SEAL Undercover (Silver SEALs Book 10)

by Desiree Holt

  “No, no,” Si broke in. “Intuition has saved more asses than anything.”

  “Peralta and I discussed it, and we agree whoever this guy was, he scared the shit out of the subject.”

  “Did he say anything about it?”

  “He did ask what the man wanted, and if he’d left. But Ferren—the subject—has been nervous as a virgin on her wedding night ever since. He asked if he could call his wife, and I told him I’d have to check with you.”

  “Describe the man.”

  “About five ten,” Kaminski told him. “Thick black hair with some gray in it. About middle fifties. I took him for Hispanic, but he didn’t have a trace of an accent.”

  “That means nothing. He could have lived here for a long time or taught himself to speak without it.” He drummed his fingers on the desk. “And the guy just left?”

  “Yes, sir.”

  The only Hispanic Si could connect to Operation: Zeus was Luis Rojas, head of the powerful cartel involved in this abomination being planned. But would Rojas himself come to scout out a situation? Maybe, if he didn’t think he could trust any of his men to get a proper read on the situation. But what had put a bug up his ass?

  He was still thinking about letting Ferren call his wife when a clicking sound broke in. He looked at the screen and saw another call was coming in.

  “Kowalski, can you hold for one? I have a call I have to check.”

  If it was coming in on this cell phone, it was definitely important. “Branson.”

  “Sir, this is Lane Vardan at the Bernardo Ferren house. Mrs. B’s babysitter.”

  Si chuckled. “And how’s that going today.”

  “About the same.”

  “Was there something specific you needed? I’ve got Kaminski holding on the other line. He had a little situation at the hospital today.”

  “I wonder if it has anything to do with the phone call.”

  Every one of Si’s nerves went on alert. “What phone call.”

  “The one I just answered. A man claiming to be a friend of the Ferrens called asking for Mrs. F. I told him she wasn’t home. That her husband had a heart attack. You know the drill. He said he was pretty sure she’d want to take the call. I asked him to leave a number, and he hung up.”

  Si blew out a breath. “We definitely have a situation here.” He told her about the visitor at the hospital. “Did their phone register the number of the incoming?”

  “Yes. I’ll text it to you but my instincts tell me it’s a burner and won’t do us any good.”

  “I’m sure you’re right. Okay, text me the number and hang tight with Mrs. Ferren. Tell her no hospital visits today, even if you have to tie her up and sit on her.”

  Lane chuckled. “No worries. I’ve got this covered.”

  “I bet you do. Thanks.”

  Lane Vardan was one of his best agents. If anyone could handle the volatile Jeanne Ferren, it was her.

  He clicked back over to Kaminski and gave him a brief version of Lane’s call.

  “Someone wants to get in touch with the Ferrens for sure,” he said. “I’ll check the tap we installed on Max Ferren’s phone to see if he got any calls, but I think we’ve stirred up some interest here before we wanted to. I’ll have to figure out how and why. Meanwhile keep a close eye on Bernardo. Your night relief will be there around eight as usual.”

  “Okay,” Kaminski said. “Peralta and I will brief them in detail, although the incident didn’t last that long. But if we caught someone’s interest already and they did something this bold, no telling what will happen next.”

  “True. I’ve got to find a way to get in touch with the fake Ferrens and put them on alert without warning anyone they’re with what I’m doing. “

  “Well. Good luck with that.”

  Si snorted. “Thanks.”

  After he disconnected the call, he sat there for a moment, thinking. He had to warn Max and Regan that their cover might be blown without tipping off the people they were with. Then he had to figure out how to get support into the area so they had backup, without anyone knowing about it. And then he had to get them out of there without the people in this nasty little group reacting in a bad way. He hoped to hell both Max and Regan had made good use of their electronic pens, because they’d need all the proof they could get on this one.

  Okay, first he’d text Max a code phrase they’d decided on. It had to be something that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows in case, God forbid, someone was looking over his shoulder when he read the message. He picked up the cell he used only to communicate with Max and typed in, Order will be ready. It was code for, Call me ASAP. If anyone asked, he could tell them it was from the factory, from the person they’d tapped to handle this while Bernardo was recuperating and he was at this meeting. Hopefully that wouldn’t raise any eyebrows.

  *****

  At that very moment, Max was standing on the patio at the lodge with the rest of the unholy group, trying to do more listening than talking. The afternoon had been devoted to analyzing the timing of each event, whether they should all happen at the same time or one after the other. Where each of the couples should be when it happened. At home, was the prevailing opinion.

  Max did his best to find out what the plans were after that. The best he could get was they would have observers at each site and convene the next morning to move forward from there. They touched briefly on the steps they would take to put their own people in place but not nearly as much as Max had hoped they would. He didn’t want to push and call undue attention to himself, any more than his arrival already had.

  Immediately after the afternoon meeting broke up, he and Regan had begged a few minutes to unpack their suitcases. Jed followed them upstairs to show them which room was theirs and hung around the doorway. He and Regan took their time with the suitcases until Jed finally left them alone.

  Regan closed and locked the bedroom door. “He knows something’s not right.”

  “Yeah, but he’s got no proof. And Si still has the real Max and Regan locked down so tight that, no one will ever find them without him.”

  “Someone definitely went through my stuff,” Max told her.

  “Mine, too. But they did it so well if we hadn’t left markers we’d never have known it.”

  “Still, we need to be prepared for anything.”

  Max opened the concealed compartment in his suitcase and took out two handguns and a holster. Regan took the thigh holster and fastened it in place then fit the smaller of the handguns into it. Max shoved his into the small of his back where his bulky sweater covered it. He also took out the extra cell phones Si had given him and turned them on. He handed one to Regan. “Just in case.”

  They both hid them in a pouch under the bathroom sink. Not a place anyone was likely to look for something.

  He finally had a chance to tell Regan about his call earlier to Si, which had been short and sharp. Si was more sickened than shocked at the targets that had been selected. He told Max to hang tight and he’d get back to him. He needed to consult with his boss and make some preparations.

  “But check in with me every few hours,” he said.

  Now he and Regan were outside, mingling and being pleasant yet remote with the others. This wasn’t a touchy-feely group for sure. And he was getting the third degree with a thin veneer of courtesy. But Max had years of training in evading questions, of giving answers that weren’t really answers. He could tell they were getting frustrated.

  At the moment he was holding a drink in one hand, standing with Emery and Cavanaugh, hoping to pick up some more nuggets of information. He had his phone on silent, so if he hadn’t had his hand in his pocket, he might never have felt the vibration. No one had the number except Si so it had to be damn important for him to call right now, since they’d spoken just recently.

  He drained his glass and set it down.

  “Think I need a pit stop before I have another one,” he told the two men. “Back in a second.”

&
nbsp; In the downstairs bathroom he locked the door and pulled out his phone, every muscle in his body tightening at the text on the screen.

  Order is ready.

  That was their code for shit is hitting the fan. Damn it all to hell.

  He punched in the secure number he’d been given.

  Si answered at once. “We may have a problem.”

  Just what he didn’t need. “What happened?”

  He listened while Si gave him an abbreviated version of the incident at the hospital plus the information on the two other phone calls. “I’m so closed to getting the rest of the information we need.” He checked his watch. “Listen, I can only say in here another minute or someone will get suspicious. “Give me at least tonight and tomorrow morning. Then I’ll figure out how to get us out of here.”

  “Be damn careful. As soon as I got the call, I had George and Kevin loaded up in a helicopter. I got hold of Lou Valenti. He gave me a location for them to land, and he’ll have a car waiting for them. He’ll help them get close enough for extraction if you need it. I have three additional men going with them, and they have every weapon and gadget they’ll need if push comes to shove. The chopper will also stay there to get you the hell out of there if you need it.”

  “Damn, Si. I hope it doesn’t come to that.”

  “Are you and Regan both armed?”

  “Yes.” He was also damned glad that along with the other goodies Si had given each of them a watch that had a GPS locator in it. He hoped he wouldn’t need to use it, but just in case, Si would be able to locate either of them.

  “Okay. Stay alert and stay alive.”

  “That’s the plan.”

  He had just pocketed the phone again when there was a knock on the bathroom door.

  “Is anyone in here?”

  “I’ll be right out,” he called.

  He yanked the door open to find Elizabeth Emery standing there.

  “Oh! I’m so sorry. I didn’t want to have to run upstairs.”

  “No problem. It’s all yours.”

  When he walked out onto the patio again, he saw Regan standing with Gavin Emery, Elizabeth’s husband, and Hildie Cavanagh. He wondered if they were all just being sociable or if each member of the group was tasked with getting their own read on Max and Regan. What better place to do it than in the so-called relaxing atmosphere after the tense all-day meeting. He’d have to find a way to pass along Si’s information without rousing anyone’s suspicions.

  He eased up beside her and casually slid an arm around her waist.

  “I was just telling Gavin how beautiful it is here and how glad we are to have this opportunity to see it. Maybe we could look at buying some property around here.”

  “I understand Colorado is just as beautiful,” Hildie commented, looking at Regan over the rim of her glass.

  “It is.” Regan nodded. “But it’s nice to have some other place to spend time on a regular basis. You know, away from everyone else.”

  Hildie smiled, what Regan would call an artificial curve of the lips. “You should come visit us when you can. We had one meeting at our ranch, and Bernardo and Jeanne loved it.”

  Max was thankful for Si’s very detailed briefing. “I thought you met twice there? At least that’s what my brother told me, and I remember the trips.”

  “Oh. Right.” Her laugh dripped with ice. “How stupid of me not to remember that, but it was one of our earliest meetings.”

  “Of course.”

  And that’s a big fat lie, Max thought. We’re not even close to being out of the woods yet.

  “Okay, everyone.” Jeanne Whitlow clapped her hands. “The steaks are ready, and everything else is set up on the buffet table. Please help yourselves.”

  They ate at the umbrella tables on the patio. Max and Regan ended up with the Alvaros, not his favorite couple. In fact, although it wasn’t blatantly obvious, they had maneuvered the seating to end up this way. By the time the meal was over, Max felt as if they’d been given the third degree by someone as expert at it as anyone he’d ever met.

  It was after eight by the time the patio was cleared. He was pretty sure Anna Whitlow didn’t do any of her clearing and washing up except at these meetings. Nor, he thought, did the other women, but you had to make adjustments when you were plotting to overthrow your government. Of course, considering the subject matter, he wouldn’t have wanted anyone around, either. He wondered where the hell Whitlow’s security guards were hiding and what they thought about all this? Of course, the kind of men he hired and the money he paid them, they probably didn’t give a rip as long as they got their paychecks.

  Si’s info had mentioned that all the others also had a security staff, but he didn’t know if they were around. All extraneous bodies were conspicuously absent.

  At the top of Max’s list was finding a way to talk to Regan and call Si without hiding in one of the bathrooms. He wandered over to Jed Whitlow, who had just walked into the great room. “This place you’ve got here is terrific. A beautiful piece of land.”

  “Thanks. We bought it years ago and love coming up here whenever we can.”

  Max nodded. “It’s certainly a great place for these meetings. Away from the world. Out of sight of everyone else.”

  “Yes, it’s worked out well. Listen, how about a drink? We usually try to chill out at the end of the day.”

  “That sounds great, but Regan and I thought we might stretch our legs a little after sitting all day. Is it safe to walk around out here at night? Any wild animals roaming around?”

  Whitlow studied him for a moment, as if trying to read any meaning behind his words.

  “They mostly don’t bother us unless we bother them. I used to use this place for hunting, but I’ve kind of lost my taste for it in recent years. More important things to focus on.” He winked. “If you stick close to the lodge, you’ll be fine. Beyond that there’s not many places you can walk, anyway.”

  “We won’t be long.” He looked around the room. “Anyone want to join us?”

  Thank god they all turned him down.

  “No? Okay. We’ll be back shortly to join you for drinks .”

  The moment they were outside he took Regan’s hand and fast-walked her to the edge of the trees and just into the thicket.

  “Okay,” she said when they stopped. “What’s put a bug in your ear? I don’t believe you just wanted a whiff of the night air.”

  “I had to find a way to talk to you without hiding in the bathroom. Si called. We have a problem.”

  “How bad?”

  “We don’t know, but it could blow up in our faces, if you’ll pardon the pun.”

  Then he laid it all out for her. He was pleased to note that her reaction was calm and levelheaded, even though he was sure she was as much on edge as he was.

  “Do they know for sure it was Rojas at the hospital?”

  “Yes. Kaminski, one of the agents guarding the room, took his picture with the camera in his watch. Then Si ran it through their facial recognition software.” He shook his head. “That’s probably the phone call Lorena Alvaro excused herself to take.”

  Regan frowned. “Wonder why she hasn’t figured out how to pass that info along to the others.”

  “Waiting for the right time, is my guess. After all, we’re here where they have eyes on us at all times. She may be telling them as we speak.”

  Regan shuddered. “There’s a pleasant thought.”

  “Listen.” Max cupped her chin and tilted her face up to him. “I’m sure this is a lot more than you bargained for. I can arrange a way with Si to have you extracted.”

  She shook her head. “Not unless you leave, too. I knew what I was signing on for, Max. It’s bastards like these who got Dylan killed. I’m not leaving until we have the goods to take them down.”

  “You know I’ll protect you with my life.”

  “I do.” She put her arms around him and curled herself against his body, her warmth seeping into him. “But I h
ope it doesn’t come to that.” She paused. “Max? You think they’ll let us leave?”

  “I think if this looks like it’s going to blow up, they might try to stop us, which is why I’m going to make some calls while we’re out here. Si said to contact Lou Valenti, the sheriff. Also, Bone Frog is sending Kevin and George out here in a chopper, along with some additional firepower in case we need it.” He waited, wondering how she would react to this sudden escalation of danger.

  “Well, we knew it probably wouldn’t be a cakewalk. Make your calls, and let’s set up some contingencies. Hopefully we’ll still be able to drive out of here, meet the chopper, and get the hell away.”

  “Agreed.”

  “Okay,” she told him. “We need to keep in mind that the most important thing is to get as much additional information as we can. Somehow, we need to find out who the puppet is they plan to install when the government falls.”

  “That ought to be on the agenda pretty quickly, don’t you think?”

  Regan nodded. “I listen to all this and I keep seeing visions of Third World countries.”

  “Because that’s exactly what it is,” Max agreed. “No doubt about it. Okay, I think we’re far enough from the house so I can make my calls.”

  He pulled out his encrypted cell phone and hit the number for the sheriff. Whatever happened, even if he didn’t make it, he was going to make damn sure Regan did.

  Chapter Eleven

  Lorena Alvaro filled her wine glass and glanced at her husband, who nodded. Then she cleared her throat.

  “Excuse me, everyone. We need to take advantage of the fact that the Ferrens are out of the room for the moment and discuss something that’s come up. Something very important ad worrisome.”

  Jed looked over at her.

  “Is it about Max and Regan Ferren? I wonder if I’m the only one here who thinks there’s something not right there. I can’t put my finger on it even though I spent two days with them.”

  “They’re almost too good to be true.” Gavin Emery’s gravelly voice rattled in the air. “I said that from the beginning.”

  “Exactly,” Lorena agreed. “And they might very well be. You won’t be happy with what I have to say. Things aren’t exactly as we’ve been led to believe.”