Page 4 of Blind Trust
“No.”
The sound of sirens echoed loudly outside the building. Lights flashed through the window, then the sirens turned off and were replaced with the slamming of doors as the FBI hurried into the building. His wild eyes flashed to the scene unfolding outside and then back to her. “Just leave me the gun...and one bullet.”
Lyla’s stomach clenched.Suicide. The coward’s way out. No—the hopeless way out. She stared at the doctor. “That’s too easy a solution for a man like you. You deserve to rot in a jail cell for the rest of your life.”
Rage lit a fire in his eyes. “You’re going to pay for this. Just wait. I’ll make you pay.”
She heard the federal agents’ voices in the hallway. Her lips pulled into a smirk. “Give it your best shot.”
Castillo snarled, but before he could take a step, Lyla unlocked and opened the door to find three men in suits waiting. One of them gave an imperceptible nod—her cue that her role was done. Time to leave.
Hating goodbyes, Lyla handed the gun to another agent and slipped out the emergency exit and down the stairwell. She would talk to her dad or some of her connections and make sure Gretchen had a job and Claude had someplace he could go to talk about Porridge. She’d see to it that all the veterans Castillo had taken advantage of got the treatment they deserved.
Nicolás met her at the building’s exit, his sharp words sucking the relief right out of her. “What were you thinking?”
“What?”
“I told you to leave.” Nicolás’s hands were fisted at his sides, his chest rising and falling with shallow breaths. “Why didn’t you listen?”
“I couldn’t leave. He had a gun and could’ve hurt Gretchen or Claude.”
“You could’ve been shot. Killed. You didn’t think your decision through.”
Anger twisted her insides into a knot. Why did it always feel like she was disappointing him? Why did it matter? She’d gotten the job done, and yeah, there had been a risk, but it’d been worth it to make sure Castillo didn’t hurt anyone else. Grinding her molars, she asked, “Did you get the file, Kekoa?”
“Uh”—Kekoa cleared his throat, a sure sign he’d been caught eavesdropping over the coms—“yeah. You did good, sis.”
The muscles in Nicolás’s jaw clenched.
Lyla didn’t blink. “Am I clean, Kekoa?”
“Spick-and-span.”
“And the cameras?”
“Wiped. Bridgette Anderson never existed.”
“Then the assignment is done?”
“Yes,” Kekoa said, hesitation hanging in the one-syllable word.
“So I guess Idoknow how to do my job.”
A flicker of something in Nicolás’s eyes...Was it concern? No, it was skepticism, and it flooded her cheeks with heat that made her want to cry. She would not cry. Shoving past Nicolás, Lyla let the crisp autumn air cool her down.
Behind her, she heard Castillo’s angry voice demanding his lawyer, denying the charges. She turned as the FBI was escorting the doctor away from the building in handcuffs. His furious glare locked on her.
“You’re going to pay for this. Just wait. I’ll get out and make you pay.”
A shudder ran down her spine. It wasn’t the first time she’d been threatened, but something in his expression unnerved her. Or maybe it was Nicolás’s lack of faith in her.
“That won’t happen,” a voice behind her said.
Lyla twisted to find Nicolás standing there, chin dipped, eyes full of apology. She couldn’t hold on to her own anger. “It’s fine. He doesn’t scare me.”
Nicolás swallowed. “A little fear is healthy, Lyla. Keeps us from making poor decisions.”
She narrowed her eyes at him. Her anger wanted to return, but she suddenly felt exhaustion overtaking the adrenaline. “I don’t need you telling me what to do. We got the job done, and that’s all that matters.”
