The Power to See

by Jennifer Anne Davis

  After Dominic proposed yesterday, he took her out to dinner to celebrate. She never had a chance to call Matt to cancel. “I’m so sorry,” she said.

  He stood across from her, the desk between them. “Where were you last night?” he asked in a low voice, barely audible. “You never showed up, didn’t answer your cell. I was worried.” He put his hands on the desk, leaning forward, only inches away from her.

  Brianna set the file down. “What’s wrong?” she asked.

  “I want to know where you were.”

  Brianna slid her hands onto her lap so Matt wouldn’t see the engagement ring. “I’m sorry I didn’t make it. Something unexpected came up.”

  “I need to talk to you,” Matt said. “It’s important. Can you to come over tonight?”

  “Do you need to tell me something? Or do you need to talk as in: I come over and somehow we end up naked and you do things to me that leave me craving more?” Matt finally smiled. Brianna knew she had to break off her relationship with Matt now that she was engaged, but he was so sexy, leaning on her desk with that wicked smile.

  “I really need to talk to you, and it is serious. However, afterwards, I’ll make dinner, and then we can take a bubble bath.” He leaned in closer.

  “You have my full attention,” Brianna said as she imagined Matt’s body covered with bubbles.

  Whispering in her ear, Matt continued, “And then, well, we can move to my bedroom.”

  “I don’t know . . . the bedroom’s so normal. I expect so much more from you.”

  There was a knock. Both turned, assuming it was Steve who caught them talking too close to one another for co-workers. However, instead of Steve standing in the doorway, it was Dominic. Brianna froze. Dominic’s eyes locked with hers. There was an intensity to them she’d never seen before. He reminded her of Salazar.

  “I hope I’m not interrupting anything,” Dominic said, articulating each word.

  It seemed like time was in slow motion. Brianna never intended for Matt and Dominic to meet. She didn’t want Matt to know about her relationship with Dominic. What would he think of her? Glancing at Matt, his eyebrows were drawn together, clearly confused.

  Dominic walked into the office and looked at Brianna expectantly. He crossed his arms, waiting.

  “Hi Dominic,” Brianna said. She was sure her face was bright red. It felt over a hundred degrees in her office. “I’ll be right with you.” Turning her attention back to Matt she said, “We’ll have to continue this conversation later. Leave the file with me so I can review it in greater detail.” She closed the folder in front of her, hoping Matt would catch on and leave.

  Matt stood erect and turned to face Dominic, giving no indication he was going anywhere. “I’m Matt Fueller. I work with Brianna.”

  Brianna hurried to stand between them.

  “See you later, Matt,” she said. Matt smiled, shaking his head ever so slightly. She wanted to punch him.

  “It’s always nice to meet someone Brianna works with. She rarely talks about work at home.” Turning to Brianna, Dominic said, “Come on honey, I want to take you to lunch so we can discuss our wedding.” His eyes bore into hers.

  No! Brianna internally shouted. She fought to maintain control. She had grossly underestimated Dominic—she didn’t think he was capable of being so perceptive or aggressive.

  Matt’s face went white and his eyes darted to her ring finger. “Congratulations. I didn’t realize you were dating anyone. As a matter of fact, I’m surprised, since we work so closely, that you’ve never mentioned Dominic before. Must’ve slipped your mind.”

  “We just got engaged—Dominic proposed last night. You’re the first person outside my family that we’ve told.”

  “Last night?” Matt crossed his arms.

  “Yeah,” she whispered.

  Dominic and Matt stood staring at each other. Dominic placed his hands on Brianna’s shoulders in a possessive gesture. “You ready?” he asked her, kissing the top of her head.

  “Brianna, we’ll finish this later,” Matt said as he stormed from the room.

  ***

  Matt went to the coffee shop across the street. After ordering an iced tea, he sat down. He’d known Brianna for several weeks now, and he hadn’t pushed her as hard as he should have. Every time he tried to get information about her father, she changed the topic.

  The DEA was on Matt’s case for not producing any reliable intel. Matt knew he was falling for Brianna—and he couldn’t afford to. Loving Brianna would destroy him. Last night, Matt planned on telling her a watered down version of the truth in order to convince her to work with the DEA to bring down Salazar. Matt had been certain she wasn’t involved in her father’s business, and he’d be able to protect her.

  Now he couldn’t get Dominic’s smug face out of his mind. Did Brianna even care for Matt? Or was she simply using him? Matt couldn’t believe Brianna was marrying Dominic—the man who was taking over for Salazar. The thought of her and Dominic made Matt want to go to the shooting range to blow off some steam.

  Brianna was intelligent and charming enough to come across as innocent, when in fact she probably knew a great deal.

  His phone rang.

  “It’s me,” Brianna said.

  “What do you want?”

  “I need to talk to you. I need to explain. Please meet me.”

  She’d never sounded so vulnerable before. Was it an act or was she sincere? “Where?”

  “The hotel next to the courthouse.”

  “When?”

  “Now, I need to be with you now.”

  “I’m on my way.” It was time to learn the truth about her.

  When Matt entered the hotel room, Brianna was already there waiting for him. She was sitting on the bed, tearing a tissue apart. She gazed up at him, her eyes red and swollen. It reminded Matt of the time he found her sitting on her office floor, crying.

  “I didn’t want you to find out this way.”

  Either she was vulnerable enough to reveal the truth, or she was an excellent actress. “I have a lot of work to do,” Matt said with a hard edge to his voice. “What do you want?”

  She nodded and turned away from him. “I’m sorry. Of course you’re busy. I just . . . I just need to talk to someone. I need a friend. I understand if you hate me. I’m sorry if you believe I deceived you.” Her shoulders shook.

  Matt hated playing games with her, but he had no choice. “Withholding information is the same as lying. And no, I’m not your friend. I have no interest in being your friend.” Matt was still struggling with how much truth to tell, and how much to conceal. “I’m falling in love with you,” he admitted, his voice hoarse.

  Brianna started sobbing. “I thought I could do it. I really did. Mind over matter. Then I met you. At first I assumed you were some fling—a distraction. But I can’t stop thinking about you. I have no choice, though, I have to do it.”

  Matt walked over to the bed, sitting down next to her. He slid his arm around Brianna, and she rested her head on his shoulder.

  “I don’t understand. What do you have to do?” he prodded. Brianna gave no indication she was going to respond. “You can tell me the truth. I want to hear it. Just tell me why you’re so upset, and we’ll fix it, together—I promise.”

  Brianna blew her nose and grabbed another tissue, fidgeting with it. Taking a deep breath, she finally answered, “I have to marry Dominic. My father has arranged for us to be married.”

  “Seriously? I didn’t think that sort of thing happened in this day and age. Just tell your father no.”

  Her eyes widened. “You don’t understand—nobody tells him no.”

  Now he was getting somewhere. Matt pressed on. “If your father truly loves you, he’ll understand.”

  “It doesn’t work that way. My father isn’t a reasonable man.” Brianna turned to face Matt. “When I was in college, I dated this guy Chad a few times. My father called and told me I couldn’t see Chad again. I went on one last
date to break up with him. I thought I could do that in person. The next day Chad was found dead in his dorm room from an apparent suicide. But I knew him too well. There was no way he killed himself. When I questioned my father about it, he simply said, I told you not to see him anymore and you did. It’s my father’s way, or no way. If I don’t marry Dominic, he’ll go crazy. If he knew I was seeing you, he’d kill you without a second thought.”

  Matt shuddered. Being undercover was dangerous enough. Playing with Brianna was like walking into a lion’s den and stealing a cub. Ending badly was putting it mildly.

  “Why is it so important for you to marry Dominic?” Matt asked. He took hold of Brianna’s hands.

  “My father wants to retire in a few years. Dominic will succeed him. It was my grandfather’s dying wish that the business stay in the family. If I marry Dominic, then it does.”

  “But why Dominic? Why not some other guy—like one you choose?”

  “I don’t know. I’m sure there are a million people who would love to run the organization. But my father knows Dominic’s parents. For some reason, he trusts Dominic. I’ve never seen my father so attached to anyone else, ever.”

  Matt was thrilled she was finally talking. He paused a moment before asking, “What kind of organization? It sounds like something illegal, especially after you told me your dad killed your ex-boyfriend. Are you talking about drug trafficking?” Matt rubbed his thumbs against her palms, patiently waiting for her to respond.

  After a few minutes, she nodded. “Yes. God, I can’t believe I’m telling you this. If my father finds out, he will literally cut out my tongue. He’s done that before to people who have talked.” She laughed without humor.

  “I’m glad you’re confiding in me,” Matt gently said. “I need to know if you’re involved.” This was the moment of truth.

  “Involved? That’s a vague word.” She pulled her hands free and wiped her eyes. “Eventually I’ll handle all legal matters. But right now, I’m simply training, so I’m not directly involved—but I’m sure that detail could be argued in a court of law.” Her head hung low, shoulders slumped.

  “How much do you know?” Matt asked.

  She grabbed another tissue. “Enough. I hear things. See things. I know enough.”

  That’s what Matt feared. “If your father’s ever indicted, you’ll probably go down, too.”

  “Not likely. He’s very good at being elusive.”

  “What do you want?”

  Brianna appeared confused, like no one had ever asked her that question before. “What do you mean?”

  “Why haven’t you turned your father in?”

  “Haven’t you been listening to me? There’s no way . . . he would know it was me. I can’t even begin to imagine what he would do to me. And he is my father. You don’t turn your back on your family.”

  She wasn’t even close to being willing to flip. “We all have choices,” Matt began. “You’ll have to answer for yours.” She sat there quietly, not looking at him. “I want you to know, I get where you’re coming from, and I think you’re wrong.” Her head snapped up. Matt continued, “You should go to the DEA and turn your father in. I know someone there. I can help make sure you’re safe—I promise.” Matt meant every word he said.

  Brianna shook her head. “I don’t want to involve you.”

  “I’m already involved. I’m here for you, and I’ll do whatever you ask.” Even with her face red and blotchy from crying, she was still beautiful. Matt wrapped his arms around her, giving her a hug.

  “I need to think about it. For now, we have this room all to ourselves.”

  “We sure do.” Matt smiled.

  Tossing his keys on the table, Matt grabbed a beer and sat down on the couch. Brianna’s smell still lingered on his skin.

  “Where’ve you been?” Chris asked as he entered the family room.

  “With Brianna,” Matt answered. “I got your text. What’s going on?”

  Chris took a seat opposite Matt. “I know this is just your undercover house, but don’t you want to unpack some of these boxes? This place is a mess.”

  Matt laughed. He’d seen Chris’s place. Sure, it was clean, but his girlfriend had decorated it with flowers and candles. Matt would take messy to girly any day. He took a swig of beer. “What’d you come here for?” Matt asked. He didn’t want sit there talking all night. He was exhausted and needed to shower.

  “You won’t believe some of the intel we got from your outing the other night,” Chris said.

  “Like what?” Since they’d gone in illegally, Matt was glad they got something the DEA could use.

  “Phillip has a huge file on you. He’s been tracking down every piece of information he can get. Every case you’ve ever worked on, people you’ve worked with, everything.” Chris pinched the bridge of his nose.

  “I figured as much,” Matt said. He tried to act casual and unaffected, but he was afraid. If Phillip was researching him, then it was only a matter of time before he found something. With the kind of money Phillip had access to, Matt was screwed.

  “Luckily everything’s checked out so far,” Chris continued. “It makes me nervous though. We’re going to get you out as soon as possible.”

  “What else?” Matt asked, taking another sip of beer.

  “There’s a file on Hector.” Matt forgot to ask Brianna why she was working at Eric Smith and Associates since they represented Chavez’s cartel. He’d also failed to question her as to why she was defending Hector—a man directly tied to Chavez. It didn’t make any sense. “Brianna started working at the firm around the same time Salazar begun tracking Hector’s whereabouts. There are detailed notes about the deliveries he supervised. Once a pattern was discovered, Hector was arrested. I did some further digging and tracked a phone call placed from a public pay phone in downtown San Diego, giving Hector’s location along with a specific delivery date and time. The DEA was notified. We went in and arrested Hector.”

  “I still don’t get it,” Matt said.

  “Salazar set Hector up. I don’t know why, but he did.”

  “And what? Brianna’s defending him to make sure he goes to jail? I’m not buying it.”

  Chris rubbed his forehead. “From what forensics has pieced together, Salazar’s been tracking Chavez for years. Hector’s in regular contact with Chavez. If Hector provides Salazar with information that leads to Chavez’s exact whereabouts, then Hector gets a nice paycheck—thirty-five million dollars.”

  “So, what you’re saying is that Salazar set Hector up in order to blackmail him? Force Hector to turn on Chavez?” Matt shook his head. Cartels were always fighting with one another, or trying to take each other down.

  “But Hector won’t give any info on Chavez unless he gets off free and clear.”

  “Which explains everything.” Salazar sent Brianna in to ensure Hector was found not guilty and to have direct access to him. If Brianna was this involved with Salazar’s organization, Chris would never make a deal with her. Matt chugged his beer.

  “Guess how much Salazar makes in a single week?”

  “Obviously more than we do,” Matt said.

  “Two hundred million dollars a week.”

  Matt couldn’t even comprehend that kind of money. With all the poverty in the world, it would be nice if drug money went to good use. Instead, there was a man making more money than he could ever spend. Where was the justice?

  “We also learned Salazar has access to high-powered rifles, rocket-propelled grenades, bazookas, surface-to-air missile systems, armor piercing rocket launchers, helicopters, you name it, they’ve got it,” Chris said, leaning back against the couch.

  “What about property and investments in other countries?” Matt wondered.

  “Still working on that. It gets tricky because everything’s under different names. There’s a reason he’s been evasive for this long. Salazar’s an intelligent man protected by faithful bodyguards. He uses violence to create fear in everyone
. If someone talks, or does something they aren’t supposed to, he doesn’t kill them, instead he kills their parents or kids. Everyone who works for him is scared shitless. Not only that, but he pays them an insane amount of money. One of Brianna’s bodyguards gets five million a year. Of course they’re going to be loyal under those circumstances.”

  Matt went to the refrigerator and grabbed another beer. “I still can’t believe he can run everything from inside the U.S.” It was nearly impossible for the DEA to track down and arrest Salazar because he had an infinite budget, whereas the DEA had a very limited one. Right there on U.S. soil, people were dying and destroying their lives by doing drugs, while Salazar became richer. The DEA was barely making a difference in the war against drugs. At least it was good job security, Matt thought wryly as he plopped down on the couch.

  “Salazar runs his organization like a highly sophisticated business,” Chris continued. “He reinvests his money into legitimate businesses. Not only that, but a lot of the tips we have anonymously received on other drug organizations are probably from Salazar himself.”

  “I can’t believe no one from his organization has spoken out. Usually someone turns.” That’s how the DEA caught most of their guys—flip one person and get to someone higher. The cycle continued until the top ranking people were taken down.

  “Even if someone wanted to, they wouldn’t know anything. Salazar has everything organized like terrorist groups. They are divided into cells, so that each little group is only responsible for one small task and that’s it. No one knows what anyone else is doing, or who else is even involved.”

  “Smart, very smart.” Perhaps the same was true with Brianna. Maybe she only knew one small piece of the puzzle. If that was the case, Matt could still save her.

  “Phillip’s hired several lawyers whose sole purpose is to study the DEA and U.S. prosecutors. Salazar knows all the ins and outs. We also found several diagrams of submarines. I have a team investigating that aspect.”

  “What about Brianna, is there anything in there about her?”

  Chris stared at Matt a few seconds before answering, “A lot.”