by Matt Lincoln
“I was wondering the same thing,” I replied, my thoughts spinning with everything we’d just learned. “That was a pretty brutal kidnapping to expose her to. What was the point of that?”
“I don’t know,” Holm sighed. “I wish I did. There’s a missing piece there too, but I can’t quite figure it out.” He looked over at me. “I can’t speak for myself, but you must be exhausted.”
“Yeah, I could use a nap,” I chuckled. “We have some phone calls to make, though.”
“Yeah, we learned a lot just now, and we made progress,” Holm acknowledged. “This would be a good time for you to step back. We can brainstorm about Maria Gonzalez after your nap. Let me call Warner and Ramsey and make some headway on all this. You should go get some rest.”
“I’ll head back to Header’s,” I informed him. “I’ll let him know what the latest information is, and once we’re all together, we can come up with a game plan.”
“Sounds good. Rest,” Holm urged. “Things are about to start coming together now. I need you to be awake for it.”
I chuckled at that, but I knew Holm was right. I didn’t function well on little to no sleep, and this was a big case. I needed to be ready for anything because I had a feeling that’s what this case was about to throw our way.
Chapter 26: Alejandra
Alejandra did her best to relax while Ethan and Robbie did their interviews, but she had a hard time with it. It was more than finding out that a lifelong family friend had been plotting against her father this entire time, although that had plenty to do with how she felt. That was simply the very thick layer of icing on the cake that was her missing brother and possibly soon-to-be unemployed father. Her stomach was in knots, and she couldn’t stop pacing. Even Rosa’s very heavy-handed margarita wasn’t helping.
Jake was acting suspiciously too, which she’d noticed. She tried to put that out of her mind, as she had enough worrisome thoughts to deal with without the addition of Jake’s behavior, but she couldn’t help but notice the secret phone calls in hushed voices, walking out of the room to answer another call, and the way he spoke to his team, in vague statements that she could only imagine was coded so that she couldn’t eavesdrop properly.
The entire environment was stressing her out. Eventually, Alejandra stopped pacing, almost slamming her glass down onto the kitchen counter before storming out the back doors. Of course, unless she hopped the fence, there was nowhere to go back here, but at least the fresh air helped her to settle slightly. She realized her hands were shaking, and she knew she needed to expend some energy if she was going to keep her sanity today.
By the time Ethan showed up, Alejandra was swimming laps out in the pool by herself, her margarita glass condensing in the hot sun off to the side. She hadn’t even heard him come in, or step outside for that matter. She was so lost deep in her own thoughts.
“Alejandra?” she heard, muffled through the water. “Alejandra!”
She slowed and surfaced, looking toward the house for the source of the voice. Ethan was standing at the water’s edge, looking down at her. His blue eyes were soft, but his lips were pressed into a tight line. The creases around his eyes seemed more defined, and he looked exhausted.
“Ethan,” she breathed, finding the ladder and pulling herself up. She realized as she reached the top that she’d forgotten a towel, so she ended up padding over to him dripping wet.
“How did it go?” she asked, pushing her now-heavy hair back off her face. She collected it all over one shoulder and began to wring out the excess water while looking up at him. He sighed and shoved his hands into his pockets.
“Carlos Abreu has been partnering with Angel Gonzalez.” He let his words hang in the air, giving her a chance to process them.
“Angel Gonzalez,” she breathed, breaking eye contact to stare blankly down at the water. She looked back up at Ethan. “Maria’s father?”
Ethan nodded, which confused her even more. “Angel Gonzalez and Carlos… They’re trying to get rid of my father together?”
“That’s how it seems,” he replied gently. “We know that they are working together on the cocaine smuggling front, and based on what we know about Abreu and the remnants of the cocaine at the crime scene, I have to assume they are working together on the political front, too.”
“But…” Alejandra stared off into the distance as she worked through this new information. “If Angel Gonzalez was involved in the kidnapping, why would he kidnap his own daughter? That makes no sense.”
“That’s what Holm said,” Ethan muttered, shaking his head. “He’s right. You’re right. This makes no sense. That was a violent crime scene. There was no clean way to pull her out. They put her life at risk trying to pull off the kidnapping that day.”
Alejandra looked around, suddenly realizing that Ethan was alone. Robbie was nowhere to be found. “Where’s Robbie?”
“He’s making a few phone calls,” he informed her. “He’ll be by shortly. I’ve been ordered to take a nap.”
“That’s a good idea,” she nodded, looking up at his deeply lined face again. “Don’t take this the wrong way, but you look utterly exhausted.”
“That’s because I am,” he chuckled lightly.
“Go rest in the guest room,” she insisted, giving him a slight shove in through the doorway. He allowed her to usher him inside, but she stopped at the threshold, unwilling to track water across Jake’s gorgeous wood floors. “I’ll wake you once Robbie is back, and things get settled.”
“Promise?” Ethan asked with a small smile. The smile softened his eyes, which warmed her heart.
“Promise,” she agreed, and she watched as he headed into the room and shut the door behind him.
As she stood in the doorway, the water running down her back and dripping down onto the deck, she revisited everything Ethan had just told her. Finally, she felt that they were making progress. Finally, she felt a bit closer to finding her brother. She just wasn’t sure if they were making enough progress quickly enough.
Realizing that her dry clothes were locked in the bedroom with a sleeping Ethan and that the only way to retrieve them would be to sneak in while attempting not to wake him, she opted instead to jump back into the pool. The water on her exposed skin gave her a slight chill, and the warm water quickly cut through the chill and enveloped her like a warm blanket.
She floated face up, absorbing the sun’s rays, and tried to organize her thoughts. She thought back to the interviews, in the beginning, searching for a piece of information that would help bring all of this together in a way that made sense.
Alejandra bolted upright suddenly as something dawned on her. She suddenly couldn’t wait for Ethan to wake up, and it had nothing to do with her locked-up dry clothes.
Luckily, she didn’t have to wait too long before spilling her realization to someone, because Robbie came in not long afterward. She lifted herself up out of the pool and padded over to the doorway when she saw him, her wet footprints leaving a trail from the ladder behind her.
“Robbie,” she called out, resting a hand on the beveled edge of the glass doorway. She noticed his eyes trail up and down her body briefly, but he quickly recovered, blinking an extra time or two as he met her gaze.
“Alejandra,” he replied. His eyes were tired, but his voice was kind. He turned from Jake, who had approached him for any additional information, and came walking toward her. “Where’s Ethan?”
“Napping,” she informed him, jutting her chin toward the closed bedroom door. “He told me everything you’d found out at the interview.”
Robbie turned back to Jake. “Did he fill you guys in, too?”
Jake nodded curtly. “Yes, he did.”
Robbie sighed. “There’s something else he doesn’t know.”
“What happened?” Jake asked, his voice suddenly sharp.
“Abreu.” Robbie looked over at Alejandra hesitantly. “Because of his government ties, we couldn’t keep him. I didn’t even get a cha
nce to talk to him before they let him go.”
“What?” Alejandra could feel the color drain from her face. Carlos Abreu knew she was working with MBLIS and Jake Header, yet he was released? She felt her heart race as panic tried to set in.
“I know,” Robbie groaned. “I’m angry as hell, but I had no say in the matter.”
“What if he goes after my father?” she asked, her voice shooting up a couple of octaves of its own accord.
“He’d be foolish to do that,” Robbie replied assuredly. “In his own country, he does not get the considerations that he gets here in America. He can’t simply do something like that and get away with it.” Behind him, Jake nodded in agreement, and Alejandra felt her heart rate slow and return to normal.
“Okay,” she muttered. As she thought more about it, she knew Robbie was right, but she still wasn’t comfortable with the idea of Carlos getting away with something so terrible.
“We’ll get him,” Robbie assured her. “He got away, but we will get him back. Don’t worry.”
It sounded like an awfully big promise, but as Alejandra looked into Robbie’s eyes, she trusted him somehow.
Remembering what had occurred to her earlier, Alejandra changed the subject slightly. “I realized something not too long ago,” she informed him when she met his eyes again. “When Miguel was first planning his trip to Mona Island, he was supposed to bring his friend. At the last minute, his friend bailed on him. That’s why he ended up bringing Maria.”
“Yeah, I remember that,” Holm nodded, his eyes searching hers for the reason behind bringing up this topic.
“If Carlos and Angel didn’t know that Maria was a last-minute addition, could it be possible that they went in with every intention of killing his friend as collateral damage? Once they saw Maria, they grabbed her in order to protect her, to keep her away from us?”
Robbie’s eyes widened. “I don’t know about that second bit, but you’re right. If they didn’t know Maria was there, that would have been a nasty surprise. They would have had to go in and pull her out to ensure her safety before gunning everyone else down.”
“Right,” Alejandra nodded vigorously. “Why keep her hidden, though? I don’t understand that part.”
“Well,” Robbie speculated, “Miguel is her boyfriend, no? They’re pretty serious?”
“Yes,” she nodded, “they are together.”
“So, wouldn’t it stand to reason then that Maria would want to protect her boyfriend from the kidnappers?” Robbie’s face looked thoughtful. “Whether she sounds the alarm to law enforcement or simply helps Miguel escape, she would be a threat to their mission.”
“So, they keep her hidden and out of sight to prevent her from ruining their plans?” Alejandra asked, letting the puzzle pieces fall into place.
“Yes,” Holm nodded. “At the same time, it throws us off the trail. We never really suspected Angel Gonzalez because his daughter was one of the kidnapped people. We should have dug deeper on that.”
“So, they slow us down and keep their mission on target,” she nodded slowly. “This all makes sense.”
“I wonder if Maria’s mom knew,” he mused. “If she was aware of her husband’s criminal activities, why wouldn’t she tell us what we needed to know so that we could find her daughter?”
“Either she doesn’t know there is a connection,” Alejandra replied quickly, “or she knows everything.”
Robbie locked eyes with her. “She knows enough to know that her daughter is safe and well-cared for while we chase our tails trying to find her.”
Alejandra nodded in agreement as she swallowed the rising lump in her throat. All of these different pieces were finally falling together, and the plot was bigger and deeper than she’d expected.
“So, what do we do now?” she breathed quietly.
Robbie sighed. “We need to go back to San Juan. We need to interview Maria’s mom again. This time though, we will know to read between the lines.”
Alejandra gathered her hair to wring it out again, silently cursing herself for not grabbing a towel earlier. “I promised Ethan I’d wake him when you arrived so that we all could discuss this.”
“No,” Robbie interjected. “Let him sleep. I need him fully focused, and he can’t do that without sleep. We need to wait on Warner’s information anyway, so that gives us a bit of time. Do you want a towel?”
It had seemed that he had noticed her shivering, and at her nod, he disappeared into Jake’s room, re-emerging with one of his bathroom towels.
“Here,” he muttered kindly, wrapping it around her shoulders snugly. “Next time, just ask.”
“Thank you,” she replied, pulling the towel tighter around her as she looked up at him. She hadn’t been expecting to work with such kind men, and considering the personal stakes of this mission, she appreciated it even more.
The rest of the evening went by quickly, and after Rosa dug out a dress for Alejandra to wear so that she could dry off without disturbing Ethan, they all sat down for a big meal. Rosa, happy to be back, had kept herself busy in the kitchen, and now they all had a huge spread of Puerto Rican dishes to choose from. The spicy aroma that filled the air made Alejandra’s mouth water, and she stuffed herself full of arroz con gandules, bistec encebollado, and tostones until she felt like her stomach was about to burst.
When she finally sank into the sofa, full and content with an oversized glass of red wine in her hand, she heard the guest room door crack open behind her. She whipped around to see Ethan standing there, looking well-rested, though he was wincing in pain.
“Are you okay?” she cried, scrambling to her feet. Her cry got the attention of everyone else in the room, and every head turned toward Ethan, who had a death grip on the door frame.
“Can I borrow Rosa or Doc?” he muttered, stumbling as he looked up. Jake was standing there with his arms crossed and one cocked eyebrow.
“Did you manage to injure yourself while napping?” he teased. “That’s a new one. I’ve never done that.”
Behind Jake, Rosa and Doc were communicating silently, and since Rosa had the kitchen to tend to, Doc got up and disappeared into the other room to resurface with his medic kit.
Ethan shot Jake a disdainful look, but there was no punch behind it. “No, I’m not that bad yet. I probably shouldn’t have done the dive before recovering from being shot at, though.”
Rage filled Robbie’s eyes. “You what? You left out that detail!”
“Did I?” Ethan groaned. “My apologies.”
Doc was at Ethan’s side then and ushered him back into the guest room. Robbie whipped around to Jake. “How could you let him do that?”
Jake simply shrugged. “He didn’t argue at all or show any signs of it being an issue. Even after he came back up, he seemed completely fine. To be honest, I had forgotten he was injured. That’s how fine he was.”
Robbie shot daggers at Jake. “You’ve been out of the SEALs too long,” he muttered. “Do you remember going on missions with Marston? He was constantly getting hurt and constantly playing it off. It became a running joke. He still always seems to think he isn’t as injured as he really is.” Robbie’s voice became calmer as he spoke, and Jake’s expression softened.
“You’re right,” he conceded, running his hand through his thick, dark hair before rubbing the back of his neck. “I had forgotten about that. In my defense, he is really good at playing it off.”
“Yeah, no kidding,” Robbie muttered.
Alejandra sank back down into the couch cushions and sipped her wine until Doc came back out into the living room.
“He’s going to sleep it off,” he announced to the room in general. “He’ll be fine in the morning, but I did have to clean out the wound and rebandage it.”
“Thank you,” Alejandra breathed into the silence that followed Doc’s words. He nodded in her direction before going to put his medic kit back.
She knew the next morning would bring more answers and progress, and
she was excited about that, but Alejandra spent most of the rest of the evening stealing glances toward the guest room door. Eventually, the wine did the trick, sending her off into a fitful sleep right there on the couch, but the last thoughts through her mind weren’t of her brother.
They were of Ethan.
Chapter 27: Ethan
I felt about a million times better when I finally woke in the early morning. The sun hadn’t quite crested over the horizon yet, but I couldn’t stay in bed any longer. After rubbing the sleep from my eyes and taking a shower, I walked out into the living room to find Alejandra asleep on the couch. Half of a glass of wine was sitting on the coffee table, and someone had draped a light blanket over her. Her brows were furrowed, and her fists clenched. The poor woman probably hadn’t had a peaceful sleep since we’d met. My heart ached for her, and I hoped beyond hope that we could get the information we needed in time to save her brother, and therefore save herself.
I set to work on the coffee maker as I kept an eye on her. The rest of the room was empty, and I assumed that Holm, Bonnie, and Clyde had headed back to the hotel, seeing as they weren’t anywhere to be found. Doc had grumbled something about an early trip to San Juan this morning as he was helping me yesterday, and I had a substantial amount of messages on my phone from Holm that I was sure detailed everything I’d missed while I rested.
I propped my back up against the cool countertop and sipped my coffee as I read through all of Holm’s messages. My first thought was anger at us losing Abreu, but after I got over that, I realized that we should go back and interview Maria’s mother again. I was glad to read that the plan had already been put into place.
A rustling behind me alerted me to Alejandra’s stirring, and when I turned to look, she had sat upright, rubbing her eyes and looking sleepily up at me. Behind her, the sunrise had begun, casting a deep golden glow across the living room floor.
“Coffee?” I asked quietly, holding my mug up toward her.
“Yes, please,” she replied, her voice still raspy from sleep. She stumbled upright and swiped up her wine glass up from the coffee table on her way into the kitchen. I watched as she poured the remaining wine down the drain, a regretful look on her face. When she saw me watching, she smiled shyly. “I hate wasting wine.”