The sun was beginning to set over the Salamanca ranch, casting long, bloody shadows across the dirt. Lalo sat on the porch, a glass of mezcal in his hand, but he wasn't drinking. He was staring at a grainy, printed surveillance still that Marco had slammed onto the table ten minutes ago. In the photo, you were a blur of motion. You were leaping over a fruit stand in a crowded Albuquerque plaza, your hair flying, eyes wide with the raw, electric instinct of a hunted animal. Behind you, the Twins were visible—two silver-suited statues frozen in mid-stride, thwarted by a sudden surge of tourists and a passing tour bus.

It was the first time Lalo had ever seen his cousins fail. And it was the first time he’d ever seen a "debt" look so... vibrant.

"She’s fast," Lalo murmured, a slow, dangerous smile spreading across his face.

"She has the money," Leonel growled, his voice like grinding stones. "Our father's ledger says Benedict owed five hundred thousand. He died. She inherited the debt. We will find her tonight."

Lalo stood up, the ice clinking in his glass. "No. You won't."

The Twins turned simultaneously, their expressions blank but their energy shifting. They were hunters; they didn't like being told to sit.

"You two move like tanks," Lalo said, walking toward them with that breezy, cat-like grace. "You’re scary, yes. But a girl like that? She sees a suit like yours and she’s gone before you can even reach for your chrome. You let her slip away in public because she’s smart. She knows how to use the world against you."

He picked up the photo, tracing the line of your jaw with his thumb. He didn't see a debtor. He saw a masterpiece of survival. His heart, usually cold and calculated, gave a strange, rhythmic thump. It wasn't just interest; it was a sudden, obsessive pull. He loved a good chase, but he’d never seen a prey he wanted to keep so badly.

"I’ll handle this one," Lalo said, his voice dropping into a low, possessive hum. "A girl who can outrun the Salamancas doesn't belong in a ditch. She belongs at my table."