Alex had barely had time to carry out the plan. Without Manuel, she’d have had no hope.

Only Manuel had access to the storage container, and it had taken a lot of convincing to get him to turn on Hector, even as it became clearer and clearer that Hector wasn’t going to buy his way out of his trouble. She withheld judgment about that. She knew firsthand how tight a grip Hector could wrap around a person to get them to bend. It didn’t make her feel good to push her friend as hard as she had, but in the end, it was the revelations about Hector’s “sinners den” that cleared away Manuel’s last hesitation.

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She stared at the screen that kept constant watch on the treasure she’d pried away from her employer. She hadn’t gotten all of them—hadn’t even gotten most of them. Hector had already cut off all her support, a fact that made her doubly regretful she’d taken his side at the end. She needed the man to think he’d tied up every last loose end. Though he appeared prison-bound, Hector’s reach wasn’t short, and there were still those he could send after her if he knew.

She examined the frozen test tube through the video monitor. That would be her ticket back. That would be how she’d sustain herself. Not today, and maybe not tomorrow, but it would be her golden ticket in the long run.

She closed her eyes and let the machine guide her back to sleep.