by Desiree Holt
“Consider it done.”
Barrera disconnected the call and leaned back in the chair. Ruben had never failed him yet, so why did he have such an uneasy feeling now? It was the whole situation. Finding out that Melinda Clayton wasn’t who she said, and that her reality was worse than he thought. Her disappearance. Everything. He should just go pick up Inez Albado now and put her through the wringer until she told him the truth. That was what he usually did. But something held him back, maybe the thought that if he played this smart, he’d end up catching bigger fish.
He couldn’t afford to make a mistake. He’d built his own kingdom here and was enjoying great success. One mistake, one misstep…
No! No, he would not let that happen. He’d planned for too long and worked too hard to get what he had. No one was going to take it away from him, even if he had to kill a bunch of people to save it.
With all that whirling in his mind, he climbed the stairs to his bedroom. Morning was almost here and he needed at least a short nap to be functional.
* * * *
“They still have the damn checkpoints up.” Viper shook his head. “Aren’t they afraid the tourists will be intimidated by them?”
Ed snorted. “Only because they need enough regular tourists to provide cover for the pieces of shit that usually come here, with their dirty money and their terrorist friends and their—” He flapped his hand in the air. “Never mind. You know what I mean.”
It had been a very long, very tense night. They needed to assess the situation at each exit out of the city, but at the same time they couldn’t afford to show themselves. They found stores and gas stations and other facilities that they could pull into and pretend to have business there, but they couldn’t do that too much, either. The people working there would recognize them and, if they were snitches for Barrera, pass along that they’d been around maybe once too often.
“They’ve got soldiers everywhere,” Viper commented. “It’s like being back in Afghanistan or Iraq.”
“It is,” Eagle agreed. “It’s the same atmosphere. Soldiers everywhere and people just going about their business. And if you look closer, you can see there is a strain in the way they move and you don’t see a lot of smiles on people.”
“I wouldn’t be smiling, either.” Ed grunted.
They pulled into a deserted warehouse that looked like it had once been something else. Pieces of large machinery lay on the floor, along with other unidentifiable objects.
“No one will bother us here,” Ed told them, “and we need to take turns catching a power nap. We’re going to need it.”
When they were all awake again, they made a run for breakfast tacos and coffee, which they carried back to the warehouse so they could eat without being in the open.
After crumpling up the paper wrapper and stuffing it into the takeout bag, Blaze pulled out his sat phone. “Before we do anything else, I think we should check in with Rocket and Mallory again. We haven’t spoken to them since this morning.”
“Good idea,” Viper agreed.
“Wait a sec.” Ed looked at everyone. “Mallory Kane has Inez’s cell phone number. And we need to talk to Inez about getting her whole family out of here. I just talked to a friend and I’ve got a good idea how to do that, but I have to talk to Inez first. And we can’t just walk up to her and say, ‘Hi, we’re here to save you. Come along with us.’ She doesn’t know us from a concrete wall and her boyfriend might shoot us.”
“So what have you got in mind?” Viper wanted to know.
“After you get Rocket on the phone and check in with him, have him put Mallory on. She can reach out to Inez so the woman will talk to us.”
“Good idea.” Blaze punched numbers into the keypad. “Hey!” Blaze snapped his fingers to get everyone’s attention and nodded to indicate a connection. He pressed a button so everyone could hear. “Just checking in with you guys again. Sorry we haven’t been able to move this train more today, but we’re working on it. How’s it going there?”
“Well,” Rocket drawled, “it wouldn’t be my first choice for a vacation, but it’s not all that bad.” Then his voice hardened. “But seriously, you guys making any progress on getting us out of here? Barrera still have his checkpoints in place?”
“Working on it, and you have my word for that—and yes, he does. He’s a real dog with a bone when he gets fixated on something. Barrera’s apparently paranoid about her getting out of here so he’s doing his best to contain the island. Got checkpoints at every road leading out of the city to the rest of the island, and there seems to be an increased military presence. Although I’d more likely call them thugs. He wants Mallory and he’ll use the Albados to get to her.”
“What are the options? Will making our way through the jungle take us to a good exfil point?”
“Maybe, but more likely not. You might have to do some hiking over pretty rough terrain.” Blaze paused. “We might have to end up giving Saint the go-ahead signal to execute on his end.”
“You think they have any idea we’re hiding in the jungle?”
“No.” Viper shook his head, even though Rocket couldn’t see him. “If they did, he’d have put a large group together and gone after you. I don’t think anyone really wants to go digging in there, truth be told. But before we get to that, we need Mallory to do us a favor.”
There was a long moment of silence. Then, “What kind of favor? I’m not putting her in any danger.”
“What do they want?” he heard her ask. “Whatever it is, if it helps Inez, I’m in. Please.”
Blaze handed the phone to Ed.
“Hey, Mallory, this is Ed. I have the name and address of Inez’s boyfriend. I think he lives only about ten minutes from where we are. We need to talk to her, but she’s not about to open the door to a bunch of strangers. Not with all the shit going on. I’d like to catch her before she leaves to go home or wherever, or if both of them head out for something for the day. Can you call her and vouch for us?”
“No problem. But when you get to her, tell her Mallory wants to know if she’s still drinking those gin gimlets?”
Blaze frowned. “Gin gimlets?”
“Uh-huh. We had a wild night with them. No one knows about it but the two of us, so that’s your entry word.”
“Good, good. Thanks. And we’ll be getting you guys out of there before the end of the day if we can.”
“Thanks. That’ll be good.”
“All set?” This was Rocket, who had apparently taken the phone back from her.
“Yes. Thanks. Stand by for an update.”
“Okay. Just keep us in the loop.”
Blaze disconnected and shoved the phone back into his pocket.
“While we wait for her to call Inez,” Ed told them, “let me text Mateo and see what he can tell us about Barrera’s plans for today. He might decide to remove the checkpoints since they’ve come up with nothing and put all his eggs in the basket of tonight’s raid.”
“I have a hard time understanding why he’d wait until tonight,” Eagle said, “when it seems so many people know his plans already. Isn’t he afraid they’ll disappear?”
“He knows most people are too terrified of him to give help in a situation like this. His thought is, where would they go?”
“We’ve found ways out of worse situations,” Viper reminded him. “Let’s get the Albados taken care of first. Then we’ll get the rest of us off this fucking island.”
“And I have an idea about Inez and her family,” Ed told them.
Less than five minutes later, Blaze’s sat phone rang.
“All set,” Rocket told him when he answered. “Inez is expecting your call.”
“Good deal. Okay, we’re on it.”
Ed dialed the number and put the phone on speaker.
“Hello?” The voice sounded cautious.
“I have a question for you. Mallory wants to know if you’re still drinking gin gimlets.”
The woman on the other end of
the call gave a shaky laugh. “Not if I can help it.”
“Smart woman. Okay, this is Ed. Some friends and I are coming to visit you in a few minutes. Please don’t shoot us.”
“Uh, okay. When you knock on the door, mention the gin again. You have the address?”
“I do.”
“I’ll be looking for you.”
As they drove to the address Ed had, Viper noticed a lot of activity in the streets. Small pickup trucks, some of them as battered as the SUV they were in, were navigating the narrow streets in this part of town. Other vehicles jammed with people and cartons pulled out of driveways and alleyways.
“Does this have to do with that open-air market you told us about?” Eagle asked. “Are you sure it can’t screw up what we’re doing? Maybe by having too much of Barrera’s army around?”
Ed glanced at him, his mouth curved in a sly grin. “Actually, it can be a help. Let’s get the Albados taken care of. Then we can work on Mallory and you guys.”
Ten minutes later, Ed had pulled their battered SUV into the alley that ran behind the apartment buildings where Inez Albado was. He parked between two huge dumpsters. Putting the car in park, he began texting with someone. No one said a word to interrupt him, knowing it had to be important. Finally, he stuck the phone back in the cupholder.
“Okay, got what I need. I think this only takes two of us, so who wants to do the deed with me?”
“I will.” Eagle climbed out of the back seat.
“Okay. Blaze, move your ass over here to the driver’s seat and keep it the engine on. No telling what we’ll run into.”
“Ed?” Eagle leaned forward from the back seat. “You want to share with us what your plan is, because we seem to be winging it a lot here?”
“Have I ever not had a plan?” he demanded in a quiet voice. “Trust me, okay? Let’s move it.”
Blaze and Viper waited in the SUV, the car in park but the engine running, for what seemed like an hour, but turned out to be no more than ten minutes. They spotted Ed and Eagle returning with a woman in jeans and a pink T-shirt, her long hair pulled back in a ponytail and distress lining her face.
Ed opened the door and ushered her in next to Viper. In seconds, they were pulling out of the alley and moving away from that particular area. Then he made the introductions.
“Gentlemen, say hello to Inez Albado, a very gutsy lady who’s been risking her life to hide and protect Mallory.”
“Please.” She shook her head. “It’s my fault she was here in the first place. I’m the one who put her in danger.”
“From what I know about Mallory Kane,” Viper said, “she does exactly what she wants. You told her about a situation that she could expose to the world. She took it from there. My guess is when she gets back to the States and writes her articles and her book, General Barrera and his penny ante cartel won’t be long for this world.”
“Don’t you mean if she gets back?”
“Not at all. That’s a given. We don’t fail.”
“I hope you’re right.” She blew out a breath. “I can’t believe you’re actually taking the time to protect my parents and me, too.”
“Of course. And this open-air market is just the ticket for it. I’m guessing your parents will be shopping at it, right?”
“Yes. They always do.”
“Okay,” he told her. “I want you to call them, and here’s what you tell them.”
She listened carefully, a slightly stunned look on her face, as Ed laid out the details for her.
“I can’t believe you’re doing this for total strangers.”
Viper turned in his seat to face her.
“First of all, you aren’t strangers. You and your family went out of your way to protect her and you shouldn’t have to suffer for her. Mallory is special to us, so people who take care of her are special.”
The smile disappeared from his face. “But it’s unfortunate that you and your parents have to leave your home. You must hate this. You’ve built a life here.”
“A life?” She snorted. “What kind of life is it when I spend most of my time in the emergency room treating bullet and knife wounds and other injuries resulting from Barrera’s activities? And my parents are so depressed at what has happened to their homeland, at the way Barrera controls everything and has turned the country into one big criminal enterprise, that they can hardly stand it here anymore. They fully supported my inviting Mallory here to do what she does best and will be very grateful for a way out of this. Believe me.”
“Okay, then. Go ahead and make the call,” Ed told her, “and we’ll set things up.”
He pulled slowly out of the alley and turned into the narrow street. It was tougher going now, with more vehicles clogging the narrow roadways and more people walking along, many carrying large bags and boxes.
“For a lot of these people,” Ed explained to them, “this is a major source of their income. The people who bring their boats to the marina, or keep them berthed there, love to spend money on things from a foreign country.”
“And the people here put on a good show,” Inez added. “Many residents of Santa Marita spend all their time growing the produce and making the craft items because it’s their only source of income.”
Blaze frowned. “When I looked it up on the web, I read that you grow a variety of trees and sell the wood for a good price. Also that you have a thriving factory that processes some of the produce and sells it to small grocery chains and restaurants.”
Inez gave a derisive but ladylike snort. “That’s all out of date. Almost all the fields have been taken over to grow poppies for opium and ephedra for meth. He tells people it’s much more profitable. At least it is for him. The cannery has been turned into a meth lab and the lumber mill used to be in this old warehouse. Barrera has destroyed the company so he can have his own cartel and be a drug kingpin. That’s why I wanted Mallory to come here and see what was happening. I thought maybe if she wrote about it, someone in power someplace would pay attention and do something about it.”
Blaze nodded. “And maybe we can help make that happen.”
“But in the meantime,” Eagle said, “let’s get your parents taken care of.”
Chapter Eleven
Barrera was in a foul mood. Everything was going wrong. Every. Fucking. Thing. As if it weren’t bad enough that the Clayton woman had disappeared, now he’d learned that wasn’t even her name. She wasn’t just a nosy tourist but a bestselling author who had made her bones going into places like Afghanistan and Venezuela and writing books about what was really happening there. When Ruben had discovered her real identity, he’d also learned she had a price on her head if she ever went back to any of those countries.
He’d be happy to sell that head to them, especially after he chopped it off her neck.
How was it possible that with every fucking exit from the city watched and guarded, no one had seen a hint of them? He was pretty damn sure no one was lying to him. They knew what he did with liars—it wasn’t nice and it wasn’t pretty. And the longer it took to find that bitch, the angrier he got.
To add to his misery, there was a problem at one of the farms that grew the poppies and he’d had trouble with two workers at the meth lab. That last one had been easy enough to take care of, but he couldn’t keep ‘erasing’ people. Too much of that and the residents of Santa Marita would get suspicious. They’d also try to figure out a way to get away from here. Too bad for them he had the marina locked down tight, but that didn’t mean he wouldn’t have to weather an unpleasant hassle.
As if that weren’t enough, Ruben had just told him that today there would be one of those impromptu open-air markets down by the marina. He approved two a month, so the people whose jobs he had eliminated could scrounge enough money to feed their families. Ruben had reported to him about disgruntled reactions, but as far as he was concerned, they were lucky he didn’t just eliminate the people who displeased him or argued with him, the way many other cartels di
d.
And now there was another one of these impromptu events that would take up a huge part of the waterfront, occupying a lot of the parking area and even setting up small tables on one side of the docks. He would need extra men there today, because there was no telling if Mallory Kane would try to sneak off the island in the crowd.
He was sitting at his desk in the presidential palace this morning, trying to look at the situation from all angles, when Ruben Vidal rapped on the door jamb.
“Bella said I could just come on in.”
Bella was Barrera’s secretary and a very tough guardian of the gates. She was actually the one who made the machinery run smoothly. Ten years ago, when he’d still been with the Sinaloa cartel, she had been one of the tempting pieces of ass he’d grabbed off the street one night and brought back to his home. Even today, he had to admit she was one of the best fucks of his life. She was so good, in fact, in both performance and attitude, that when she’d told him her dream of becoming a secretary, he’d paid for her training and gotten her an office job with one of his friends. When he’d taken over Santa Marita, he’d snatched her away and brought her with him, which was one of the best decisions he’d ever made. Without her and Ruben, this whole thing would fall apart.
Now he looked up at his right-hand man.
“Yes. Please. Come in. We need to discuss the situation.”
Ruben dropped into one of the chairs opposite the desk and crossed his legs, the ankle of one foot resting on the opposite knee.
“And which situation is that? Finding Mallory Kane? Tracking down the Albados? Making sure word does not get out about tonight’s raid?”
Barrera sat forward. “What do you mean, tracking the Albados? This early on a Saturday, they should still be at home.”
When suspicions about Inez Albados’ guest had first been relayed to him, he’d asked the regular street patrols to keep track of the activities of Inez Albados’ parents. They seemed to be creatures of habit, which made them easier to watch.