by Kaylea Cross
“Who?” Mal asked.
“Insider source.” He crossed the room. The door opened just before he got there.
Hamilton walked in, held the door and looked over his shoulder at someone. A woman with jaw-length dark brown hair stepped inside the room and stopped, her wary gaze surveying the room.
It took Mal a few moments to realize who it was.
The change in her was startling, but then, the last time he’d seen her she’d been huddled beneath a blanket in the back of an ambulance when they’d raided Ruiz’s hideout near Biloxi. She wore a scarf wrapped around her neck, even though it was humid and in the low eighties outside. Probably to hide the scarring where the slave collar they’d locked around her throat had dug into her skin.
Her anxious gaze flicked to Hamilton and stopped. The moment it did, her vigilant posture relaxed, and she walked over to stand at his side.
“This is Victoria Gomez,” Hamilton announced as he took her elbow, standing like a sentinel beside her. His gaze zeroed in on Ms. Nieto at the far end of the table.
Victoria stared at the other woman with an almost hostile intensity, her body eerily still.
“Do you recognize her?” Hamilton asked her in low voice.
Victoria nodded, never looking away from her. “Oceane. Manny Nieto’s illegitimate daughter.”
Mal’s gaze shot to Ms. Nieto in the tense pause that followed the verbal bombshell. Her cheeks flushed, and she seemed to bristle at the illegitimate tag. “My parents never married,” she allowed, eyes narrowed. “But I am his daughter. His only child.” She said it with an almost defiant pride, as if it should carry some sort of weight with everyone in the room.
Obviously, she had no fucking clue who she was talking to. Mal mentally shook his head at her.
Victoria’s laugh was bitter. “Aren’t you a lucky girl.”
Ms. Nieto’s bravado faded. She shifted her gaze to Hamilton for a moment, then back to Victoria. “Do I…know you?”
Victoria’s dark gaze was icy. “No. But I know all about you. And I’ve seen pictures of you.”
Mal watched Ms. Nieto carefully as she frowned and glanced at Taggart. She seemed truly bewildered.
“Ms. Gomez was taken hostage by Ruiz’s men and held captive for several weeks. While there she had the misfortune of becoming well acquainted with them and your father’s men, against her will.”
At those damning words, shock and horror filled her face. Mal was pretty damn good at reading people. Her reaction was either real, or she was the best damn actor he’d seen.
Her gaze swung back to Victoria, stricken, her face pale. “I’m sorry. Truly.”
Victoria stared at her for another long moment, then looked away, dismissing her. “What else can I help you with?” she asked Taggart, her voice surprisingly strong. The woman might appear fragile and have wounded doe eyes, but there was a backbone of steel inside her. One that the Venenos would regret ever fucking with.
“Ruiz’s capture caused a predictable power struggle within the cartel,” Taggart answered. “Our sources are saying that Nieto’s taken his place as lieutenant. El Escorpion’s apparently given his blessing. We’re trying to find out who Nieto’s main players are. His most trusted insiders. One of them’s reinstated a bounty on one of our team members, over in Maui. The threat is serious. Somebody killed our agent’s cousin last night in front of him. We can’t be certain he wasn’t the intended target. Any names come to mind?”
Victoria thought about it for a second, then started listing off names. She’d been prisoner to those animals for several weeks, chained to the floor in a rotting shed out back of the property while they used and tortured her.
Mal didn’t know the details of what they’d done to her during that time, but he could guess well enough, and judging from the physical damage she’d sustained, none of it was pretty. Her captors had intended to sell her into a human trafficking ring in southeast Asia, never thinking she would escape.
Except she had. And now every single thing they’d talked about so carelessly in front of their “slave” would come back to haunt them.
Sometimes—but not often enough—karma was a fucking awesome thing to behold.
He wrote each name down as she listed them, compiling a list to begin checking the moment he got out of this meeting. He was anxious to move on this, find out anything that might help out Maka. And the sooner he left the room, the sooner he wouldn’t have to look at Rowan and be reminded of all he couldn’t have.
“But I’ll bet the guy you’re looking for is Juan Montoya,” Victoria finished, her voice ringing with hatred. “He runs most of Nieto’s crew.”
Ms. Nieto gasped.
Mal jerked his gaze to her.
She was even paler now, eyes full of horror. “That’s…that’s my father’s best friend,” she said in a shaky voice. “He’s my godfather.”
“Well he’s also one of our top ten most wanted North American cartel members,” Taggart muttered, before turning to Mal. “Bring that list to my office. We need to call Maka right away and bring him up to speed on all this.”
Chapter Eighteen
“So Nieto’s for sure the new boss,” Kai said into his cell phone, leaning back in the seat of his new rental. A freaking minivan, of all things.
“Looks that way,” Hamilton answered. “You got the picture of Montoya I sent you?”
Juan Montoya, Nieto’s supposed head enforcer. Reported to be here somewhere on the island, and likely the one who had put the word out about the bounty on Kai. “Yeah. I don’t recognize him. Cops said they think he was in contact with Hani. They’re still tracing the number from Hani’s phone.” The number they were looking for came from an encrypted phone. Who knew how long it would take them to crack it.
The police had learned a lot of things from Hani’s phone so far. It still stunned Kai that his cousin had been trafficking Veneno heroin throughout the islands. He felt sick at heart that someone he’d been so close to had been in business with a cartel that Kai and his team had been risking their lives to battle at home and overseas for the past several years.
“Where are you right now?” Hamilton asked.
Kai scanned the parking lot, extra vigilant in light of all the shit that had gone down. He’d been careful on his way over, making sure no one was following him.
It was only five o’clock, but with everything he’d been juggling today it felt much later. Now he had the mother of all headaches pounding in his skull and his eyes burned from lack of sleep. His entire day had been eaten up with seeing to his tutu, making arrangements, and talking with the cops and investigators. Since the ballistics linked Hani’s murder with the doctor’s, the heat was on the female suspect.
“At the Grand Wailea. I’m meeting Abby once she’s wrapped up the conference.” Hard to believe it was only hours ago that he’d woken up next to her. A detective had brought the minivan to Kai, then driven Abby back to the resort in an unmarked car. They had extra security watching the conference, just in case.
“Cops haven’t tracked down the female shooter yet?”
“No. Still no name, no known motive.” Other than it had something to do with her daughter. How everything else fit with Hani and the Venenos, Kai wasn’t sure. “I’m about to talk to the security guys in the hotel. Cops have briefed them about the female. I’ll let them know about Montoya and their possible connection.”
Stood to reason that the woman was working with or connected to Montoya somehow. There was a target on Kai’s back. The female had seen him the other night. Had fired at him too. She might have seen him with Abby at some point.
Kai would make damn sure he did everything possible to protect his lady.
“Yeah, wouldn’t hurt to tell them, be on the safe side. How’s your grandma doing?”
He smothered a yawn and shifted his phone to his other ear. “I guess okay, all things considered. Some of her friends from the old town are with her right now.”
That
was the only reason he’d been willing to leave her. It hurt him to see her so devastated. For all his faults, she’d loved Hani with everything in her. Now her heart was
broken. And Kai hadn’t told her about the threat against him, or how Hani had been trying to protect him. She was in enough pain, and damned if he would add more to her burden. At least she had cops stationed at her house to guard her.
“Any idea when the service is gonna be?” Hamilton asked.
“Wednesday afternoon at four.”
“Taggart and I are thinking of coming out. Things are quiet here for the moment. If you wanted some backup, we could even fly out this afternoon.”
This was why he loved his teammates. They cared. No matter how they bitched at each other occasionally or got on each other’s nerves during deployments, they always worked it out. In times of crisis, they were there for one another. They weren’t just a team—they were a family. “I appreciate the offer, man, but I’m good for now.”
“Figured you’d say that. Just wanted you to know we’re here for you.”
“I know it.”
“Okay, brother. Later.”
“Later.” Kai ended the call, took two ibuprofen tablets with a swig of water, and strode toward the Grand Wailea entrance.
The change of scenery was good for him, because he couldn’t bear the thought of going back to his tutu’s place right now. He needed to be with Abby. The mere knowledge that he would see her soon eased him inside, even if it was here, in the same place where Hani had met him only a few days ago. Kai was looking forward to unwinding with her, spending the entire night together before they had to face reality again in the morning.
I’m here, he texted her as he hit the lobby.
He went straight to the concierge desk and asked to see the head of security, while keeping an eye out for anyone watching him. Given his size, it was impossible for him not to stand out. Manny Nieto was a powerful man in his own right, might even have people from this very hotel on his payroll. The DEA was still compiling information about him, both from his daughter and other sources.
Not surprisingly, his daughter painted entirely different pictures of him from everyone else. Sources within the cartel characterized Nieto as an efficient and ruthless man, willing to consolidate power at any cost. Anyone who crossed him died in short order, and often, so did their families.
According to what Hamilton had told him this morning, those murders were mostly carried out on orders from Juan Montoya by his circle of trusted, elite enforcers. Word was they were all former Mexican special ops members.
His phone chimed with Abby’s response. Meet me by the pool in half an hour. I’ve rented us a private beachside cabana for dinner.
Kai’s mouth quirked up. Nice. His lady was going all out to make the evening special for them, no doubt in an effort to take his mind off everything else. She was such a sweetheart.
Okay, he replied, already looking forward to it. He wanted to shut out the rest of the world and focus only on her.
The head of security arrived. Kai showed him his agency ID and the man escorted him down to the security room. Five guards sat at various stations monitoring video feeds, from cameras mounted around the resort.
As efficiently as possible though without giving away anything classified, Kai brought them up to speed with what was going on, and showed them pictures of both the female suspect and Montoya. He sent the shots to the head of security’s phone. “If you see either of them, alert me and the MPD right away. I’ll report any new intel to my superiors.”
The head guy nodded, held out Kai’s phone to show the others the photos. “You staying here at the resort?” he asked Kai.
“Just for tonight. I’m having dinner with a friend in a little bit. If anything comes up, you can text or call me. I’ll have my cell on me.” He checked his watch on his way out the door. Abby should be wrapping up her final session of the conference right about now. He couldn’t wait to see her.
He was halfway down the hall when a door opened behind him and the head of security called out. “Agent Maka?”
Kai stopped and turned around. “What’s up?”
“Can you come back and look at this?”
A tingle of concern slid through him. “Sure.” He strode back to the room, stepped inside and shut the door. Two guards stepped aside from the monitor they were looking at, making room for him.
“Play that back again,” the security head ordered.
Arms folded across his chest, Kai stared at the screen while the video footage played.
“Watch right here,” the man said to him.
The camera showed a young family walking in carrying their luggage. Thirty-ish man, woman, and two little kids.
Behind them by a few paces, another woman came into view. She wore a wide-brimmed sunhat and a Hawaiian-style dress. Kai zeroed in on her, his pulse beating faster. Her build was right, and she was approximately the right height to be the woman from last night.
She stopped a few yards behind the family and glanced around the lobby, the gesture almost nervous. For a moment she stared at something out of the camera’s range, then glanced over her shoulder, revealing her face for an instant.
Kai’s insides clamped tight. “Play that part back and freeze on her face,” he commanded.
One of the guards backed the clip up, played with it a few moments until he could freeze on the woman’s face. The shot was grainy, too blurry to see any of the features clearly.
“Can you enhance it at all?” Kai asked, leaning forward, pulse quickening.
“Some.” He tapped some keys, zoomed in and tightened the focus.
The woman’s features became clearer. More distinct.
Kai cursed silently, dread and recognition exploding inside him. “That’s her,” he grated out. “How long ago was this?”
“Eighteen minutes.”
Fuck. More than enough time to disappear somewhere on the resort. Why was she here? For him? Did she have someone working with her? “Follow her after this clip. Where does she go?”
Two of the guards began checking various feeds, searching for her. “Here, got her,” one said a minute later.
The blood rushed in Kai’s ears as he watched the woman walk out of the lobby, heading to the right. Past placards flanking the start of a long hallway that led off the lobby.
Placards listing events for the pharmaceutical conference. His eyes stopped on the left one, scanning the words.
An event hosted by NextGen Pharmaceuticals. Abby’s company.
His gut constricted, foreboding rocketing up his spine in a cold wave. “Where does this hallway lead?” he demanded.
The head of security glanced over his shoulder at him. “The conference rooms.”
Jesus Christ. Abby.
“Get up there now and call the cops for backup,” he said, yanking his phone out of his pocket as he bolted for the door.
****
In her spot against the wall at the rear of the ballroom, Diane’s entire body vibrated with pent-up nerves as she listened to the man on stage giving the closing remarks for the conference. Walter Ling, CEO of NextGen Pharmaceuticals. The rich, arrogant asshole who’d become a millionaire tens of times over by profiting from other people’s misery once they got addicted to the shit his company made.
The blonde pixie who worked for him sat up front, watching her boss with a disgustingly pleased expression. The same woman Diane had seen here the other night with Hani and that dirty DEA agent, Kai. She was sure they were together.
Ling carried on with his speech, going on about how his company was making a difference in the world, spinning his lies about how the poison they manufactured and pedaled were improving the quality of life of so many suffering people throughout the world. And worse, how their latest drug was safe.
Diane clenched her jaw as she stared at him. He had power, money and prestige, the admiration of almost everyone in this room. But not her. And he was about to get a fir
sthand lesson in just how fragile and fleeting life could be. Him and that blonde bimbo.
She cast a furtive glance around the room. Her wig made her look a good ten years older, but she wasn’t supposed to be here. A composite sketch with an uncanny likeness to her was all over the news and social media. She hoped her disguise would buy her the time she needed to pull this off.
Yet that wasn’t the most important reason why she shouldn’t be here.
The man who had surprised her at the motel last night had texted her about an hour ago, saying she was being watched. She hadn’t given him her number, so the fact that he’d contacted her scared her. He’d made it clear that she was being watched. That she was to await details about the location of the dirty DEA agent, Kai. She didn’t much care why the man wanted the agent dead. Once she got her next two victims, she was to find and kill him too.
Well, too fucking bad for her mysterious shadow. Instead of following his instructions, she’d come here instead because this was about her mission, and she was determined to take out Ling and the woman. They were softer targets than the DEA agent, likely without any training, giving her a higher chance of success.
Killing the DEA agent wasn’t her priority, and it likely wouldn’t happen anyway. As soon as she pulled her weapon and fired at Ling and the woman, it was all over. She would never make it out of the hotel before they captured her. Or if she did, she wouldn’t get far.
Diane accepted that, and was willing to pay the price. There was no way she would be able to pull off a murder here and walk away, not even with an accomplice helping her. As long as she could shoot both NextGen targets, she was willing to go to prison now, and live the rest of her life with the vindication of knowing she’d made at least a few key people pay for Bailey’s death. At least then she would be able to sleep better at night.
And if she was killed, well… Then her agony would be over for good.
She jolted when her phone buzzed in her purse. Several people around her gave her disapproving looks, then went right back to watching Ling. Releasing a quiet breath, she opened her purse and peered at her phone, skimming the text there.