by Rebecca Deel
Maddox scowled. “Hate drug lords.”
“As you know, this drug is deadly. We couldn’t let more hit the streets here.”
“How many undercover ops are you sent on each year, Veronica?” Zane asked.
Her gaze darted to Adam for a second, then refocused on Zane. “All my missions are undercover and always outside the US.”
Adam’s heart clenched. “Vonnie, that isn’t healthy or safe for you. No one should work overseas constantly. Why didn’t Dane assign you to operations here?”
“I was the most logical choice. I don’t have close family ties. That’s why the agency hired me, to work undercover missions beyond our borders.”
In other words, she was disposable. How could Dane and the others have valued Veronica so little? She had saved countless lives over her career with the DEA. Adam glanced at Maddox and Zane, saw in their expressions the same fury scalding his gut.
“Did you have a partner?” Zane asked.
She shook her head.
“When this matter is resolved, we’ll talk,” Maddox said. “Continue.”
“Six days after I arrived in Mexico, I met with one of my confidential informants. He was to give me the location of Escobar’s operation for the next day. My orders were to confirm the location and Dane would send in a team the following day, working in conjunction with the local police.”
Maddox grunted. “Law enforcement in Chihuahua is in the pockets of the drug cartels.”
“We worked with law enforcement in that area numerous times in the past to put a dent in the drug trade. But this time something went wrong. Carlos must have been followed because someone chloroformed me. I woke up in the room where Adam found me.”
“Were you interrogated by a team?”
“One man, someone I called Interrogator. The light was dim in that chamber. I never saw his face. By the time the chloroform wore off, either he or one of his cronies had hit me a few times in the face. My eyes were swelling. From that point on, he focused on other areas of my body.”
“How much damage?” Zane asked.
“Mostly soft tissue.”
“She has stitches in her back, lacerations from the whip,” Adam added, figuring she intended gloss over the worst of what she’d suffered.
“What did Interrogator want to know?” This from Maddox.
“In the beginning, he questioned me extensively about DEA operations and the agents working them.”
“He knew you were DEA?”
She nodded. “He called me by name from the beginning.”
“I assume you didn’t take your ID with you on the mission.”
“Never. I entered and would have left the country under a fake ID.”
“One of the five IDs you used for your post office boxes?” Zane asked.
“No. This one was DEA sanctioned.”
So the agency would have known when she entered the country and in the right place for Escobar and his men to grab her.
“We’ll come back to the missions,” Maddox said. “What did Interrogator want to know about Adam?”
“Everything. Where he lives, his family, his friends, missions he’d worked, where he was assigned and which team he was working with. He was especially interested in his role in Belize, whether he sabotaged the drug cartel.”
“What did you tell him?” Zane asked, his voice soft.
Adam scowled at his brother-in-law.
“Nothing, Zane. I didn’t know anything. The only thing I allowed R.J. to tell me was how Adam was doing.” She faced Adam. “If I had known more, I still wouldn’t have told Interrogator. By the time I was taken, I had developed an attachment to you despite the fact I’d never laid eyes on you.” She turned back to Maddox. “I wouldn’t know Adam if I passed him on the street before my rescue. The Interrogator knew more about Adam than I did.”
“How long did he question you about Adam?”
She was silent a moment. “I don’t know. Without windows in the room, I couldn’t gauge time based on the sun.”
Adam tightened his fingers around hers. “The night we rescued you, Interrogator left to go to his girlfriend. Sounded like she demanded his time in the evenings. How many times was he gone for an extended length of time?”
“Three, I think. I can’t guarantee that. I lost consciousness a couple of times. He might have rested from his labors. He was enthusiastic in his work.”
Adam’s eyes burned.
“Did anyone else question you?” Maddox asked.
“No.”
Adam straightened. Something in Veronica’s voice raised red flags. Then he remembered the clown who came into the room. “The man I killed in that room came while his boss was gone, didn’t he?”
She nodded.
“He touched you?”
“He taunted me, threatened more.”
Yeah, he knew what this guy planned to do. If he wasn’t already dead, Adam would go back and kill him.
“What about the missions, Veronica?” Maddox leaned forward, arms folded on his desk. “What can you tell us about them?”
“They’re classified.”
Amusement lit the CEO’s eyes. “I have a higher security clearance than you do.”
A slow smile curved her mouth. “Somehow that doesn’t surprise me. Most of the missions were a bust. I did what I always do, visited the area with my professional camera in hand and took pictures of people, buildings, and landscape.”
“That was your cover story?”
“It gave me an excuse to come and go frequently. After a raid, I stayed around for a number of days before claiming to have another gig somewhere on the other side of the globe. The DEA would send me to the place I’d named en route to another mission.”
“Most of the missions mentioned in the emails were a bust?”
She nodded. “The information was good. My confidential informants are careful. They never let me down before.”
“Sounds like you have a leak.” Maddox studied her expression a moment. “What about future missions? Anything you would be working if you hadn’t been kidnapped?”
“Dane assigned me to a mission in a different part of Mexico. I was to leave two days ago to find an offshoot of the same drug cartel shipping heroin to the US.” She wrinkled her nose. “This cartel is also into human trafficking.”
“What group?” Zane asked.
“Los Diablos.”
“In Rivas?”
“Yes, why?”
He looked at Maddox. “What do you want me to do?”
“Contact Nico. Pull the Shadow unit out of there.”
“It’s a government contract, boss.”
“I’m not sacrificing my people for a few bucks. Something is very wrong with this picture. First Adam, now Nico’s team? Tell him to evacuate immediately. I’ll make a couple calls, see what I can find out on my end. You have Claire covered?”
“Smith and Wolfe are with her.” Zane grinned. “She put them to work, hauling her equipment to a wedding rehearsal. Her bodyguards are quite a hit with the bridesmaids.”
Adam and Maddox chuckled.
“What do you think is going on?” Veronica asked.
The smile slid from Maddox’s face. “I don’t know, Veronica, but I intend to find out.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
Since Maddox had another meeting scheduled, Veronica and Adam followed Zane back to the comm center.
When he sent his co-worker back to the research division, Zane turned to Veronica, his expression sober. “You said you kept up with Adam’s progress through R.J. Walsh. Did you ask anyone else about Adam, even in passing?”
And risk Adam’s safety? No way. She had a vested interest in his continued recovery. “Only R.J.”
“You think R.J. might be talking to someone about me?” Adam asked.
“Maybe. Not likely, though. If it wasn’t him, then I want to know who connected Veronica to you.” Zane frowned. “And Nico’s team. That’s even more troubling.”
/> “I didn’t know Nico and his team existed until they helped Adam.” Veronica sat in a chair next to his work console. “If someone is setting me up for the fall of Nico’s team, he overplayed his hand. There is no trail to link me to them until three days ago.”
“The Special Forces community is a close one. Hard to believe one of them is responsible. I can’t see R.J. running his mouth.”
“But it’s not unheard of,” Adam pointed out. “We’ve both suffered the consequences of loose lips. We need to check out R.J., see if he’s connected to other leaking incidents.”
“Agreed.” Zane strapped his headset in place, then grabbed his cell phone. “Hold a minute while I text Nico his new orders.”
“If he can, you know he’ll call and argue.”
“Yep. He’ll lose.”
Sure enough, less than a minute later, a call came into the switchboard. Zane glanced at one of his screens. “Nico.” He punched a button. “No, it’s not a mistake and you can’t stay,” he said instead of the standard greeting. He listened a moment, then said, “Look, Maddox ordered you out. The DEA has an operation going down there to deal with Los Diablos and Veronica’s captors know about it. They pressed her for information. You can’t stay, Nico, or you’ll be caught in the crossfire. We’ll keep an eye on them through the satellite feed. That’s the best we can do right now. I’ll contact the pilot, have the plane ready for you to return to the US immediately.” He touched a key and disconnected the call, a scowl on his face.
“I take it he wasn’t happy,” Adam said.
“Not even close. Los Diablos prefers trafficking kids. They claim they’re less trouble to keep in line. According to Nico, they have a full stable right now.”
Veronica’s stomach twisted. There were a lot of sick people in the world. Child predators were the worst of the bunch. She didn’t blame Nico for being furious. Even though Fortress would keep tabs on the cartel, those children would still suffer, maybe die.
She clenched her fist, still determined to figure out what was going on and clear her name so all of them could go back to their jobs. If she still had a job when this situation was resolved. If Veronica left the DEA under a cloud, no law enforcement agency in the country would touch her. She’d be black listed.
What would she do for work? She’d worked for the DEA since graduating from college. Now she might not have a choice but to consider other options.
“Veronica, did anyone else know you were helping someone outside the agency with intel?” Zane asked.
“Probably. We pass on tips to other agencies when we pick up chatter. They do the same for us.”
“How common is it to aid an outside agency like Fortress?”
“Depends on the case. If we stumble on intel and pass it along, we expect the same in return.”
“Fair enough. What organizations have you aided besides Fortress?”
“Only R.J.’s organization, Trident.” Veronica frowned. Before her rescue, the only connection she had to the two private security firms was R.J.
“R.J. is already on the top of my list to investigate. Who else would know you aided Fortress in finding Adam?”
“Dane, Carol Rossi, and Graham Norton, all with the DEA.”
“I’ll dig into their backgrounds as well. In the meantime, what are you and Adam going to do?” His eyes filled with sympathy. “You know you can’t go back to work, right?”
She gave a short laugh. “Not unless I want a bullet in the back. But I need to go into the office at some point.”
“With the evidence I’m seeing, they’ll escort you right into a cell. Hard to uncover the truth from behind bars. You might want to rethink that choice.”
“Why don’t we talk to R.J., Carol, and Graham individually,” Adam suggested. “We’ll find out where they are and talk to them.”
“Are Carol and Graham in the country?” Zane shifted to the console and keyed information into his computer.
“They were both due for time in house. They should still be in town.”
He nodded. “R.J. should be at home unless he goes to rehab in the next hour.”
“He’s injured?”
“Bullet to the thigh on his last mission. His principal froze. R.J. leaped on top of him to knock him from the line of fire. Bullet hit R.J. instead.”
“We’ll start with him,” Adam said. “What do you need from us to find the other two?”
“Veronica, do you know the phone numbers for Carol and Graham? I can hack into the DEA system, but if you know the numbers it will save time.”
“I didn’t hear you say that,” she said. “I’m still a cop, you know.”
Zane flashed a grin at her. “Maybe we can change that.”
“Recruiting?”
“Always. Numbers?”
After Veronica gave him the information, Adam said, “Vonnie needs a cell phone.”
Zane went to the cabinet on the far side of the room for a phone. After returning to his computers and entering information, he handed her the phone. “It’s secure so don’t worry about your signal being traced or unwanted ears listening to your conversation. The number programmed into the phone is Fortress.” He glanced at Adam. “After you key in your number, make sure you put in mine as well as Maddox’s.”
“How much do I owe you?” Veronica asked.
He waved off her suggestion of payment. “You’re involved with Adam now. We always protect our operatives and the people who matter to them. Maddox figures the cost of the secure phones are worth every penny if our people aren’t worried about the safety of their loved ones.”
Made sense. The government wasn’t so accommodating to their agents.
Adam placed his hand on Veronica’s lower back. “Send R.J.’s address to my phone.”
“Already done. Let me know when you’re ready to see Carol or Graham. I’ll ping their phones and give you their location.”
Back in the SUV, Adam programmed R.J.’s address into the navigation system. “Let’s see what R.J. knows about you and your situation.”
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
Adam parked in the driveway of a two-story brick home. R.J.’s place was situated on a country road outside Nashville, the nearest neighbor at least a couple of acres away. Nice, private, quiet. The kind of place to raise a family.
He turned off the SUV and caught Veronica’s hand when she reached for the handle. “Wait.” He pulled out his phone and texted Zane to let R.J. know they were in his driveway. Adam had just been given a medical clearance to return to duty. He’d rather not land back in a hospital because of a paranoid, overzealous Special Forces soldier.
“What are we waiting for?” Veronica asked.
“Permission to approach the house. You don’t walk up unannounced to the home of someone in black ops, not unless you have a death wish. It’s too dangerous.”
“Doesn’t he have a security system?”
“Of course. Probably includes cameras. He doesn’t know who we are, Vonnie.” He slid a look her direction. “At least, he doesn’t know me except for the name. Have you met him?”
She shook her head. “I’ve only spoken to him over the phone.”
“We’ll wait. I have no intention of going to a hospital with injuries I can’t explain.”
A minute later, Zane sent a text telling him it was safe to approach the door.
“We can go now.” They met at the front of the SUV. “You take the lead.”
She looked surprised. “Why?”
“He’s your contact. He might respond better to your questions.”
“Good thing I’d already planned to take the lead.”
He chuckled as he rang the doorbell. Adam made sure he faced the camera so R.J. got a good look at him. The operative should run a check on him with Zane and confirm his identity as well as Veronica’s.
“Why doesn’t he answer the door?” she whispered after a minute passed without a sign of R.J. coming to let them inside the house.
“He�
�s waiting for a visual confirmation from Zane.”
Seconds later, the door was unlocked and swung open. A man well over six feet stood in the doorway, leaning on a crutch, weapon clutched in his free hand. His dark eyes scanned them from head to toe, stopping at each place where they had weapons concealed. “Loaded for bear, aren’t you?”
“Smarter to be prepared for the worst,” Veronica said.
His lips curved. “True. I’m R.J. Walsh.”
“Veronica Miles. This is Adam Walker.”
“Please, come in.” He limped out of the way. “Living room is on the right.”
Though the thought of this man at his back with a weapon made Adam’s skin prickle, he followed Veronica into the house, making sure his body was between her and Walsh. Pictures of Walsh’s family were on the wall and mantle. Cute kids. A boy and a girl, maybe between 7 and 10 years old.
He settled on the sofa with Veronica, keeping Walsh and the door in full view. Was this the man who set up Veronica?
“Thank you for seeing us on short notice,” she said. “I’m happy to finally put a face with the voice. How do you know Zane?”
“Served together in the SEALs. He’s a good man. Shame about that IED.”
“That’s what put him in the wheelchair?”
“Yeah. Lost his whole team in that explosion. Don’t know if I would have bounced back nearly as well as he has.”
“He’s a vital part of Fortress,” Adam said. “We wouldn’t be nearly as effective without his skills. He also saved my hide down in Belize.”
“He had help,” Walsh said, his words clipped.
“Yes, he did.” Veronica leaned forward. “You passed along the information from me so Zane and the others could rescue Adam. You’ve been a great go-between, R.J. You also were instrumental in saving my life a few days ago. Thank you for contacting Fortress on my behalf. I don’t think I’d be alive right now if not for your help.”
