Diego stands by the runway and comes out to shake their hands. They pile into an SUV and leave in the direction of Diego’s compound.
“Something is definitely going on,” José says when we return to the car.
“I should call him to see if I can come over,” I say. “Imagine if we nabbed three dealers instead of one.”
“The entire market would collapse,” José says. “Those are the biggest producers on the planet. It would be the single biggest takedown ever.”
“It’s too dangerous,” Nick argues. “We can barely ensure your safety around Diego and now you want us to do it with three of them?”
“Nick, we have to take advantage of an opportunity like this,” I say.
“Won’t Diego think it’s odd if you call him five minutes after his associates land? That’s kind of a tip off that someone is watching him.”
“Well, obviously I plan on waiting a few hours, maybe even until tomorrow.”
“I don’t care what you plan. I’m leading this mission and what I say—”
My cell phone rings.
No one says a word.
I stare at the number.
“It’s Diego,” I say. “Should I answer it?”
José stops the car and nods.
“Hello?”
“Caroline, how are you?”
Caroline. Just hearing his voice and that name and I’m transformed into her simple life: a cocktail waitress bumbling around without a care while a gorgeous, powerful man jockeys for my affection.
Making the transformation in front of Nick proves difficult, though. It’s like trying to fall asleep with someone banging pots and pans.
I turn away from him. “I’m fine. I thought you had forgotten about me.”
“Of course not. Listen, I want to see you this afternoon. I have a special surprise.”
I play along. “I don’t know, Diego. I’m kind of busy right now.”
“Then get unbusy.”
“Let me call you back, okay?”
“You’ve got five minutes and then I’m giving your spot to someone far less deserving.”
I end the call.
“He wants me to meet him right now.”
“Don’t go,” Nick says. “We’ll arrange something else on our terms.”
“I don’t think that’s going to work,” José says. “Diego doesn’t make plans on other people’s terms. If you turn him down, our mission is over.”
“This is a big case for Bailey too,” I say. “He’s going to have our asses if we don’t come through.”
“Who cares?” Nick says. “If your life is in danger, forget the job. This guy has something twisted planned. I can feel it. Isn’t it a little odd that he calls you as soon as a couple of drug distributors arrive?”
While Nick is right, his alternative is no better. If I admit the peril in front of me and quit the agency for good, then what? I can’t picture myself in the States doing domestic work for the rest of my life.
Besides, I don’t think Diego will harm me. He cares for me. I can see it in the way he looks at me. And if tries to do something, I can reason with him.
So he has a couple of odd sexual perversions. Who doesn’t?
As a picture of Diego spanking me crystallizes in my mind, I feel hot and breathless. I brace myself against the armrest.
I don’t know what’s happening to me. I only know that I must see Diego. I have to know what he’s about. If I quit now and return home in defeat, I’ll never be at peace.
“Can you guys get close enough to listen in to our conversation?”
“I think so,” José says. “It’s a hell of a hike, but there’s a spot west of the compound. We’ll follow you to make sure you’re going to Diego’s compound. We’ll be out of reach of you for a few hours.”
“And what happens if Diego decides to suddenly leave like the last time?” Nick asks.
“One of us will have to stay at the car,” José says. “That’s the only way it will work.”
“Fine,” I say. “Just make sure you put the wire in a place that’s well hidden.”
Nick shakes his head. “If you’re going, you should bring a weapon of some kind.”
He passes me a switchblade.
If it will shut him up, I’ll take it. I can always ditch it later.
I call Diego back and tell him that I’ll be waiting for him.
8
Outside of the Dragonfly, Diego hugs me when I get into the Escalade. Just being in his presence is intoxicating. I want to feel his lips against mine, to be kissed in that inexplicable manner that no one else has ever come close to capturing before.
He smiles and touches my hair.
“So cute,” he says.
We kiss briefly.
Sitting in the Dodge Dart a few cars behind us, Nick is probably fuming. I should feel sorry for him, but the tingle of Diego’s lips leaves me in a heady state.
He rubs my leg as I buckle my seatbelt.
I bite my lower lip and smile.
His associates grab my purse and search it. Other hands reach from the back seat and start feeling along my dress, passing my waist and breasts.
“Hey,” Diego shouts. “Let’s exert some decency, shall we? I’m sorry, Caroline. I’ve insured my guests the upmost security since we’re traveling.”
Traveling? My chest tightens.
“Oh, where are we traveling to?”
Diego smiles. “Just flying over some coffee fields. Relax, Caroline. You’re far too tense.”
A guard strapped with an ARX-160 over his shoulder pulls out my cell phone and the switchblade. He presses the release button and the blade shoots out. “Encontre un arma y un teléfono celular, señor.”
Diego takes hold of the blade and twists it before the light. “A nasty little thing. This could do some serious damage.” He turns to me. “Caroline, why is a pretty girl like you carrying around such a vile weapon?”
I’m so pissed at Nick that I can barely think. Look where your protection has gotten me now.
“It’s for my safety. A man tried to rob me my first night in Cusco.”
The story is lame, and the knife isn’t exactly the kind of the thing you see sold around the tourist district.
He retracts the blade and puts his arm around me. The blunt edge of the switchblade rests against my neck. “Caroline, there’s no reason for you to feel in danger. You’re in good hands now. No danger will come to you. I promise.”
I tremble and look around the vehicle. Ivan and Carlos are in the very back, nervously glancing around, as well. They both stare out of the window as if a motorcycle gang armed with machine guns will pull up beside us at any moment.
“Are we ready to go?” Ivan asks. “I want to see the problem.”
“Yes,” Diego says. “Let’s go.”
We ride away from the Dragonfly.
As we pull into the airport we don’t use the main entrance or even step foot into the terminal. A side gate opens for us and we pass through.
I look around for Nick and José. I don’t see their vehicle. It doesn’t matter. There’s no sense in them trailing too close and putting me in more danger. They can’t get me out of this. Soon I’ll be in the air and far away from any communications capabilities.
A Gulfstream G650 is waiting for us on the runway. Our vehicle stops in front of it, and Diego tells me to get out.
He grabs me by the arm and leads me up the airstairs and into the luxury jetliner. We enter the cabin and take a seat on a plush leather sofa with a cherry-wood table. Ivan and Carlos sit across from us in individual seats.
The stairs lift and the plane moves down the taxi.
“I have a confession,” Diego says. “We are going to fly over the coffee fields. That much is true. However, I have another destination in mind, as well. Ivan and Carlos are flying back to Colombia after our business is over, and I thought it would be the perfect opportunity for you to see my home country.”
No way.
This wasn’t apart of the plan at all. Nick and José will never be able to track me to Colombia. They can’t even follow me to Machu Picchu.
“Diego, I have work.”
Diego scrunches up his face. “Work? What is it with you and work? Ivan, I’m offering this girl a getaway to Colombia at my beachfront palace and she tells me she has to work as a cocktail waitress instead. Help me make sense of this.”
“No man can make sense of women,” he says.
“Fine,” I say. “It’s just that I have priorities.”
“Is it money?” Diego asks. “Of course, it’s always money with women. Tell you what. I will take you to Cartagena, and we can do all the shopping you want. You have no clothes for the trip anyway. And if you need cash, I will give it to you. So there. Problem solved.”
I sigh and stare out of the window as the jet flies down the runway and lifts into the air.
The Dodge Dart races to the edge of the parking lot, stopping in the same spot as when I first arrived. I was so thankful to see Nick then. Ever since, I’ve done everything I can to push him away.
Now I’m riding on an airplane with three of the most dangerous men in the world with no hope of Nick and José being able to track me.
I’m alone and on my own.
I should feel terrified—absolutely petrified.
And I am.
Yet, there’s excitement too.
I don’t have to worry about my conversations being overheard or Nick’s judgment or resisting Diego’s romantic passes. Miranda Hill would be paralyzed with fear, but as the aircraft climbs, I’m no longer Miranda.
I’m Caroline Davis, and I watch her hand settle against Diego’s leg.
9
“You see!” Diego shouts, getting up from his seat. “It’s all burned to the ground.”
Ivan and Carlos nod. I stare out of the window myself. Acre after acre of smoldering earth stretches across the valley.
Black, charred earth.
“It’s the same thing that’s happening to my fields,” Carlos says.
“Mine too,” Ivan agrees. “And you think it is Peña?”
“It has to be,” Diego says. “It isn’t the military because it’s happening to fields in Peru, Colombia and Bolivia. If there were a coordinated, international effort, one of us would have gotten word about it. I don’t know about you two, but I pay quite a lot of money to keep the militaries and governments out of my business.”
“So do I,” Ivan says. “So what do we do about this? If Peña has truly come out of retirement like you suggest, we should hold a meeting with the major families to discuss it. That’s the proper thing to do.”
“You actually think Peña will discuss this rationally?” Carlos says. “Let me tell you what would happen if you arranged a meeting with all of the families. Peña would show up, except he’d do so in a bomber. That man is nothing but an opportunist.”
“Maybe,” Ivan says. “What else are we supposed to do? I don’t want to see us behaving like savages on the account of Peña.”
“Relax,” Diego says. “I have a perfectly good plan. We’ll discuss it tonight over dinner. I only wanted to show you two how dire this situation is. Peña has gone after me the hardest simply because I’m the largest producer. But he’ll burn all of your fields, as well. So if you think a five or ten percent hit to your inventory is bad just wait until it is ninety percent.”
I’m stunned by what I hear. We suspected there was a power struggle going on in the cocaine trade, but I don’t think anyone knew how serious it was. If I don’t stop Diego, there could be an all-out war. And drug wars aren’t fought on soccer fields or faraway deserts. They’re waged on the streets, and the bloodshed too often includes innocent people.
We land a few hours later at the Rafael Núñez International Airport in Cartagena, Colombia.
Diego commands a small yacht to Tierra Bomba Island.
We sail past the populated section of the island and settle into a small cove with dense forests and the most spectacular mansion I’ve ever seen. The contemporary home displays large, open windows.
There’s no reason for privacy out here. No one is around.
Diego rotates the helm, angling the yacht toward the wooden dock. Attendants wait at the edge. They secure the yacht, mooring rope to the cleats.
We step off the boat.
My legs feel wobbly as I first step onto the dock. When my head settles, we start for the shore.
Diego thanks the attendants and tells them to have dinner ready soon.
They nod and run ahead of us.
A tall attendant with dark, beady eyes remains at Diego’s side.
“Caroline, I’d like you to meet Santos,” Diego says. “Santos is my personal bodyguard while in Colombia. He also oversees my home on the island and my attendants here.”
“It is a pleasure, ma’am,” he says, extending a hand.
I return the greeting.
The beach is filled with white sand that’s obviously imported. Farther down, the shore is desolate and craggy. I notice a large shed away from the house that’s close to the beach, about a hundred feet down from the dock. Not knowing what’s inside, I make a mental note of it.
We cross over the sand along a wooden walkway and enter through the rear of the home. As we pass through the kitchen and hall, I look for any landlines, computers, or tablets that might help me contact Nick and José. I don’t see anything yet.
Diego shows me to my room on the second floor.
“I thought you’d be more comfortable with your own room. I’m right next door.”
On the bed, there’s a black mini dress with a keyhole top. I pick it up. “This is quite the sexy outfit.”
I don’t know how I’ll keep my breasts inside it without using tape.
“We’re going dancing tonight in the city. I know a place just off the shore in Cartagena. It will be just the two of us. Ivan has some bad debts to collect on the island and is bringing along Carlos to help.” Diego smiles. “Carlos is very good at collecting debts.”
So I’ve heard.
“Can I take a shower before we leave? I’ve been running around all day and my feet are killing me.”
“Certainly. The bathroom should be stocked with everything you need. If not, let me know and we can make a stop while we’re in the city.” He touches my hair. “I want you to be happy, Caroline. I want you to trust me.”
“I trust you.”
While Diego has been kind to me, I can’t shake the feeling that I’m the pig being fattened for some kind of impending slaughter. I may not have the knife with me, but the CIA trained me well enough in martial arts for me to hold my own.
Not that it matters much. All the kicking and fancy scraping doesn’t do you much good when your opponent has lots of friends with lots of guns.
“I’m going to freshen up myself,” Diego says. “Then I have to give Ivan and Carlos keys to the jeep.”
I start the bath and undress, splashing water on the tape until the bonds loosen enough to pull them away. The mic and recording device can go. They’re useless now anyway.
I stash them both far under the mattress in the center of the bed. I’ve already gotten a good amount recorded. If the conversation on the plane won’t hold up in court then I don’t think anything else they say will. I need hard evidence now—the kind of evidence I think is sitting in that shed.
I go to the bathroom window.
The shed is a large stone structure about the size of three garages with a flat roof. There aren’t any windows. From my vantage point, the only entrance appears to be a steel door.
The question is how to get inside. I don’t need hunches. If I’m going to sneak out in the middle of the night, I want to be sure.
Then I see it.
There’s a hatch along the roof. It’s probably locked, but I doubt it’s as hard to break open as the steel door. Several trees have grown in close around the building. With some effort, I could probably climb up a
tree and drop from one of the over-hanging branches.
I shake my head. This is ludicrous. How am I going to sneak out of the compound, break into the shed, and get back inside without being noticed?
My heart drums at the thought alone.
I push the idea out of my mind as I go to the tub.
The water feels so refreshing after everything I’ve been through that part of me wants to take a nap. I could stay here forever and be Diego’s girlfriend. I laugh, though it isn’t any more outlandish than trying to sneak around without Diego or his security noticing. I’m faced with two possible avenues that are both risky and insane. The only difference is that one of them ends with a life of luxury and a handsome man.
I finish the bath and dress.
There’s no makeup lying around, so I go with a truly natural look. I’m actually kind of relieved. Without José’s assistance, I’d look like a mess, which might draw suspicions as to how I appeared so well put together beforehand.
The shoes I came in don’t match the dress. Since Diego plans to take me shopping, I’m not worried.
I go down the hall to find him.
His bedroom door is shut.
I knock.
“Come in!”
I open the door.
Diego is out of the shower and naked.
I stare at his broad shoulders, his ridged abs and the biggest cock I’ve ever seen in the flesh.
“I’m sorry,” I say in a strangled voice, looking away.
“I don’t mind. Nudity isn’t that big of a deal to me.”
Obviously not.
He wraps a towel around his waist and tells me I can turn around.
“You look really pretty,” he says. “I knew you’d look great in that dress.”
“Thanks. You have a good eye for women’s fashion.”
He drops the towel and puts on a tight pair of boxers. “Yeah, if the coffee business doesn’t work out, maybe I’ll go into women’s fashion. Chicks will pay a lot of money for the right attire.”
Reckless Page 8
