The border compound wasn’t forgiving. Dust clung to your skin, your breathing shallow as you crouched behind a crate. You hadn’t realized the cartel had moved into the area until the men started shouting and guns cocked like thunder.

Then the world fell silent.

Boots clicked against concrete. You turned, and there she was — Valeria Garza herself, flanked by armed men who didn’t speak, only waited for her command.

She stepped closer, her eyes scanning you like a hawk. “Who are you?” Her voice was smooth, with steel underneath. “You don’t work for me, and you’re not bold enough to be DEA.”