In the Blood [ON HOLD]

"You're Sure"

Remi stood perfectly still, keeping his gaze and face impassive. This was her decision to make. He didn't want to do anything that might influence her. If he tried to push her one way or the other, she would despise him for it.

Just as he had been the only one who could make the decision about the men who had murdered his own mother. He couldn't take that away from her. He wouldn't.

Whether she decided to embrace the monster or strive for mercy, she was the only one whose opinion mattered.

Her eyes were still glued to the two bound men. They were struggling on the concrete, squirming against the zip-ties that dug cruelly into the skin of their wrists and kept them tied at the ankles. Rope had been threaded through the loops of plastic, ensuring that—even if they managed to stand—their mobility would be close to zero.

There was no outrunning what had happened. No escaping, regardless of what Remi had said.

If Charlie told him she didn't want them dead, he'd simply make sure she never knew they died. He knew he probably shouldn't have lied and said other arrangements could be made. But knowing the men were dead whatever her decision took away its weight.

He couldn't release them. He wouldn't keep them. Even if he pulled strings and got them sent back to El Salvador or wherever the hell they were from, he knew they'd be back in weeks. Meeting the vicious eyes of one, Remi knew that they understood this as well as he did.

They were dead men either way. But he'd be damned if he wasn't going to give Charlie the satisfaction of this choice.

Quiet shuffling just behind them drew his attention. He turned to find Dalen had come a couple steps closer. His gaze shifted between the gang members, Charlie and Remi himself. With a brief shake of his head, Remi dismissed the other man. Holding up a discreet finger, he let Dalen know that now wasn't the time for any additional input.

He flinched slightly when his phone buzzed against his chest. Charlie jerked as well, her head whipping toward him. Her eyes were wide, her skin the color of cold milk except for her lips, which were red from being bitten. She blinked once at him, then turned her attention back to the gang members. Slowly, she began to walk, pacing a wide, wary circle around them.

Gesturing for Dalen to keep an eye on the gang members, Remi fished his phone out of the inner pocket of his jacket.

Leon.

With a sigh, he cast one last look at Charlie. She had drawn just a little nearer to the men who had killed her mother, her fingers flexing and curling into fists. Dalen stood with his arms crossed, the barrel of a gun peeking out from beneath his bicep.

Remi slid his thumb across the screen, putting the phone to his ear. "Quickly," he said, voice low and demanding. He was too eager to hear what news Leon had concerning the stance of the Chinese. As important as this moment was for Charlie, there were other wheels beginning to turn.

"They want to meet," was Leon's brusque reply. "But overall they are open to the idea."

"Fine," Remi said. "Later."

He disconnected the call and turned back to find Charlie crouched down barely three feet in front of one of the gang members. Her chin rested in her hands, her head cocked in a way that almost looked curious.

Dalen hovered just behind her, watching with a hawk's gaze. The gang member had his neck craned, his eyes boring into Charlie's, his jaw and throat working furiously as he tried to speak around the gag in his mouth.

Remi tensed as she lifted her hand, fingers hovering just in front of the gang member's face. He prepared for a barrage of angry Spanish, knowing Charlie would want him to tell her what had been said.