I sat at the head of the long wooden table in the safe house, my hands clenched into fists. The clock on the wall ticked, each second dragging heavier than the last. My men—Hector, Marco, and a few others—moved around the room, tossing ideas back and forth. But none of them were good enough. Nothing would work.

And time was running out.

Alice had Sage.

I could still see Sage’s face in my mind—her soft brown eyes, her smart mouth, the way she always found a way to get under my skin. The ...