“Amen, sister,” Bridget said, reaching over to tap our brandy glasses.
Maggie returned with several glasses and the cognac. I helped her set the glasses down and then filled a few before topping off Bridget’s glass and mine.
“Damn. This is good,” Maggie said after taking a sip.
“It’s three thousand a bottle,” Donovan said.
“Must be nice to be rich,” Maggie said, taking another drink.
“It was a present from Mickey,” I said.
Maggie choked on her drink, leaning forward and coughing after it went down the wrong way. Donovan beat on her back a few times while laughing.
“That fucker,” Maggie said. “I can’t believe he did that.”
“Sent me an expensive bottle of booze?”
Maggie coughed again as she shook her head. “The shipping company you sold him is being monitored by the Feds. Mickey and Lisa’s brother Phillip are the prime suspects for the increase in high-end black-market merchandise coming into the U.S. from Spain, France, and Italy.”
“So much for them going legit,” I said, grinning at my glass of cognac. “Feds closing in on them?”
“Hell, no. Mickey and Phillip are way smarter than the team trying to nail them.”
“Tick-tock,” Tyler said, reminding me to stay on task.
“Thank you, Tyler,” I said, turning back to Bones. “When did the marriage fall apart?”
“After they returned to the States. Grady came back first to arrange their housing. Sebrina came back a month or two later and played house for a bit, but then she took off and started her DEA career. Grady started the security company with Donovan, taking point on the cases, while Donovan ran the business side of the company.”
“They stayed married for another six months or so,” Donovan said. “It wasn’t until Grady went to pay her a surprise visit in California that he came back saying they were getting a divorce. I got the impression that Sebrina cheated on him.”
“Oh, she cheated all right,” Bones said. “With Grady’s brother Mitch.”
“Wait—” I paused him while trying to imagine the scenario where Mitch would sleep with Grady’s wife. “Nope. This doesn’t make sense. Explain.”
“Can’t. Whenever I brought it up to Grady, he’d say it was water under the bridge. If I asked Mitch, he’d rant that Sebrina was a duplicitous bitch. Never got the full story out of either of them.”
“Grady just forgave Mitch?”
“I guess,” Bones said, shrugging. “Grady seems fine with Mitch when he’s around. Maybe a bit distant, but most men would’ve beat the hell out of their brother for sleeping with their wife.”
“Let me ask this… Did Mitch actually know Sebrina? Had he ever met her as Grady’s wife?”
“I don’t know,” Bones admitted.
“We didn’t spend much time with Mitch,” Donovan said. “He was stationed at a base camp for most of his tour, whereas we moved around a lot.”
“You’re thinking Sebrina purposely set Mitch up, aren’t you?” Maggie asked me.
“She likes drama. Earlier today, she was in her element watching the showdown between Grady and me. She could’ve tracked Mitch down and given him a fake name, hoping Grady would discover them.”
“But if Grady was surprising her, how would she know he’d be there?” Katie asked.
“She worked counterintelligence. She was capable of manipulating situations, but she also might’ve planned to keep the affair going until the eventual day when Grady walked through the door. It would be more suspenseful for her that way.”
Donovan and Bones looked at each other. They’d known Sebrina for years and would know if she was capable of something so deceitful.
“Yeah, I can see it,” Bones said.
“Damn. Me too,” Donovan agreed.
Bridget’s phone chirped, and she read the screen. “Kemp needs my help at Headquarters accessing one of the background apps. I’ll be back in five.”
“I’ll escort you,” Bones said.
“I don’t need a bodyguard.”
Wild Card looked over at her with a raised eyebrow. “Are you forgetting you were kidnapped yesterday?”
“Oh,” Bridget said, giggling. “It was so much fun, I actually did forget.”
I turned my attention to Tech. “Well, partner, what have you been working on?”
“Miguel’s American companies,” Tech said as he continued to type. “I’ve got six so far, ranging from a small bakery to a global health food manufacturing company.”
“I’m sick of baked goods, but the health food company is a maybe. What else you got?”
“A retail mall.”
“Pass.”
“A trucking company.”
“Interesting. It’s likely to be tangled with their illegal business, though, so pass.”
“A pharmaceutical company.”
“Again, interesting, but pass.”
“Last on the list… a textile mill.”
“Ooh. I like fabrics. Give me everything you’ve got so far. Where’s it located?”
“Texas.”
“Bonus. Start printing. I need to run home and get my son ready for bed.” I pointed to Maggie and Donovan. “Don’t drink all my booze while I’m gone.”
Wild Card stood, planning to follow.
“Oh, no you don’t. Since you were the one who had the bright idea to give the prisoner’s ex-lax, it’s your turn to empty the buckets.”
“What prisoners?” Maggie asked.
“Pretend you didn’t hear that,” Nightcrawler said, before turning to Wild Card. “Lisa set aside food for them. I’ll meet you over there.”
Wild Card watched Nightcrawler leave through the tunnel and then looked back at me. “You seriously expect me to dump their shit?”
“Yup. There're gloves under the kitchen sink.”
“You should’ve left them for the rats,” he mumbled as he walked into the tunnel that led to Alex’s.
I looked over at Donovan.
“Yeah,” Donovan said as he stood and followed Wild Card. “I’ll make sure the prisoners are still breathing when he’s done.”
Katie snickered, going over to get another beer from Donovan’s basement refrigerator. Maggie refilled her glass of cognac. Tech was still typing on his laptop. I nodded to Tyler before taking the tunnel back to the main house.
Chapter Twenty-Five
Thirty minutes later, I shared a pillow with Nicholas as he read Treasure Island to me. I started to drift off until he shook my arm.
“Mom, you missed the best part!” Nicholas said.
“I’m sorry. I only missed a minute of it,” I said, rolling to my side so I could watch him. “It’s a good book, isn’t it?”
“The cover still sucks,” Nicholas said, grinning.
“I’m thinking kids shouldn’t say the word sucks, but I can’t remember why. I’m a terrible mother.”
Nicholas giggled, handing me the book.
“Tomorrow you can make a new cover for the book, and we’ll tape over the old one.”
“I’m too old to color pictures.”
“Who said anything about crayons? You can paint a picture or do a charcoal sketch. You could even design a cover on your computer.”
“I don’t know how to do any of that.”
“Then you should ask someone to teach you.”
“Can you teach me?”
“I can’t sketch or paint, but Bridget can. I can do a few things with computer graphics, but Aunt Charlie is better at it.”
“Can you teach me how to do it on the computer, and then if I get good at it, then I can call Aunt Charlie to teach me more?”
“Sure,” I said, tweaking his nose. “Now… it’s time to sleep.”
I rolled out of his bed, setting the book on the nightstand before leaning over to smother him with kisses.
“Mommmm! Stop!” he said, giggling and burying himself under the blankets for protection.
&nb
sp; “Goodnight, Nicholas.” I walked over to the door and shut off the light.
“Mom?”
“Yes?”
“Do you promise you’ll never move away and leave me?”
“You and me are forever, Nicholas. You couldn’t get rid of me if you tried.”
He pulled his blanket up to his chin. “Okay.”
“I love you.” I closed the door and released the breath I’d been holding. I waited until I felt less shaky before making my way down the hall.
In the living room, Pops, Hattie, Lisa, Anne, and Whiskey were watching a movie. Hattie was sitting on the end of the couch closest to me.
I leaned over and whispered, “How are you feeling?”
“I’m about ready to head upstairs. I’m getting tired, truth be told.”
Pops heard our conversation and wiggled back and forth until he was at the edge of the couch to stand. He reached out with both arms to pull Hattie up as I assisted from my side.
“Do you need help getting up the stairs or dressing for bed?”
“I’ve got her, baby girl. I’ll take good care of her,” Pops said.
Hattie was smiling up at Pops. “Pops can take care of me from here. No need to worry.”
“It’s my job to worry about everyone, remember?”
“I’ll make a cup of tea and bring it up for you,” Anne said, hitting pause on the movie and standing. “Pops? Would you like a cup too?”
“That’d be mighty nice of you,” Pops said as he led Hattie to the stairs with one arm snug around her waist.
“I’m going to follow you guys upstairs,” Whiskey said, standing to stretch. “I want to peek in on Sara and make sure she’s asleep.”
“Or you don’t trust an old man to catch his wife if she falls?” Pops asked as he glanced back at Whiskey with narrowed eyes.
“I’m just walking up the stairs, man,” Whiskey said. “Don’t read too much into it.”
Hattie giggled. Pops mumbled something under his breath. Whiskey winked at me.
Since they seemed to have everything under control, I returned to Donovan’s basement through the tunnels.
Tech glanced up from his laptop when he sensed me enter the room. “How’s the captain?” Tech asked, referring to a character in Nicholas’ book.
“Very dead.”
Tech nodded. “Too much rum will do that.”
“Someone dies from drinking alcohol in a children’s book?” Katie asked.
“It’s an old pirate story,” I said, shrugging.
I sat in my chair as Maggie leaned forward to refill her glass. Her thick brown hair slid forward and with an unconscious flip, she tucked it behind her shoulder as she leaned back again. I always saw Maggie for her intelligence, but I’d been around the guys enough to know they drooled over her natural beauty.
A thought struck me, and I couldn’t help but to smile. “What’s the status between you and Nightcrawler?”
She raised an eyebrow, wondering at my question, but after a brief pause, she answered. “It fizzled. No hard feelings on either side. Why?”
“Are you staying for the weekend?”
Her eyes danced with humor as she answered. “I figured I’d play it by ear. Why are you smiling like that? It’s creeping me out.”
Katie and Tech were watching me, waiting for an answer, too.
“Daphne Davenport,” I said.
Tech laughed as he turned his attention back to his laptop.
Maggie had a quizzical look on her face. “That crappy actress with the pitchy voice?”
“That’s the one. She’s a client. Supposedly she has a stalker, but I’m not buying it. Are you willing to play pretend girlfriend to her security guard so I can see how she reacts?”
“With everything else going on, how is this anywhere near the top of your to-do list?”
“It’s not, but it’s on my to-do list, and you’re conveniently here.”
Maggie’s eyes narrowed as she considered. “What’s my new boyfriend look like?”
“I have no idea. I’ve never met him.”
Tech turned his laptop to show us a picture. “Meet Billy Hobbs.”
“Ooh, la, la,” Maggie said as she ogled his picture. “Is he single in real life?”
“He’s not married,” Tech said.
“Gay?”
Tech shrugged. “Not that I’m aware of, but it’s not something we keep in our files.”
“What don’t we keep in our files,” Donovan asked, returning with Wild Card and Nightcrawler.
“Sexual preference,” I answered as I leaned forward to get a better look at Billy’s picture.
Donovan saw what we were looking at. “Hobbs isn’t gay.”
Donovan’s reply sealed the deal for Maggie, and she started bouncing up and down on the couch. “I’ll do it! This is going to be the best undercover assignment ever.”
“What are you doing?” Nightcrawler asked.
“Pretending to be that stud muffin’s girlfriend to make a client jealous.”
Nightcrawler laughed.
I looked at Katie, and we both exhaled.
“You didn’t believe me when I said Nightcrawler and I were over?” Maggie asked me.
“I believed that’s how you felt. I just wasn’t sure Nightcrawler agreed.”
Nightcrawler grinned. “You thought I’d be jealous?”
“Jealousy is a common trait amongst the men in my life.”
“I have my eye on someone else. It’s all good.”
“Who?” Maggie asked, nudging him with her elbow. “Tell me. Tell me.”
“No.”
Tyler laughed, looking over at Nightcrawler and shaking his head.
Bridget and Bones came down the stairs. Bridget was carrying a stack of papers.
“What’s all that?” I asked.
“Tech was too lazy to walk upstairs to get the pages he printed,” Bridget said, dumping the stack on the coffee table in front of me. “He texted me to pick them up on our way back.”
“That’s pathetic, Tech,” I said, shaking my head.
Tech continued working on his computer. “I’m not lazy. It was more efficient for Bridget to get the papers on her way through so I could keep working.”
“Efficiency isn’t heart healthy,” Maggie said, moving to the floor and starting to sort the papers.
Katie and I moved to the floor as well.
“What are we doing?” Wild Card asked, sitting in the chair behind me and leaning over my shoulder.
“We need to get Miguel’s attention. I figure the best way to do that is to attack one of his companies in some way.”
“How does that help?” Bones asked, sitting on the couch as Bridget sat on the floor in front of him.
“Based on what Charlie was able to dig up, I’m betting Miguel Remirez cares more about his companies than whether his baby brother, Santiago, is dead or alive.”
“You’re kidding,” Wild Card said from behind me.
“Nope. I already suspect Miguel was the one who killed his older brother and his uncle. He needed them out of the way so he could focus on his legal businesses.”
“What if he wants Santiago to still run the cartel?” Maggie asked. “Seems Miguel has never wanted the figurehead role.”
“He’ll have to decide which he wants more—the convenience of having his brother handle the drug trade or me not destroying everything he’s built in the last decade.”
“How hard are you planning to go after him?” Donovan asked, the worry lines appearing on his forehead.
“I’ll start small. A disruption of some kind. If he doesn’t play ball, then I’ll strike again. I’ll keep going until he has nothing left on this side of the border if that’s what it takes.”
“But you don’t think it will go that far,” Maggie said, reading my mind.
“I don’t. I think one very strategic plan could convince him to green light any action we take against his brother. Miguel’s ruthless, but he’s a
businessman. The last thing he wants is someone like me to come after him.”
Maggie tapped a finger to her temple. “You want him to know you’re an ex-cop with contacts extending from a mafia family to a crime boss in Miami and even to the FBI.”
“I sound scary on Google.”
“Not just on Google,” Wild Card mumbled behind me.
I turned to the side and slapped his calf.
He laughed as he shoved my shoulder. “Put us to work. What do you need?”
“Everyone except for Donovan, grab a pile and start taking notes. I need a cheat sheet on everything important.”
“What’s my assignment?” Donovan asked.
“You are going to go check on Lisa and Abigail. If Lisa sees you changing a diaper or two, maybe she’ll thaw some about the whole sleeping with Sebrina thing.”
“That’s actually a good plan,” Donovan said, heading for the tunnel.
“Tyler and I are going to make the rounds,” Nightcrawler said, leaving the basement with Tyler.
“I can only work for a couple of hours,” Maggie said. “I need to get my beauty sleep tonight so I look fresh when my man hunk gets here tomorrow.”
I laughed as I grabbed a tax report and started reading.
“I sent Billy an email explaining the grand plan and printed a bio for you to read,” Tech said to Maggie. “It’s on the printer upstairs.”
“Get off your ass and go get it!” Katie ordered him, pointing toward the stairs.
Tech sighed but set his laptop on the coffee table and walked off to get the papers.
“Maybe we should get both Tech and Genie Fitbits,” Maggie said, referring to her analyst at the FBI. “She spends too much time behind a monitor, too.”
“Maybe Carl can link them so they get alerts when the other one reaches a new goal,” I said.
“That would require Carl coming out of hiding,” Bones said. “You really did a number on him.”
“He didn’t leave me much of a choice.”
“Agreed,” Katie said. “We all understand why you had to scare him, but he can’t live the rest of his life in his bedroom. This weekend is just as much about Carl as it is about the guards at Aces.”
I narrowed my eyes at Katie. “He bought chemicals used to make bombs!”
“And you haven’t spoken to him in over twenty-four hours!” Katie snapped back. “In Carl’s world, that’s an eternity.”
Hearts and Aces (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 7) Page 22