“What do you mean?”
“Come on, Grey. I worked with the man for almost seven years. You worked with him longer. Did it ever make sense to you that he deserted?”
“No. No, it didn’t.”
“How many times did that man step in front of a bullet for you? Shit, he got shot twice saving my ass.”
“I know. But, the official reports said AWOL. They said –.”
“Yeah, man. They said. You and I had too much going on fighting the Taliban to detract our attention from. But, looking back on it, something is off.”
“They did close that investigation pretty quickly.”
“Right. And you’d think a top Delta operator would’ve garnered a little more attention by the Department of Defense for just disappearing the way that he did. He had security clearances that, at the very least should’ve made them nervous as fuck.”
Grey sat back in his chair and laced his fingers behind his back. “So you think it was a cover.”
“Think about it, Grey. What do you think?”
He thought for a moment. Glancing down at the photo which showed Tovar hugging the man that Grey had once thought of as a brother.
“I think you’re right. The question now is, what do we do now that we know?”
“At the very least, we’ve got to talk to him.”
“How in the fuck do you propose we do that? Have you seen Tovar’s Colombian entourage?”
“No, but I’ve handled stickier situations before. I can handle this one too.”
Grey grinned. “Athena,” he shouted to the outer office. “Get the jet ready. Edwards is going on a trip.”
Chapter Four
Monica settled into her seat and picked up the menu. She knew Rodrigo’s eyes were fixated on her, but she purposely didn’t look at him. For days he’d been by her side, never letting her out of his sight for more than a few minutes. Her father’s increasing paranoia had even resulted in Rodrigo being forced to sit in her room while she slept.
Had it been anyone else than Rodrigo she may have protested the arrangement. But, it wasn’t anyone else. It was Rodrigo. And she was growing fonder of him with each day that passed.
She could lie to herself and say it was because of his charm, or the way he treated her with respect, unlike the other employees of her father. That was only half of her allure toward him, though.
Rodrigo was, in every sense of the word, sexy as fuck. And every detail from his dark neatly trimmed hair, to his tanned and muscular body, only made her that much more attracted to him.
“What took you so long in there?” he asked.
She peered from above her menu. “In the bathroom?”
“Did you go somewhere else?”
“No.”
“Then yes, Monica. What took you so long in the bathroom?”
She tried not to smile, but his annoyance with her was sometimes cuter than she could handle. He had a little vein in his forehead which always seemed to protrude when he was getting irritated.
“Nope. Just the bathroom. I would’ve asked you to join me, but the restaurant probably has rules against that.”
He mumbled something under his breath just loud enough for her to hear, but not so loud that she could make out what it was.
“What was that?”
“Nothing, Monica. Not a thing.”
The waiter came over to their table and before he could say a word, Rodrigo jumped in with their orders.
“Dos huevos rancheros.”
“Y para beber?” the waiter asked.
“Aguas poor favor.”
She handed her menu over to the waiter and turned her attention to Rodrigo. “How did you know I wanted that?”
“It’s Tuesday.”
“This is true. But that still doesn’t answer my question.”
“You always order huevos rancheros on Tuesday.”
“What? No, I don’t. I order lots of different things.”
“Not on Tuesdays. On Tuesdays in rancheros.”
She crossed her arms and argued. “I think you’re exaggerating. I’m not that predictable.”
“Quite the contrary, Monica. You are painfully predictable.”
“Prove it.”
“Okay.” He placed his napkin on his lap. “Mondays, you order Huevos Pericos. Tuesdays, like I said… rancheros. Wednesday its Arepas Rellenas de Queso, Thursdays is Calentado and Fridays are Tortilla Paisa day. The only days you mix things up are Saturdays and Sundays.”
“That’s not…” she stopped herself, thinking back over the past weeks of their time together and realized he was right. “Oh my God. I am that predictable.”
“Painfully so.”
She laughed. “Stop. So, I’m a little boring. Can you blame me? I lead a very boring existence.”
“A boring existence? Your father is Pedro Tovar. He’s one of the most powerful men in South America.” Rodrigo stopped himself for a moment before continuing. “Nope. Correction. He’s one of the most powerful men in all of the Americas.”
She liked Rodrigo. Spending time with him was fun and he was easy on the eyes. But, his statement sounded to her like fingernails on a chalk board.
“You would think that.”
“What? Am I wrong?”
“Yes. You are.”
“You seem annoyed by this observation.”
“That’s probably because I am. You and all of the men who work for my father think that being Pedro Tovar’s daughter is so glamorous.”
“Well, isn’t it?”
“No. It’s not. At all!”
“Alright. Calm down. Geez.”
“No. I’m tired of everyone thinking that being his daughter is such a picnic in the park. That couldn’t be further from the truth.”
“I’d ask what you mean, but I have a feeling you’re about to tell me anyway.” He said.
“I live like a prisoner, Rodrigo. Yes, I have access to nice cars, unlimited money and jewelry as far as the eye can see. But, those are all just things. None of them mean much if you can’t really enjoy them.”
“Okay, so what would you do? If you had the choice?”
“I don’t know.” She shook her head. “I’ve always wanted to go to the states. I was born there. I’m a citizen. I haven’t been there since I was three years old.”
“I didn’t know that.”
“See, not so predictable.” She smiled.
“Maybe.” He grinned. “So, what else?”
“I have a four year degree from the National University of Colombia in Bogotá. But, I can’t even remember what it’s in.”
Chuckling, he asked, “How do you not know what your degree is in?”
“I was young, into partying with the locals more than I was into studying. I was there because father wanted me to be. Hell, I think he picked most of my classes for me.”
“Yeah, I guess when he comes to you he’s a bit…”
“You can say it. Controlling. Overbearing. Suffocating. I mean the list could go on for hours.”
“I think it’s because he loves you.”
“I know that. And I love him. But sometimes his fatherly love is misplaced and put toward the wrong efforts. Instead of encouraging me to do something with my life, he hovers and refuses to let me breathe. At least not without you near.”
“I think he’s just having a hard time with your brother’s death.”
“My brother.” She shook her head. “I miss him too. He was my brother and I loved him. We were really close when we were younger. But…”
“Nothing.”
“Hey.” Rodrigo reached across the table and lifted her chin. “You okay?”
She was touched by his gentleness. He was adorable when frustrated with her, but these few and fleeting instances of gentle kindness were enough to make her melt.
“I’m fine.”
“You’re not fine. Talk to me.”
“You won’t say anything to my father?”
“You have my wor
d.”
She wasn’t sure why, but, she trusted him. If there was one thing she’d learned about her close quarter’s contact with Rodrigo it was that his word was golden. If he gave it. He didn’t do so lightly.
“Okay. My father is… a dumb ass.”
He laughed at her declaration.
“I’m serious, Rodrigo.”
“Okay. I’m sorry. It’s just funny to hear you say that. Go ahead.”
“I’m not stupid. I know what my father does. And yes, I blindly go about life, distancing myself from any new regarding him because then I’d have to face the reality of what he does. That holds moral consequences for me that I am not even sure I want to think about. But, this thing with Jason….”
The waiter came to the table with their waters and both she and Rodrigo sat in silence until he left.
“You were saying?” he prompted her.
“Jason was my brother. And I loved him. But I didn’t love him so much that I was blind to what was happening.”
“What do you mean?”
“He was a monster, Rodrigo. Oh sure, he was sweet and loving toward me. When it came to family matters he was loyal and wonderful. But with women… he was a monster.”
“So, what are you saying?”
“This woman. This Chloe Powers who killed him… I have no doubts at all that it was self defense. He had a history of abusing women. With hurting them very badly. And I’m sorry, but a Senator’s daughter doesn’t just up and kill a man after they only dated one time.”
“Well, if you hear the way your father tells it. She was a rejected ex of your brothers who killed him out of revenge.”
“The only revenge that I know about is the one that my father is planning for that Powers woman. A woman who I’m sure did what she absolutely had to do in order to survive.”
“I don’t think your father would be very happy to hear you say that.”
“Well, tough shit. Pedro Tovar isn’t God. And my brother was not a good man. I just wish…”
****
Rodrigo had been intrigued with Monica for years. These past few months he had, for reasons unbeknownst to him, become more aware of her though. He couldn’t quite put his finger on it. But, past that gorgeous exterior of hers, there seemed to be something inside of her that was always trying to break free.
“What do you wish, Monica? Tell me.”
“Nothing.”
The waiter came to their table with their food and set it in front of them. “Algo más?”
“No. Gracias.” Monica replied.
“De nada.”
The waiter left their immediate vicinity and he turned his attention back to her.
“I know you think that you can’t tell me things. Because of your father. But, I’m not a monster, Monica.”
“I know that.”
“Do you?”
She reached across the table and set her hand on top of his, gently brushing her thumb across his knuckles.
“I do, Rodrigo.”
For a moment longer than he should have allowed, he stared into her deep chocolate eyes. He hadn’t ever allowed himself the vulnerability of letting his protective walls down since the day he agreed to leave his life behind him and take on the biggest job of his life.
In that moment though, he could feel his wall crumbling. Monica Tovar wasn’t just a beautiful young woman. She wasn’t just the daughter to one of the most powerful drug czars their generation had ever seen. She was a woman. A woman who was drop dead sexy, so damn sweet it made his heartache, and a woman who was holding his hand.
Mother fucker, RJ. You really know how to complicate things, don’t you?
Chapter Five
Chase watched them from the bar, keeping his head down and shielded from recognition with a large straw hat. He’d been nursing his beer for close to an hour now, watching the body language between his former brother in arms and the heir to the Tovar empire.
For days he’d been getting in information from Grey regarding RJ’s life since he disappeared from special forces. From what they could tell, he completely disappeared from existence almost four years ago. Then after a few months of being gone, the recycled version of RJ, Rodrigo Jimenez appeared in Colombia, and has been a resident of the country and a trusted confidant of Pedro Tovar ever since.
They found an obviously concocted digital footprint on the web which gave a brief history of Rodrigo’s life. On paper he looked legit. A poor boy of a single mom who worked too much and was hardly ever home to raise her son. They found a paper trail showing that he grew up on the gang riddled streets of Houston, eventually being kicked out of several schools until he finally made his way up in a competing cartel’s Houston organization.
It was that made up scenario and reputation that earned him a seat in the Tovar operation. Though how he rose so quickly to be one of Tovar’s most trusted advisors was still to be determined.
Every contact that The Omega Team had at the Department of Defense, Department of Homeland Security, The National Security Agency, the CIA, and the FBI all told them the same thing, that RJ Hancock was a deserter, that he had not been selected for any secret missions, and he was not working undercover for the United States in any capacity.
It was a lie that both he and Grey had considered was due to plausible deniability. Neither of them fully trusting the higher ups within the organizations of their country. They loved their country, would do anything for their country, including giving their own life. But, neither of the two men were foolish enough to believe that their country told them everything. The entire reasoning behind classified information was to protect missions and the people who ran them. And regardless of Grey’s or his own service to their country, he doubted that they were very high on the need to know list.
As much as Chase knew RJ and he was finally able to make sense out of what happened, he was growing uneasy by the behaviors he saw taking place between Monica Tovar and Tovar’s right hand man.
There was something there between them. It wasn’t obvious. Nothing on the surface to show that there was anything more than a bodyguard protecting his package. But, Chase saw something there and he knew there was only one way to find out.
The time to do it was now.
“Rodrigo? Rodrigo Jimenez is that you?”
For a brief moment RJ hesitated. It wasn’t long enough that anyone else might’ve noticed, but Chase knowing him far too well, caught instantly.
“Yes, how are you, old friend?”
“Doing good. Good. Who’s your friend here?” Chase asked. Knowing that how he introduced Monica Tovar would be a big indication of their relationship.
“Monica.” She held out her hand to him.
“Ahh… Monica. It is a pleasure. You’re quite beautiful. I hope he tells you that often.” Chase flirted, hoping to garner some sort of a reaction from RJ.
She blushed by his compliment. “Thank you, that’s very sweet. How do you two know each other?”
“We went to school together a long time ago.” RJ answered.
“Oh, back in Houston?”
“Yes.” Chase nodded. “It’s been a long time.”
“It has.”
“Listen, I won’t keep you two. I was just heading out, but had to stop and say hi.”
“It was nice to meet you.” Monica smiled.
“I’ll walk you out.” RJ turned toward Monica. “Stay here. I’ll be right back.”
Once again Chase saw mixed messages with RJ’s mannerisms. His body language said he was her guard, but his eyes and the way he looked at her said something more.
Both of the men walked silently out to the parking lot. Neither of them saying a word to one another as they were sure they were out of earshot and no one could hear them.
“What in the hell are you doing here, Edwards?” RJ asked.
“Funny, I was about to ask you the same thing, Hancock. Or should I say Jimenez?”
“Don’t do this.”
“Look
man, I don’t know what you’re doing here, or why everyone thinks you went AWOL, but Grey and I aren’t buying it –.”
“Grey? Holden? What in the fuck does he have to do with this?”
“It’s complicated.”
“Well, I’m on borrowed time here so maybe you could give me the abridged version?”
“Grey’s running a civilian contracting business. I work for him. We have a case, well, it’s more than a case to me, but we’re trying to take down Tovar and protect a woman he’s trying to kill.”
“Don’t tell me… Senator Powers daughter?”
“Yeah. How’d you know –.”
“Dumb question, Edwards. Who in the fuck do you think I see every damn day? Tovar, man. He wants Chloe Powers deader than dead. He’s obsessed.”
“Yeah, well I’m not about ready to let that happen. Ever!”
“Oh shit. Don’t tell me… you’re involved with her, aren’t you?”
“More than involved.”
“What the fuck is it with Tovar and the women in your life?”
Chase glared at him. “Can we stay on point here?”
“Sorry. Look, I’ve been working on this for years now. I was close. So fucking close to the end, then that woman, your woman, fucked everything up. And everything’s gone to shit.”
“Yeah, sorry her getting assaulted and defending herself is an inconvenience to you, man.” Chase shook his head.
“Fuck. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it like that. Look, I’m just juggling a lot right now.”
“Like that hottie in the restaurant?”
“It’s not like that. She’s Tovar’s daughter. He wants me watching her.”
“You can say it’s not like that all you want. But, I see the way she looks at you and I see the way you look at her. I haven’t seen you in years man, and you’ve been with Tovar this whole time. So, you might want to be careful.”
“What are you talking about?”
“I’m talking about Tovar, man. If you start fucking around with his daughter he’s not going to take too kindly to it. Especially not if he finds out who you are.”
The Omega Team: Collateral Damage (Kindle Worlds Novella) Page 2