by L. T. Ryan
When Vasquez looked up at his visitor, he instantly knew he wasn’t going to get the good news he was looking for. He flipped the folder shut and clasped his hands in front of him, following the movements of the mousy man who sat down on the edge of the chair opposite his boss. He clutched a briefcase to his chest.
Bartholomew Peters was an interesting man. He was an American, but unlike Vasquez, he did not seem built for the career he had chosen. Peters was good at numbers and faces. Those talents combined meant he could balance your books and remember every person you ever did business with. He was like Vasquez’s very own personal computer. He was an incredible asset, as long as you didn’t mind his quirks.
Since he was useful to him, Vasquez had learned to look past Peter’s twitchy nature.
“Good morning, Bartholomew.”
Peters just nodded. His eyes darted from Vasquez, to the window, to the desk, and back again. They moved in time with the ticking of the clock on the wall. He was in constant motion. Vasquez would’ve believed he was constantly strung out if he didn’t know any better. That was another reason why he liked the man—he was boring. He had no interest in moving up or double crossing or gaining recognition. He was humble, simple, and predictable.
He was also trustworthy. Vasquez had earned Peters’ loyalty over a decade ago, and in the time since, the former police lieutenant had never needed to call into question who Peters answered to. When he wasn’t working for Vasquez, the tiny, thin-framed man was at home with his mother, watching black and white movies and putting together model airplanes.
It made little sense to Vasquez, but he had never been bothered enough to ask Peters why this was the life he had chosen. Peters was good at it, and that was enough for Vasquez.
“There’s been a complication.” His voice trembled less from fear and more from his constant movements. His right hand was tapping against the arm of his chair while both his legs bounced up and down in a rhythm only he found comforting.
“Explain.” Vasquez had found the easiest way to deal with Peters was to be direct. The other man didn’t particularly like social interaction, but Vasquez felt no loss at having to skip the small talk.
“A girl has been taken.” He opened his briefcase and placed a picture of a young girl with light brown hair on Vasquez’s desk. She looked like she could be about the same age as his granddaughter. Her smile was bright and her eyes were wide with innocence.
“Who is she?”
“Camila Torres, daughter of Javier Torres.” Another picture landed on Vasquez’s desk. The man looked familiar, but he couldn’t quite place him.
“He’s proven difficult in the past,” Peters explained. “The job with Eriksson is the most memorable.”
Vasquez shook his head. His relationship with his Swedish contacts was still rocky. “He works with Frank Skinner.”
“From time to time.”
“What does his daughter have to do with this?” Vasquez picked up her picture again, studying her face. She was beautiful. Her image made him miss his granddaughter.
“A video was delivered to Torres, warning him to back away from Goddard or else she would be killed.”
“So our friend Jack Noble had no other choice than to fall in line.”
Learning Noble’s true identity had been mere luck, thanks to Peters’ steel trap of a mind. One look at his picture, and the small man had dug through his files until he’d found the only scrap of information on him there was. It was a single name—Frank Skinner. Finding out more about Noble hadn’t been easy, but Vasquez’s network was extensive. He persisted and in the end it had paid off. He doubted he had Noble’s full story, but it was enough to move him around the chess board as Vasquez saw fit.
Peters was silent, so Vasquez picked up the conversation again. “Do we know who has her?”
The other man shook his head.
Vasquez didn’t want any harm to come to the girl. She was innocent and didn’t deserve to pay for Goddard’s mistakes. But just thinking about the senator made Vasquez’s blood pressure rise. He had been dealing with Goddard for some time without consequence. The man was arrogant, surely, but he was efficient. He was reliable. So few men were as predictable as the senator, and that was something Vasquez could use to his advantage.
But the man had threatened his family. Not directly, of course, but the message had been loud and clear. He had inquired after Vasquez’s family, had even been so kind as to send his granddaughter a present. But in this business, that was not an act of kindness. It was a warning. Do your job, or else. I know where your family is. I can get to them.
That was unacceptable. Goddard might have a solid hand, but Vasquez had an ace up his sleeve in Jack Noble. He would do whatever was necessary to end Goddard so the man could never even think about coming after his family again. It would be regrettable if an innocent girl ended up in the crossfire, but as far as Vasquez was concerned, he had to take care of his own first and foremost.
“What about Michelle Hernandez?” Vasquez asked, slipping the two pictures on the table into his folder containing all the information they had on Jack Noble.
“I couldn’t confirm her story about going to college with Jack Noble.”
“Do you think she’s lying?”
The other man twitched. He worked in facts, not opinions or informed guesses.
Vasquez sighed and let it go. He had other advisors who would be much more willing to have his ear. “It’s likely she doesn’t know who her old friend is these days. But she is of no consequence. She may even be useful to us. Goddard cares for her, trusts her. But she’s involved with Nicolás Garcia right under his nose. We might be able to turn her, and if not, we might be able to use her as bait.”
Peters didn’t say anything else. Vasquez could tell he was reaching the end of his rope here. He had delivered all the information he had, and now it was time to return to his comfort zone at home with his mother and his movies and his models.
“Thank you, Bartholomew.” Vasquez stood but didn’t extend his hand. He almost laughed at the entire situation. If anyone else acted the way Peters did, Vasquez would quickly put them in their place. Peters, luckily for him, was the exception. His assets were worth the inconveniences.
Peters clutched his briefcase to his chest and shuffled from the room. As the door swung shut, Vasquez called for the man stationed outside his office. Aguilar caught the door and popped his head inside. Vasquez waved him in.
“I need to know who took this girl.” Vasquez pulled the picture of Javier’s daughter out of the folder and handed it to his man. “Her name is Camila Torres.”
Aguilar’s gaze swept over the girl’s face before looking back up at his boss. “Right away.”
Vasquez dismissed him, knowing they’d find something eventually. He could do the work himself, and probably in less time, but he had bigger matters to worry about. Vasquez flipped the folder back open and turned to Jack Noble’s dossier. He was an impressive man, as was his associate, Riley Logan. The pair of them could take out Goddard much more easily than Vasquez, with the added benefit of Vasquez not appearing to have anything to do with the senator’s death.
Vasquez didn’t want Goddard’s empire, but he couldn’t deny that having that sort of power would add extra protection for his family. No one would ever think of threatening them again.
On the other hand, it would extend Vasquez’s circle of enemies. That sort of power also came with a larger target on your back, as Goddard would soon find out.
Chapter Eighteen
Jack wouldn’t tell us who took Camila until we were all gathered at the compound. Javier had returned from giving Marianna’s family the terrible news. His eyes were rimmed red and his mouth was set in a hard line. It couldn’t have been easy to relay that information, let alone do it knowing that his daughter could be the next victim.
Jack had to suppress his excitement in the face of Javier’s grief. I could tell it was difficult for him. He’d been upbeat s
ince his revelation in the car. It was starting to get on my damn nerves.
We were gathered in Javier’s office. Sadie and I took the comfortable chairs while Javier sat behind his desk. Jack paced the room behind us. It made the hair on the back of my neck stand on end.
“Will you get on with it, man?” I said.
Jack stopped short between the chairs and the desk, then turned to Javier. “I know who took Camila.”
Javier lurched up, causing his entire desk to shift. A look of wild hope and panic crossed his face. “Who? Who took her?”
“Nicolás Garcia.”
All three of our heads whipped around to look at Jack. Sadie had an incredulous look on her face. “How the hell did you come to that conclusion?”
“Something he said rubbed me the wrong way. When he was talking to Sadie, he said Goddard was useful—for now. He said Goddard would have to stay in the picture until he could find a way to remove him himself. If he found out about the hit on Goddard, if he knew Javier was involved, the only way to guarantee nothing happened until the time was right would be to kidnap Camila.”
Javier stood stone still behind his desk. “I’m going to kill that bastard myself.”
“Wait just a second,” I said, holding up my hands. I had to walk a fine line here. Javier would want to move as quickly as possible, but if we played this wrong, it wouldn’t just be Camila who might end up on the wrong side of the barrel.
“I’m not waiting another goddamn minute, Bear. This is my daughter.”
“I know, but we can’t rush this. We can’t risk it going sideways. Just hear me out.” I waited until Javier slumped back into his chair before I continued. “Jack, how sure are you it’s Nicolás?”
“It makes sense,” Sadie said.
Jack started pacing again. “The man’s making moves. He’s playing a big game right now. Unless there’s someone else in play we haven’t even come up against, I don’t see who else it could be. Goddard would’ve just taken me out. He wouldn’t have gone to the trouble of taking the girl if all he wanted was for the hit to be called off. Nicolás is biding his time. And doesn’t it seem odd that Goddard hasn’t mentioned it? Why? Because he doesn’t know. His benefactor doesn’t want him to know.”
“Which means what for my daughter?”
I looked at Javier. “It could be good news.”
“She’s being held captive by the current leader of a drug cartel. Explain to me, exactly, how that’s good news.”
“Nicolás doesn’t want to kill Camila—”
“He already killed an innocent girl.”
“Yes, but not Camila,” I said. “She has more value to him than Marianna did.”
Sadie turned toward me. “You’re a bastard.”
I took a deep breath before I answered her. Rising tempers wouldn’t solve any of our problems. “I’m speaking from Nicolás’s point of view. We have to keep some objectivity here. In his mind, Marianna was nobody. She served a single purpose—to send a message. Camila is collateral. He wants Goddard dead, but he wants him dead on his terms. He’ll hold onto Camila until the time is right to set things in motion.”
“You don’t think he’d hurt her?” Sadie sounded skeptical.
I looked to Jack, who nodded. He knew where I was going with this. Perks of having worked together for so long. Sometimes we could read each other’s minds. “No, I don’t. Not unless he’s pushed to that point.”
“I can’t take that risk,” Javier said.
I nodded. I wasn’t unsympathetic to his situation. “All I’m saying is we may have a little more time to work with than we thought. We have a pretty good idea of who took her—”
“I know it was him,” Jack said. “I know it was.”
I tipped my head in his direction. “We know Nicolás took her, then. That will help us narrow down where she’s being kept. He won’t hurt her, not as long as he feels he’s in control.”
“And how do we make sure he feels like he stays in control?” Sadie asked.
I rubbed at my jaw. “He knows Javier is involved in the hit being taken out on Goddard, but he doesn’t know about me or Jack.”
Javier sat up straighter in his chair. “How do you figure?”
My gaze slid over to Sadie. “What’s your involvement with him?”
She looked angry. “Excuse me?”
“He loves you.”
“He’s a bastard.”
“Then he’s a bastard who loves you.”
“I’ve had to play my part for a while now. I’m convincing.”
I couldn’t quite read the expression on Jack’s face when he asked, “Did you get caught up?”
Sadie opened her mouth to give him a heated reply, but apparently thought better of it. She closed her eyes, took a deep breath, and looked up at Jack calmly. “It can be difficult to separate Michelle from Sadie sometimes. There was a moment where I thought I could change him, where I thought he could be an ally. But I underestimated his thirst for power. I haven’t made that mistake again.”
Jack looked back at her gravely. “I understand.”
Sadie turned back to me. “He and Michelle are involved. A few people know about it. His uncle found out, but kept his mouth shut. He always liked me. Goddard doesn’t know.”
“You’re sure about that?”
“Absolutely.” She crossed one leg over the other. “Goddard trusts me more than he trusts most. He cares about me like a daughter. If he knew I was involved with Nicolás, he would not be happy. He never liked Mateo’s nephew. He’s too much of a hothead. Too unreliable.”
“I’d like to know where Nicolás got his information.” Jack turned to Javier. “Have you talked to your men yet?”
“I’ve got someone I trust asking questions. Discreetly. If there’s a leak, he’ll likely find it. But I’m not holding my breath.”
“I don’t think he got the information from here. Or, if he did, someone is still holding out on him. Someone is trying to control Nicolás as much as Nicolás is trying to control Javier.”
I twisted in my seat to face Sadie again. “If Nicolás had any idea Jack was involved with Javier’s operation, he would’ve taken him out the second Jack stepped across his threshold. He’s in love with you, and if he knew Jack wasn’t who he said he was, then he’d put a bullet in his brain as soon as look at him. All in the name of protecting you.”
Sadie rubbed at her forehead. “That’s a definite possibility.”
Javier leaned forward on his desk, palms flat against its surface. I could see the tension running through his body. “What does this all mean for my Camila?”
I leaned forward, placing my elbows on my knees. “Nicolás has Camila in the hopes of getting you to back off on the hit until he decides it’s the right time to take him out. In the meantime, he won’t hurt her and risk losing his leverage.”
Sadie scoffed. “That doesn’t mean another girl won’t show up dead.”
“Fair point. We can’t risk waiting too long, but we’ve got some time to work with. We just have to figure out what to do with it.”
“My men are still looking into the origins of the video,” Javier said. “Once they find it, we’ll know where she’s being held.”
Jack crossed his arms over his chest. “It’ll be a start. Just because she was taken there for the video doesn’t mean she’s being kept there. But it’ll get us one step closer.”
Javier worked his jaw back and forth. It couldn’t be easy to just sit and wait for something to happen with his daughter’s life on the line.
“In the meantime,” I said, “we need to figure out what Nicolás is up to and make sure Goddard agrees to leave him alone. If the senator doesn’t stay in his lane, there’s a chance he could put a hit out on Nicolás and Camila may end up being in the wind.”
Or dead, I thought. I didn’t feel like it needed to be said, even though the scenario was clear to all four of us.
“One good thing we have going for us,” Jack said, �
��is I think Goddard is interested in testing my skills, which means he may be calling us to do the deed. It’ll at least give us a heads up on his plans.”
A buzzing sounded somewhere in the room, and all four of us reached into our pockets for our phones. Sadie was the one who fished hers out first, the screen lighting up in her hand. She turned it to show the rest of us. Goddard’s name was clear on the display.
“Speak of the devil.”
Chapter Nineteen
Sadie stood up and crossed to the back. We were all holding our breaths. Goddard had no reason to suspect she wasn’t who she said she was, but there was always that risk he had uncovered a piece of information that led to that conclusion. We weren’t about to add to that risk by opening our mouths.
Sadie answered the phone in her soft accent. “Thomas.”
We couldn’t hear Goddard’s replies, but a lot could be said for how Sadie’s body tensed and relaxed in response to his words. It said something for the comfort she felt to be in a room with us that she didn’t feel the need to hide her reactions to what the senator was saying.
“Yes, of course.” She paused. “When? All right. No, that’s not a problem. I’ll give him a call. As far as I know he doesn’t have anything going on right now.”
A small smile spread over her face as she turned to look at Jack. “Yes, he’s aware. I’m not worried about him. He’s been good to me over the years. He knows what will happen to him if he ever breaks my heart.”
I turned to Jack, who had a smirk on his face. I knew nothing was going on between the two of them—it’s not like they’d had time to talk about it anyway—but after the initial shock of Sadie’s true identity had worn off, it seemed as though things were going back to the cautious flirtations they had been passing between each other prior to that little revelation.
“Of course,” Sadie said. “I’ll see you later. Bye.”
I watched as Sadie pocketed her phone, the smile slowly replaced by a much more serious look. I had a guess as to what the phone call was about. “He wants to see what Jack can do.”
