Dangerous Choice KO PL

by Barbara Freethy

  "Well, think about it. We'll meet up with Bree and Wyatt at their work and go from there. Frankly, I'm more optimistic now than I've been in days."

  "I don't know why. Your brother just threatened to shoot you."

  "But he didn't."

  "He beat up Pablo," she pointed out.

  "That was interesting. But not surprising, considering how he grew up. I'm sure there are power struggles within the family. Clearly, Michael has power over Pablo. He certainly was colder and harder than I remember. For a moment there, I thought he could pull the trigger. I thought he could shoot me."

  "I didn't. I don't believe he's forgotten who you are to him. He just doesn't know what to do about it."

  "I don't know about that, but I hope he hasn't forgotten the man my mother wanted him to be. She would hate what he's become."

  "He didn't have much of a choice, Diego. He was orphaned at twelve. He had no one but the Salazars to care for him. It's not surprising he believes they're his family. But he spoke so deeply about family that I can't imagine he would be able to kill you. Me—he probably wouldn't have a problem with at all. I know I got a little crazed back there. I'm lucky that Michael had the gun and not Pablo. Do you think Pablo was behind what happened to us in Colombia?"

  "He seems young and lacking in funds to have that much power in the organization. But he's part of it. We need more of the story."

  "Maybe Michael is getting the story now. But will he use the information to find Bethany, or will he protect his family over her?"

  "Let's hope we find her first, and then we won't have to answer that question."

  Seventeen

  They didn't go back to the apartment. Instead, Diego took her to a two-story office building in Santa Monica. There was no signage on the structure, but there was a great deal of security at the entrance, including two security guards, a code required for the elevator, and another code required to enter an office suite. Inside the suite were eight desks holding the latest computer technology as well as a wall of monitors, most of which were currently off, but one was playing a cable TV news show.

  Three people she didn't recognize were working at their desks: one female with dark-red hair and pale white skin, a young male who looked to be no more than early twenties wearing glasses and an intense look on his face, and a second male with longish black hair, wearing jeans and a brown leather jacket. No one gave them a passing glance, caught up in their own work.

  Nearby, inside a glass-walled conference room were Wyatt, Bree, and a third man, who was dressed in jeans and a T-shirt and had dirty-blond hair and a ragged beard. When Wyatt saw them, he opened the door and waved them inside.

  "I was filling Flynn in on what happened with your brother," Wyatt told Diego.

  "Diego. I haven't seen you since Quantico," Flynn said with a faint British accent, as he shook Diego's hand. "Wyatt and Bree have read me in on the weekend's activities."

  "Thanks for helping me out," Diego replied. "This is Tara Powell."

  Flynn gave her an interested smile, and his sharp blue eyes held curiosity. "I've been hearing a lot about you Ms. Powell. I'm Flynn MacKenzie."

  "Nice to meet you."

  "Since your text," Wyatt said, "we've started pulling in footage from cameras in the vicinity of Pablo Salazar's apartment. Flynn has given us the green light to get the rest of the team involved, which should allow us to get results more quickly."

  "I'm also going to check with some private companies whose cameras we can't instantly access," Bree put in. "Hopefully, we can catch a glimpse of Bethany."

  "I also did a little more research on Pablo Salazar," Wyatt said, motioning to a digital board on the wall that displayed several photos. "And I've put together some of the central figures in the Salazar organization. By the way, I haven't yet managed to get Michael's phone records, but one of our techs is working on that."

  Tara moved closer to the board to get a better look. She recognized Pablo immediately, as well as Michael, but the other people were a mystery to her.

  "Of course, you know Michael Winters," Wyatt said, moving over to the board. "Let's go over the rest of the family or at least the main players. This is Caleb Salazar." He tapped beneath the photo of a white-haired man. "He's the current head of the family. He hasn't left Colombia in years." He moved to the next photos. "This is his younger brother Juan Felipe, who was in LA over Thanksgiving. Juan comes to the US several times a year to check on a chain of laundromats he owns in California, Nevada, Colorado, and Pittsburgh. The DEA has had Juan on their radar for a decade, but they have been unable to make a case against him." Wyatt pointed to the two photos next to Juan's. "Rico Salazar and William Salazar are Juan's sons. They're thirty and twenty-eight years old, respectively. Rico lives in Los Angeles with Pablo. He actually pays for the apartment where you went this morning. William resides in Medellin."

  Wyatt took a breath, then moved on. "Moving on, we have Santoro Salazar, Caleb's youngest brother. Santoro also resides in Medellin and has not been to the US in more than a decade. His son Pablo went to school at Long Beach State, as you know. His daughter Vanessa is a fashion designer and travels between Colombia, Paris, and New York quite often. And there's one more player to discuss. This is Stefan Salazar. He's the son of one of the cousins—Franco Salazar. Stefan is a wine distributor in New York and has been in contact with Michael on numerous occasions. According to my sources, there is growing dissension in the Salazar ranks. Caleb's health has not been good, but he's unwilling to step down. Others are ready to take matters into their own hands. The younger generation is chomping at the bit to have more power."

  "A family coup in the making," Diego murmured, crossing his arms as he stared at the photos with a hard look in his eyes.

  She gave him a concerned look. It had to be difficult to see his brother surrounded by known criminals. And now that the FBI was getting more officially involved, there was a good chance Michael was going to go to jail for what he was doing. How would Diego handle that?

  But once again, she was getting ahead of herself.

  "There are rumblings that there is a war brewing, especially after the murder of Father Manuel, who was very close to Caleb," Wyatt continued. "Although there are suggestions the Pedrozas were involved, others maintain it was an inside job, that Caleb was very close to the priest, and that it was a message for Caleb to step aside or more people close to the family would die."

  She hated to think that the kindly old priest had been a pawn in this criminal enterprise. On the other hand, maybe he'd been more involved with the Salazars than they'd thought. He'd certainly backed off his promise to help her after he'd probably talked to someone in the family about Bethany's disappearance.

  "What does all this mean for Bethany?" she asked.

  Bree gave her a compassionate look. "Diego said it didn't appear Michael knew about Bethany's interaction with Pablo, or her actions over the last few weeks. It's possible Michael is being kept on the outside of whatever Bethany and Pablo are involved in."

  "You're suggesting that Bethany is doing something criminal?" she asked tightly.

  "We don't know," Bree said. "But everything you've both told us leads us to believe she's either witnessed something or done something and the family is not happy about it."

  "But why wouldn't they tell Michael? He was the one who was dating her. Why is he in the dark?" she asked.

  "Maybe because he's not their blood," Wyatt suggested. "From what I've managed to pull up about him, he has a wealthy benefactor, possibly Caleb. If Michael is Caleb's favorite, he might be on the wrong side of this power grab."

  "I'd like him to be on the wrong side," Diego said with a frown. "But Michael certainly had control over Pablo."

  "We'll keep going," Wyatt said.

  "Lucky for you, we just wrapped up a case, Diego," Flynn put in. "But is there a reason why you aren't bringing your boss into this?"

  "Roman doesn't go off book. He would not appreciate anything I've been
doing the last few days. I needed to bring in people I could trust."

  "And the old Quantico group came to the rescue," Flynn drawled.

  Tara couldn't quite figure out if Flynn was jealous of Diego's tight group or simply making a lighthearted comment. He was a little difficult to read.

  "They did," Diego said simply.

  "And we'll soon have Parisa and Damon to help, too," Bree put in. "I just spoke to Damon. He and Parisa will come by around two. Apparently, Sophie is guest lecturing at UCLA today and Parisa's new love Jared has a meeting downtown."

  "It will be great to have everyone together," Diego murmured.

  Tara thought it was great, too. The more people on the team, the better chance they had of finding Bethany as soon as possible.

  "One more thing," Flynn said. "Wyatt told me you got your first lead from Tracy Cox."

  "Yes," Diego said.

  "Tracy called me this morning. She's working out of LA this week. She asked me to meet her later today."

  "Why?" Diego asked sharply.

  "She said she came to town for Jamie's dedication. And she wants to catch up."

  "Did she mention me?"

  "She asked if I'd heard from you. I said I hadn't, which was the truth. Apparently, she also contacted Wyatt. Any reason why you've cut off communication with her?"

  "I don't trust her. She wouldn't tell me her source for the lead to Cascada, and considering I got shot at while I was there, I'm bothered by that."

  "I thought the shooting was related to the missing Ms. Cooper," Flynn said.

  "It might have been," Diego conceded. "But my gut tells me to be wary of Tracy, so I'd appreciate if you can keep her out of this."

  Flynn nodded. "No problem. I know Tracy rubbed you all the wrong way back at Quantico, but haven't we gotten past all that?"

  "I have. I'm not so sure about her," Diego replied.

  "Tracy has been a thorn in my side, too," Bree put in. "She was not at all helpful when I was on the kidnapping case in Chicago. I understand why Diego has reservations about her. I think we should keep the operation within this task force."

  "Got it. She'll get nothing from me," Flynn said. "I have to take off. I'll catch up with you later."

  "Let's get back to work," Wyatt said. "Diego, do you want to help check cameras?"

  "Sure," he said, glancing back at her. "You want to be my partner, Tara?"

  She smiled. "You know I do."

  While she was excited to be included, after an hour of looking at worthless security footage, she began to realize they were looking for a needle in a haystack. "I'm going to get some coffee," she told Diego. "Do you want anything?"

  "Coffee would be good."

  When she walked into the adjoining kitchen, she found Bree making a new pot of coffee. "Great minds think alike," she said lightly.

  "This is almost done," Bree said.

  "Great. I could use a shot of caffeine. And sugar," she added, grabbing a cookie out of a jar on the counter.

  "There's other food in the fridge," Bree said. "Help yourself."

  "I will." She leaned back against the counter as she ate her cookie. "I'll start with this."

  "How are you holding up, Tara?"

  "Honestly, I don't know. This has been quite the roller-coaster ride. One minute, I think we're on to something and that we are a second away from finding Bethany. Then it feels like we're right back where we started."

  "For what it's worth, I think we're getting closer."

  "I hope so. I keep reassuring myself that Bethany had the ability to run away and that she's probably hiding. She's definitely a resourceful girl, especially when it comes to getting herself out of trouble. I just wish she was better at not getting herself into trouble."

  "I got myself into a lot of trouble when I was a teenager."

  "But Bethany is twenty-six years old. She should be mature by now. Anyway, I really appreciate all the help. When I first started looking for Bethany, I couldn't get anyone to even believe she was actually missing. Now I have an entire FBI task force looking for her. It's a bit surreal."

  "It's what we do."

  "For the job or for each other?"

  "Both."

  She nodded in understanding. "Diego told me how you all met at Quantico, how you bonded after the tragic death of Jamie, how you're always there for each other now."

  "It's nice to know there are four other people who always have your back."

  "I've never felt that way about one person, except for my parents, of course, but that's different."

  "Well, you have a lot of people supporting you now."

  "Because of Diego. I met him at the unluckiest moment of my life, while being caught in a shooting. But our meeting changed everything for me. He has not only saved my life several times, he's helping me find Bethany."

  "It was destiny that you met."

  "I never used to think I believed in fate, but this experience makes it hard to dismiss so easily."

  "You and Diego have gotten close," Bree commented, a curious gleam in her eyes. "He cares about you. I can see it in his eyes."

  "I care about him, too." She gave Bree a helpless smile. "I honestly don't really know what we're doing, but we have a connection that is really strong. It probably won't last after this is all over, but for now, it's kind of amazing."

  "You never know if it will last. Wyatt and Avery fell in love in a few days, and they're still going strong."

  "What about you and Nathan?"

  "We almost missed our second chance at love. I was stupid enough to let him go when I first met him as a teenager. Back then, I fell for the bad boy, and I mean really bad. But when Nathan and I reconnected last year, it was like we'd never been apart. Only it was better than it had been before. We were grown up. We were smarter—at least I was—and we knew what we wanted. Nathan is my rock. He's the best person I've ever known. I don't know if Diego told you, but we're getting married this summer."

  She smiled, enjoying a moment of girl talk. Normal moments like this had been missing in her life the past few weeks. "I'm so happy for you."

  "I'm happy for me, too. By the way, I want to give you my phone number," Bree said. "Do you have your phone with you?"

  "Actually, I do," she said, pulling it out of her pocket.

  "I'll put my number in," Bree said. "In case you need someone to talk to who isn't Diego."

  "Thanks."

  As Bree handed her back her phone, she let out a squeal of delight, her gaze moving past Tara to the man walking into the room. He was followed by three more people, and suddenly there were excited hugs and big smiles.

  Tara would have left them alone, but they were blocking the door, so she smiled awkwardly and sipped her coffee.

  "Tara, this is Nathan," Bree said, pulling a solidly built man over to her. "Nathan, this is Diego's friend, Tara."

  "The one who has been keeping my fiancée busy all weekend," Nathan said with a grin.

  "Guilty," she said.

  "And I want you to meet these wonderful people as well," Bree continued. "This is Damon Wolfe and Parisa Maxwell, the other two members of our fearless Quantico group."

  "I've heard a lot about you," she said, shaking each of their hands. Damon was a handsome man with penetrating blue eyes, and Parisa was an exotic dark-haired beauty.

  "And we've heard nothing about you," Parisa said speculatively.

  "Diego and I only met a few days ago," she said, realizing again how fast she'd become entangled in Diego's life.

  Bree pulled the last woman forward, another pretty brunette. "This is Avery Caldwell, Wyatt's girlfriend."

  "Wyatt is the other person Diego and I have been keeping busy," she said. "Sorry, Avery."

  "Don't worry about it," Avery said. "I'm used to Wyatt working long and erratic hours. Plus, I heard you're looking for your friend, and I know what it's like to search for answers about someone you love."

  There were shadows in Avery's eyes now, and she would have lik
ed to learn more, but Diego had entered the kitchen and was now engaged in hugs and hellos.

  It was nice to see him with all his friends. She could see his tension disappear, surrounded by so much affection. He'd grown up very much alone after his mother and brother had left, but he'd built other families, including this one from Quantico.

  Wyatt came into the kitchen, a somber note in his eyes. "We found Bethany on one of the cameras."

  Everyone in the room suddenly fell quiet.

  "Where?" Diego asked.

  She moved across the room, needing to be close to Diego. Whatever Wyatt had seen wasn't good. She could tell from the expression on his face.

  "We picked her up in the parking lot of a bank. She was moving quickly, looking over her shoulder. Then she disappeared around the building. Five minutes later, we found her again at an intersection." He paused. "There's no good way to say it, so I'll just say it—Bethany was hit by a car while she was crossing the street. It was a red-light runner."

  She gasped, putting a hand to her mouth. Diego's arm came around her shoulders.

  "Did she survive?" Diego asked.

  "She was taken away by ambulance. Caitlyn is on the phone now with the ambulance company to determine where they took her."

  "I want to see the footage," Diego said.

  "So do I," she said.

  Diego frowned. "Let me watch it first, Tara. There are some things you can't unsee."

  "I have to see it. You've all seen her photo, but I'm her best friend. I have to know if it was really her."

  She and Diego followed Wyatt back to the conference room. Bree came along as well, although the others stayed back in the kitchen.

  They gathered around a large monitor and Wyatt hit play.

  She held her breath as she saw Bethany standing at an intersection. She hit the walk button repeatedly and when the light changed, she dashed into the street. She had taken no more than ten steps when a car came out of nowhere. Bethany froze for one split second and then her body was flung into the air.

  "Oh, God," she breathed, watching her friend crumple like a rag doll. "The car didn't even slow down."