“What about Vanessa?”
“She wouldn’t want us to sit around all day and wait for a phone call,” Damian said. “Is there anything you need to put in the hotel safe before we go?”
“You want me to come with you?” Paige asked.
“I may need your help to blend in.” Damian located the safe in the closet and opened it. “Don’t worry. You won’t be in any danger. If I find out what I need to, I can have a cab bring you back here.”
Paige took out the various items Ghost had given her. “Should I bring any of this with me?”
He looked through the toys, as Ghost called them. He picked up a small spray bottle that looked like it contained body spray. “Is this a marking spray?”
“Yeah.”
“We might be able to use that.” He slipped it into his jacket pocket. “Go ahead and lock everything else in the safe except for the bolivars. We may need the cash to secure some weapons.”
Paige swallowed but did as he suggested. She separated out the money and handed him a stack of bills, then locked everything else in the safe.
Damian separated the bills further, stuffing some into his front pocket and putting more in his wallet. “Come on. Let’s go.”
Paige followed him out the door, once again wondering how in the world she had ended up here.
Chapter 27
Paige looked up and down the street, shops and restaurants lining the busy section of town. A cab had dropped them off half a block away, and Paige guessed they were only about five miles from their hotel. “Why are we here?”
“Remember how Kel said they think Morenta is trying to open drug routes using the oil industry?” Damian kept his voice low as he guided her forward.
“Yeah.” She matched her pace to his, the scent of grilled meat and baked bread making her mouth water.
“My squad was sent in to try to find the flow of drugs out of Venezuela.”
“And?”
“We’re going to look in the other direction. We’ll follow the flow of payment going back to Colombia.”
“How are we going to do that?” She lowered her voice to a whisper. “I’m sure the CIA is tracking money transfers.”
“We aren’t looking for money transfers. We’re looking for diamonds.”
“Why diamonds?”
“Diamonds are hard currency the Venezuelan government can’t readily seize. Not to mention they’re small enough to easily pay off people along their new drug routes.”
“And exactly how do you plan to trace these diamond payments?”
“We’re going to follow the courier. When I called to check in, Kel told me they had a tip about a particular jewelry store, and there was a mention of tonight.”
“Damian, you aren’t making any sense. Even if you can identify the diamond couriers, how in the world would you know which one to follow?”
“Remember how I told you I worked in the oil industry and then in banking?”
“Yeah.”
“Part of my job was to process payments in and out of Maracaibo. I know pretty much every diamond courier in the city. We’re looking for one I don’t know.”
“It could take days to find the right person,” Paige said.
“I don’t think so. Banks only do diamond exchanges on Tuesdays and Fridays. Today’s the first one available since my squad disappeared.”
“You think someone might make a payment for capturing them?”
“Or dropping them off where they couldn’t be found. Come on. I think it’s time we get something to eat.” Damian took her hand and led her toward an outdoor café. Along the edge of the café, Paige could see a huge fireplace where meat was being grilled on spits.
Damian greeted the hostess in Spanish, and a moment later, he pulled out a chair for Paige at one of the tables nearest the sidewalk.
“Thanks.” Paige took her seat, and Damian sat in the chair beside her.
The hostess handed them each a menu, and Paige looked inside, though she needed Damian’s help making an order. “Any suggestions?” she asked.
“Do you trust me?” Damian asked in response.
“Sure, I guess.”
He took her menu from her and handed it to their waitress when she approached. He proceeded to speak rapidly in Spanish, apparently giving the woman their orders.
As soon as the waitress left them, Paige asked, “What did you order?”
“Don’t worry. You’ll like it.”
He couldn’t have been more right. The arepitas smelled almost as good as they tasted, the white cornmeal mixture forming something that looked like a flattened hush puppy. Their main dish consisted of grilled beef and chicken.
“This is wonderful.”
“Glad you like it.” They lingered over their meal and were debating whether to order dessert when Paige felt Damian’s attention shift away from her.
She leaned forward and spoke softly. “Is something wrong?”
“I think I found our courier.”
Remembering the training Vanessa had drilled into her students, Paige fought the urge to look around. “Where?”
“To your ten o’clock. The guy heading into the jewelry store.”
Paige let her eyes wander just enough to glance in the direction Damian was indicating. Three people stood near the store: a woman in her early twenties, a man wearing grubby clothes and looking like he was probably in need of a roof for the night, and a well-dressed man in his forties.
“The man in the suit?” Paige whispered.
“No, the other one.” Damian took her hand in his.
“That can’t be someone carrying diamonds. He looks like he’s homeless.”
“Exactly. What better way to make sure no one tries to steal what you’re carrying than to look like you don’t have anything to steal?” The confidence in Damian’s words left little room for doubt.
Damian lifted Paige’s hand and pressed a lingering kiss to the back of it. Warmth seeped through her from the old-fashioned gesture, and she barely registered his words when he said, “I think we’re about to become engaged.”
He stood and pulled some bills from his wallet, dropping them on the table.
“I’m sorry. What did you just say?”
Reaching for her hand again, he helped her up, slipped his arm around her, and leaned down to whisper in her ear. “Promise me you’ll play along.”
“Okay,” she said, doubts rushing through her.
Damian guided her out onto the sidewalk, and Paige reminded herself that he wouldn’t take her anywhere too dangerous. Surely she could make it through this and help Damian get closer to locating the people they had been sent here to find.
* * *
Damian watched the diamond courier enter the jewelry store. He knew the procedures well and suspected he would only have one shot at tagging him with the marking spray.
Damian’s original plan had been to simply follow the man, but couriers were always on the lookout for someone who might be trying to rob them. When Paige had shown him her tools, he had adjusted his plans.
He hated involving her, but he couldn’t think of a better way of occupying and distracting the store employees than to buy an engagement ring.
“What exactly do you want me to do?” Paige asked.
“Be very indecisive about what ring you want. Ask lots of questions of whoever is helping us.”
“My Spanish isn’t very good.”
“Even better.” Damian kept her hand in his. “I just need everyone’s attention to be on you, not me.”
Paige swallowed. “I’ll do what I can.”
“You’ll be fine,” Damian assured her. He opened the door and did a quick assessment.
A single store clerk, a woman in her forties, stood at the counter. A door to the side of the store appeared to lead to a work area for the jewelry maker, and Damian could hear voices coming from inside.
“May I help you?” the clerk asked.
“Yes,” Damian spoke, knowing Paige would only
understand a portion of what was being said. “We are looking for an engagement ring.”
“Congratulations,” the woman said, beaming at them both.
“Thank you.” Damian motioned to Paige. “She doesn’t speak much Spanish, but do you think you can help her find something she likes?”
“Of course.” The woman motioned for them to sit at a nearby counter, and she reached for a key ring to unlock the display featuring diamond rings.
Damian deliberately didn’t sit, taking up position behind Paige. He couldn’t hear more than an occasional word or phrase from the other room, but it was enough for him to be sure the man was indeed a courier.
Determined to play the doting fiancé, Damian put his hand on Paige’s back, commenting on her selections as she went from one ring to another. She slid one onto her finger, a round-cut diamond surrounded by diamond chips. Though the stone wasn’t terribly large, Damian approved of the elegance of the setting and the clean lines.
“What do you think of this one?” Paige asked.
He very nearly approved of her choice before he remembered the real reason they were here. “It’s a possibility,” Damian said instead, suggesting she look at a few more.
Paige asked one question after another, using hand signals to communicate and sometimes relying on Damian to translate. He was starting to worry they would exhaust the supply of rings before the meeting in the other room broke up when finally the door opened. A well-dressed man in his late forties emerged with the courier.
Damian reached out and motioned to the ring Paige had set aside. “I think you should go with that one.” He nudged it forward to the store clerk. “We’ll take this one. How much?”
She gave him a price, one that was within his ability to pay cash.
Damian dug some bills out of his front pocket, the vial of marking spray coming with it and falling onto the floor.
The courier was nearing him, and Damian deliberately dropped some bills so he would have an excuse to stay squatted down longer. He picked up the spray bottle first, holding it in his right hand while he took his time gathering bills with his left.
When the courier walked past him, he pressed the top of the small sprayer, aiming it at the man’s leg. Gathering the last of the bills, he stood and placed the bills on the table.
“Sorry about that.” Damian counted out the bills and laid them on the counter.
The woman gave him his change and handed him the ring rather than giving it to Paige. Belatedly, Damian realized she expected him to give it to Paige himself.
With a nervous smile, he pulled the ring out of the box and reached for Paige’s left hand. He slipped the ring on her finger and leaned forward to press his lips to hers, as much for his benefit as for show. “Perfect.”
Clearly delighted with being part of their engagement, the store clerk gushed over them with another stream of congratulations.
Damian had hoped to get out of the store in time to see which direction the courier had gone in case the marking spray hadn’t worked, but by the time they made it outside, the shabbily dressed man was nowhere in sight.
Keeping in character as a newly engaged man, Damian slid his arm around Paige and started down the sidewalk.
“Now what?” Paige whispered.
“Now I call Kel. He’ll call in our tech guys to see where our courier goes.”
He lifted his hand to hail a cab. “By the way, you were great in there.”
“Thanks.” She smiled. “You were pretty amazing yourself.”
Chapter 28
Paige rubbed her thumb against the band of the ring on her finger. She felt like she was living in an alternate universe. First she was sharing a hotel suite with a man, a situation that came dangerously close to violating her personal moral decision to avoid such a thing, and now she had an engagement ring on her finger, put there by a man she wasn’t engaged to. Very strange.
They walked into the hotel suite, Damian quickly checking it out to make sure they were really alone before he made his call to Kel. Paige took the opportunity to call Vanessa once more only to find that her phone was still off.
She could hear Damian talking to Kel and had the forethought to give him the specs for the tracking spray so the navy would have the ability to access the technology. As soon as Damian hung up the phone, she slid the ring off her finger. “Where’s the ring box? We should probably lock this up in the safe.”
“Keep it on.” Damian crossed to her, taking the ring and sliding it back onto her finger. “It’s safer on your finger than it would be locked up here.”
“It feels strange wearing an engagement ring and not being engaged,” Paige admitted.
“Not any stranger than when I put it on your finger.” Damian slipped a hand behind her back and drew her closer. “I did realize something tonight though.”
“What’s that?”
“We share the same taste in rings. The one you picked out is very classy.” He leaned down until his lips were a whisper from hers. “Just like you.”
Without thought, Paige leaned into him until their lips met. She thought she knew what to expect, but this kiss was different. An onslaught of emotions tangled inside her, his lips pressing lightly against hers and then persuading her to take the kiss deeper.
She lifted her hand to his chest, his heart beating wildly against it. Her own heart pounded out an erratic rhythm, her thoughts racing.
Damian had seemed unsure of himself when his squad had left him behind, but today she’d seen a level of confidence she hadn’t noticed before. She also sensed a strong commitment to protect others and wondered if she was imagining things to think she mattered more than most.
Already, she had shared more of herself with him than with anyone else. Not even her family truly understood what had driven her to go into nursing or why she’d had to leave it.
Remembering where they were, alone in a hotel suite, she drew back, lingering over one last kiss.
“Maybe I should get my own room,” she said, her voice hoarse. “I think it might be more dangerous for me to be in here with you than out there facing Morenta.”
He gave her a wicked smile. “You could be right.” With a chuckle, he loosened his hold on her, leaving his hand resting casually on her hip. “I think I’d rather you take your chances with me though.”
“I’m sure you would.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be good. I promise.” But he didn’t resist stealing another quick kiss before leading her to the table. “Kel should call back soon to let us know what’s happening with the courier.”
“Now explain to me how the diamond payments work. I’m confused.”
“It’s hard to be sure until we know where the courier goes next, and we can’t be sure where he started.” Damian sat across from her. “It’s possible the jeweler is holding diamonds for someone, kind of like a bank, only for diamonds instead of money. The jeweler could also be a broker, where he receives diamonds and then sends a payment to a third party.”
“So one person sends the diamonds to him, and then he pays someone else?”
“Exactly. It’s extremely difficult to trace funds that way, especially if the jeweler does a lot of business.”
“That shop didn’t look very big.”
“No, but that doesn’t mean he isn’t heavily involved in wholesale,” Damian said. His phone rang, and he answered it.
As soon as he hung up, he said, “Or there’s a third option.”
“Which is?”
“Kel said the courier went from the jewelry store to a bank, Banco Central de Venezuela. He probably exchanged diamonds for cash and took the money there to deposit or transfer it to an account.”
“So you think Morenta sent diamonds to Maracaibo with this courier, had him exchange them for cash, and then had him deposit the cash into someone’s account?” Paige asked.
“Exactly. If our intel is correct, the money was deposited into an account belonging to one of the oil companies or on
e of their employees as a payoff for helping smuggle drugs.”
“This is making my head spin.”
“Me too. I think I prefer it when someone just tells me what my objective is and gives me directions on how they want me to do it.”
“I’m sure the rest of your squad would have preferred that too.”
“Yeah,” Damian agreed. “I don’t know what I’ll do if we don’t find Vanessa before Morenta does.”
“I’m worried too.” Paige reached across the table and took Damian’s hand. “But we are going to find her.”
“I hope you’re right.”
* * *
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” Quinn was the first to express what they were all thinking. The cliff in front of them dropped at least eighty feet, and the face of it was worn smooth by constant wind and rain.
Seth looked out in the distance and could see the river snaking through the relatively flat terrain below. It had taken them three days to get this far, circling flat-topped mountains, struggling through the thick evergreens that gave way to an even thicker jungle area. The flatlands below would be a piece of cake compared to what they had already traversed, assuming they could reach them.
Tristan stepped beside him. “I think when we prayed this morning, we should have been more specific when we asked for guidance in finding our way out of here.”
“You could always pray that the Lord will move the mountain,” Brent suggested.
“With the way our luck’s running, He would move the mountain for us, but we’d end up in the middle of an earthquake.”
“How much rope do we have?” Brent asked.
“Not that much. Fifty feet maybe.”
Seth moved along the edge and studied the drop. He couldn’t explain the sense of urgency that had been growing inside him for the past two days. It wasn’t that someone had tried to kill them. This certainly wasn’t the first time he and his squad had seen battle. It was something else, something that made him feel like if they didn’t escape this place soon, his life would never be the same.
He was a good twenty yards from the rest of the squad when he found what he was looking for.
“Over here,” he called out to them.
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