Alive with Me

Chapter 33

Lia

"Joaquin?" I asked in surprise.

"Are you two okay?" He asked.

What. I don't... "What's going on?" I asked. "I don't understand..."

He walked over to Nate and helped untie him.

I was rooted my spot, unable to move from the shock of it all.

"My name is Joaquin Salvador. I'm with the FBI. I've been undercover working for Rivera for 5 years now," he explained.

Nate rushed over to me and cupped my face.

"I'm okay," I assured him.

We hugged each other.

"I... I. Why..."

"I couldn't blow my cover no matter how badly I wanted to help you. I had just earned Rivera's trust and.."

"You son of a bitch. You could have gotten her out of there," Nate growled as he charged on him. "You could have done something! Anything!"

"Nate, please. Stop," I said, stopping him.

"I know," Joaquin said, his face filled with regret and remorse. "I'm sorry. I tried. I swear, I tried. I couldn't get her out. I couldn't even get in touch with my own people. You don't know the Rivera brothers. There's a reason why they've evaded the law for so long," Joaquin explained. "Carlos watched me like a hawk. It took me two years to gain his trust. I also had my orders," he said.

"You should have found a way. How can you let three innocent people suffer like that?" Nate growled menacingly. "Katya was just a child. Lia was in her teens. Katya'a mother was raped repeatedly by both brothers and you did nothing. You stood there keeping your cover while they suffered?"

"I could have gotten them all killed," Joaquin responded. "I would have risked it if it was just my own life, but I had their lives and many more to think about, and you and I both know it. And I think you also know that the only way you leave Joaquin is if you're dead."

Nate grunted in response, as he continued to glare at Joaquin.

"What made you blow your cover now?" I asked trying to lighten up the mood and switch the focus to a different angle about all of this.

"It's over," he said. "We knew that when Rivera and the SWAT, and every man power you can think off come face to face, then that's the end. But we also finally got one of his men in custody and his singing like there's no tomorrow," he said. "We found the ledger as well. His guy led us to it. So it's really over. It's finally over," he said.

Nate continued to glare at him murderously.

I understand how he feels. Something could have... Should have been done to help me. Whether they would have succeeded or I end up dead, we'll never know. But that's all in the past. There's no use dwelling on it now. All that matters now is that we're all alive. Besides, if I had gotten out earlier, then I might not have met Nate, and I don't even want to think of a world where I didn't know he existed.

I turned to Nate and squeezed his hand comfortingly.

He looked down at me and his face softened as he looked at me with loving eyes and smiled.

I retuned his smile, then Nate and I hugged each other once again.

Then I remembered. Jake. Dave. Alan.

As if reading my mind, "They're all okay. I got Jake to leave me here and inform the team," Nate explained. "I thought we had gotten all of his men, so Jake agreed. We lost our contact and we couldn't get in touch with our team, so I asked him to go."