“Two counts of armed robbery for the banks in the United States. The Mexican government wants you for sixteen more. Assault with a deadly weapon. Possession of an illegal firearm. Discharging said firearm in a public location. Smuggling of illegal substances into the United States, fraud, shoplifting, and that knife you carried in your boot had a blade at least ten inches long.
“Personal protection.” As for the smuggling, not her fault. She hadn’t known Diego’s boys had a drug shipment in the BMW, or she’d have put the proverbial brakes on that. Yes, she might have smoked a joint in the past, but she’d grown up since, and didn’t agree with the stuff Diego moved over the border and pushed to kids. Call her traditional. It wasn’t her thing and she’d told him countless times not to involve her in it. Bastard.
“Why am I not buying that?”
She opened her mouth, but he raised his hand to cut her off.
“Regardless what it’s for, it is way over legal length. There’s more, but what I listed will get you an easy three-hundred-to-life. This looks real bad for you…but I can help you, Xio.” He lowered his voice further and glanced at the two-way glass. “You’re in deep shit. I’ve contacted your Alpha, and if you don’t fully cooperate, I have orders to administer punishment according to pack law. That makes three-hundred-to-life look like a party in the Bahamas.”
“There’s always a but, isn’t there?” She sat back and blew out a breath. He had her. Without his help, she was screwed. It would behoove her to stow her attitude and hear what he had to say. The pack hadn’t raised a fool. “Go on.”
“We’ve been after Diego Sanchez for a long time, and you’re his girl. An insider.”
“What’s Diego got to do with this?”
“We want to go across the border and take down your boy, but the Mexican government won’t let us pass go and collect two hundred dollars, not unless we have solid evidence to present to them. He’s got half the Mexican government in his pocket and the small stuff isn’t going to do. I need something substantial—irrefutable.”
“Why not his men? You captured two at the bank.”
“They were executed by their cell mates last night. Since you are female and were alone, we lucked out. But don’t hold your breath. You’re next. If you don’t cooperate, and go to prison, there’s a good chance there won’t be enough left of you to administer pack justice to.” His nostrils flared and his eyes dilated as he stared at her.
The heat seemed to reflect back on her. Xio squirmed. Noooo. Please no. Is nature playing a sick joke? Pieces of the puzzle snapped into place—why she’d been so bent since El Paso. Him. It was him. How the hell did she manage to get herself into these situations?
Time to see if her instincts were on target. “So you’ve got a boner for Diego and want me to help—in exchange for what? A private cell where he can’t find me? You know if I go to prison, he will find me, and I will die.”
“We’ll put you in the witness-protection program, give you a chance to start over, but don’t think for a minute I won’t be watching your every move.” He growled low in his throat. The vibrations pulsed through her body, and she barely stopped herself from groaning. Shitty timing.
“I’d rather stay with my pack.”
“That can be arranged, and it’s not a bad idea. You and I know they are better equipped to hide and protect you. So, will you turn evidence against Diego? The cartel? Provide us the information we need to get cooperation from the Mexican government?”
Xio swallowed. She was so dead. Diego wouldn’t let this go. He’d search the globe if he had to, but eventually he’d find her. Her only chance, and it was a small one, would be to exist as a wolf where her pack resided, and Agent Cazador offered the one way she might be able to save her hide. “I will.” Besides, Diego had already broken her trust by hiding the drugs in her car. He didn’t deserve her loyalty anymore.
“You worry about helping us take him down, and I’ll make sure you are safe.”
She’d no doubt he would try. A wolf would protect its mate to the death.
***
Ten months later
As they left the back of the courthouse with an armed escort, Xio looked both ways.
“Relax. We have agents everywhere.”
“You want me to drop my guard when I just put Diego away for life in an American prison? Do you have any idea how pissed he is right now? He’s going to kill me. Just because he’s locked up doesn’t mean he can’t reach me. We’re talking about the Mexican cartel.”
“That’s why I’m going with you.”
Xio stopped in her tracks. When he’d said he’d be watching her every move, she’d assumed it would be from a distance, with all the agency’s high-tech gadgets and technology, or with spies. Not in person. “Excuse me?” She turned toward him. Did he know? It didn’t usually happen like that. In most cases, you discovered your mate after you’d had sex. It wasn’t that way with Marcus. Even as he was arresting her, she’d felt it, the pull. She could deny it as much as she liked; that didn’t change anything. He was her mate and if he went with her, they’d eventually give in to the attraction. “You can’t. The FBI needs you here.”
“I handed my resignation to my division chief today. I go wherever you go.”