Bullseye_SEAL

by Carol Ericson

  “I don’t know what this is supposed to be.” She leaned over the eleven-by-fifteen sheets of paper and ran her fingertip along the lines on the page.

  Josh bumped the side of her hip with his own to get a closer look. “These are plans, some kind of building plans with measurements and calculations.”

  “My father was never into real estate or buildings as far as I know. Why would he even be interested in building plans? It’s not his compound in Colombia, is it?”

  Josh squinted at the numbers, and then dug in his pocket for his phone. He entered some of the figures on his phone’s calculator, and drew his brows over his nose. “This can’t be a building. Those numbers are too small. The ceiling’s barely six feet tall.”

  “My father was not a tall man, but the ceilings in his place were super high—cathedral.”

  “Are these more plans?” Josh shoved aside the top page only to find another odd set of figures. “We’re going to need an architect to look at these, or at least someone with more building experience than I have.”

  He thumbed through the next few pages. When he came to the last one, his heart flip-flopped. “Gina, it’s a map.”

  “Like a buried treasure map?” Bending forward, she dug her elbows into the table and peered at the squiggly lines on the page.

  “It’s Mexico.” Josh’s adrenaline started pumping, and a bead of sweat ran down his face despite the arctic temperatures in the room.

  Gina wrinkled her nose. “Why Mexico?”

  “Think about it.” Josh jabbed the map with his finger. “This is the border with the US.”

  Gina’s mouth dropped open, her eyes alight with understanding. “The crossing.”

  “Right.” Josh scrabbled back through the other pages and grabbed the edges of the first set of plans. His gaze darted from one side of the page to the other, as calculations whirred through his brain.

  Then he dropped the plans on the table with a pump of his fist. “This is it. You were right, Gina.”

  “I was? What do you think you figured out?”

  “I don’t think I figured it out. I know I did. Your father commissioned the construction of a tunnel between Mexico and the US and that’s where he hid the drugs and the weapons. And they must still be there.”

  Chapter Fifteen

  Josh’s words acted like a switch to a light bulb over her head. How else would her father be able to secure passage for the terrorists and their weapons in exchange for drugs?

  “You’re right. It’s all here in front of us.” She picked up the edges of the map and read off some of the names. “It’s at the border with Arizona. Can you figure out the exact location?”

  “I’m sure we can once we compare this map to another. When I turn this over to the team, to Ariel, the CIA and the DEA can move in and confiscate the drugs and the weapons and destroy the tunnel. I wonder if it’s been used yet. There are dozens of these tunnels on the border. I wonder what makes this one so special. I’m sure Los Santos has used tunnels before to ship their drugs to the States.”

  “I’m not sure. I wasn’t aware of any tunnels before.” Gina chewed on her bottom lip as Josh laid out each of the pages on the table. “Once this tunnel is located and if the drugs and weapons are there, do you think these people—Los Santos and this Vlad guy—will leave me alone?”

  Josh looked up from taking his first picture of the plans with his phone. “They should. They tried to abduct you to get information from you and get you to turn it over to them. They failed.”

  “Thanks to you.”

  “Don’t get too warm and fuzzy. I was sent to Miami, to you, to get the exact same information.”

  “Yeah, but you’re the good guys.” She wedged a hip against the table, watching Josh as he finished taking his pictures. “If I hadn’t had the info or wouldn’t turn it over to you, I don’t think the US government’s response would’ve been the same as Los Santos’s or Vlad’s.”

  “You sure about that?” He shifted his gaze from his phone to her face. “If we knew you had information that you weren’t coughing up? It could’ve gotten ugly.”

  Gina narrowed her eyes as Josh collected the papers and folded them along their original seams. Could’ve gotten ugly or very, very friendly? Had Ariel and the powers that be told him to get to her using any means possible?

  Her lips twitched at the idea of Josh as some kind of Mata Hari using his masculine wiles to woo information from her. She’d been the one who’d been all over him last night anyway. She doubted he would’ve made a move if she hadn’t come on to him.

  Of course, he could’ve just made it seem that way.

  It didn’t matter. She always planned to give him any information she had about her father and she’d wanted his body anyway. It was a win-win-win for everyone.

  If she could only shake this feeling that finding this tunnel wouldn’t be the end of the threat against her. She’d been living under a noxious miasma of evil for so long, she didn’t feel as if she’d ever be free of it.

  Josh pocketed his phone and handed her the plans. “Stick these in your bag. We’ll get them to the right people when we hit stateside.”

  She shoved the papers in her bag and picked up the diamond necklace, dangling it from her fingertips. It threw rainbow sparks around the room. “Should we leave this here for the DEA, or do you have some woman in your life who needs a fabulous gift?”

  He raised his eyebrows at her. “I have no woman in my life. Didn’t I make that clear last night?”

  Two spots of heat lit up her cheeks. “I didn’t mean... I meant like a mother or... I’m sorry.”

  “Like an aunt or sister or grandmother? I have no one...like that.”

  She dropped the jewels in the safe-deposit box. “Then the DEA gets them.”

  Josh scooped them back up and dropped them in his pocket. “Maybe your mother wants them. Maybe they belong to her.”

  “You just said none of my father’s money belonged to her.”

  “Forget what I said. Put the box away and let’s get out of here. We have a flight to catch at four o’clock and I’m never gonna feel so happy to leave paradise as when that plane lifts off.”

  Fifteen minutes later, after going through the steps of securing the safe-deposit box and exiting the bank, they emerged onto the sidewalk.

  Blinking in the harsh sunlight, Gina shook out her sunglasses and put them on. She surveyed the empty street. “Maybe we should’ve called for a taxi inside the bank.”

  As if by magic, a yellow cab glided up to the curb. The driver wasn’t as attentive as the one who’d dropped them off, staying securely behind the wheel as Josh opened the car door for her.

  Josh leaned forward slightly. “La Perdida Resort and Spa, por favor.”

  As the taxi rolled into the street, another taxi pulled up behind them, horn honking.

  Their driver cursed and made a rude gesture out the window.

  “What is that guy’s problem? We didn’t cut him off.” Gina twisted her head around to glare at the other driver, who was still gesticulating and honking.

  Josh had turned around, too, and his body stiffened, the muscles in the thigh beneath her hand coiling.

  She jerked her head toward him, and he leaned in to kiss her cheek. Before he drew away, he whispered in her ear. “We need to get out of this taxi the next time he stops or slows down.”

  She blinked. Slows down? Josh expected her to jump out of a moving car in a white linen dress and high-heeled sandals?

  He did. His right hand rested on the door handle of the car, his left gripped her wrist. He’d drag her out if he had to.

  What had he seen in the other taxi that had led him to that conclusion? The car was still behind them, the driver tailgating them.

  She scooted closer to Jo
sh, her thigh pressing against his. Reaching down, she flicked off the ankle straps of her sandals and tucked them into the big bag at her feet—right next to the map of the tunnel. She pulled the bag into her lap, and hooked the strap over her shoulder.

  Josh nodded.

  Their taxi slowed to take a curve to the right, and Josh pinched her wrist. As soon as he opened that door, it was go time.

  Go time arrived within a nanosecond as Josh pushed open the door, yanking on her wrist. She didn’t need any more prompting than that.

  Josh jumped out of the taxi while the driver yelled. With Josh still holding on to her wrist, Gina hoisted herself into the space right behind him, squashing her bag against her chest.

  Josh had timed their exit well. They both tumbled into a patch of crawling vines on a soft shoulder, rolling just a few feet.

  Their taxi screamed to a stop several yards ahead of them. The driver bolted from the car, a gun clutched in his hand.

  Gina didn’t know whether to make a run for it or stay down.

  Josh shoved her behind his body as he reached for his own weapon and made the decision for her. “Stay down. Burrow beneath these vines if you can.”

  As Josh raised his gun, the taxi that had been dogging them screeched to a halt, cutting off their view of the driver with the gun.

  Before she had time to think, Josh grabbed her upper arm and practically dragged her to the waiting taxi. A sharp report and the sound of cracking glass accompanied her into the back seat of the other taxi.

  With the back door still gaping open, their new ride swung around in a wild U-turn and lurched into high speed, the sound of another gunshot behind them.

  Once the taxi had gained traction and Gina had shoved the hair from her face, the driver turned around with a gold tooth gleaming in his big smile.

  “Dios mío. Some crazy business you two are involved in.”

  Gina fell back against the seat. “Robbie? What are you doing here? How did you know that driver had a gun?”

  Robbie looked in his rearview mirror and made a quick right turn. “I remembered Josh telling me about your appointment today at the bank. I was in the area and thought I’d roll by to give you a lift. When I saw you get into that rogue taxi, I knew you’d be in some kind of trouble.”

  “You have no idea.” Josh clapped Robbie on the shoulder.

  Gina asked, “Rogue taxi?”

  “Like any place, Isla Perdida has unlicensed taxi drivers. They’re especially common around the banks. They do a pickup—” Robbie made his fingers into a gun “—and then they rob you of the valuables you just collected at the bank.”

  Gina hugged her bag to her chest and slid a glance at Josh. “You mean that driver was just trying to rob us?”

  “Just?” He shook his head. “He had a gun, senorita. He was serious, but this problem isn’t something you’re going to read in the guidebooks or in your business plans. The island keeps such things quiet.”

  “Thanks for the rescue, Robbie.” Josh entwined his fingers with Gina’s on the seat between them.

  Robbie laughed. “I think you could’ve handled things, Josh, especially with the little beauty mi primo sold to you last night, but tourists don’t want to be involved in any shootings in Isla Perdida.”

  “We appreciate everything you’ve done for us, Robbie.”

  “It was nothing.” Robbie waved his hand at the mirror. “Now, I take you to my home so my wife can look after your injuries.”

  “Injuries?” Gina looked Josh up and down and except for a missing button on his jacket and a few leaves stuck to his hair, he looked just fine.

  “You, not me.” Josh touched a finger to her cheek and showed her the blood on the end of it.

  She gasped. “Is it bad?”

  “No worse than your hand and arm.”

  As soon as the words left his mouth, she felt stinging prickles on the palm of her left hand and noticed the red abrasions for the first time. “I honestly didn’t even feel those. I’m sure I’ll be okay.”

  “Perhaps, senorita, but it’s better not to return to your hotel looking like you jumped from a moving car.”

  “You’re probably right.” She tilted her head back against the seat and rolled it to the left where she saw a different type of scenery flashing by.

  Tangled roadside bushes had replaced the manicured landscaping. Old clunkers were rattling down the road instead of the gleaming taxis and high-end rentals of the city streets. People were lined up at shacks with thatched roofs and smoke rising from the back instead of four-star eateries.

  She hadn’t seen this side of Isla Perdida on her previous visit.

  “If you’re hungry, I’m sure my wife has some lunch prepared for my break.”

  Josh said, “We don’t want to put her out.”

  “No trouble, senor. Since our three oldest left the island for Miami, she’s been complaining she has nobody to cook for.”

  “Well, I’m starving.” Gina brushed some dirt from her dress and then clutched the wrinkled material in her fists. “That other driver is not going to retaliate against you, is he?”

  “I’d like to see him try. The policía don’t look kindly upon the rogue drivers. Gives the island a black eye.” He swung down an unpaved road with palm trees and lush vegetation on either side.

  He parked the taxi in front of a tidy clapboard house with abundant fruit trees on one side and neat rows of vegetables and herbs on the other.

  When Gina stepped out of the car, the moist earth squished between her toes as she inhaled the sweet scent of the blossoming fruit trees. “Now, this is paradise.”

  A petite, dark woman opened the door with a smile as big as her husband’s. “Hola, hola. Robbie, you brought guests for lunch?”

  Robbie introduced them to his wife, Fernanda, and then spoke in rapid Spanish to her, explaining about the rogue taxi driver.

  She clicked her tongue. “Thieves. Come in, come in. Look at your pretty dress.”

  “I’m afraid it’s a mess.”

  Fernanda tended to Gina’s cuts and scrapes and then fed them a hearty meal of arroz con pollo.

  An hour later, Josh tapped Gina on the shoulder, just as she’d launched probably the fiftieth picture of RJ on her phone to show Fernanda. “We should be getting back. We have a flight to catch.”

  Robbie stood up and stretched. “I’ll take you back to the hotel and wait for you, Josh. Then I’ll drive you to the airport. We need to get you out of Isla Perdida alive.”

  His light tone and chuckle at the end of his sentence didn’t match his somber expression and tight mouth. Had Josh told him more, or had he figured it out on his own?

  They said their goodbyes to Fernanda, promising to return for a visit.

  Robbie got them back to the hotel without incident, and they hurriedly packed and changed clothes.

  Gina turned to Josh. “You don’t believe that rogue taxi driver was working for his own interests, do you?”

  “Not a chance. They know we got something out of that bank, and they want their hands on it.”

  She snapped her suitcase shut and placed a hand over the knot in her belly. “All we need to do is get on that plane and get back to Miami.”

  “That’s all. Easy.”

  Robbie made good time to the airport and also took precautions that they weren’t followed. Even if Josh hadn’t given him any more details about the purpose of their visit, Robbie knew there was more to their troubles than an island thief.

  He stopped his taxi in front of their terminal and hauled their bags from the trunk.

  Gina gave Robbie a hug and Josh slipped him some cash with a handshake.

  As Robbie started to get into his car, Josh jogged around to the driver’s side. “Forgot your tip.”

 
He plunged his hand into the pocket of his cargo shorts and pulled out his fist. Then he poured the diamonds into Robbie’s hand.

  Robbie’s eyes bulged out of their sockets. “Josh, Josh.”

  “Keep them.” Josh hustled back to the curb and took Gina’s arm. “Let’s get out of here.”

  As they waited in the boarding area, Gina glanced around but didn’t see anyone suspicious. The honeymooners hadn’t looked suspicious either.

  She and Josh passed the uneventful flight back to Miami reading and studying the various passengers. The calm put her nerves on edge.

  Resting her chin against Josh’s arm, Gina asked, “Why aren’t they coming at us now?”

  “We don’t know that they aren’t. Stay alert. Roger and Tara didn’t look like much of a threat, did they?”

  She snorted. “They didn’t end up being much of a threat. They should’ve stayed alert. Amateurs.”

  He pinched her chin. “Let’s hope you don’t become a pro at this.”

  “It’s too late.” She rubbed her eyes. “I thought my life of looking over my shoulder and walking on eggshells was over when my father and Ricky died.”

  “Your father left you some legacy by taking you into his confidence. Others must’ve known or Ricky blabbed. Otherwise, you wouldn’t be in this predicament. These two groups who are trying to get to the drugs and weapons would’ve looked elsewhere for their answers.”

  “Hector De Santos—the father who keeps on giving.” She tugged on the sleeve of his T-shirt. “Do I have to tell the DEA about my mother’s account in that same bank on Isla Perdida?”

  “I’m not here to do the DEA’s job. You do what you think is best.”

  She covered her face with her hands. “There’s what’s best for my mother and what’s right.”

  The plane touched down in Miami just thirty minutes late, and they moved through Customs with their fake IDs without incident. As the escalator brought them down to the baggage claim, Gina jerked her head in the direction of a brightly colored commotion to her right.

  “What the heck is my mom doing here?”