and stared at her. “I’ve had your mother inside Ortega’s camp for two years, Rose. She’s done more for this operation than any of my agents.”
Thunder broke the thick silence but neither of them blinked. Agents, she repeated to herself. Done more for this operation than any of my agents…
A cold comprehension slowly spread outward from Rose’s core. Her legs froze, her breath turned to ice; even her heart, especially her heart, hardened into a lump of glacial disbelief. “You son-of-a-bitch.” The curse came out in a whisper of shock. “My mother is your confidential informant. My mother is Lilith.”
He didn’t even try to deny it. “Your mother was Ortega’s lover. When her circumstances…changed, she came to work for me.”
Rose raised her voice, then realized what she’d done, dropping it again. “Why on earth did you tell me you needed my help finding her if you knew all along where she was?”
“I didn’t know where she was. I was hoping like hell that you did.”
“I would have helped you without all the lies—”
He interrupted her. “Have you forgotten you tried to throw me out when you saw me that first night? If I hadn’t told you I was working undercover, you would have run me out of town. And if I’d told you your mother was involved, you would have done just what you tried to do—go off half-cocked and try to rescue her on your own.”
She shifted her gaze away then brought it back. He knew her too damn well.
“I did the only thing I knew—to go after Ortega and still protect her.” He bit off the words then added, “And you.”
“I should have been told.”
“Maybe so, but I wasn’t willing to take that risk. And even if I’d wanted to, I couldn’t. As part of her agreement, your mother insisted I not tell you what was going on, and I made a commitment to her that you would never find out.”
He was still talking as she began shaking her head. “I don’t care. You shouldn’t have done that—”
“What should I have done? Just ignore it and leave her hanging?” Santos’s own voice rose and then fell. “When she disappeared, I had a choice—honor that promise or break it. Either way, I still had to hunt for Ortega. I tried to do it all. Obviously I failed.”
“Why would she even go undercover in the first place?” Rose spoke as if to herself, then suspicion suddenly flooded her. She tilted closer to him. An hour ago—a lifetime ago—she would have drawn this near only to kiss him. She spoke with a deceptively soft voice. “What did you do to her, Santos?”
“I didn’t blackmail her, if that’s what you’re asking.”
“She just called you out of the blue one day and said, ‘Hey, Santos, I want to go undercover and find out all I can about this big bad cartel leader so you can arrest him? Oh, and while you’re at it, you can arrest me, too.’”
“I didn’t do anything to her.” His breath washed her cheek. “She did it to herself.”
“You’re lying.”
“No, I’m not. I suspected she’d been involved with Ortega for several months. That’s why I tried to get you to distance yourself from her right before we broke up. And then one night, I found her running guns two counties over from Rio. Their affair had ended, and Ortega was blackmailing her. She was terrified of him, and rightly so. The night before I saw her, he’d blindfolded her and taken her to the border, where he proceeded to have his men pick up an illegal crossing the river. Ortega grabbed a knife, wrapped her fingers around the handle, and slit the poor SOB’s throat while he made her hold the blade.” He paused as if he couldn’t quite believe his own explanation. “The bastard told her she’d be next if she ever left him, and even if she managed to get away, he’d still have the knife. He’d turn her in, and she’d be arrested for murder. She was trapped.”
Rose’s breath caught until her lungs forced her to breathe again.
“Your mother’s been protecting you, Rose, just as she did when you were sixteen—no matter the cost. And she insisted I not tell you.”
“There had to be other options.”
“Not with this. She could go undercover or go to jail. And I didn’t make the offer. My boss did.”
“But I’m sure you ‘advised’ her to become your informant.”
“I told her to go to jail,” he said bluntly, shocking her into