Deliciously Dangerous
Page 14
“We can’t afford to have this deal go south. We’ll lose Fuentes, and three years of hard work will go down the drain.”
“We’re not going to lose him. I guarantee you that much. I’ll do everything in my power to get you access to the base, but you’ll have to figure out how to get those weapons out. I can even supply you with some people to help if that’s necessary.”
“Thank you. That will help.”
“And the Watchdog agent?”
“I suspect she’s on the phone with her boss right now.”
“That’s good. We’ll both have strings to pull, and believe me, Gillian has a lot of pull. I’ll get back to you before the hour is out.”
“I’ll be waiting for your phone call.”
Gina-aka Callie Carpenter-exited the bathroom looking delectable and smelling delicious.
When Jammer went past her, he gave her a quick kiss on the mouth. He couldn’t imagine what she was thinking. She only knew him as an arms dealer. There would come a time when he would reveal to her who he really was and why he had done what he had, but that wasn’t now.
She was already turning away and dialing her phone. He went inside the bathroom and took a quick shower, washing off the sticky grape juice and the grime of the day.
After this was all over, he would lose this place that he had called home for three years. Losing Callie would be hard enough. Losing the winery would be almost as difficult. He loved it with a passion.
When the DEA had purchased this property for his cover, Jammer was at first amused. He was told that he could either use it as a base of operations, live there when not on business, or grow grapes and make wine. The last of those choices would solidify his cover.
But now that his cover was blown he had to assume a new identity. When Fuentes found out who the Ghost really was, he would be livid. The man had too much pride not to come after Jammer, whether he was in prison or not. Fuentes would be sure to murder anyone Jammer held dear. That was why he had to disappear-and he had to go alone.
He exited the bathroom, but Callie wasn’t in the room. He got dressed and went looking for her.
She was outside, pacing and talking on the phone. So he let her be. When his stomach rumbled, he decided that preparing a meal would be both a stress reliever and alleviate their hunger.
He pulled some ingredients out of the fridge and set them on the counter. He rubbed two bass fillets with olive oil and seasoning, stuffing them with sliced onions and oregano sprigs and tying them with string.
Sliding them into the oven, he moved on to the Mediterranean-inspired salad made up of garlic, anchovy paste, olive oil, grape and cherry tomatoes, Kalamata olives from Spain, sun-dried tomatoes and chopped oregano.
By the time Callie came back into the kitchen, the fish was almost done and the salad was chilling in the fridge.
“Wow, that smells heavenly and I’m starving. What are you making?”
“Roasted black sea bass with tomato and olive salad.”
He started to set the table and Callie put down her phone to help.
“How did it go?” Jammer asked.
“I’m getting my gear delivered here in about two hours, and contracted four people to back us up. I also got the base plans and the rotation schedule for the guards. It’s best to use a water egress rather than a frontal assault. I’ve secured boats and scuba equipment,” Callie replied, arranging forks and knives.
“You do have yourself some nice contacts.”
She shot him a look. “Hey, I’m not just a pretty face.”
He chuckled and got a stab of pain thinking that he would never get a chance to find out all he could about Callie Carpenter. It was a complicated mess. Drew Miller was marrying Callie’s sister, Allie Carpenter, and he and Miller hadn’t parted on the best of terms. The DEA had helped her brother, Max, disappear along with Rio Marshall for their own protection. It was one of the demands he’d put to Stanford in exchange for completing the mission with Fuentes. So now that both of them were out of danger, all he had to do was worry about Callie getting on Fuentes’s radar.
He’d done his best in the three years he’d played this low-life arms dealer to keep people out of harm’s way and still obtain his objective.
“You sound like you know your way around a military base,” Jammer said.
“You could say that. I was a military brat when I was a kid, so I know the ropes,” Callie replied.
The oven timer went off. Jammer went over and took out the fish. He set the fillets on plates, then added the salad.
Callie seated herself, and Jammer set her plate down in front of her.
She breathed in the sizzling fish’s aroma. As soon as Jammer took a chair and poured the wine, she dug in.
He would never get tired of watching her, especially with that expression of pure rapture on her face.
“Where did you learn to cook this way?” she asked between bites.
Sick of ducking questions and offering half-truths, Jammer said softly, “My mother. She was a master in the kitchen. We ate like this every night.”
“That must have been fantastic.”
“It was. She was a stay-at-home mom, and all my friends were jealous when I told them that when I got home from school, my mom would have something waiting for me. It was either pizza bagels, hot soup on a cold day or my favorite chocolate-chip cookies still warm from the oven.”
He looked up at Callie and she had stopped eating. He knew she realized that he was telling her an actual piece of his life. Just as he had when she’d asked about the book in the library and he’d talked about his father.
He smiled wistfully. “I guess we were spoiled.”
“You were blessed,” she said. “Truly.”
He nodded, his throat tight. It pained him that she would never get a chance to meet his parents and that they wouldn’t get the chance to meet her.
He ached that he would have to change his life again, become someone else and sacrifice this woman who meant more to him than any woman had in his life.
She reached over and covered his hand with hers. “I was lucky, too. Very lucky with my parents.”
“Are they disappointed in what you do?”
“They don’t know what I do, Jammer, and I like it that way. They wouldn’t approve, but I have to live my life the way I see fit.”
He realized that she wasn’t talking about Gina Callahan, but Callie Carpenter. Of course, being a black ops agent, Callie wouldn’t be able to tell her parents what she did for a living.
“What would you do if you could do anything you wanted?”
“I’ve thought about that often. After all, being an arms dealer is already starting to get old. I think I’d go to law school.”
Jammer laughed so hard he choked.
She had to slap him on the back and get him a glass of water.
“I know,” she said with amusement in her voice. “It’s an odd choice.”
He also realized that it was Callie who would become the lawyer, and she’d be a great one. She was smart and thought quickly on her feet.
“Give a guy a warning next time,” he said, his voice hoarse from the coughing.
“Sorry.” She giggled and took another bite of her meal. Shortly after that, they left their empty plates and drifted out into the night.
“It is simply breathtaking here,” she said. She sat down on the edge of the pool and dangled her feet in the water. Jammer settled behind her and did the same.
He wrapped his arms around her, and she sighed wistfully. “Have you thought about what you will do after this deal with Fuentes is done?”
“Do more deals,” he lied.
“Why? I mean, you must have amassed a fortune, and arms dealing is such a risky and dangerous profession. It would be smart to get out. I can tell how much you love this place. Why not make wine?”
“I’ll think about it,” he said. The fact that she was so intuitive about him made him both happy and sad. He wasn’t going
to be able to stay here once Fuentes was arrested.
He kissed the nape of her neck. She sighed and leaned her head back, resting it on his shoulder.
It gave him better access to her throat. He slid his lips along the column and sucked her earlobe into his mouth. She shivered in his arms and twisted her head, presenting her mouth to him for a kiss.
“Hey, you two lovebirds. We’ve got work to do.”
A heavy bag dropped on the pool deck. Callie and Jammer turned to find Drew Miller and three other men standing behind them-one Asian, one blond and a man with dark hair drawn into a ponytail.
Callie got up and rounded on the newcomers. “Drew! How many times have I told you not to sneak up on me?”
Miller glanced at Callie for only a brief moment. Without broadcasting his intentions, he walked up to Jammer and socked him in the jaw. Coldcocked, Jammer took the blow that drove him back and into the pool.
When he surfaced, he could hear Callie cursing the man out, but Jammer calmly walked up the stairs and faced Miller.
“Jammer-” she said, glaring at Drew.
Jammer held up his hand. “No, I deserved that.”
“You’re a slick bastard, Jammer. I’ll give you that. But I owed that to you for Tina,” Drew said, his eyes narrow and filled with vindication.
“I get it.”
Drew did quick introductions. “This is Kyoto, Michaels and Frost. Well, let’s get going. We only have a few hours to get this show on the road. Midnight is the bewitching hour, my friends,” Drew said, picking up the black bag and looking at Callie. “The gear you wanted is in here.”
They went into the kitchen and cleared off the table. Drew pulled out the map of the base.
“The front part of the facility is heavily guarded, but the approach to the airstrip isn’t as bad and the guard rotation changes at twelve midnight. It’s the best time to infiltrate the base and hijack the airplanes. Do you need me to fly shotgun, Gina?”
“Yes,” she said. “The rest of you hightail it out of there once we rev up those engines.”
The three men nodded.
Just then the doorbell rang and four more steely eyed men dressed in black entered Jammer’s residence-courtesy of Director Stanford.
Jammer made the introductions and said, “Gear up. Let’s take our merchandise back.”
CALLIE SAT NEXT TO JAMMER in the black SUV as they rode to the water, where they would switch to boats. She already had her scuba gear on. She’d memorized the map and was thankful that Gillian had pinpointed exactly what hangars the planes were in, as well as the type of plane.
Callie could fly just about anything, but it was nice to know in advance what she was up against.
She glanced over at Drew, who was driving. He was an extremely capable agent, but a bit of a rogue. When he had hit Jammer, she thought she was going to faint. But Jammer had taken it, and he had the bruise darkening his jaw to show for it.
She was being a fool. She knew that, but she still reached up and ran the back of her fingers along the swelling. Jammer turned his head slightly to acknowledge her caress.
She dropped her hand and tensed as they approached the area. It didn’t take long to inflate the boats and speed to the point where they had to go into the water.
They swam around all the obstacles until they were able to make landfall. Once they hit the beach, all scuba gear was discarded and one of the men bundled it up and swam back out.
Drew automatically took point, heading for the hangars dead ahead. He whispered, “Watch out for guards. They should be thin, but it’s best not to take any chances.” With hand gestures, he made his intent well known: move forward.
They stayed low, and Callie was happy to see that clouds had obscured the moon as they made their way up to the gargantuan hangars. Frost did his magic to disable security, and they all ducked in.
The cargo planes were sitting side by side in the hangar. Callie started to move toward one, but Jammer grabbed her arm and pulled her to him. He kissed her soundly and then let her go.
“Be careful.”
“I will. You, too.”
“I’ll see you both in Colombia.”
Drew nodded and whispered to Kyoto, “Find the controls and get those doors open as fast as you can. Let’s get these birds ready for takeoff.”
Jammer jerked his head at one of his men and Callie watched as they disappeared into one of the planes. Callie and Drew entered the other.
Settling herself in the pilot’s seat, she went through a preflight check very quickly. Just as they started the engines, the doors to the hangar opened.
“Here we go,” Drew said softly.
As soon as the engine was ready, Callie eased the plane out of the hangar and wasted no time pointing its nose toward the runway, her mind on takeoff.
Just then alarms sounded, and men came running. She saw Kyoto, Frost and Michaels put their hands up.
“They’re great at playacting, aren’t they?” Drew said as they gunned the engine and took off into the sky.
She could only hope that Jammer was close behind her. It wasn’t long before his voice came over the radio and she knew they were free and clear.
“This was all a ruse to fool Jammer?” asked Callie, making sure their radios were off so Jammer couldn’t hear the conversation.
“Yeah, the base commander took care of the details and our guys were released as soon as the planes were safely in the air.”
“Wow, that took some pull.”
“Gillian has it, my friend. She went straight to the president.”
“All I care about is that these weapons will soon be in Colombia and this deal with Fuentes will happen. We can move in on the Ghost once the DEA gets the leaders of the Libertad.”
“Yeah, Gillian wants me to rendezvous with the head DEA agent in Colombia once we get there. Will you be all right alone with this guy, Callie?”
“I can handle the Ghost,” Callie said, trying to keep her tone neutral.
“Yeah. Isn’t that a kick in the pants? He was right under our noses the whole time.”
“You have to admire that, though. He hid in plain sight.”
“Didn’t say I didn’t admire it, but how are you doing with keeping your feelings for him compartmentalized?”
So much for neutral. She sighed. “As best I can. I won’t lie to you, Drew. He’s a lot different from the man I thought he was.”
“That’s the trouble with working undercover. Nothing’s black and white. I’ve liked quite a few guys I’ve had to take down. Didn’t make it easier, but I didn’t hesitate,” Drew said.
“I won’t, either. I promise.”
“I know you won’t. You’re Allie’s sister.”
THE FLIGHT TO CARTAGENA took approximately six hours. As soon as they reached Colombian airspace, they were directed to a place to land. Once the planes were on the ground, Drew and Callie disembarked to greet a large number of men who were there to unload the weapons for delivery to Fuentes.
Drew took his leave and made his way toward the city. Callie and Jammer got into the waiting black SUV and were soon at Fuentes’s compound.
The house was beautiful, with white stucco walls and numerous plants and trees giving it a lush, tropical look. They were ushered up the stairs and into the residence.
Fuentes was there to meet them at the door. He shook hands with Jammer, then ogled Callie.
First his eyes narrowed and he took his time with her face, his eyes touching on her hair, then traveling down her body. They lingered on her breasts before he finished his slow exploration.
Callie did not like the look in his eyes and wanted to do the man bodily harm.
Jammer didn’t move, in fact he didn’t seem to pay her any attention. It surprised her, because he’d been so protective of her until now. Then it dawned on her. He didn’t want Fuentes to know that he cared.
“A very beautiful woman. Perhaps we can do some deals of our own,” he said suggestively.
Very deftly she sidestepped him and his outstretched hand, and he returned to business, addressing both of them as he followed Jammer inside.
“First, I must insist that all weapons be turned over to my guards. Your room has been readied. Please enjoy some refreshments. Since you are a day early, we will have some time to get acquainted,” Fuentes said, his eyes on Callie. “I took the liberty of providing some garments for you both, as I understood you had to travel light. Please make yourselves at home. I must leave you now to take care of some pressing business. Jammer, please accompany me.”
As they left the room, a woman approached her. When Callie looked up, she met the eyes of Leila Mendez, a Watchdog operative. She was dressed as a maid and offered Callie food from a tray.
“What can I get you to drink?” she asked in accented English.
Callie shook her head and acknowledged Leila with a nod.
Leila suddenly dropped the tray, and while the guards in the room were distracted, slipped Callie a note. In Spanish, she apologized profusely, and after cleaning up the mess, she left.
“I think I’ll retire now,” Callie told the guards. “Please lead the way to my accommodations.”
One guard escorted her down a hall and opened one of the doors. Callie went inside the room and closed it behind her. She sat down on the bed and opened the note.
“Meet me on the balcony.”
As she watched, the ink disappeared from the paper. Callie discarded it in a wastebasket.
She went to the French doors and opened them, stepping out. Leila rapelled down from an upstairs balcony, landing silently.
“Gillian sends her congratulations for a job well done. That plane heist went off without a hitch.” Callie nodded.
“The buy goes down tomorrow. The DEA and government forces are amassing a few miles from town. These are the coordinates in case you need to get out of here in a hurry, and here is a gun. I’m sure the guards took yours. Once the buy is done, the undercover agent will reveal himself and that will spring the trap. So keep your head down and your eyes on the Ghost. If I know that guy, he will have a contingency plan.”