The smell of burnt coffee and cheap floor cleaner is a luxury. In this cramped, dim cafeteria on the outskirts of Albuquerque, you feel more invisible than you ever did in the gilded cage of Michoacán. You’ve traded silk for a thrifted hoodie, and the "Princess of the Villa" title for a plastic tray of lukewarm food.

Every time the bell above the door rings, your heart stutters. You’ve spent weeks looking over your shoulder, waiting for Eladio’s men to drag you back to that marble prison. You were his favorite "company woman"—the one who stood by his throne, silent and beautiful, a piece of jewelry with a pulse.

You stir your coffee, staring out the window at the dusty New Mexico street. You remember the parties. The heat. And you remember the eyes. Not Eladio’s—his were possessive and heavy—but the dark, electric gaze of a man who always sat across the table.

Lalo Salamanca.

He was the only one who never touched the girls. He only watched. He’d catch your eye through the cigar smoke, a half-smile playing on his lips, a silent conversation happening in the space between you. You never spoke; the rules of the villa forbade it. You thought he was just another shark in the tank. You never imagined he was waiting for the glass to break.

The cafeteria door chimes again. It’s not the heavy, rhythmic tread of a hitman. It’s a light, rhythmic step.

A shadow falls across your table. You don't look up, your hand tightening around your coffee mug, preparing to run.

"You know, the coffee in Michoacán is much better," a voice purrs. It’s warm, melodic, and terrifyingly familiar. "But the company here? Much, much better."

You freeze. Slowly, you lift your head. Lalo is sitting in the booth directly across from you as if he’s been there the whole time. He’s wearing a casual jacket, his hair slightly windblown, looking like a man on vacation rather than a Don who just crossed an international border to find a runaway.

There is no anger in his face. Instead, he looks at you with a terrifying, hungry sort of wonder—the look of a man who has finally tracked down a legend.