MAYBE HAVING LOGAN COVER FOR HER WASN'T THE BEST IDEA.

She loved her sister and she knew Logan was only worried for her, but after answering her third call of the day, Hayden was starting to think it was a little excessive.

"Are you okay? You are you safe? Did you guys find Miguel yet?"

Hayden sighed, holding the phone away from her ear before slowly bringing it back when she knew the questions were done.

"I'm fine. I'm safe. We're still looking." She was starting to sound like a programmed robot with how much she repeated herself. "You don't have to be so worried, I'm here with a responsible-" She looked over at Johnny.

"Yo quiero hombre. Hector the Salazar." He stuffed the burrito in his mouth, speaking with a mouthful. "I give you dineros, you tell me where Hector the Salazar is. What? No you cannot have the van, it is a very special van."

"-adult." She sheepishly finished her sentence, rubbing the back of her neck.

"I'm sorry. I'm just worried, okay? I- I want you to be safe. I couldn't sleep at night knowing you are miles away and possibly in danger." Logan's voice came soft and wavered, like she was on the verge of tears.

It made Hayden soften just a bit. It had been a while since she cared for her so passionately.

"I know. But I'm okay. I'll be back hopefully tomorrow. We're getting close to finding him, okay? I'll talk to you later." She hung the phone up, sliding it into her back pocket.

"We gotta shake the tree to get to the apples." Johnny was saying to Robby, and she furrowed her brows in confusion.

"Or we could just climb the tree ourselves." Robby countered.

Johnny blinked. "What does that mean? What tree?"

"The apple tree." Robby said in disbelief, "You just said you wanted-"

Hayden looked behind them, eyes widening. "Forget the stupid tree! They're towing the van!" She pointed, immediately taking off and booking it toward the van.

Robby and Johnny trailed after, and out of the corner of her eye, Hayden could see Johnny launch his breakfast burrito at the car, in hopes of getting them to stop.

She facepalmed.

-

"I didn't understand a word of what the guy at the impound said."

Hayden rolled her eyes, "Of course you didn't. He said you need four thousand pesos to get the van back."

Johnny huffed, throwing his arms up. "Great, that's, like, a million dollars."

Hayden and Robby exchanged confused looks. "It's two hundred dollars, but still, we only have about half that." Robby stated.

"We're not gonna find Miguel without the van, so we need to come up with something." Hayden rubbed her forehead, trying to think of a reasonable idea.

That was when they spotted it.

A stand, surrounded by a rowdy crowd, money being thrown into a giant jar at the center of the table. Two men sat across from each other, each handed a deep red chile. One of them wiped sweat from his forehead before popping it into his mouth. The crowd leaned in, watching.

"That's a red savina," Robby noted, arms crossed. "That thing'll burn a hole right through you."

Johnny and Hayden looked at him, brows raised.

He shrugged. "My mom and I watch Hot Ones on YouTube."

Hayden's attention turned back to the table just in time to see one of the men vomit violently onto the dirt. She wrinkled her nose. "That's disgusting."

Johnny, however, looked like he just had the greatest idea in the world. "This is it. This is our shot to get back on track." He took a step toward the stand, rolling his shoulders back. "If you see me start choking, cover my mouth so I don't spit it out."

Before he could step up, Robby grabbed his arm. "Wait. I'll do it."

Johnny frowned. "No, Robby, I got us into this-"

"Like you said, this is our best shot. And I know I can win." His voice was steady, confident.

Johnny hesitated, but Robby was already moving toward the table.

Hayden sighed, following. "You better not die, Keene," she muttered as she stood behind him, her hand resting lightly on his shoulder.

She felt him tense slightly under her touch but said nothing.

-

Several chiles later, Robby looked like he was barely holding on. His jaw clenched as he forced himself to chew, his breath coming in sharp exhales through his nose.

Johnny was cheering him on, hyping up the crowd. Hayden was quieter, crouched beside him, fingers subtly rubbing circles into his arm. Occasionally, she wiped his forehead with a napkin and whispered words of encouragement.

The bald man across from Robby had barely broken a sweat while Robby's cheeks were tinted a sharp red with sweat. He smirked, eyeing Robby with amusement before muttering something in Spanish.

Hayden's brows furrowed. "Did he just-"

"What'd he say?" Robby asked, his voice slightly hoarse.

Hayden exhaled through her nose. "Something about you sweating like a pig." She paused. "And something about embarrassing yourself in front of your girlfriend."

Robby blinked.

For a brief second, his eyes flickered to hers. Hayden didn't look at him, but she felt the air shift between them. A sudden awareness.

Her grip on his shoulder tightened slightly.

Robby turned back to the man, his expression darkening. "Una más," he said, voice firm. He set his hands on the table, knuckles white. "Gimme the hottest one you got."

The crowd roared.

The bald man grinned. "El Dragón."

Johnny let out a low whistle. "I don't like the sound of that."

A man with thick glasses carefully placed a chile in front of each competitor, handling them with tongs. It looked like pure hell-dark red, almost black, a menacing wrinkle to its skin.

Hayden shifted, her hand pressing down against Robby's shoulder. "This is a bad idea."

Robby barely reacted. He picked up the pepper, rolling it between his fingers.

Johnny slapped his remaining cash onto the table. "We're going all in!"

Robby didn't hesitate. He popped the chile into his mouth, chewing.

The second it hit, his eyes squeezed shut, his entire body going rigid. Hayden could feel his muscles tightening beneath her palm.

She leaned in, her voice low. "Breathe through it, Keene."

His grip on the table tightened, but he forced himself to swallow.

Hayden's phone rang, cutting through the noise. She pulled it from her pocket, glancing at the ID before answering. She took a few steps away from the table.

"Hello?"

"Hayden! Good, you picked up!" Carmen's voice was frantic. "Johnny wasn't answering his phone."

Hayden stepped away from the crowd, her brows furrowing. "What's wrong, Ms. Diaz?"

"Miguel just called. He-he found out I lied to him."

Hayden's stomach twisted. "Lied? Lied about what?"

There was a pause, then Carmen's voice came quieter, pained. "Miguel's dad doesn't know he has a son. I never told him."

Hayden's mouth went dry.

She didn't know what to say, how to respond.

"Hayden, listen to me-I heard him in the background of the call. They're going to some place called El Hoyo Verde."

Hayden snapped out of her daze, immediately locking in. "Got it. I'll tell Johnny right now."

She hung up just as Robby and Johnny approached, both covered in milk.

She raised a brow. "You guys look..."

"Yeah, yeah, he spit his milk out on us," Robby muttered, wiping his face with a napkin before handing it to Johnny. "Where'd you go? You missed my win."

Hayden hesitated for only a second before answering. "That was Carmen. She knows where Miguel is."

At the mention of his name, Robby's entire body language changed.

His shoulders stiffened. His jaw clenched.

But still, his voice was steady when he asked, "Where?"

"Some place called El Hoyo Verde." She was already typing it into her phone. "We're only a few miles away."

Johnny nodded. "Then let's move."

Hayden turned back to Robby, expecting another reaction.

He just exhaled through his nose, shaking his head before following Johnny.

But she caught it-the flicker of something in his eyes.

Something sharp.

Something like jealousy.

-

Hayden adjusted the glittering silver dress, the fabric unfamiliar and clinging in ways she wasn't used to. "I can't believe you guys stole this," she muttered, tugging at the hem.

She was supposed to pose as a waitress at the club while they posed as the FBI, even though, according to their shirt, FBI stood for Female Body Inspector.

"Relax, you look good," Johnny dismissed with a wave of his hand, his focus on scanning the club.

She rolled her eyes but said nothing, keeping her gaze sharp, searching. The music pounded through the floor, bodies moving under flashing lights, but she stayed locked in, ignoring everything that wasn't Miguel.

Hayden barely had a second to react before she felt his eyes on her.

Not her face.

Her shoulders.

Her back.

She realized too late that the dress was backless and the thin spaghetti straps exposed a lot of her skin-exposing the bruises. The darkened patches of purple and yellow, some old, some fresh. The faint lines of scars Silver had left on her during training.

Robby's gaze hardened.

Her stomach clenched.

She knew that look. That sharp, quiet fury.

She moved before he could say anything, adjusting the fabric of the dress like it was nothing. "Come on," she muttered, stepping away. "We don't have time for this."

But Robby didn't move.

"Hayden."

His voice was low, careful.

She didn't look at him.

"Did he do that to you?"

Her hands twitched at her sides.

She exhaled slowly, turning just enough to meet his eyes. And for the first time in months, she let him see the truth.

The exhaustion. The damage. The weight she had been carrying alone.

But then she blinked, and it was gone.

"It doesn't matter."

Robby's jaw flexed, but he didn't push it. Not here.

Instead, he exhaled sharply, glancing away. "Yeah. Okay."

Then-

"Miguel!"

Johnny's voice cut through the noise, and Hayden snapped her head up just in time to see him-Miguel-on the balcony above, walking away with a man she didn't recognize.

Her heart stopped.

For a second, the music faded, the flashing lights dimmed. The crowd blurred. It was just him.

"Miguel!" she shouted, louder than Johnny, her voice cutting through everything.

Miguel paused. Just for a moment.

Their eyes met.

And then he kept walking.

"No, no, no, Miguel!"

She took a step forward, but before she could even push through the crowd, bodies moved in front of them, blocking their way.

Johnny barely hesitated before throwing a kick, but the biggest guy in the group caught it midair, twisting his leg and shoving him to the ground.

Robby instinctively stepped forward to help, but Johnny held a hand out. "No, Robby-I got this. Stay back."

Hayden clenched her fists, watching as Johnny got hit, over and over. He wasn't going down easy, but the guy he was fighting was built like a damn tank.

She exhaled, ready to step in-

A hand landed on her bare shoulder.

"Hey, sweetheart." A voice slurred in her ear, thick with alcohol and entitlement. "Lemme get a whiskey sour, on the rocks. And while you're at it, gimme a glass of you too."

Hayden's nostrils flared.

She turned, meeting the eyes of some sleazy, middle-aged drunk, his grin slimy, his grip lingering.

She didn't hesitate.

She grabbed his wrist and twisted-hard.

"Get the fuck off me."

The man yelped, stumbling back, shaking out his hand. "Feisty one, huh?" He chuckled, but it was forced. He went to reach for her again-

And then Robby was there.

He stepped between them, body solid like a wall, blocking her completely. His jaw was tight, his hands flexing at his sides.

"Walk away." His voice was low, even, but laced with something dangerous.

The man looked him up and down, scoffing. "And what if I don't, pretty boy?"

Hayden didn't have to see Robby's face to know the look he was giving him. That eerie, unsettling calm right before the storm.

Robby rubbed his jaw, flicking his gaze off to the side like he was considering something.

Then-

His fist shot out, cracking against the guy's jaw with a sickening crack.

The man crumpled, groaning and clutching his face.

"Asshole," Robby muttered, shaking out his hand.

Hayden just stared at him for a second.

She should've been surprised. Should've told him to chill.

But she wasn't.

Because if the situation had been reversed, she would've done the same thing.

Before either of them could say anything, Johnny stumbled up to them, breathing heavily.

"I got him to tell me where Hector and Miguel are."

Hayden exhaled, forcing herself to snap back to reality. Miguel was still out there. That was all that mattered.

She looked at Robby once more, just for a second.

He was already looking at her.

And when their eyes met-

She saw it.

The silently brewing frustration and jealousy that she could tell he was trying desperately hard to keep down.

But it was something she couldn't afford to think about right now.

So she turned away. "Then let's go."

-

The second the car rolled to a stop, Hayden was already moving. She shoved the door open, stepping out onto the pavement as her eyes darted frantically across the unfamiliar street. Her heartbeat pounded in her ears, every nerve in her body wound tight.

"Where is he?" she muttered under her breath, scanning every face, every shadow. "I don't see him."

And then-

Everything stopped.

Her breath. Her thoughts. The world itself.

Because there he was.

She knew those curls, that posture, the way he stood with the weight of the world pressing into his shoulders.

Miguel.

Her lips parted, but no sound came out. She was trying to say something, anything, but her voice failed her.

"Miguel!"

Johnny's voice cut through the air before hers could, and she flinched at the sound of it.

Miguel turned slowly, his body stiff, his face unreadable-until she saw it.

The tears. The heartbreak. The relief.

And then he saw her.

The moment their eyes locked, Hayden felt something crack deep inside her.

Miguel barely had time to drop his phone before she was moving, her legs carrying her forward on instinct. He did the same, closing the distance between them in seconds.

And then she was in his arms.

His body crashed into hers, warm and trembling, his arms locking around her so tightly she could hardly breathe-but she didn't care.

She buried her face into his shoulder, inhaling the scent of him, gripping the fabric of his jacket so hard her fingers ached. "Oh my god," she whispered, voice raw. "I was so worried about you."

Miguel's breath hitched as he clung to her, his forehead pressing against the side of her head. "I'm sorry," he choked out. "I'm so sorry, Hayden."

His shoulders shook against her. She felt the quiet, restrained sobs as he held onto her like she was the only thing keeping him standing.

And for a moment, nothing else existed.

Not the streets of Mexico. Not Johnny. Not the weight of everything they'd been through.

Just this.

Just them.

Robby was standing near the car, his hands clenched into tight fists at his sides. His knuckles were white, his jaw locked, his entire body rigid.

He forced himself to glance away like it physically hurt to look at her in someone else's arms.

Hayden's stomach twisted when Miguel was still holding onto her like he was afraid to let go.

She closed her eyes for a brief second before whispering, "Let's get you home, yeah?"

Miguel nodded against her, sniffling as she reached for his hand, squeezing it gently before guiding him toward the car.

Johnny was waiting, his own emotions clear on his face as he pulled Miguel into a tight bear hug.

Hayden glanced back, catching Robby's expression as he turned away from her entirely.

She swallowed hard.

No words could fix what had just happened.

Because the truth was-

Someone was always going to get hurt.

-

The silence in the car was suffocating.

It pressed into Hayden's skull like a migraine, heavy and thick, making every second feel twice as long as it actually was.

Miguel sat stiffly in the passenger seat, arms crossed, gaze fixed out the window like he was watching the passing scenery with deep interest-except they had been on the same stretch of road for the past forty-five minutes.

Robby was in the backseat with her, his arms folded, legs stretched out as far as they could go in the cramped space. He stared straight ahead, not at her, not at Miguel, just forward-like if he didn't acknowledge their existence, maybe he wouldn't explode.

Hayden was in the middle of it all, her fingers tapping against the seat in an impatient rhythm.

She had never wanted to be anywhere but here more in her life.

Johnny, completely oblivious to the storm brewing in the car, cleared his throat and broke the silence. "Well, that was one hell of a trip, huh?"

Nothing.

Not a chuckle, not an eye roll. Just dead silence.

Johnny exhaled through his nose, gripping the wheel. "Come on, lighten up, guys. We all made it out of Mexico in one piece. That's a win in my book."

Still nothing.

Johnny sighed, shaking his head. "Geez, tough crowd."

Miguel shifted in his seat. "How long until we cross the border?"

"Few hours," Johnny answered.

Miguel nodded once and went back to staring out the window.

Robby scoffed under his breath, shaking his head slightly.

Hayden felt it before she heard it-his frustration, his irritation.

It was inevitable.

Robby rolled his eyes. "Can't wait to get out of this car, huh?"

Miguel stiffened, but didn't respond.

Hayden shut her eyes for a moment. Here we go.

Robby let out a humorless laugh. "Figures. You get your little rescue mission and now you can't wait to pretend none of this happened."

Miguel turned his head just slightly. "What's that supposed to mean?"

Robby shrugged, his jaw tightening. "Nothing. Just funny how everyone always bends over backward for you."

Miguel's grip on his knee tightened. "Oh yeah? That what you think?"

Robby scoffed. "It's what I know."

Hayden pressed her lips together, forcing herself to stay quiet.

Johnny sighed, rubbing his temple. "Boys-"

"No, I wanna hear this," Miguel said, his voice sharper now. "Go ahead, Robby. Say what you wanna say."

Robby leaned forward slightly, arms still crossed. "I don't have to say anything. You already know."

Miguel let out a bitter laugh. "Right. Because this is all about me, isn't it? Not the fact that you spent the last year making my life hell."

Robby's expression darkened. "You don't know the first thing about hell."

Miguel clenched his jaw. "You act like I wanted any of this."

"You act like you deserve all of this."

Miguel scoffed. "Oh, I'm sorry. Am I supposed to apologize for not wanting to be a complete asshole?"

Hayden sighed heavily, rubbing her hands down her face.

"Guys-"

Robby let out a dry laugh. "Yeah, okay. Like you've never thrown a punch in anger before. Get off your high horse."

"At least I don't take cheap shots."

"Bullshit. You didn't have a problem fighting dirty when it benefited you."

"Benefited me? I would've won that fight with my eyes closed."

"Yeah? Let's test that theory out then-"

"Oh my god, can you both shut up?" Hayden finally snapped, her voice loud enough to make them both jolt slightly.

Her voice had been calm, but the sharpness in her tone cut through the car like a blade.

"Jesus Christ, can we not do this right now?" She sighed, leaning back against the seat, pressing her fingers into her temple. "We're stuck in a moving vehicle for hours. So unless you two wanna brawl in a moving car, shut up."

Silence.

Miguel looked back out the window.

Robby rolled his shoulders and stared straight ahead.

Hayden exhaled through her nose.

Johnny sighed. "So... anybody hungry?"

No one answered.

Johnny sighed again, muttering under his breath, "Man, I need another beer."

The rest of the car ride was dead silent.

authors note.
i'm releasing three chapters in one day guys YAY
let me know your thoughts and team switches plss :)