“Sweet Jesus, woman, I swear I want to beat your ass way too often. Fine, you can back me up. Keep your hand on your gun and fire the damn thing if you have to.” She was already getting out of the truck and Blake cursed. He couldn’t function at one hundred percent when he was afraid he’d get more than himself killed. When he was afraid he’d get her killed.

Blake exited the truck, meeting Kara at the hood, scanning the deserted parking lot at the same time. “You take the passenger side of their car,” he ordered Kara, his hand sliding under his leather jacket to feel the cold steel comfort of his weapon.

“Copy that,” Kara said, and Blake noted that her purse was strapped cross-body to free her hands, one of which was inside it, no doubt, closed over her weapon as well. She knew what she was doing. He wanted that to be comforting. Instead, it told him that getting her out of this wasn’t going to be as easy as he’d wanted it to be.

Blake started walking briskly and he assumed with Kara’s skills, she’d automatically keep pace. She did, cutting over on the opposite side of the cars from him so that she was aligned with her target. Once the sedan was in view, Blake and Kara exchanged a look, pulled their weapons, and charged forward, both aiming at the front window and slowly moving to the side windows.

“Roll it down or I’ll shoot it out,” Blake shouted.

The window came down and Eduardo, the manager of the restaurant they had just been to, was revealed. “What’s this about?” he demanded.

Blake quickly assessed the car to find only one other man he didn’t recognize inside. “Other window down,” he ordered, not about to let Kara stand outside, unable to see what the guy was doing.

The man didn't move. Blake held the gun between Eduardo’s eyes and Eduardo grunted and said, “Roll it down, Juan.”

Blake kept the gun on Eduardo’s head, aware of Kara shoving her weapon into Juan’s face. “And here I thought you only knew how to grill burgers,” Blake observed. “Seems your job duties are much more vast.”

“Ignacio is going to kill you for interfering. You and the bitch over here who ran off with two of our women.”

“One of them was wired from the feds,” Kara hissed. “I saved your piece of shit ass by getting them away from you.”

Blake was impressed with her big fat white lie and ran with it. “In other words, she saved you from bringing the heat on the rest of the operation over some sideline profit gig you’re running on Mendez’s clock.”

“He knows you, pinche white boy.”