“You’re looking better.”
She rubbed her bruised arm. “I’m sore, mostly.”
“Didn’t find bacon and eggs, but you won’t go hungry.” He handed her a small brown baggie containing a foil package.
She caught herself before she made a face. How many kidnap victims had a man providing medical care, food, and comfort? “Thank you, but I’m not hungry,” she said.
“What’s wrong?” Concern marred his forehead. “Should I get the doctor?”
She stifled a yawn. “No, nothing like that, I’m all right.” With a knuckle to the eye, she clarified, “Just not a morning person.”
He nodded. “Coffee?”
She perked up.
He smiled, handing her a disposable cup.
Eyes closed, she savored the heavenly scent. The bold flavor assaulted her taste buds, warming her mouth, dragging her awake. “Thank you.”
He ignored her as he finished his breakfast. “I’ll be away all day,” he said without looking at her. “Make sure you eat.”
She sipped, hiding her pinched expression behind the disposable cup. Like any prisoner, she’d be afforded a last meal.
“I won’t come back until late tonight. I left plenty of water and your pills.” He tossed the scrunched up foil into the baggie and headed to the door. “Don’t cause any trouble while I’m gone, Tessa.”
This time she grimaced.
“And don’t try to run.”
…
Kris went downstairs to see what the guys had to say about their other guest.
Cruz sat at the table with a mountain of food in front of him. He chewed, oblivious to the bits that flew everywhere.
Kris grabbed a soda from the fridge. “What’s the latest on Heather?”
“She never shuts up.” Cruz exhaled in a rush. “Complains about the heat, the cold, the music, and anything else she can think of.” He slurped up a piece of egg that had landed on the front of his shirt.
Kris shut his eyes, sympathizing with Tessa. Could the guy be more disgusting? “Get to the point.”
“She’s shoveling a load of bullshit.” He dropped his fork, a sure sign he was upset. “I asked what she was doing here and she said she’d never partied in Mexico.”
“Great. The product is still missing and we haven’t figured out her plan.”
“I got skills, jefe. Just say the word.”
Kris was well aware of Cruz’s sociopathic tendencies. He wasn’t about to unleash him on either one of the girls. “I don’t think this particular guest requires your skill set.” He called for Felipe. “Besides, she’s supposed to be handed over intact.”
Cruz shoveled more food into his mouth.
Felipe came in, tucking in his shirt as he reached the kitchen. He pointedly faced away from Cruz, giving his full attention to Kris.
“I want both of you talking to Heather together. Felipe takes the lead.” He gave them a hard stare. “While she’s hands-off, nobody says you can’t paint her a picture. See what happens then.”
“So you think Tessa has people?” asked Cruz.
Kris would be a fool to overlook the possibility. Tessa had secrets she wasn’t sharing. Part of him wanted to turn her over to Juarez and wash his hands of the hiccup in his plan. But the other part of him, the one that wanted to figure her out, pushed to gather whatever information came his way. Not in an official capacity, but more out of curiosity. Either way, he only had to deal with her until the meeting on Thursday. Then she’d be off his hands.
He checked the old clock above the refrigerator. “I won’t rule out the possibility until I have more information.” Not like he’d be the first guy taken in by a pretty face. “If she does, she should get an award for Best Actress.”
“Bah!” spat Cruz. “This would be easier with some incentive.”
“If she goes in bloody,” Kris replied through stiff lips, “you’ll have to account to the boss in Juarez. He wants to get his pound of flesh his own way.”
…
An hour later, Felipe pulled into the driveway of another safe house on the other side of the city. The place wasn’t anywhere near being a compound. More of a nondescript home like every other dwelling in the thirty-year-old, middle-class neighborhood—at least from the outside.
The SUV shifted as Cruz got out and slammed the door. “Hey,” Felipe barked out. “You trying to break the glass or what?” He stalked inside, the vein in his temple ticking in time with his annoyance.
Which was worse, having Kris be right about interrogating her or having Fat Ass laugh at him for running this menial errand? He didn’t know. Left to himself, Cruz could do the interrogation any way he saw fit. But no, Mr. High and Mighty was keeping him on a tight leash.
Felipe unlocked the deadbolt on the thick wooden door to one of the rooms toward the back of the house. Years ago, they’d sealed the window with brick and tossed an old mattress on the floor. The blonde lay on her stomach, her toes to the air as she swung her legs back and forth. A subtitled American movie blared from a twelve-inch television.
Heather’s eyes widened. Without make-up, her features were too drawn and haggard for someone her age. She pushed up on her elbows, offering a view down the deep V of her top. Several mattress springs protested as she sat up and scooted closer, letting her skirt ride up along the way. Cruz came to stand in the doorway, which squelched her smile and made her hunch her shoulders.
Felipe stared up at the crown molding, grinding his teeth. Fuckin’ Kris hadn’t been wrong. They’d get more out of her if he did the talking and Cruz stayed in the background. Damn it.
“Turn that shit off.” He waited while she pressed the button on the old TV. “Cruz will make sure you’re being truthful in our conversations, Heather.”
Her attention strayed over his shoulder then came back, not quite as enthusiastic.
“I don’t have time or patience for your lies.” He waited for her to nod in understanding. “Speak up with anything that might interest me. Otherwise, Cruz will dispose of you once he’s satisfied.”
The blotches in her skin became more pronounced, but she didn’t utter a word.
“I hear you have something that doesn’t belong to you.”
“No way.” She shook her head, wide-eyed. “I left the car where I was told, same as the other times.”
“You didn’t take a few samples? Just to see how good the stuff was?”
She pushed tangled blonde hair behind her shoulder. “Uh-uh, I don’t know where stuff is stashed, in case 5-O pulled me over.”
“That’s odd.” He cocked his head. “So why did we get a call saying you never arrived at your destination?”
She shrugged, trying to look innocent. The remnants of her eyeliner made her eyes look off center. “No clue.”
She was going to keep taking them in the same circle. “What brings you to Monterrey?”
“Tessa.”
“Why did she come?”
Heather swallowed before answering, “Her friends are here. She said she had business to take care of in town.”
“And you?” He asked pointedly.
“Free party in Mexico.” She shrugged with a nervous laugh. “YOLO.”
Felipe frowned.
She blinked, looking from him to Cruz and back. Her smile faltered. “Um. You only live once.”
Felipe curled his lip. “So I should be dealing with Tessa.”
“No way she’ll admit to anything.” Heather’s right ankle bounced to one side. “She’ll play dumb.”
“That’s your plan? Deny everything.” He swung back to Cruz, blood rushing through his head. “She’s all yours man. Have at it, then take her out behind the soccer field so nobody’ll find the body.”
Cruz rubbed his hands together. His big belly jiggled as he cackled.
Heather’s eyes opened wide. “Where you going?” She shot off the mattress, rushing after him.
“To talk to Tessa.” Felipe headed out while Cruz caught her aroun
d the waist. “Since you’re only here to party.”
“Wait! N-no!” she stammered. “Tessa…Tessa’s got people. She was getting a new contact for the guy in the US.”
Felipe stepped back into the room, frowning. “Last time you said you didn’t know the plan.”
“I-I know a little.” She tried for a smile, but her face was too stiff to be successful.
Cruz hauled back and struck her pale cheek.
Heather cried out and scooted back until she hit the mattress and toppled off balance. She crouched at the far end, cradling her face.
Cruz’s noisy breathing filled the room. “What part of ‘not lying’ didn’t you understand, girl?”
She raised huge, frightened eyes to Felipe. “Her contact.” She swallowed. “Um, he-he’s my boyfriend.”
“You’re his advocate?” He raised an eyebrow. Son of a bitch. “How do you expect us to work together when you lie to me?”
“My bad.” She pulled her elbows close to her body. “I was scared.”
“My boss won’t deal with someone he can’t trust.” Regret laced every word.
“You can.” She nodded enthusiastically, stepping from one foot to another. “You can trust me.”
“This isn’t about me, girl.” He pointed toward Cruz. “But what my men risk their necks for.”
“I tried to do some business since I’m here. Branch out, y’know.” She licked dry lips before she continued. “I-I wanted coke,” she stammered, “for people wanting to work directly with a Mexican supplier. They have money and connections in some big U.S. cities.”
“Our network runs throughout the US and Canada. We don’t need you or your friends.” He leaned against the wall. “Can you offer an incentive?” He waited for the cogs to move and the power to switch on upstairs. “You’re one little fish in a very big ocean. Convince me you’re partner material.”
“My boyfriend’s got the money.” Her words ran together in her excitement. “Lots of money. And we want to work something out. What do you think? Huh?”
“You didn’t bring cash?” His gaze slipped to her breasts. “How were you planning to negotiate?”
Her face lit up. “Tessa can stay. I’ll go home and get what you need.”
“That won’t work. Her family will cause problems.”
“Uh-uh. Tessa doesn’t have relatives. Nobody’ll ever know she’s here.” Heather cocked her head with an enticing smile. Her breasts prominently displayed now that she assumed she’d caught their interest. “She can keep your men happy while we make a deal.”
Felipe nodded, thoughtful. “I’ll see what we can do.”
Heather grinned, satisfied with the future prospect. “It’ll be off the hook!”
“Now, tell me about Tessa’s friends.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
“Boss, where are you?” Cruz’s voice came across the line with an edge of urgency.
Kris unlocked his truck, studying the convenience store parking lot. “I’m heading back from Allende.”
“Chingado, you’re one lucky bas… Eh, I thought you were going to Saltillo today.”
“Change of plans.” He’d gone to Allende thanks to a timely call from Rio, Ida’s guy keeping tabs on the military.
“Lucky break for you.” Cruz’s voice was drowned out by Felipe’s complaints about touching his stereo. “We have a situation. One of the trucks coming up from Mexico City is in line at a military check point set up this side of Saltillo. There’s no place to turn around so, likely, we’re gonna lose the load and the driver.”
“And you didn’t know about it?”
“The roadblock wasn’t on the schedule. In fact, my contact didn’t know anyone was out there until I called,” Cruz said with concern.
Kris exhaled into the phone. “We pay a lot of money to make sure we don’t have these kinds of surprises.”
“Actually, we can’t be sure they’re really military. May be one of the other cartels in fatigues waiting for a load to come through. Either way, we’re out a truckload of freight.”
“Either way, I would say our mole is up to no good.” They’d been having trouble with the loads coming into the general area. The information going to the authorities was coming from inside the organization. Nobody else would have that level of detail.
He’d been hard-pressed to put a stop to the interrogations before Cruz went through what was left of the crew. Lucky he’d kept it to light beatings and mineral water up the nose—they were friends after all—instead of progressing to hammers and machetes.
Cruz had clued in Kris to his suspicion about Felipe being at the center of the anonymous tips. Kris’s thoughts were along the same track. But although Felipe didn’t have a formal education, he was still brighter and more cunning than he let on.
Cruz’s biggest frustration was not being able to catch Felipe making the calls. The recordings he’d gotten his hands on were made in an unrecognizable whisper. All they were able to confirm was that the caller was a male. Not that a little detail like that would deter Cruz, but as usual, Kris needed to be sure. He needed proof, not just the coincidence that the tips had either benefited Felipe or been an attempt to put Kris in a situation where he was compromised. Cruz had not been happy, but he hadn’t interrogated Felipe in his usual manner.
Thanks to his contacts in the military, and Ida’s considerable influence, Kris had been able to stay ahead of Felipe’s scheming. As long as that continued, he wasn’t going to stir up trouble this close to changing the face of the cartel. Besides, there were few things he enjoyed more than seeing Felipe twisting with suppressed anger. Not like he could say anything without compromising himself.
“Where are you now?” Kris asked.
“Felipe and I have been over with Blondie,” Cruz said with annoyance. “We’re heading out for a bite to eat then I’m grabbing a nap. I have to work tonight.”
“Get everyone together for me. I have an announcement for the group.”
“Will do. Eh, any chance we get a preview?”
“No.” Kris ended the call. He waited for a convoy to pass before he pulled into traffic. He gazed into the distance, watching the free-flowing vehicles. Barring any surprises, forty-five minutes of highway separated him from the Monterrey suburbs. Hopefully, the check point was the only thing Felipe had been able to set up on such short notice.
He grinned, looking forward to Felipe’s sour expression.
…
Tessa sat on the bed, legs folded beneath her, worry lines crisscrossing her forehead.
Kris set down the burger combo and studied her intently. After a few seconds, her toes curled and her fingers folded under the shirttails. He took perverse satisfaction in making her fidget. Asleep, she’d snuggled against him, leading his thoughts astray. What little sleep he’d gotten was interrupted every time she twitched or tried to turn his way. He’d hoped to take a nap during the afternoon, but he’d checked in at a second location to throw off another chance of a mishap. Not like his mind would shut down long enough for him to doze off anyway. He was too anxious to hear from Ida—who was taking her sweet time getting back to him.
“How are you doing?”
She shrugged then crept to the edge of the bed, fixing the shirttails under her.
“I have a late night. Figured I’d come check on you first.” After handing her the drink, he moved the dresser closer to be used as a table.
“Thank you.” Her eyes lacked the fire they’d held the day before. “Have you had any news on Heather?”
He went on as if she hadn’t asked a question. What he’d heard about Heather pissed him off to no end. Tessa was worried about her while Heather hadn’t hesitated to offer her up as a plaything for the guys. “You’ll be okay here on your own. Most of the crew will be out, but Cruz’ll be downstairs until I get back.”
She held her breath, looking away.
“Unless you’re ready to call someone to come get you.” Come on, call Monica. She’ll pay the ranso
m and have you home in time for dinner.
Tessa looked up sharply, her chin at a belligerent angle, pretty eyes glaring.
As much as he’d tried not thinking about her, he’d grabbed a shirt in the same chocolate brown as her eyes.
Damn it. He turned on his heel, curling his hand into a fist. Numerous arrangements were pending and he couldn’t get past wanting to fix her crooked braid.
He locked her in then stomped down the stairs, squaring his shoulders as he entered the kitchen. Cruz, snack in hand, and two others followed him. Oscar and Felipe came out of the room across from the vault. Everyone headed to the front, the only room large enough to hold the entire group.
The men went silent as Kris entered. They created a half-circle around him, ready to hear what he had to say. “Over the next few days, several major players are coming in from across the country and the U.S.”
Murmurs ran around the group.
“We plan to negotiate with other bosses and unify our resources into a central organization.” A wave of concern washed toward him. Expressions ranged from skeptical to scared. “Once the arrangements are in place, our reach will surpass Tijuana’s Arrellano-Felix Organization in its glory days.” Excitement splintered throughout the group. Nothing like a good payday to make everyone happy.
He’d negotiated deals at less than the current rate and involved himself in finding and returning loved ones. Those little details garnered him goodwill and helped the organization grow. Now his connections agreed to talk about working together instead of trying to kill each other for drug routes.
“I’m starting security shifts immediately,” Kris continued in booming tones.
“When is the meeting gonna happen?” Cruz asked.
“Not tonight, but I want to avoid surprises.” A few more murmurs. “Each cartel will fly in their own crews to be involved in the setup.”
Cruz shifted, the lines around his eyes growing deeper. “That’s a lot of people to deal with.”
“They trust us as much as we trust them.” He paused as the group murmured their acknowledgement. “We have bosses and under-bosses flying in, if they’re not here already. I’m not risking anyone. Security will be done in conjunction so everyone can rest easy. Two-man teams, never the same men paired up twice.”
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