't belong in this room. It sounded out of pce against concrete and steel.

  She gave a small, almost secretive smile but didn't eborate.

  "What kind of surprise?" I asked carefully, studying her face for any hint of a joke or manipution.

  "You'll see," she replied, pushing herself up to her feet.

  My stomach tightened, not entirely from fear. More from uncertainty. In here, surprises could mean anything—a change in routine, a new room, bad news disguised as kindness.

  Or something good.

  I didn't let myself lean into that possibility too much.

  "Is it bad?" I asked quietly.

  "No," she said after a second. "Not bad."

  I stared at the metal surface for a long moment.

  A surprise.

  I didn't know whether to brace myself or let myself hope.

  A sharp crash echoed from the hallway, loud enough that even the thick metal door couldn't muffle it completely.

  It wasn't the usual sound of boots or a cart rolling by.

  This was heavier. Sudden.

  My body reacted before my mind did. I shifted forward, palms pressing against the floor as I started to stand.

  "What's that..." I asked, my voice tighter than I meant it to be.

  Before I could fully get up, Tina's arm moved across my chest, firm but not rough, stopping me in pce.

  "I'll check," she said.

  There was something different in her tone now. Alert. Focused.

  She stood quickly and crossed the room in a few strides. I watched as she unlocked the door—something she almost never did while I was awake—and stepped into the hallway.

  The door shut behind her with a heavy thud.

  The lock clicked.

  And just like that, the silence rushed back in.

  "Alone once more..." I whispered to myself.

  My ears strained, trying to catch anything beyond the door. Footsteps. Voices. Another crash.

  My heart was beating faster now, the earlier conversation about a "surprise" repying in my head.

  Was this connected?

  Was this normal?

  Or was something going wrong out there?

  I stayed seated, knees drawn halfway to my chest, staring at the door like I could will it to open again.

  Every second stretched.

  The hum of the overhead light felt louder.

  The room felt smaller.

  The lock shifted and the door opened again a few minutes ter.

  I hadn't realized how tense I was until I saw Tina step back inside.

  She closed the door behind her and stood there for a second, her expression different this time. Not panicked. Not angry.

  Surprised.

  "That was unexpected..." she said quietly, then walked back over and lowered herself against the wall like before.

  I searched her face, trying to read what she wasn't saying.

  "What's wrong?" I asked.

  "Nothing," she replied quickly, though her eyes didn't quite meet mine. "I just didn't expect for them to arrive..."

  Them.

  The word settled heavily in the room.

  "Who's them?" I wanted to ask, but something about the way she said it made me hesitate.

  Instead I just said, "Alright..." though it came out uncertain.

  She rubbed her temples slowly, like she was working through something in her head. That small gesture made my stomach tighten more than the loud noise had earlier.

  "You're sure it's nothing?" I pressed gently.

  She let out a short breath and looked at me again, her composure sliding back into pce. "It's under control."

  Under control.

  That didn't necessarily mean safe.

  The room felt different now. Charged in a subtle way, like something had shifted outside these walls.

  I leaned back against the concrete, watching her carefully.

  If people were arriving unexpectedly... it meant movement.

  And movement meant change.

  Whether that change was good or bad, I still couldn't tell.

  ——

  (Car pov)

  I pulled the phone close to my ear slowly.

  "?Han reforzado el almacén? Mierda... bueno, gracias por avisarnos... deberíamos estar allí pronto." (They reinforced the warehouse? Fuck... well, thanks for notifying us... we'll be there soon.)

  So much for walking in quietly.

  I had hoped the tip would let us slip inside clean, extract Miguel, and disappear before they knew what happened. But reinforced meant they were expecting something. Or someone had warned them.

  I stared at the map glowing on the dashboard screen, jaw tightening as I recalcuted everything in my head.

  "Call in backup," I said, my voice steady but firm. "Anyone close to Irapuato, I want them moving now."

  The guard beside me nodded immediately, already reaching for the radio.

  "We're not rushing blind," I continued. "Outer perimeter first. Lock down exits. No one leaves."

  I paused for a second before adding, "Have air support on standby. Not engaging unless I say so."

  The st thing I needed was chaos near the holding area. If Miguel was inside, every move had to be controlled.

  The engine rumbled beneath us as the truck accelerated down the highway. My reflection in the windshield looked harder than I felt.

  This wasn't about territory anymore.

  It wasn't about pride.

  It was about ending this.

  I leaned back slightly, eyes fixed on the dark stretch of road ahead.

  "Make peace with whatever demons you have, Mencha," I muttered under my breath. "Because this ends tonight."

  Not with reckless destruction.

  Not with noise.

  With precision.

  And I wasn't leaving without him.

  ——