Thanks again, quicksilver123. Trigger warning activated for this chapter.
Lee, Doc, Gunner, Caesar, and Kate made their way towards the tunnels from their drop off point. It was unfortunate that it was broad daylight, but they had no choice. Lee and Gunner went out in front. They didn't meet anyone at first, but then suddenly two cartel popped out. Lee swiftly took one out with his knife while Gunner shot the other. All of their guns had silencers on them to start. Kate followed determinedly in between Lee and Gunner. She refused to hide like a scared child. She shot the next cartel member they came across.
"Kate, slow down," Lee said. She didn't listen she charged ahead full force into the tunnel. She was going to find her sister. She was going to put an end to this madness once and for all. Two more cartel members appeared, and she shot one but wasn't quick enough to shoot the other. The bullet hit her in the chest hard, and she gasped, stumbling backwards. Lee caught her by the back of her neck right after he threw his knife into the second cartel, who fell choking. Gunner finished him off.
"You all right?" he asked. She nodded. The vest had taken the shot for her, but it still hurt. They could hear shouting now. Somehow their presence had been alerted to the others.
"Shit," Caesar said. "They know we're coming."
"Go," Lee ordered. Doc, Gunner, and Caesar obeyed, hustling down further into the tunnel. He still had a hold of the back of Kate's vest, and he turned her to face him.
"Knock off the 'I'm independent' shit," he said. "It's going to get you killed."
Kate kept her jaw clenched as she worked through the pain from getting shot. She didn't break eye contact with Lee at all, but she didn't say anything either. His face softened after a moment.
"I know this is hard and you're scared of losing Emma," he said. "But you have to trust the team. You can't be a lone wolf down here."
"I don't need protecting," she said then. "I don't."
Lee knew that this stemmed from Liam dying to protect her. She didn't want that to happen again.
"Call it cover," he suggested. "We all cover for each other on this team. It's how we stay alive. Can you do that for me?"
"I suppose," Kate agreed. They heard gunshots ahead of them.
"Come on," Lee said, finally releasing her. They ran forward, finding the others aiming their guns at a man who was pleading with them.
"I'm Emma's husband! I'm Dustin! They separated us. I'm trying to find her. You gotta believe me!" he was shouting.
"What's going on?" Lee asked as they approached. Dustin's eyes lit up when he saw Kate.
"Kate!" he cried. "You gotta help me find Emma! They're gonna hurt her!"
Kate felt something click inside of her brain. It was a memory, but of what exactly, she was trying to remember.
"Kate?" Dustin asked again.
Kate stood, looking at him. What was it?
"Kate?" Lee prompted. "Is this Dustin?"
"Yes, it is," Kate answered.
"Okay," Lee said. He went to give instructions when Kate grabbed his arm.
"Wait," she ordered. Lee gave her a skeptical look, not understanding what was happening.
"Kate, come on," Dustin urged. "We gotta save her. She'll be so scared."
Then, Kate realized what she was remembering. She was suddenly back there again in that cabin with Lee right before it was set on fire, when she heard the voices outside talking.
"Is it done? Did you take care of her?" a voice had asked.
"It will be. Have patience," Mark answered.
Kate aimed her gun at Dustin's head, furious. How could she have been so blind? So fooled? It was so obvious now that this was how Mark knew she and Lee had survived. Dustin had heard through Emma after their visit, and he had told Mark right away.
"Whoa, whoa, whoa!" Dustin yelled, panicked. "Kate, what are you doing?!"
"Kate?" Lee asked, confused.
"It was him," Kate said, her hands shaking a little. "In the mountains. He was with Mark. I heard them talking outside the cabin before he set it on fire."
"W-What?" Dustin stuttered. "What cabin? What mountains? Kate! You've lost your damn mind!"
"Look at him," Kate said. "He has no dirt or mud or blood on his clothes. He has no bruises on him or evidence of torture. Does he look like someone who's been captive to you?"
Lee had to admit, she was very good and very right.
"Kate? Come on," Dustin said weakly as Lee also aimed his gun at him.
"How long have you been working for Mark?" Kate demanded.
"I don't know what you're talking about. Who's Mark?"
"Cut the bullshit!" Kate shouted, making Dustin flinch.
"Kate, I swear. We were kidnapped..."
Kate stepped forward and grabbed a hold of Dustin's collar, making him yelp.
"Where is Emma?" she hissed. "What have you done to her?!"
Dustin kept up the pretense for a little bit longer before yanking out his knife and slashing Kate in the arm, making her let him go and yelp in pain. He then twisted her around and put a gun to her head and an arm around her throat tightly.
"You wanna dance?" he asked Lee, Gunner, Caesar, and Doc.
"Dude, there are four of us and one of you," Caesar commented.
"You might wanna rethink this," Lee added. He could see blood dripping from Kate's arm, and she was grunting from the pain.
"It was just my luck to marry a woman whose sister was with the damn FBI," Dustin went on. "Then she becomes part of a mercenary team that's well known for it's high success rate? No. She had to go."
"You were there," Lee noted.
"I was. I almost got rid of the annoying, pesky sister in law, but alas, she escaped. Not this time, though," Dustin snarled. Kate remembered Lee's advice surrounding choke holds, and she put it to practice. She whipped her head back into his nose, making him cry out as she kicked the pressure point on his leg and grabbed the gun from his hand, stepping away from him.
"I never liked you," Kate said. "You never treated my sister right."
"She was a good cover. That was all I needed," Dustin scoffed.
"Where is she?" Kate demanded.
"You'll never get there in time."
"Where, Dustin? For once in your miserable life, do something decent," she snarled.
"Kiss my ass," Dustin spat. "I don't care what happens to her."
"Maybe you don't, but I do," Kate said. "And one thing's for sure, you are never, ever going to hurt her again."
Dustin's smile widened cruelly.
"You gonna kill me, Kate?" he asked. "Just like you killed Liam? You're good at killing loved ones, aren't you? Emma will never believe that I'm the bad guy. Never. You'll go down as the worst sister ever now that you not only lost Emma's beloved brother but also her doting, loving husband."
Kate knew he was just trying to get into her head. She hadn't killed her brother, she knew that, but she still blamed herself.
"Just shoot the bastard already," Doc said, exasperated.
"Death is too easy," Kate said. "He needs to go to jail." She threw Dustin's gun away and turned to let Gunner bind up Dustin when Dustin drew out his other gun and aimed it at Kate. Lee didn't even hesitate. Neither did the other three. Gunshots flew, and Kate, startled, turned to see Dustin lying on the ground with his second gun in his hand.
"He was aiming at you," Lee told her, seeing her face.
"I don't know how to explain this to Emma," Kate lamented.
"We'll worry about that later," Lee said. "We gotta find her. Now."
"Here," Doc said, approaching her and beginning to wrap her knife wound tightly. Kate hissed in pain at the last knot. "I'll check that out better later."
"Thank you," she said. It matched her wound on her other arm. She was going to look like Lee before she knew it with all the scars and wounds. They all moved forward. Kate hovered for a moment, looking at Dustin one last time. She felt so bad for Emma. Her sister had no idea. She bent down to get Dustin's phone. Then she trotted after the others.
...
Barney and Toll had parked the chopper and stood near the exit of the tunnel on the Mexican side. Not many came out that way. Toll dragged the bodies and hid them after he and Barney had shot them exiting the tunnel once the cartel engaged with them.
"You really think this is gonna work?" Toll asked.
"It has to," Barney answered. He hadn't heard anything from the Lee yet. He hoped they were all right.
...
Graver and Alejandro sat waiting. They had picked a designated area for Lee to bring Mark to where Alejandro would take him out. He had his sniper rifle all set up.
"Nice to see Kate got tougher," Graver noted, breaking the silence.
"Was that our intention?" Alejandro asked.
"Does it matter?"
Alejandro was quiet in response. Kate had gotten caught in the middle of something she shouldn't have been, and here she was again right back in the middle of something that now involved her sister. Alejandro wished she hadn't gotten involved with the Expendable team. Was it too much to ask of her to stay safe for crying out loud? He sighed to himself. Once this was over, he hoped he never had to run into her again and that she would go do something else with her life while she still had one.
...
"Just as I suspected," Kate said, looking at Dustin's phone. It hadn't been difficult to hack into with the help of Thorn from back home. Barney had intentionally left the younger teammates at home for this mission.
"What?" Lee asked.
"He's got a tracker on Emma. Of course he would want to know where she is at all times," Kate growled. "Bad guys like him need to always be one step ahead."
"Does it show where she is now?" Gunner asked.
"Yes, it does," Kate answered. "And we're close."
She held the phone out in front of her as they walked.
"Left," she said suddenly. They all stopped, and Caesar stared at the wall beside them.
"Um, there is no left," he commented.
Kate frowned, but Lee began to tap at the wall and search for a crevice, and he found one. He looked at the others and gave a nod before pushing it in. They burst into a hidden room, and there was shouting and gunfire and cries of pain. When the cartel were all down, Kate focused on the figure in the chair who was screaming. She hurried forward and pulled the hood off of her sister, who was still screaming.
"Emma! It's me," Kate said. "It's all right!"
"Oh my God!" Emma shrieked. "Oh my GOD!"
"It's all right," Kate said again. Lee cut Emma free as Kate tried to calm her sister down.
"Where is Dustin?!" Emma shouted. "What is going on? And where the hell am I?!"
"You're in Mexico," Kate answered. "I'm not sure what is going on yet, and..." She hesitated. Now was not the time. "I don't know where Dustin is."
"They were going to hurt him," Emma whimpered.
"Let's just get you out of here," Kate suggested. "And we will come back for Dustin."
"I'm not leaving without him," Emma said, crossing her arms. Gunshots sounded then, making her scream. Lee and the others jumped into action while Kate covered her sister. Emma screamed again as bullets flew around them.
"This is too hot," Caesar said. "We can't go back out the other way."
"Then we go out the Mexican way," Lee said. "Come on." Doc and Gunner covered them as Kate pushed Emma in front of her while staying behind Lee and Caesar. They reached a point where it was too thick of cartel in front and behind.
"What do we do?" Doc asked. Lee noticed another crack in the wall, and he kicked it. Another door gave way, and Lee saw cars parked.
"We'll go out in that," he gestured. "All of us. We split up and they don't know which one Emma is in."
"You got it."
"Wait, what?!" Emma shrieked as Lee grabbed her hand and ran for the car. Caesar and Doc ran for the jeep, and Gunner headed for the other car. Kate was behind Lee. He put Emma in the passenger seat and turned to face Kate.
"Go with Gunner," he ordered.
"But..."
"She's fine with me. You trust me, right?" Lee asked.
"Of course."
"Then go. I'll see you after."
He gave her a push towards Gunner's car and then gave the undercarriage a quick check for any bombs, and upon seeing none, he jumped into the driver's seat. The others had checked their rides as well.
"Where's the door?" Emma started.
"Right there," Lee pointed, starting the car. He prayed it wasn't a thick door as he sped towards it. Emma screamed again as they crashed through it and out into the sun. The others followed. Emma twisted in her seat to see them.
"Barney?" Lee asked into the comms.
"Yea?"
"I'm coming out in a car. You better get in the air now."
"All right. Meet at a safe point?"
"Yea. I'll let you know where and give you the package."
"Got it."
Lee was thinking quickly.
"Gunner?"
"Yea?"
"Split off. Get Kate out of there. Meet up with Graver and Alejandro."
"Ok."
"Caesar?"
"I'm here."
"Cover Gunner and Kate."
"What about you?"
"I've got this," Lee answered. He knew Kate would be furious, but he didn't care.
"You sure?"
"We do not have time to argue about this," Lee said, looking in his rear view mirror. Two cars were now on their heels. Two more were coming.
"All right. Good luck," Caesar said. Both he and Gunner turned in a different direction and sped off. Lee swerved and dodged on the road as they flew. Emma was holding on to the door handle for dear life. She screamed every time bullets hit them. Lee looked in his rear view mirror again to see two cars still chasing after him even after all his evasive maneuvers.
"Hang on," he told Emma, who obliged. She kept her eyes squeezed shut. Lee floored it, knowing that time was of the essence. He reached for his gun, hoping that Emma was as good of a shot as her sister.
"Hey," he said, nudging her. "I need you to fire back."
"What? No way!" she shouted, recoiling.
"Emma, I can't shoot them and drive. You can do this."
"I've never even fired a gun!"
"It's easy. You aim and pull the trigger. Aim for the windshield or their tires."
"I can't."
"You can," Lee said firmly, looking at her. "I can't outrun them, and we need to lose them."
Emma stared at him, her one hand gripping the edge of her seat. She knew he was right, but she was terrified. She eventually took the gun carefully from him.
"Aim it out the window and shoot," he instructed. Emma's breathing was erratic and panicked, but she rolled down her window and stuck her head out. She squeezed the trigger once, twice, and the car behind them swerved to avoid her shots.
It's just like Duck Hunt, Liam's voice said in her head suddenly. Get the duck, Emmy. You can do it.
"Get the duck," she muttered. "Okay." She closed one of her eyes and tried again.
"You got 'im!" Lee crowed, seeing the car flip and roll after one of the tires got shot out. Emma grinned to herself. So this was why Kate enjoyed this so much. There was something exhilarating about it after all. She aimed for the second car, but she kept missing.
"I can't get him," she said, coming back into the car.
"It's all right," Lee reassured her. "One car I can deal with." He took the gun from her and flipped the car into reverse, firing out the window as fast as he could. The car's windshield shattered, and Emma saw blood spatter on the inside of it, making her want to throw up. The car eventually stopped, and Lee turned theirs around again before gunning it. He knew it was only a matter of time before more showed up behind them. He thought quickly.
"I'm going to drop you off here," he said.
"What?!" she exclaimed.
"Barney is in one of the choppers. He will grab you here. They'll still think you're with me, and I need them to think that if we're going to pull this off," Lee explained.
"But..."
Lee stopped the car. There was a pile of large rocks on the side of the hill.
"Hide there," Lee ordered. "I'll update Barney. Keep this on you." He handed her a GPS that Barney had the other end for.
"What if they find me?" she asked, afraid.
"They won't. Hurry up," Lee said. Emma got out of the car reluctantly. She didn't want to leave Lee and be alone and vulnerable, but she also knew he had a point.
"Be careful," she said.
"I will. Here," he said, handing her the second gun. "Just in case. Barney looks like a rather grumpy Italian man."
"Okay."
"Basically, shoot only when shot at," Lee advised. "Now go!" He pulled away, leaving Emma to rush over to the cover of the rocks. She prayed that Barney got there quickly.
"She's got the GPS on her," Lee said to Barney over the phone as he drove. "I'm going to flush out Mark now."
"All right. Be careful."
"Yea," Lee answered. He gripped the steering wheel tightly. Mark was going to be a goner very soon.
...
Kate was indeed furious at Lee. When Gunner had turned away, she had yelled at him, but the big man simply ignored her. They had managed to take out the two cars that chased them, and they arrived to where Graver and Alejandro were set up. Kate got out and slammed the door hard when Gunner stopped.
"I was just following orders," Gunner said to her as he got out himself.
Kate didn't reply. She marched towards where Alejandro was set up.
"Are we sure this is going to work?" Kate asked. She knew Lee was supposed to lure out Mark, and Alejandro was going to take him out with his sniper rifle. She was just very angry that he was now doing it without her help or anyone's help for that matter. Lee had just let Graver know he was on his way, who had told Alejandro. Kate was looking at him expectantly, and Alejandro looked back at her calmly.
"It'll work," Alejandro answered, looking through his scope again, waiting. He wouldn't miss. He couldn't afford to.
...
Emma heard the chopper and dared to look. When it landed, she saw two men get out. One was the grumpy looking Italian man Lee had described, and the other was a burly, shaved headed Caucasian man.
"Emma?" the one called.
"Are you Barney?" she asked. She held out the gun in front of her. Barney held up his hands.
"Yes," he answered.
"I need I.D.," she told him. The second guy laughed out loud.
"Darlin', I don't have time for this. We gotta go now," Barney responded. Emma looked back and forth between the two men. She had mistrust for some reason.
"And who are you?" she asked the second man.
"I'm Toll," he answered. She blinked. Toll? That was the guy Kate had been dating.
"Come on, Emma," Barney urged.
"I'm keeping the gun," she said as she took a step towards them.
"Fine," Barney agreed. "Now hurry up."
Toll helped Emma onto into the helicopter and got in and sat beside her.
"You all right?" he asked her.
"I think so."
"We'll get you out of here safely. I promise," Toll said. Emma gave him a small smile back. He seemed nice.
"Hang on," Barney said, and they were up in the air.
...
Right on time, Mark appeared behind Lee. He knew it was Mark because the car was a lot fancier than the others chasing him. His radio came on.
"Hey, asshole. Did you really think you could escape me again?" Mark's voice asked.
"I'm surprised you keep trying to kill me," Lee commented. "It obviously doesn't work."
"This time it will," Mark promised.
"You can try."
Lee ripped the radio off then, not wanting to hear the man's voice anymore. Instead, he contacted Gunner.
"She mad?"
"Furious."
"Put her on."
There was a pause until Kate herself had Gunner's comms.
"What is wrong with you?" she asked angrily. "You said we work as a team! And here you are doing a lone wolf stunt."
"Emma's with Barney," Lee told her. "I'm alone in the car."
"It's you I'm scared for, you idiot," Kate retorted. "I knew you would get Emma to safety."
"I'll be fine."
Kate sighed deeply, and Lee knew her forehead would be creased with worry and her fingers would be itching for a cigarette.
"If this doesn't work..."
"It'll work," Lee cut her off.
"Well, Gunner, Doc, and Caesar have gone to implement plan B if it doesn't."
"It'll work," Lee repeated.
"I love you," she said. He smiled to himself. Of course she would say it. He knew she thought she'd never see him again. A part of him worried about this same thought.
"I'm not saying it back," he responded.
"I know."
"I'll say it when this is over."
"Okay."
...
"Here he comes," Kate said, seeing Lee's car come into view. Another car was on his heels. Mark. Alejandro adjusted his sniper rifle accordingly. Just as he was about to fire, Lee's car tire was hit by Mark's bullets, and the car was sent flying.
"No!" Kate shouted. Alejandro got the target back in sight and fired. The second car went flying driverless into the desert. Kate was already on her feet running, so Alejandro raced after her.
"LEE!" Kate screamed as the car kept flipping and rolling until it finally stopped upside down. "LEE!"
Graver and his men were rushing towards the car as well. Alejandro knew they wouldn't have long when it burst into flames. Graver knew this too, so he grabbed Kate before she could get near it.
"No!" she shouted, kicking and fighting to get loose. "Lee!"
"It's gonna blow," Graver told her, pulling her back. "It's too late."
"No, it's not! LEE!"
Alejandro hated hearing the anguish in her voice. As Graver and another agent pulled Kate away, he moved steadily towards the car.
"Gillick! What the hell are you doing?!" Graver yelled. His voice was muffled and far away to Alejandro. He neared the car, grateful the glass was already broken upon impact. It saved time. Then he pulled out his knife. He saw Lee unconscious in the seat, still strapped in. He crawled in and began to cut away at the seat belt, knowing time was of the essence. He winced as Lee fell onto the roof of the car heavily. Alejandro hadn't been able to catch him, but it would have been awkward to do so anyway.
"Come on," he muttered, dragging Lee towards the window carefully. He could sense his time was running out. He finally managed to pull Lee out of the window and out onto the sand.
"GILLICK, HURRY THE HELL UP!" Graver was shouting. Alejandro lifted Lee up fireman style and took six running steps away from the car just as it blew up. They were both thrown up into the air, and then it went black.
...
"Oh my God!" Kate shouted, free from Graver at this point, and ran towards the two bodies. Graver was on her heels. She could hear emergency services being called down now, but she didn't care. All she cared about was Lee. She skidded to a stop where he lay, and she flipped him over.
"Lee!" she cried, smacking his face with her hands rapidly. "Come on, wake up!"
"Gillick," Graver said. "Come on, now." Kate ignored him.
"Lee," she said again. His face was bleeding, and she was pretty sure his ribs would be damaged again if not more so than last time.
"F***," Graver swore. "He's hit."
Kate looked to see shrapnel sticking out of Alejandro's back from the blast. She swallowed.
"MEDICS!" Graver bellowed. Kate went back to Lee.
"Please wake up," she begged. "Please."
Lee cracked open an eye at this point, causing her to start to cry from relief.
"What happened?" he asked. He turned his head to see Alejandro still unconscious beside him.
"He saved your life," she answered.
"Hurry the hell up!" Graver was yelling, waving in the medics, who had been on standby in the air, waiting. They bent to assess the situation.
"Is he all right?" Lee asked.
"I don't know," Kate answered honestly. Lee sat up slowly, wincing at the pain he was in. Kate rested her head against his as he held her close to him, grateful he was alive. She hadn't expected Alejandro to risk his life like that. Even though she was still angry at him, she hoped he would be all right. Graver was walking with the medics now as they headed for the helicopter, carrying the stretcher board with Alejandro on it.
"Hey," Lee said, resting his hand on her cheek. "I love you."
Kate gave a half laugh, half sob at this. He had kept his promise to say it when it was over.
"Sir," the other medic said, looking at Lee now. "Let me have a look at you."
"I'm fine," Lee dismissed.
"Let me at least check," the medic insisted.
"All right."
"He's got broken ribs from a previous incident," Kate told the medic, ratting Lee out. "Check those."
"I'm really fine," Lee insisted, but he was ignored.
Kate barely felt present as Lee was checked over. Her eyes followed Alejandro's body, and she had a really bad feeling when the helicopter doors shut behind him.
...
Barney assessed the situation below him as he landed. Lee looked hurt, and the medic chopper was flying away at top speed. He brought his chopper down carefully, shutting it off. Emma jumped out before Toll, spying Kate.
"Kate!" Emma shouted, rushing to hug her sister tightly. She was crying.
"Em," Kate said, embracing her tightly. Emma choked and sobbed.
"I'm so sorry," she said. "I really am."
"It's all right."
"No, it's not. I was hurtful to you, and you didn't deserve that."
"I did deserve it for ignoring you our entire lives."
"I was just jealous for what you had with Liam, that's all. I'm really sorry. Can we be sisters again?" Emma asked, pleading.
"We never stopped being sisters," Kate answered, smiling at her. Emma hugged her again.
"Where is Dustin? Did you find him?" Emma asked. Kate hesitated. This was the hardest part.
"Dustin as in Dustin Bradley?" Barney asked, overhearing. Emma nodded.
"That son of a bitch was involved," Barney told her.
"W-What?" Emma asked, shocked. She felt dizzy. Kate held her to keep her upright.
"Drummer sent these over," Barney said, handing her a file. Kate felt relieved that it was Barney breaking the news to her and not Kate. Emma took the files and opened them. She gasped the more she read.
"Oh my God."
"Emma, I'm so sorry," Kate started.
"I don't believe this," Emma said. "That rat bastard!"
Kate was surprised to see anger rather than tears and freaking out.
"Where is he?" Emma asked.
"He's dead," Lee answered.
"What?"
"We found him in the tunnels," Lee lied. "Seems like maybe Mark double crossed him."
Emma didn't really know how to take this news, but a part of her felt she always knew something just wasn't always right with her husband. This explained a lot.
"And here I thought he was having an affair with all those late hours," Emma sighed. She rubbed her face.
"Are you okay?" Kate asked.
"I will be," Emma answered. "I have to be." She had a faraway look in her eyes now.
"You good?" Barney asked Lee at this point, who nodded.
"Minor injuries."
"You should still get them looked at."
"I know. That's where I'm headed," Lee snorted. They both looked at Emma and Kate talking.
"At least they've reconciled," Barney noted. Lee had told him all about it via texting back when he had been in London.
"Yea," Lee nodded.
"I think Toll likes her," Barney said.
"Seriously?"
"Yea."
Lee started to laugh, and Barney soon joined in. Kate looked over at them, puzzled.
"What's so funny?" she asked. Her arm was around Emma, who was wiping at her eyes.
"I'll explain later," Lee answered, going over to her. "I gotta go get fixed up at the hospital."
"I should get checked too," Emma agreed, avoiding Kate's eyes.
"Why? What happened?" Kate asked.
"Nothing. I'm just being precautious," Emma answered. Kate worried that Mark had done something to her sister. She was glad he was dead or else she'd have to kill him.
"I'll fly us in," Barney said. They headed towards the chopper, and Kate wondered if Alejandro would be at the same hospital.
...
Alejandro opened his eyes and immediately noticed he was in a hospital room. He blinked and groaned. The pain in his back was brutal, but he assessed his movement, and all his fingers and toes moved, so he wasn't paralyzed. He turned his head and gave a start when he saw Kate sitting there.
"Shit," he said, wincing from the pain of the jolt. "What are you doing?"
"I just wanted to make sure you didn't die," Kate answered.
"That's nice of you."
"And to thank you," Kate went on, ignoring him, "for saving Lee. You didn't have to risk your life, but you did. I'm just confused as to why."
"He is important to you," Alejandro said. "It's the least I could do after what we put you through."
"I'm surprised you even care about what you did to me or even recognize that you hurt me."
"I'm not a total animal, Kate," Alejandro sighed.
"Well, you're alive, so I am going to go now," Kate said, standing. He looked up at her, noticing she wasn't done.
"What?" he asked.
"Do you wish you hadn't lived? So that you could be with your family again?" she asked. Alejandro thought about this for a moment.
"No," he shook his head. "I'm not done here yet."
"I see," she said. "Well, best of luck with that."
"Thanks."
She gave a firm smile before turning and leaving the room. He was pretty sure he'd never see her again.
One more chapter to go!
