He had held her as though she was still the center of his world, as though their last moments together had never happened. Vanessa bit back a sigh. She couldn’t believe that over the past six years he hadn’t found someone else. After all, just because her heart had never really healed since she had seen him last didn’t mean that his love for her had survived both their time apart and the hurt she had caused him. She stared at him for a moment, reminding herself that no matter how she felt about Seth, one thing hadn’t changed. He still couldn’t take her to the temple.
Seth looked up at her, his dark eyes studying her in his quiet, thoughtful way. “Did you manage to get some sleep?”
“I did, thanks.” Vanessa nodded. “What about you?”
“I took a nap a while ago.” Seth stood up and stretched his arms above his head. When his hands didn’t run into the ceiling halfway through the gesture, he looked up and grinned. “You know, I could get used to these high ceilings.”
“I guess we’ll have to make that a priority when we decide where we’re going to live,” Vanessa told him, deliberately not looking at the surveillance cameras.
“We can decide that after we see your father,” Seth said simply.
“Do you think he’ll be okay until we can visit him?”
“He’s tough and he’s smart.” Seth nodded. “If we can’t go visit him in the next couple of days, he’ll figure out where we are and why.”
“I hope so,” Vanessa said, hoping that she understood Seth correctly. Would his squad really be able to figure out where they were within a couple of days? And if so, what would they do with the information? The fortress’s security made breaching La Playa look like a walk in the park. There was always a patrol visible no matter when she looked out her window, and the surveillance cameras were everywhere, both in the building and on the grounds.
Her heart sank a little as she reminded herself that this was real life. Unlike the action movies she’d always enjoyed watching as a teenager, she couldn’t expect all of her problems to be solved in the next few hours.
Seth put a hand on her arm and motioned to the elevator. “Why don’t we go get some dinner, and then we can take another walk on the beach. It’s beautiful here at sunset.”
“I’d like that.”
* * *
Tristan read through the encrypted message three times hoping to find some indication that the information it contained could be wrong. Finally he shook his head as he considered the latest news. Naval intelligence had uncovered the location of the plane that had been heading south out of La Playa.
A comparison of satellite photos from the night before and that morning had revealed a plane on an airstrip near Cali, Colombia, that was known to be controlled by Morenta, a man considered by many to be the most ruthless drug lord in Colombia. The route was consistent with the flight path of the plane that had been heading toward South America.
Kel entered their temporary command center and asked, “What have you got?”
“You aren’t going to like it.” Tristan swiveled in his chair to face Kel. “Our best guess is that Seth and Vanessa are either at Ramir’s fortress in Nicaragua, or they are the newest guests at Morenta’s villa near Cali.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Kel shook his head. “I’d rather try to break into the White House on Pennsylvania Avenue than either of those locations.”
The corner of Tristan’s mouth lifted. “That’s only because you know how the Secret Service runs their security.”
“And they’re a lot more likely to give you warning before they shoot you down,” Kel agreed.
“What’s your best guess?”
“The fortress,” he said. “I think Akil went home to get ready for the strike.”
“Makes sense,” Tristan agreed. “I doubt he would want to be a houseguest anywhere else when everything is going down.”
“Which means we might not have as much time as we thought.” Kel shook his head. “The question is, how can we be sure where Ramir is?”
Tristan shrugged as the door opened and Quinn walked in. “It looks like Christmas came early this year.”
“What have you got?” Kel asked.
“The satellite photos for Morenta’s villa.” Quinn dropped a file on the work table and flipped it open. “Look at this.”
Tristan and Kel both moved closer. The photo had been enlarged and enhanced, the focus on a dozen people on the runway next to the plane that had landed that morning. Kel studied the photo for several seconds before a smile spread across his face. He looked up at Quinn. “There aren’t any women in this photo.”
“Exactly.” Quinn nodded. “They have satellite feed starting before the plane landed and it goes for nearly thirty minutes. None of the photos show any women.”
“Which means Vanessa is at the fortress,” Tristan said. “Maybe it’s time to hitch a ride on a sub and head for Nicaragua.”
“Let’s see how the raid on La Playa turns out first,” Kel told him. “We’ll plan on shipping out right after we finish up here tomorrow.” Kel motioned to the computer. “Ask Navy intel to get us the latest satellite photos for the fortress and the surrounding area. Maybe they’ve gotten more lax with their security since Akil took over the business.”
“You don’t really believe that, do you?”
“No, but I’m hoping.” Kel ran a hand over his face. “I’m trying hard not to remember why we didn’t go after Fahid Ramir there a few years ago.”
Tristan could only nod in agreement. “They call it a fortress for a reason.”
“Let’s hope Seth is in a position to help break down their security from the inside.”
* * *
Complete darkness surrounded Seth as he reached the penthouse balcony. The clouds looming overhead were a blessing so far, and he hoped the rain would hold off until he was back in his own room. Climbing up the outside of a building from the ninth to the tenth floor wasn’t much of a challenge for a trained Navy SEAL. Making that same climb in the pouring rain was another story, especially with armed guards both above and below him.
Seth couldn’t believe his fortune when he realized the balcony door was open with only a screen door in place to keep the mosquitoes at bay. He didn’t dare step onto Akil’s balcony, and instead settled onto the outside ledge. He knew it was a bit risky being there. Even with his dark skin and dark clothes, he couldn’t be sure he would be able to blend into the background if Akil came out onto the balcony. Seth could only hope that he would hear Akil coming if he decided to get a breath of fresh air.
Vanessa was currently on the balcony below him so that it appeared to anyone watching the surveillance cameras in the living area that she and Seth were both outside enjoying the night air. While they were walking on the beach, Seth had informed her of the listening device he had disabled on the balcony. So far no one had tried to access their room to investigate why it had stopped working, and he hoped the malfunction would remain low on their priority list.
Seth had also told Vanessa of his plan to climb up to the penthouse. She hadn’t been thrilled with the risks he was willing to take, but they both knew that they had to do what they could to gather information.
Seth stayed on his perch outside of the penthouse for nearly an hour before he heard any movement in the room. Then he heard two familiar voices, Akil’s and Halim’s.
“What are we going to do about Seth?” Halim asked.
“Lina will keep him occupied.” Akil’s voice was filled with confidence and authority. “She may not be happy she’s being kept out of the loop, but she knows her duty.”
“I don’t like her spending so much time with him.”
“They’re engaged.” A touch of sympathy sounded in Akil’s voice. “I know this is hard for you to accept, but my brother approved the match.”
“I still don’t trust him. How can we be sure he’s really who he says he is?”
“He must be telling the truth. How else could he know this pla
ce?”
“He could be a spy, someone who has done his research.”
“That’s what I love about you. You are even more paranoid than I.” Akil let out a short laugh. “If he was a spy, Lina wouldn’t be vouching for him, and he certainly wouldn’t have known what the fortress looked like before we renovated.” Akil’s voice took on an edge as he added, “Now, enough about this. Is the shipment ready?”
“The freighter leaves port tomorrow.”
“When will it arrive?”
“Wednesday, Thursday at the latest,” Halim informed him.
“Good. Start shutting down our training camps and get our personnel in place,” Akil ordered. “I don’t want any last-minute problems.”
“Nothing is going to go wrong.” Halim’s voice took on a new sense of confidence. “The Americans still know nothing.”
“I gather our sources are still feeding us what we want?”
“Absolutely.”
17
Brent adjusted his headset and waited. Kel, Tristan, and Quinn had arrived at his and Amy’s apartment before dawn. After talking to Ellison, Kel had decided to let Interpol and the locals handle the raid on La Playa while he and his squad relocated to Santo Domingo in hopes of identifying the leak.
The raid itself wasn’t planned until ten o’clock that night, but the call requesting support from the field office was due to be made at eight in the morning. Depending on how quickly they could identify the source of their leak, Kel hoped to have his team back at La Playa to get a firsthand look at the types of weapons they were shipping through there.
For now, everyone was stationed in various locations around Santo Domingo. Quinn had drawn the short straw and was cooped up in the apartment, along with some eavesdropping equipment.
Amy had gone into the field office earlier than usual. Her mission was to wait until after the daily security sweep before planting several listening devices near the telephones. She would then remain in the office and signal Kel if she saw anything suspicious.
Kel had assigned himself to follow Carl Dowdy, the chief of station, while Tristan waited outside the field office to tail anyone else who might leave from there. Brent had taken a position across the street from Medrino’s apartment to see if he had finally come back into town. According to Amy’s information, he was due back at the office today, but so far no one had seen any sign of him. If Brent’s instincts were right, Medrino was the mole and he was already long gone.
Several minutes passed by, along with a few pedestrians, until the monotony of the stakeout was broken up by Quinn’s voice over the headset. “Amy has the bugs in place. So far the only people in the office are Amy, the secretary, and the deputy director.”
“Copy that,” Kel responded.
“Still no activity here,” Brent said as he stifled a yawn. It was barely seven-thirty in the morning, and Amy hadn’t been able to figure out when Medrino normally worked—assuming he was coming back to work at all.
When a taxicab pulled up in front of the apartment complex, Brent sat up a little straighter. He simply stared when Al Medrino stepped out of the cab, retrieved two suitcases from the trunk, and then disappeared inside.
“Looks like I might be wrong about Medrino being the mole. He just got home.”
“Stay on him,” Kel responded.
Brent signaled his assent as his eyes swept from the apartment to the parking garage entrance where Medrino kept his car. Sure enough, twenty minutes after Medrino had disappeared into the apartment building, his car pulled out of the garage.
Keeping him in sight, Brent eased his car out into the early morning traffic to follow him. When they approached the field office, Brent became even more convinced that he was wrong about Medrino after all.
“Medrino’s parking at the field office,” Brent informed the rest of his team. “Tristan, do you have a visual?”
“Affirmative,” Tristan said.
“I’ll take the back door,” Brent said, indicating that he would park on the other side of the building to set up surveillance.
Quinn’s voice came over the line. “Ellison just called. The message about the raid will be sent in five minutes.”
“Let’s hope our mole jumps on it,” Kel muttered.
* * *
Amy tried to look relaxed as she loitered near Gina’s desk. Carl Dowdy was expected to arrive any minute, and Amy was hoping he would walk into the office before the call came asking for support. She still wasn’t sure what to think of Al Medrino, who had arrived at the office a short while ago. He had been their best suspect until he’d shown up for work that morning.
Now Amy wondered if perhaps the leak might be Carl Dowdy.
Looking for a reason to stay near Gina’s desk, she struck up a conversation with the young secretary. “Do you have anything exciting planned for the weekend?”
She shook her head. “Not really. My boyfriend is out of town for work this weekend.”
“Really? What does he do?”
“He’s a pilot.” Gina’s face lit up. “I did get to see him last weekend. He gave me this.”
Amy watched her touch her necklace, a single black pearl set in a delicate gold setting. “Wow, that’s beautiful.”
“Thanks,” Gina said, beaming. She lowered her voice as though sharing a government secret and added, “The way he’s been dropping hints about getting married, I thought for sure it was a ring.”
“Maybe he doesn’t want to rush things,” Amy ventured cautiously.
“That’s what I think too.” She nodded. “Besides, he knows I would want to pick out my own ring.” Gina paused long enough to open her desk and pull something out of a drawer. She then dropped a thick file on her desk with a thud.
“What’s that?”
“Oh, it’s my wedding file.” Gina opened it up to a copy of Bride magazine with several sticky notes affixed to the cover. “Do you think green and purple could work together as wedding colors?” Before Amy could struggle with an answer, Gina pressed on. “I know it’s a bit different, but I don’t want to be ordinary.”
“I guess that could work . . .” Amy said helplessly. “Does your boyfriend like those colors?”
“Oh, he always says those kinds of details are up to me. Besides, I don’t get to see him that often, so I’ve made most of the plans for us. At least he calls me every night. I mean, I guess it could be worse.”
Amy managed a smile. “He sounds great.”
Gina started to respond but was interrupted by the telephone ringing. Amy watched her answer it and listened while she took the message for Carl, who still hadn’t arrived. As expected, it was the call Amy had been waiting for.
To Amy’s surprise, the news that the field office was going to be involved in a raid in a matter of hours didn’t seem to rattle Gina in the least. Instead, she took down the information, hung up the phone, and then turned back to Amy. “Can I ask you something?”
“Sure.” Amy nodded, expecting her to turn the conversation to work. To her surprise, Gina took the conversation in the opposite direction.
Gina flipped open the magazine and pointed to a frilly dress. “What do you think of this dress?”
“Um, it’s nice,” Amy managed, trying to gather her thoughts. She couldn’t help but wonder how Gina had ended up working in intelligence when news of a major event didn’t even seem to faze her. A little curious now, she asked, “So how long have you been dating your boyfriend?”
Gina smiled, her cheeks flushing a bit. “Long enough, I think.”
Carl walked into the office, offering greetings as he passed Cindy’s office and then proceeded to greet Gina and Amy.
“You got a call a few minutes ago. I guess Interpol is planning a raid tonight and wanted some information.”
“What?” Carl’s eyes widened and he snatched the message slip that Gina held out to him. He scanned it quickly and immediately disappeared into his office and closed the door.
Hoping to linger a bit lon
ger, Amy asked Gina, “Does this kind of thing happen often?”
“Not that I know of.” She gave a careless shrug before launching back into a monologue about her boyfriend and wedding plans.
Amy knew she should be grateful that the tedious conversation about this man was keeping her near Carl Dowdy’s office, but all she could think of was how grateful she was that this assignment was temporary.
Gina’s monologue was interrupted when Carl came out of his office and told Gina to have everyone come to his office.
Amy gave an inward sigh of relief.
18
Seth sat down in a wicker chair on the balcony and steepled his hands together. For the past several years he had started each morning with a prayer, usually with the rest of his squad. In their line of work, it seemed natural to ask for the Lord’s guidance each day as they went about their duties, whether it was a training exercise or an actual mission.
Ironically, he had been the one to suggest that the squad pray each morning as a unit, despite the fact that he had always shied away from organized religion in the past. He couldn’t say exactly what had prompted him to make the suggestion any more than he could explain why he used to avoid church even though he had always believed in God. When the Saint Squad had been created, the team commander had decided to put all of the Mormon boys together but had been one short. Seth had been the odd man out until he had been baptized a few years later.
Seth thought about the men who had become his family over the past five years. This was the first time since their unit was created that he had ended up on a mission without one of his teammates watching his back. He figured that this gave him even more reason to offer up his prayers this morning.
With the bugs in his room and the surveillance cameras in the living room, Seth figured the best he could do for the time being was to offer a silent prayer here on the balcony. He closed his eyes, bowing his head down until his forehead touched his fingers. Words ran through his mind, words of appreciation that he and Vanessa had managed to survive this charade so far, and pleading requests that they would stay safe.
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