The humid air of the border town clung to Amelia and Sofia like a second skin, thick with the scent of dust and fear. Two days they’d been on the run, two days since they’d slipped away from El Lobo, the notorious cartel boss who’d held them captive. His reach was long, his vengeance legendary. Every unfamiliar car, every shadow that moved, sent a jolt of panic through them. They had nothing but the clothes on their backs and a desperate hope for a new life.​Their last hope was a dusty bar on the outskirts of town, a place whispered about among those who needed to disappear. It was there they found him: a man named brody_eckert . He sat alone at the end of the bar, his face a roadmap of hard-won battles. His eyes, though tired, were sharp, missing nothing. When Sofia, her voice trembling, told him their story, he listened without a single change in expression.