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"Everyone’s," Derek repeated "Cartels are thorough"

"Then why do you want to know about Gus if you already know this stuff?"

"Because it’s good to hear it from you I need to kno involved you are and what you are willing to do when things get bad"

My throat tickled

He went on, "Will you risk your life for Gus?"

I hadn’t seen Gus for years But he’d been there for me when no one else was And he’d coave his life forthat There’s no way I wouldn’t do the same for him

"There are very few people in this world ill go out of their way to save someone else," I told him "Gus was one of those people Ca for both of them"

I felt Ca to look at rateful for the darkness, that he couldn’t see my face or the heat on my cheeks Still, after what I’d said yesterday, this was nothing

"I see," Derek said "And your e at this point"

"What about her?"

"Would you do anything for her? Would you risk your life to save hers?"

I wish the first thought that entered my head was yes I wish I didn’t have to think about it, to weigh it, to wrestle with it Because I honestly didn’t know Would I give up my mother to save Cahter, I know that, just to even think it, but it was the truth Would I save my mother if it meant I’d die in the process? That … I didn’t know I just didn’t

I hated how that made me feel

Like I had no humanity left That I wasn’t as selfless as I tried to be

When it came to me or her, I had no idea how that would play out

I sed the luuess I’ll have to find out" I licked my lips and felt the need to explain "My mother and I weren’t very close, she–"

"I read her files," Derek said "I know the story"

"Right," I said, wrapping hands around the straps onto ease the pressure off my shoulders

"Why do you need to know all of this again?" Camden asked, a thread of tension in his voice

"Because I never enter anything until I know everything about the people involved"

"So youabout Travis," I said as I nearly stumbled over a rock

Camden’s arm shot out and steadied h to help Javier take over his cartel?" I asked

"I guess we’ll have to find out," was his answer "Javier is all about expansion"

"I heard h the darkness, rattling me to the bone "How about you three pick up the pace a little Derek, I’o ass to have conversations and plod along like a bunch of burros This is Mexico, not Afghanistan, you should know that"

Derek sucked in his breath sharply but said nothing I could feel the tension rolling off of hiot under his skin as well

Derek stuck the butt of his gun into et a move on"

We ine, the Honduran jungle is a brutal place to try and get a good night’s rest We stopped on a plateau of sorts where the trees opened up a bit and the ground wassession and Javier and hislike sleep was a luxury for the benefit of Camden and I All we had were a few tarps that the round and that was it

"Shouldn’t we be worried about things coht?" I asked the area that was nestled between three trees Their bark glistened eerily under the glow ofabout Travis or soround, his scarred face lit up by his ever-present iPad

"Well, now I’hed "I’ve been watching hih satellite from time to time His men don’t come out this far In fact they rarely patrol the area outside of the coht be a different case Still, we’re good As long as we stay low, don’t light any fires and refrain frolance at Derek, "we should be bueno, hey"

"And aside froged at his shirt collar "There are a few poisonous snakes, spiders … frogs," he said slowly "The worst of all are the bullet ants –in the world Ru theer cuts it for hiures," Javier ave Caet some sleep or stand there like a bunch of ht But if I said it, I knehat he would say in response and I did not want to go there, not after what had happened between Caet his I wanted to say Maybe without crying like a fool this tiover to the other tree, the one furthest from Javier He sat down, his back to it, and s