Tomas, on the other hand, held tight to his newfound hope.
She was stuck with the Freedom Fighters, whether she forgave him or not. She knew their identities, their secrets, and once they arrived in Missouri, she would know the location of Cole’s safe house.
Even if Tomas let her go, his friends would not.
Loose ends.
None of that mattered. She was his now. If she tried to leave, he would go with her. She just didn’t know it yet.
Cole led the caravan on his motorcycle, shooting down the dark highway in the dead of night. Around one in the morning, four hours into the thirteen-hour drive, he pulled off at a vacant rest stop.
“Bathroom break.” Tomas nudged Rylee beside him, reluctant to wake her after it had taken her so long to fall asleep.
She rubbed her eyes and followed him out of the car.
Parked behind them, the second SUV rocked wildly on its frame.
What the hell?
The doors flew open, exploding in a whirlwind of swinging arms and heated voices. Lucia’s roar was the loudest, her rapid-fire Spanish shuddering the air.
With a snarl, she raced around the vehicle and attacked the smirking driver.
Tiago.
“Oh, shit.” Tomas gripped Rylee’s hand, prepared to toss her into the SUV if guns were drawn.
Tiago stood like an impenetrable mountain, chin up, feet braced apart, as he absorbed the force of Lucia’s punches.
“They need to knock that shit off.” Cole charged toward the commotion.
Liv’s hand shot out, stopping him. “There’s no one around for miles. Let it play out.”
Tate and Van yelled, too, quieter, calmer than the woman who unleashed unholy hell on her nemesis.
“Deep down,” Luke said to no one in particular, “Tiago feels regret for what he did to them.”
“No, he doesn’t.” Cole scoffed and walked off.
“Yeah, you’re right.” Luke started toward the small building of restrooms. “Satan has no feelings.”
Rylee tilted her head, eyes locked on the fight. “If everyone hates Tiago, why is he here?”
“He’s here for Kate.” Liv lit a cigarette, inhaling deeply. “The longer he avoids us, the more he isolates her from her family. Isolation breeds resentment. He might be the devil, but the devil is intelligent.”
“Happy wife, happy life,” Tomas said.
Rylee cast him a strange look. “So he wants to be part of this family?”
“I don’t know if want is the right word.” He tensed as the fight grew more unruly.
Tiago’s patience was dwindling. He caught Lucia’s next punch, knocked it away, and cuffed her throat, choking her. Tate went ballistic, jumping into the fray and tackling Tiago to the ground.
“As an outsider,” Rylee said, hugging her waist, “it looks like you’re your own enemies.”
“You’re wrong.” Tomas turned toward her, putting his face in hers. “Forget everything you learned in school. We’re not your case studies. We don’t need your therapy.” He stabbed a finger at the brawl. “This is how we deal with things.”
“With your fists?” She stood taller, meeting his glare head-on. “That’s going well, I see.”
“We work out our issues with communication. Yes, we communicate with fists. And words. And sex.”
She pressed her lips together, but her eyes argued loudly.
“We don’t want to be fixed, Rylee.” He straightened, glanced at Liv, and returned to her. “We can’t do what we do and be normal or safe or sane. Think about it. We hunt monsters. We break laws. We torture and kill. Hell, we even fall in love with our prisoners. Or abductors, depending on the perspective.”
Her eyes widened as they darted around, taking in his team. He could see her mind working, recalling the stories of how each of his friends found love. Liv and Josh, Van and Amber, Camila and Matias, Tiago and Kate, Luke and Vera—they all began as captor and captive, evolving from vicious enemies to lifelong mates. Every single one of them.
The Freedom Fighters needed to be coldblooded and crazy to do their jobs. They also needed some of that madness to fall in love, evidently.
“Our story isn’t any different.” He caught and held her gaze.
“We’re not in love, Tommy.”
“I’m not opposed to the idea.”
She set her jaw. “You’re an idiot.”
“Call me that again, and I’ll kiss the shit out of you.”
Her breath stuttered, and she cleared her throat. “I need to pee.”
He glanced in the direction of the restrooms just as Luke strolled out. With a chin lift, he signaled Luke to wait. Having already swept the small building, his friend would stand by while Rylee was inside.
“Go ahead,” he said to her.
“I wasn’t asking.” She strode off, stubborn to a fault.
Behind him, the drama with Tiago fizzled from smacking fists to emotional words.
A quick sweep of the perimeter gave him a view of shadows, dark tree lines, and in the distance, an empty highway. Everyone present carried weapons, and no matter what they were doing, they were all on high-alert.
“We’ll get through this.” Liv touched his forehead, brushing the hair from his eyes. “No matter who we’re fighting. There will always be another fight, and we’ll always stand together, righting our wrongs.”
“And the wrongs of others.” He glanced over his shoulder, finding Van, of all people, standing between Tiago and Tate, speaking to them in calming tones. The argument was over. “Van’s come a long way.”
“So have you.”
“What’s that supposed to mean?”
“You’ve always been more closed-off and secretive than the others. I used to worry about your happiness.” She smashed her cigarette beneath a boot and offered him a rare smile. “I’m not worried anymore.”
Her sharp brown eyes used to give him nightmares. Now they regarded him with an affectionate sort of intensity that told him their decade-long friendship was invaluable to her.
“I’ve always been your favorite.” He grinned.
“Josh might have something to say about that.”
“I can’t believe the boy scout let you out of the fortress without him.”
“He wasn’t pleased. But Matias’ plane won’t hold all of us, and I’m sick of being the one who stays behind.”
She’d spent the better part of the past decade raising her daughter. Livana was an adult now. A badass little vigilante in training. Considering who her parents were, he wasn’t surprised.
“Everyone wanted to come on this mission.” Liv stared at the dark horizon, the scar on her cheek glinting in the moonlight. “To be back in Texas, where it all began? It’s nostalgic.”
“Most of us grew up here, but honestly, I never had a desire to return.”
“Well, we’re headed to Missouri now. I didn’t even know Cole had a safe house there.”
None of them knew. Cole was a goddamn mystery.
He was also a lifesaver. They needed a safe place to regroup, analyze the evidence they’d collected, and determine how to proceed. That could take weeks, and Tomas’ shabby little safe house in the desert was too small and no longer safe. When he’d suggested that they camp out in the desert, Cole shot down that idea and offered his house in southern Missouri.