Brody’s mouth opened and closed. He looked to the side, froze and released a breath. Straightening, he met Tag’s gaze. “I don’t know Camilla and I didn’t take anyone from the park. I don’t even live there. You need to leave my place of business before I call the police.”
“Where? I didn’t mention a place,” Tag asked.
Jensen’s eyes widened, he snapped his mouth shut into a mulish expression.
Tag nodded and walked out.
The two men had moved from their car and now stood on the sidewalk across the street in front of the post office. Tag pulled up his collar to protect against the rising wind, stopped a couple and asked them the time.
“It’s 2:10,” the older man said.
“Have you ever used this travel agency?” he asked tipping his head back toward the building.
The woman looked in the window then back at Tag. “No, can’t say I have. Don’t know much about him either, keeps to himself.”
Tag looked behind him and met Brody’s gaze. “Those posters look really good, though.”
She shrugged. “Too farfetched for my taste.” She huddled closer to the man and the two walked off.
“Have a good day,” Tag said and walked toward his vehicle.
Looking odd, the two men remained on the sidewalk watching him while everyone else ran for shelter against the impending storm. Tag pulled out his scanning device from his pocket and walked around his Rover. Someone had placed a small tracking mechanism behind his license plate. He removed it, tossed it in front of a moving vehicle and smiled at the soft crunching sound. Moving quickly he unlocked his car and slid inside.
Thunder clapped, much closer this time. As he started his vehicle rain fell in blinding sheets, pounding against the windshield. The two men scattered, running to the travel agency and slipping inside.
Tag drove off to find a hotel; he’d be staying the night now that he made contact with Jensen. If he had to guess, he’d say the man who arrived in the BMW ran the operation. Jensen didn’t think on his feet fast enough to lead a slavery ring. So why had Jensen been involved in the first place? If Tag had more information, he would’ve leaned harder on Jensen. The high level of stress and fear emanating from the man meant he would probably talk.
Regardless of what Brody said, he removed Camilla from the park for a reason. Rather than beat the information out of the man as Grizzle preferred, Tag would wait to listen in on the earphone and avoid jail.
Hopefully, Brody would make a call or say something that would give Tag more information about Camilla’s whereabouts. Otherwise, he would need to shake the tree to see what nuggets of information he could wring out of Brody.
Grizzle grunted, liking that idea.
Chapter 9
“What do you mean he asked for Camilla? I thought you were careful,” Rex snapped holding the phone tight in his grip. Days like today he questioned the value of family, even those through marriage and divorce.
“I’ve done this a hundred times, I know what to do. The dart hit her neck, dissolved and worked fast to knock her out, just like always. I don’t know where this guy came from or where he’s getting his information but I did my job,” Brody said, his voice rising at the end.
Hell, why did he bother with this crybaby? Because his dad cheated on his mom and Brody was the result. Shit.
“Calm down,” Rex said, lowering his voice so that Brody didn’t go into full panic mode. “I’ll take care of this.” Like I always do. “Go home, have a drink, relax. Soon I’ll know more about this guy and take it from there. Who knows, maybe I can offer him a job. If he’s got you this scared from a short conversation, he may be someone I can use.” Rex couldn’t resist the jab.
“I’m not scared,” Brody snapped. “Concerned. I’m just concerned that’s all. Have you shipped her out yet?”
This is what happens when you allow someone to get too close. Brody was never to ask questions about his business. They agreed on that at the beginning. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Sorry… I’m going home. Is someone on watch tonight? In case… well in case he shows up at the house?”
Rex rubbed his forehead. The men on his payroll watched his human merchandise, not his whiny half-brother. “Most definitely, someone will be nearby. Get some rest.”
“Thanks, I thought I needed to tell you right away. I didn’t mean to … you know.”
“Yeah, I know,” Rex said in a quiet voice. “Later.” He disconnected and stared out the window of his office and wondered when this day had gone so horribly wrong. Maybe it was the early meeting with his business associates and trying to iron out problems with finding the right person for a client. Or the news that one of the women arrived in less than pristine condition and the client wanted a partial refund. He ran his hand through his hair. And now this. The last thing he needed was anyone snooping around. This guy sounded like a pro and he doubted his guys would get the drop on him like they normally did.
“Camilla Lopez,” he murmured. The mulatto was perfect for one of his clients.
Unfortunately, his top client had a rush order the same day he grabbed Camilla and since they both lived in the same country, he couldn’t deliver for Boaz without delivering for Sanchez. Normally, he shipped his merchandise out within 24 hours to kill the trail but this time the additional order caused a delay. Each day he held her endangered his business, something he couldn’t allow.
It wasn’t as if he couldn’t find another mixed kid, one without some giant searching the streets for her. Off the top of his head, two came to mind. He had seen them in a club last week. Rex sat down to think.
Leaning back in his chair, he gazed at all the commendations lining his wall for community service. As a public official he had an image to uphold. Placing his feet on the desk, he eyed his black shoes and decided they needed to be buffed and shined. Tapping his finger on his desk, multiple solutions to his current problem ran through his mind. With Brody on ice, that left him with one other person to grab the girl for Sanchez, a tall, busty, natural redhead with blue eyes. Damn, it was taking longer than he could afford to fill that order.
Short on men he could trust to deal with the man searching for Camilla, Rex decided the best solution would be to kill the giant. Put out a contract on the man. But who could get here fast enough to handle the job within 24 hours? He placed a few calls and received voicemails. Shit. The most reliable contracts were on jobs and with his high-profile position, he had to be careful of blackmail.
Maybe it’d be easier to kill the girl and fix it so no one ever found her again. She’d been drugged most of the time, he could have something slipped into her IV. That seemed the best solution.
Except for Brody. If this guy put the right amount of pressure on his half-brother, he would talk and tie Rex to her disappearance. Should he kill Brody as well? The idea had merit, especially right now. But his father would know and follow through on his threat to leave everything to his other bastard siblings and turn him in to the cops. Family. Some days they were more trouble than their worth.
What to do? Rex stared at the phone a few moments and made another call.
Chapter 10
Tag sat at a table on the veranda of the small hotel sipping ice tea and listening through earplugs. A cool breeze wafted across his face as he listened. Bright yellows and orange splashes of color on the walls, tables and floor gave the area a festive appeal. Too bright for his personal tastes but it worked here. The storm had been brutal and blessedly short, giving him a chance to catch up on his rest. The recorder caught any conversations Brody made while he slept. So far there’d been nothing of interest.
It was after two in the afternoon, both he and Grizzle strained to hunt. His body hummed as he listened for Brody to say something he could use to nail the guy. Grizzle hadn’t reacted to Brody which meant he didn’t see the man as a threat. Brody would lead them to Camilla or whoever had taken her.
For the past 30 minutes no one ca
me into the agency, the phone didn’t ring, keyboards didn’t click and Brody didn’t talk to anyone. Perhaps it was a front after all. Lorenzo had called with more information on the license plate.
The car belonged to Rex Green, city manager of the town of Arriva, located between Loveland and Millen. That had been a surprise which piqued Tag’s interest. Why would a city manager of another town visit a travel agency in Loveland? Especially since neither Green nor the city of Arriva were clients? Jensen and Green weren’t related so what was the connection?
Lorenzo had quite a bit of information on Green and sent him a file along with one on Camilla. Tag read enough to know Green was dirty and ran whatever operation Brody took part in. Green’s finances were too perfect, his property dealings too above board. The man went to great lengths to appear squeaky clean. That prompted Lorenzo to hack into certain accounts and take a few snapshots of financial transactions.
Rex Green dealt with notorious characters in dark markets. These men would shoot, not ask questions and step on you as they left. What the hell was Green involved in, other than human trafficking?
Rudy Rivera had been an old acquaintance of Green’s and, more recently, Felipe Sanchez. Seeing that name connected with Green and possibly Camilla, fired Tag’s blood.
Grizzle roared. “Find him. He hurt father.”
Was this the same Sanchez involved with his father’s death? Who kidnapped the senator’s daughter? Did BMP know?
If Sanchez was involved, the game changed and Tag would call in favors to make sure he won this round. Unfortunately, the man never left Nicaragua and that country refused to extradite him to the States for his crimes. From what he gathered, Sanchez was a king in his corner of the world and the most the DEA had been able to do was clip off a few avenues of his distribution. Not that any of that mattered to Tag. He owed Sanchez and would make the man pay in some way for what happened to his father.
“Yes, Grizzle, we will find him and make him pay. First let’s get more information on where to hunt.”
“Hunt, find, destroy.”
Grizzles were throwbacks to a time when life had been just that simple, before civilization and laws came into effect. Definitely an eye for an eye mentality, except when it came to Tag’s father, a life for several lives.
He continued reading the pages of Green’s file but found nothing else on Sanchez, just that one entry. Kings kept their subjects on short leashes and Sanchez would’ve used someone in a government position more than once. The man laughed at the government attempts to bring him down. Except on that last job.
Tag and his team flew into South America to snatch a senator’s daughter from one of Sanchez’s holdings, a mansion in the midst of the jungle. Still reeling from what he learned about his father’s death, he jumped at the chance to get close to Sanchez even though the man wasn’t in residence at the time.
Nose to the ground, Tag followed her scent through the dense foliage, across a flowing stream and within striking distance of a makeshift camp. Sensing the girl nearby, he moved cautiously because of the appearance of another scent. When he recognized three distinct scents he raced ahead, not wanting his team to see what he suspected.
In the clearing stood Amber and Justin holding the senator’s daughter in his arms. Men dressed in soldiers gear lay motionless, bleeding on the ground. A flicker of annoyance flashed in Justin’s eyes as he moved backward a few feet, pulling Amber with him and almost dropping the girl.
Grizzle had never forgotten Justin’s treatment of him. Tag leapt forward to stop him. To this day he wasn’t sure if he leapt to stop Amber from leaving with Justin or just to beat the shit out of the other man in retribution. To his private shame, the senator’s daughter did not factor in his decision, not once.
Sharp barbs from the net surrounding the clearing, pierced his face and chest. His roar of pain alerted the hunting party of their location. Pulling back, he freed himself of the vile net and tossed it down to the ground.
Without a backward glance, Amber and Justin ran in the opposite direction with the girl leaving him to deal with the gunfire from Sanchez’s men. At some point Ryan pulled him away from the line of fire, saving his life. A sharp point had embedded next to his eye rendering him blind in that eye for months. The doctor said he had been lucky.
Since then, whenever Justin crossed his path Tag wrestled Grizzle for dominance not to tear the smaller bear apart. That whole incident left a sour taste on the back of his tongue and a feeling of failing his dad overwhelmed him to the point he quit. Losing control of Grizzle like that meant he wasn’t ready and needed time to deal with his grief.
Inhaling, Tag cursed his luck. Remaining still, he hoped they, yes he recognized both scents, would walk by and ignore him.
Grizzle growled. Tag braced for the confrontation with his beast.
“Tag,” Amber said. Her earthy and lavender scent wrapped around him. Once his heart would race and cock stiffen in greeting or whenever she was near. But no longer, which was a good thing, the woman now smelled like poison.
He didn’t bother looking up, instead he raised two fingers in greeting hoping she would take the hint that he was not interested in talking or seeing her.
Grizzle growled again and pushed against him. “Prey. Fight. Destroy.”
“No. Stop that. We will not fight him, I told you that.”
Grizzle whined. “Hurt.”
“Yes but that’s over. I don’t like her anymore.”
“Him prey?”
“No. He’s a victim.” Tag searched his mind for a way to explain and couldn’t think of anything Grizzle would understand. Justin had hurt them. Grizzle demanded retribution. “Trust me, not prey.”
“How are you?” she asked in a soft voice and sat in a chair at his table. Justin sat next to her, watching him. They reminded Tag of a modern-day Bonnie and Clyde, with a black bear twist. Coal black hair with lavender eyes, soft face and curvy body. At first glance, you’d think Amber was soft, demure. He made that mistake once and it cost him his heart.
“Good.” Manners dictated he ask how she was doing but since she hadn’t asked to join him, he assumed they weren’t doing manners today. He met Justin’s gaze until the smaller bear turned to look across the room. Tag counted four additional black bears in the room with concealed weapons. One thing Justin learned from Rudy’s downfall, don’t use humans for your inner circle.
“This is far from home for you,” Amber said, smiling, displaying deep dimples. He stared at her a moment longer. No question she was beautiful, men turned to stare when she entered a room but she used it as a weapon to destroy anyone in her way.
“Yes it is. Same for you.”
She smiled and brushed her hand against Justin’s peach-colored shirt. “We’re on vacation.”
Tag smelled the lie then decided to challenge her.
“In Loveland? In the summer? What’s there to do here?” He infused a healthy dose of skepticism and disbelief into his voice. Then he heard Brody talking to someone through his earpiece. Damn. What was Brody saying? He strained to hear.
Her hand stopped moving and her lips tightened slightly. She hated when anyone didn’t go along with her. “There’s all kinds of things to do. We took the month off and are exploring Colorado,” she said. Her voice wasn’t as welcoming as before. Good.
The sound stopped coming through the mic. What happened to Brody? Tag frowned and spoke without giving it much thought. “As long as I’ve known you, you always wanted to go to new places, to get away from here.”
“Well, things have changed. Now that I’ve finally found the right man, Colorado is the place I want to be,” she snapped, showing her claw tips. Justin reached down, covered them with one hand and pushed his sunglasses up his nose with the other.
Tag laughed. That was the Amber he had come to know. Looking at her now, he thanked God for being completely over her. “I’m happy you’re happy,” he told her. Then turned to Justin. “My condolences.”
Brody started talking again but Tag couldn’t make out the words. Damn it. He strained to understand but only heard parts of words.
It took a minute for Amber to grasp his meaning. Her face pinkened then she smiled. “Fuck you, Tag.”
He chuckled. “Why did you sit at my table? We have nothing to say to each other.”
She inhaled then released it. “Lorenzo said you were here working on a case.”
Had she really forgotten he could smell a lie? Few black bears had that capability but all grizzlies could. Tag waited to see where this was going.
“He mentioned a couple names and I thought I should warn you, Green is well-connected. If it’s possible, avoid him,” she said in an earnest tone.
He detected no deceit and was surprised at her sincerity.
“Lorenzo told you this?” He doubted his friend mentioned him but Lorenzo and Amber were siblings so it was possible.
“Does it matter?” she asked.
“Yes, very much.” Friend or not, he wouldn’t use Lorenzo again if he shared this level of information with anyone.
“Not directly,” she said.
Tag pulled out his phone, punched in Lorenzo’s number and watched his uninvited guests.
“Your sister and Justin are here,” Tag said and proceeded to tell Lorenzo what just happened. Amber stood and walked off. Justin sat a moment longer, shook his head and followed his lover.
“I didn’t tell her anything. Hell, I haven’t spoken to her in two months. What’s going on?” Lorenzo asked.
“Either she can tap into your system and get information or she has a bug in your place. Maybe she’s got a shop set up somewhere and recognizes your signature. I don’t know, she’s your sister.” He watched the two walk down the street away from the hotel, the four men followed at a slight distance.
“Truth is, she’s really good at hacking, much better than me… I think. I wouldn’t be surprised if she does it on the side. Who’s she working for and why warn you? If BMP finds out she’s interfering with human affairs again, they may terminate her.”
Bear with Me (Bear Mountain Patrol Series Book 1) Page 7
