The woman looked down at a log of names and shook her head. “I’m sorry, sir. No one by that name has checked in with me. Are you sure she came to the ER?”
“No. I guess not. Where else would she go?”
The woman held up a finger and spoke into a headset. He rubbed the back of his neck and looked around the room. No sign of Kara.
Turning around, he made his way to the spot where he’d dropped her off. A lone form sat on the curb. He sprinted toward her. He’d missed seeing her since he’d parked and walked in from the other direction. Her shoulders slumped, and she looked bad, really bad.
He knelt beside her. “Kara?”
She looked up at him with glossy eyes. “You shouldn’t have come back.”
“You need help. That’s why I’m here.”
Her attempt at a smile looked more like a grimace. “I’m just really wiped out. All I need is water and an aspirin.”
“Fine. I’ll get you both.” He wrapped an arm around her waist and helped her stand. “I parked over there. Can you make it?”
She nodded but leaned heavily into him. “Do you remember the first time you came to my apartment?”
Her voice was soft, and he strained to hear. “Wait ’til we get inside. It’s too hard to hear you with all the cars.”
She shook her head, reached up, and brought his face down to hers. “Remember what you did the first time you came to my apartment?” She gave him a hopeful look then released his face and resumed walking.
He thought back to the first time he’d visited her, but nothing came to mind. Frustration gripped him. What was she trying to tell him, and why wouldn’t she just say it?
She jumped away from him and shouted. “You have a bug on your arm.”
He shook his arm. “Is it gone?”
She narrowed her eyes and pursed her lips, while making an almost imperceptible motion toward her own chest. “No. It’s hanging on tight. Look. Right there.”
He peered closer at her. Then like a speeding bullet smacking him in the forehead, he knew what she was saying. He’d mimed squishing a bug to make sure her place was clean from prying ears the first time he’d been inside her apartment. He flicked an invisible bug from his sleeve. “Got it. That thing didn’t want to let go.”
“No kidding. Reminds me of Sky.”
They were at his SUV now, and he made sure she was secure before getting in himself. Sky was a guy they worked with in Miami. One day while Sky was sleeping in his desk chair after an all-nighter, someone had placed a cockroach on his chest as a practical joke. When he woke, he nearly wet his pants it scared him so bad. If he’d deciphered her motion and her clue right, she had a bug on her about chest level.
Now that he knew the what, he needed the why. Why didn’t she remove it? “I’ll take you back to the ranch where you can rest. I know Veronica has plenty of aspirin so you should be set.” He yawned. “This has been a never-ending day.”
“Sure has. I didn’t know a day could feel this long. I guess that’s what happens when you wake to find your apartment burning and filled with smoke.”
“How about if you close your eyes and rest? I’ll wake you when we get there.”
He needed to piece things together fast. Kara said she had a situation, that Marci dropped her off, and she’d gone out of her way to get him to leave her alone when he’d brought up Eric. Anxiety seized him. Had he said something to endanger his family? He needed to talk with Kara soon.
Jeff led Kara into his bedroom, locked the door, and closed the blinds. He turned on the radio to a jazz station, then handed her a piece of paper and pen. He watched as she wrote, and it was worse than he’d guessed. He wrote back. Let me see the device.
She shook her head, and her cheeks flamed.
He scribbled fast. This is not the time for modesty!
No! Luis insinuated that it’s a bomb, and it’s activated by temperature. If it gets too cold it will blow. It also monitors my heart rate. If he thinks I’m up to something, he can activate the bomb remotely.
He’d never heard of such a thing. Kara had gotten herself into quite a mess. He needed to talk with Tad. They could replicate her body temperature, and even her heart rate with the right equipment. But what if Luis hadn’t told her everything? What if something else would trigger an explosion?
Is there a tracking device on the bomb?
She shrugged.
From what she’d told him they’d have fifteen seconds to remove the device and plant it on someone, or something else. But that would only solve half the problem. Luis would expect to hear conversations. Maybe we should keep the wire on you and feed Luis information.
She shrugged again.
He studied her face. The fatigue and hopelessness he saw concerned him. I’ll figure something out. Go rest in the guest room and try to sleep.
She rolled her eyes as if to say, yeah, right.
After a quick call to Tad, Jeff drove to Tad’s place to meet up with him.
Tad opened the door when Jeff turned off the engine.
“What do you have?” Tad asked.
“Let’s go inside.” Jeff carried the bug sweeper inside his duffel and intended to use it before talking. He swept the room, and it came up clean. “Luis Alvarado accosted Kara. She has a heat activated wire on her chest that she believes will explode if separated from her body for more than fifteen seconds.”
“What kind of wire are we talking about?”
“It’s a heart monitor of sorts, heat sensitive, and she’s wired for sound. I don’t know what else. It may have a tracking device for all I know. Anyway, Luis is demanding she give him half the drugs from the bust when it goes down.”
“He’s got to know she can’t get away with that.”
“I don’t think he cares. He wants her dead, and he wants the drugs. If she follows through, he gets both.”
“I agree. We need to get the bomb squad over there.”
“Not so fast. He also seems to know where she is at all times. My family is there.”
“I see your point. Take her into the field office. I’ll have the bomb squad waiting. I want to know what we’re dealing with.”
“That should work. Luis knows she goes there, so it won’t look suspicious.”
“Right. Our sources tell us the drugs will be here the day after tomorrow. The team is ready to go. We’ll make it appear that Kara’s going to give Luis the drugs then take him into custody.”
“That may be easier said than done. He didn’t tell her how she was supposed to get the drugs to him.”
Tad rubbed his chin. “Hmm. I guess we’ll deal with the details later.”
“I don’t like surprises,” Jeff said.
“I hear you. But what other option do we have? Until Luis makes a move, we can only react.”
Jeff hated to admit it, but Tad was right. No amount of planning on their part would help unless Luis played into their hands. “What about Eric? Did the information he and Jake provided help?”
“Yes. We were able to corroborate the info with what we already knew and went from there. This is huge. Teams in seventeen states will coordinate a takedown of several drug cartels.” Tad grinned. “In less than thirty-six hours, it will all be over. And best of all, I think we can use the situation with Kara to our advantage and pick up Alvarado at the same time.”
“I’m listening,” Jeff said, though his brain was still stuck on the size of this operation. What did this mean for Eric and his family?
“We’ll keep Kara out of the loop except for what relates directly to her. She doesn’t need to know how big this is. You and I take a team in at the designated time and raid the shack you spotted. According to Eric, that’s where the drugs are stored. Expect three heavily armed guards. Let Kara sign out what she needs. Then I’ll have another team in place to apprehend Alvarado when it goes down.”
“Assuming you can find him. The man has a way of blending in.”
“So I’ve heard.” A small frown
creased his brows. “There’s a taskforce meeting in the morning at eight. Make sure Kara understands what’s going on. We’ll have a dummy meeting with her at eight thirty to feed Alvarado information.”
“Okay. What about the wire?”
“The bomb squad can check it out in the morning when we’re in our meeting.”
“Seems like a long time to wait to find out if she’s wearing a bomb.”
“If you go in this late, you’re sure to tip off Luis. She’s safer if everything appears normal. He needs her. If he thinks she’s cooperating he’s not going to kill her.”
“Good point.” Even for him, 10:00 p.m. was late. “We’ll see you in the morning.”
Chapter 35
Kara watched Jeff pace his bedroom while talking on the phone. She wished he could put it on speaker, but then Alvarado would hear every word.
Jeff stilled.
“What?” she whispered. Something about Jeff’s expression made her stomach knot.
Jeff held up one finger. “Okay, thanks.” He stuffed his phone into his pocket and placed his hand on Kara’s back. “That was Gary with some unsettling news. He sent a fire expert to your apartment. The expert found a small amount of wheat chaff in a light switch box.”
“What does that have to do with anything?”
“Wheat chaff is highly flammable, and it can’t get into the light switch box by itself.”
“Arson? Why didn’t the fire inspector see it?”
“It’s easy to miss something like that. Especially if you’re not looking for it.” He glanced at his watch. “We have an appointment at eight.”
She raised her eyebrows. Didn’t he understand that everything she heard, Luis heard as well?
He grinned and patted her shoulder.
She nodded as understanding dawned. He had a plan, and she was the pawn. For once, she didn’t mind. She grabbed a pad of paper. What’s going on?
The bomb squad is meeting you at eight. Then at eight thirty there’s a meeting.
Didn’t anyone around here understand how Luis operated? If he suspected for one second that she’d told anyone about the wire, she was as good as dead.
Jeff mouthed, “Trust me,” then said, “Let’s go. We don’t want to be late.”
Kara left the field office with an extra spring in her step. The bomb squad assured her the device on her chest was not a bomb or tracking device—it couldn’t even monitor her heartbeat. Alvarado was a lying, ruthless man, but at least he was only listening to her conversations—talk about a relief. Luis must really think she was gullible. She frowned. Okay, she’d been a little too easy to fool.
She looked down at the report Tad had handed to her at the meeting. It would feel so fantastic to arrest Luis. She’d play his little game, but in the end, she’d win. Finally, justice would be served, not only for herself, but for her cousin and her former partner. Justice for all those lives destroyed by drugs.
It seemed her life had been culminating to this one moment in time when she could destroy the life of someone who’d left nothing but destruction in his path. Her gut squeezed a little, but she ignored the feeling of guilt eating away at her insides.
A minute later she sped down the highway toward the ranch. Why should she feel guilty for wanting to destroy Alvarado? He had destroyed countless lives. He deserved what was coming to him.
She turned into the driveway and spotted Jeff working on the pasture fence. Rather than drive up to the house, she pulled over and climbed the fence.
Jeff waved and hollered, “Watch your step. It can be a bit messy out here.”
Kara narrowly missed a pile of manure and continued toward him keeping her vision trained on the ground. She didn’t want to ruin her shoes, cheap sneakers or not. “You missed the meeting.”
“Tad filled me in.”
Kara nodded. “What happened to the fence?”
“Looks like someone got a bit too close with their vehicle and knocked a board loose.”
“Why are you fixing it? I thought this was more Jake’s purview.”
“Eric and Jake are running an errand in town.”
“Oh. No one said anything about hitting the fence?”
“Nope.”
Kara watched as he finished up the repair. “Want a ride up to the house?”
“I’m covered in dirt and dust. You sure you want me in your car?”
Kara waved her hand in front of her face. “Whew, now that you mention it.”
Jeff’s face broke into a grin. He dropped his tools and reached for Kara, crushing her to him.
Kara squealed. “Let me go. Gross!” She wiggled out of his arms and made for the fence, but not before he could catch her again in the circle of his arms. One thing about wearing Luis’s wire made her happy. She no longer had to be nervous about a sniper attack. Luis wanted drugs and until she delivered or broke the rules of his game, she’d be safe.
Jeff looked down at her. “Lady, you can’t get away from me.” Without warning his lips met hers.
Kara forgot about Alvarado and tomorrow’s bust as Jeff deepened the kiss. A horn beeped, and they pulled apart. Kara turned toward the driveway to see Lauren in the passenger seat of a red car.
“Way to go, Uncle Jeff.”
Jeff waved. “Kara your car’s blocking the driveway.”
Kara felt her face heat. “Shoot.” She climbed over the fence and looked back toward Jeff. “You coming?”
“No. Go ahead. I’ll meet you on the porch in a little bit.”
“Okay.” The girls honked again and Kara jogged to her car. Too bad the driveway wasn’t a bit wider. “Have patience. I’m coming.” She got into her car and drove ahead.
In the ranch yard, she walked over to the porch swing and sank into the deep cushion. Lauren waved good-bye to her friend and followed after Kara.
Lauren perched on the porch railing. “I’d say my uncle loves you.”
“You think so?” He’d said as much himself. But it surprised her that his fifteen-year-old niece had figured it out.
Lauren nodded. “Do you love him?”
She sucked in a breath and let it out slowly. She did not want to feed Alvarado any more ammunition to use against her. “I like him a lot, but love? I don’t know.” She gave a weak smile.
Lauren hopped off the railing. “I’m sure you’ll figure it out.” She walked into the house, leaving Kara staring with her mouth hanging open.
Jeff climbed the stairs of the porch, one hand in his jeans pocket. “Mind if I join you?”
Kara patted the spot next to her and decided to have a little fun. With a serious face, she addressed Jeff. “We need to talk.” She had his attention. “I distinctly remember asking you not to kiss me until your beard grew in all the way, or you shaved. That display in the pasture clearly broke our agreement.”
He rubbed his beard with his fingers. “Seems soft enough to me. I don’t know what you’re complaining about.”
A giggle bubbled from her mouth. He pulled her to him and rubbed his chin along the side of her face.
“Yeow. Watch the stitches.”
“Oh. Sorry.” He slowly rubbed his beard against the side of her face.
She chuckled. “I need that skin you’re trying to remove.”
He released her and sat back with a satisfied grin on his face.
She could get used to this, but their job didn’t allow for many light moments. She’d treasure this one.
Chapter 36
After phoning Gail to explain that she’d be staying out at the ranch for a few days, Kara went to the barn in search of Jeff. Thankfully, Gail hadn’t been put out by her change of plans. Her friend was smart and surely figured out having Kara at her house put everyone there in danger.
The bust would go down in the morning, and then it’d be time to go home. Kara couldn’t wipe the grin off her face. Tomorrow, she’d arrest Luis Alvarado.
“What’s the smile about?” Jeff asked.
Where was he? Kara s
wiveled from side to side.
“Up here.”
She looked up and spotted Jeff peering at her from the loft. “I’m smiling because I’m happy.”
He climbed down the ladder and sidled up to her. “I’m glad. It’s about time.”
“I know.” She heard a large vehicle pull to a stop outside the barn. The Gonzaleses most likely—right on time. The textbook bust was imminent, and now all that they had to do was sit back and wait for Tad to give the order to move in.
Jeff nodded toward the house. “You thirsty? I could use a glass of lemonade.”
“I won’t pass that up.” She took his hand, and they walked out of the barn together. “Something’s not right.” Jeff’s hand tightened around hers. “Look, Fernando’s on the porch with Veronica, and she doesn’t look pleased. Where’s Andrea?”
“In their truck, which is minus the trailer.” They walked toward the house.
Fernando grabbed Veronica’s arms and shook her.
“Not on my watch,” Jeff muttered. He released Kara’s hand, ran forward, and leaped up the porch steps. “What’s going on here?”
Kara stood within listening distance—her senses piqued ready to react at a moment’s notice.
Fernando’s eyes narrowed. “The lady and I are having a conversation.”
Jeff shook his head. “That’s not the way we treat ladies around here. Get lost and cool off.”
Kara’s pulse increased. Fernando looked angry, and Jeff wasn’t helping.
Fernando balled his fingers into fists and looked like he might take a swing at Jeff. Kara adjusted her stance, ready to assist her partner if necessary.
Fernando hissed. “No one talks to me like that.”
Jeff shrugged and stepped back.
Kara kept her gaze focused on Fernando, who didn’t budge. The snake had a murderous look on his face. The front door swung open, and Lauren sauntered out. Fernando quick-stepped toward Lauren, wrapped one arm around her neck, then whipped a switchblade from his pocket and held it against her cheek.
Veronica screamed.
“What are you doing? Let her go.” Jeff raised his hands palms out. “I’m sure this is all a misunderstanding.”
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