by Misty Evans
“Agent Rios says Blue is still pretending to be Guido—he was in the bar last night with a few of his men—and no one has outed him that we can tell.”
“That’s because Morales doesn’t want to out him. Sending me after him tonight was for show. For all I know, Blue has told Morales about Sophie and me, and we’re dead meat come morning.”
Another long pause. Harris was a thinker, which made him good at leading the taskforce, but he was also a doer. The men and women under him respected his brains and his brawn. “I’m all for an exfiltration, but neither Morales nor Blue are at the compound, so the biggest threat to your safety at this moment is Mother Nature. Rios and I can keep an eye on both men and notify you of their movements should they decide to venture out in this storm.”
Damn it. He walked on silent feet to a spot where he could glance into the bedroom. Sophie was sleeping deeply. Lowering his voice even more, he said, “One call to Morales’s men and Sophie and I could be in deep shit.”
“Agreed, but you’ve outwitted those chumps before. You can do it again. Stick to your orders. Keep Agent Diaz safe and bring her home in one piece. I’ll leave it up to you to decide when to exit the city. Give me a heads-up if you need help.”
Harris’s faith in him was good for his ego, and it wasn’t misplaced. He could outwit Morales’s men if need be. Pacing into the kitchen, he ran a hand through his hair. “I’ll take care of Sophie, but just so you know, if Blue comes anywhere near her or this compound before we leave, I will disable his ability to walk and talk.”
His boss didn’t try to argue with him, but his tone was less than happy. “You’re walking a fine line and you’re already in trouble with Dupé. You get yourself in trouble with the Agency, I may not be able to bail your ass out.”
The Agency was the least of his worries. If anyone found out he’d covered for Sophie, his ass was going in a deep, dark hole that not even Victor Dupé could bail him out of. “Understood, sir. And…”
“What?”
“Thank you. It’s been a pleasure working with you on the taskforce.”
“What aren’t you telling me, Cruz?”
“Let me know if you see movement out of Blue or Morales,” he said and disconnected.
Sophie was still sleeping, which eased the ache in his heart a bit. He wanted to crawl in next to her, but he was too keyed up. Grabbing his jacket—which would do him absolutely no good—he decided to go check the house. He needed proof that Blue was working with Morales, and somewhere inside that mansion might be the key to piecing all of it together.
The normal fifty-second walk to the house took him nearly five minutes. He could barely breath, the onslaught of rain and wind so great. When he finally made the west side and let himself in by overriding the security system, he found a dark house. Alexa was hopefully in bed, but her caretaker was probably awake, keeping an eye on the storm and her charge.
The first place to start was the study.
It would have been nice to have Sophie there to watch his back, but she needed the sleep after her vision or whatever the hell that was. He didn’t really believe in visions or psychics or any of that stuff, but he’d grown up in a family who did.
The only thing he was sure of was the fact Sophie had definitely experienced something that had upset her. If she claimed it was a vision, then so be it. There were things in this life he’d never be able to figure out or understand. What he did know was that underneath his inept cartel leader persona, Rodrigo Morales was one slick son-of-a-bitch.
Nelson picked the lock to the office and made his way inside. He didn’t dare turn on lights, so he pulled out his flashlight. The beam glided over the desk, gemstone display, and snake terrarium. The desk seemed like the most obvious place to find what he was looking for, but he pointed the flashlight at the gemstone display and let it linger there. The glass was built into the bookcase with an LED light strip and was about the same size as the snake terrarium. He didn’t know much about diamonds, but he didn’t have to be an expert in rocks to know that the value of what was contained in the case was probably more than five years of his paychecks. Maybe ten.
Nelson ran his hand along the edges, looking for a way inside the cabinet. The display appeared to be completely sealed, but there had to be a door or hatch to access the gemstones. Nelson dropped into a crouch and felt the underside of the bookcase shelf. At the far back, his fingers touched metal; a lock.
He craned his neck and shined the flashlight on the metal. A brass lock and two hinges winked at him in the light.
Thanks to his lock pic, thirty seconds later, the bottom of the case swung open. Flashlight in hand, Nelson aimed it up and saw something stored underneath the single layer of gemstones.
What was this?
He took out a small, red book and flipped through it.
Ledger. There were two more tucked inside.
More fucking ledgers.
The handwriting inside was delicate, careful, loopy. Page after page listed diamonds, rubies, emeralds. Morales’s collections, what he’d bought and sold, the dates, and to whom.
Like father, like son.
The next ledger contained names. Not of people.
Of snakes.
Along with the name was the type of snake, where the animals were bought and sold, dates, and suppliers. Some were in South America and Africa. Others were in the good old U.S. of A.
None of the logged names were Agent Blue, or his alias, Guido.
Didn’t mean there wasn’t a connection.
“Rigo?” Lexie’s voice startled him. A sweep of his flashlight showed the girl standing in the doorway, her dog next to her leg. “Is that you?”
Returning the ledgers to their place, he hastily closed up the case. “It’s me, Nico. Your brother isn’t here.”
She held out her hand to hand. “Nico? Where’s Maria-Sophia?”
“Sleeping.” He crossed the room and took her hand. “Which is what you should be doing. I came to check on you and make sure the house was safe. Let’s get you back to bed.”
“I can’t sleep. The storm makes so much noise. I wish Rigo was home.”
“Where’s Kristine?”
“She said she had work to do and that I need to stop being such a baby.”
What kind of work did Kristine have to do at this time of the morning?
“Will you stay with me?” Lexie asked as Nelson guided her out to the hall.
Where was Sophie when he needed her? “Let me finish up here and I’ll be right there.”
Seemingly satisfied, Lexie headed toward her room at the other end of the hall. Nelson heaved a sigh, giving the office one last sweep of his flashlight. The snake tank was still an option. He’d check that after he got Lexie in bed. If he didn’t find anything there, he’d go through the desk.
Turning to follow the girl, he pulled up short when he caught sight of a shadow from the corner of his eye. A shadow that shouldn’t be at the top of the stairs.
“Fancy meeting you here,” Agent Blue said. His voice was low, his skin a sickly yellow in the glow of the beam from Nelson’s flashlight.
He motioned at Nelson to head back into the office. “We have a few things to discuss.”
At the far end of the hall, Lexie heard Blue’s voice and turned back. “Who’s there? Are you coming, Nico?”
“I’ll be right there, kid.”
Blue took a step toward him. Water droplets beaded on his forehead. “Isn’t that sweet. The big, bad immigration agent taking care of a cartel leader’s little brat sister.”
Nelson didn’t back up. “How did you get into the compound? I destroyed that little piece of technology you were using to clone the security system. Which one of the guards did you bribe?”
“Didn’t need to bribe a guard. The housekeeper likes me.”
Kristine. No wonder she’d left Lexie alone. She was waiting for Blue to show up. “What does she get out of this?”
“Besides my awesome presence?
She has two kids at home. Instead of being with them, she’s stuck here taking care of Rodrigo’s little sister. She has no loyalty to him. This is a job, plain and simple. I drop by occasionally, make it worth her while. Tonight, after she let me in, I sent her on her way. The rest of your measly security team has bailed as well.”
“What do you want?”
Blue swept his jacket back, resting his hand on his waistband. The action showed Nelson the semiautomatic hanging in a holster under his arm. Nelson also noticed the man was wearing black gloves. “Heard you outed me to Morales. I had to take immediate action to control the damage. Thought you should know, he’s turning himself in first thing tomorrow morning. Cutting a deal with the Attorney General.”
“Right. And I’m the pope. There’s no way he would do that.”
“Sure he would. He gives up his network of suppliers, and in return, all he’ll get is five years, minimum security. Paperwork is being drawn up as we speak.”
“Bullshit. He’s planning an escape, his swan song, to get out from under this mess. You’re helping him, and my guess is, you’re bailing too. Got a nice little cache of gemstones waiting for you in the States, don’t you?”
Blue rocked back on his heels. “My, my, you’re a clever one, aren’t you?”
“If Morales turns himself in, why not finger you and sweeten the deal even more? You won’t let that happen. So even if you did convince him to cut a deal with the AG, you’re going to kill him before he sees the sun rise.”
Blue removed the gun from its holster, let it hang at his side. “I suppose you shared this theory with Agent Diaz?”
The gun meant only one thing.
Let him try to kill me. “She knows nothing.” He had to keep her safe if at all possible. “I shared it with people higher up on the food chain, though. My boss, his boss, the CIA. Killing me won’t stop the fire and brimstone about to come down on your ass.”
Behind Blue, Nelson thought he saw movement on the stairs. Sophie? One of Morales’s security guards? Kristine?
“The Company doesn’t care what I do,” Blue said. “I’m immune to the laws that govern you and your bitch because I get results where others can’t.”
Nelson couldn’t shine his flashlight on the stairs in case it was Sophie. He had to keep Blue’s attention on him. “Nah, the game’s almost up. My source inside the CIA says they’re gunning for you as soon as the deal with the European buyer is over at noon. But you know that, don’t you? You’ve suckered Morales into believing he can cut a deal with the AG, and meanwhile, you’re going to take the diamonds and make a run for it. You’ll have a sweet, easy new life while he rots in prison.”
“Nico, are you coming?” Lexie called.
“In a minute, chica.”
Blue raised the gun and cocked it. “You really shouldn’t lie to the girl.”
“What are you going to do with her?”
One shoulder shrugged. “Collateral damage. I’ll leave the weapon in your hand and make it look like you shot her, then killed yourself. The gun, by the way, is registered to your girlfriend.”
Nelson braced, thigh muscles ready to jump at Blue. No way he was dying by a traitor’s gun, and no way he was letting an innocent girl be taken down with him. “You’re a disgrace to your country.”
“And you’re a”—
Bam!
The hallway exploded with a flash and a bang from a gun.
Chapter Twenty-eight
Blue’s body arched toward Nelson, his eyes going wide as a dark, wet bloom of blood soaked through the front of his shirt. For a second, he seemed suspended, head thrown back, mouth slack. The gun fell to the floor, then he dropped to his knees and face-planted at Nelson’s feet.
Behind Blue, it wasn’t Sophie who stood with the weapon that had done the damage. It wasn’t one of the security team or Kristine either.
As someone flipped on the lights and Lexie came running down the hall calling for him, Nelson felt his skin crawl.
There, with a sick smile on his face and his gun pointed at Nelson’s chest, was Rodrigo Morales.
“Alexa,” he said to his sister, “go back in your room. Nico—or should I say, Agent Cruz—and I need to talk.”
There were two men stationed directly behind him, one on either side. Sanny and Xavier. Both glared at Nelson.
Lexie’s voice was small and timid. She seemed to want to throw herself at her brother, and at the same time, run from him. “I don’t understand. What is going on? Did you come home early because of the storm?”
Nelson tousled her hair. Under his fingers, he felt her shaking. “Nothing to worry about, kid. Your brother’s home safe and he’ll tuck you in after he and I are done talking.”
She seemed to sense the lie. “I want Nico to stay and read me a story,” she said to Morales. Her tiny chin jutted forward.
Three inches from her feet, Blue lay bleeding out on the tile floor, his gun lodged half under his leg. Nelson was fast and pretty damn agile, but he couldn’t risk Lexie’s life by diving for the gun.
A shootout with Morales, he could win hands-down. A shoot-out with Morales and two of his goons? The outcome was questionable, and Lexie would end up the collateral damage Blue had meant for her to be.
Nelson also couldn’t bring himself to take out her brother right in front of her, even if she was blind.
“Alexa.” Morales’s voice was sharp. “Go back to bed. Now.”
“I want Maria-Sophia!” She stomped her foot, but then turned on her heel and headed for her bedroom.
Morales waited until she was out of sight, then pointed at Nelson. “Take him to the pit,” he said to Sanny and Xavier.
As the first goon stepped over Blue’s body, Nelson lunged for the gun. “Sorry fellows,” he said, rolling and coming up with it on the other side. “I ain’t doing that shit again.”
He fired.
“Maria-Sophia!” Tiny hands slapped her cheeks. “Wake up!”
The vision hangover encased Sophie in a thick, heavy fog. But like a trained dog, her legs swung around and she was sitting up before her eyes were even open. She was tired of these rude awakenings, that was for sure.
As she blinked her eyes a few times, Lexie came into view. “Wha…what?”
The little girl was beside herself. “It’s Nico. They took him to the snake pit. He made Rigo mad. You have to help him!”
Nelson, Rodrigo, snake pit.
Sophie’s stomach dropped. She took the girl’s hands. Lexie was drenched, her service dog as well. “Slow down. Tell me what happened.”
The girl rattled off how she’d heard noises and found Nico checking on her at the house. Then another man had shown up, and she’d eavesdropped on their conversation. The man was going to kill her and Nico, but her brother had arrived and she’d heard a gunshot. Rigo had yelled and told her to get back in bed, then ordered his men to take Nico to the pit. There had been more gun fire and she’d covered her ears with her pillow. When she was finally brave enough to take the pillow off, everyone was gone.
Sophie threw on a sweatshirt, ignoring the throb in her right temple. Something bad had happened. She had to find out what. “Did your brother say anything about me?”
“No, why?”
She turned Lexie toward the door. “Let’s get you back to the house.”
“I want to go with you. I hate snakes, but I like Nico.”
Sophie guided her out the apartment door, still open from her entrance. Lexie’s service dog followed obediently. He had something in his mouth. “What’s Harry got?”
“I think it’s Nico’s phone. I tripped over it on the stairs. It’s been vibrating, but when I try to answer it, nothing happens. It keeps vibrating.”
Gently, Sophie took it from Harry’s mouth and wiped off the drool. If she could get in touch with Nelson’s boss…he was in the area, right?
The touchscreen came to life with a picture of the Savages logo, asking for the password or fingerprint ID. She didn’t know
the password and she certainly didn’t have the correct ridges and whorls for Nelson’s fingerprint.
And her boss was three hours away in L.A. Longer, considering the storm would have shut down most traffic in and out of the city.
No help was coming from the outside. She had no weapon. All she had was her training.
And her intuition.
Shoving the phone in her jacket pocket, she put the hood of Lexie’s coat up over her head. “The snake pit is no place for you.”
“Because I’m blind?”
“Because you’re eleven.”
The wind and rain assaulted them and cut off further discussion. Sophie shielded the girl behind her body the best she could as they fought their way across the yard.
Lexie picked up her argument as soon as Sophie dropped her inside the house. “Take me with you. I don’t want to stay here alone.”
“Where is Kristine?”
“She let the bad man in. The one who was going to kill me and Nico.”
Sophie’s head spun. Who was this bad man? Why had Nelson been in the house in the first place? Had he really gone solely to check on Lexie?
She bent down to put her face close to Lexie’s. “Okay, listen. Nico’s in trouble and I need to get to him. Go to your bedroom and stay away from Kristine. Lock the door and don’t let anyone in unless it’s me or Nico, okay? I’ll come back for you as soon as I know what’s going on.”
The girl went up on her toes and threw her arms around Sophie’s neck. “I’m scared.”
Returning her hug, Sophie’s nerves nearly made her voice crack. She was scared too. “You were very brave to come and get me. Be brave for a few more minutes, okay? Head up to your room, lock the door, and I’ll come see you as soon as I can.” She brushed the girl’s wet hair away from her face and told the lie Little Gran had once told her. “Everything’s going to be okay.”
Lexie released her and sank back down to her heels. “I’m not leaving this spot.”
Such gumption, Little Gran would have said. Sophie squeezed Lexie’s hand. “I guess that will have to do, but steer clear of Kristine.”