Alejandro (15 page)

Ignoring the stares of his colleagues, Ale proceeded to the main conference room, which now doubled as command central for the upcoming raid on Trujillo’s garage. His thoughts drifted back to Audrey. Her distant attitude bewildered him. Something must have happened during the chase. Had
she
lost confidence in him? Too bad. She was staying at his place, and there wasn’t a thing she could do to change that. She
needed
his protection, and whether she
wanted
it or not, he was going to give it to her.

“Alejandro! Just in time.”

Ale acknowledged his boss with a nod and followed him into the conference room. Several agents had parked themselves and their computers at the far corner and the tale-tell clicks of fingers pressing keys could be heard across the room. The large flat screen on the south wall displayed a PowerPoint of Trujillo’s network. Lights from the battery chargers on the north wall table flashed as batteries juiced. A few DEA agents were conversing on their cell phones, while others were bent over the conference table, studying an enlarged aerial shot of Trujillo’s garage and surrounding businesses.

Less than forty-eight hours. Both Trujillo and Alba would be in custody, Audrey and Angel safe, and he could come to terms with how he’d run this operation. All the mistakes he’d made. The lives lost.

“Marshal Santiago. Good to see you again.”

“Agent Brooks,” Ale responded while gripping the hand of the lead DEA agent.

“What’s the ETA on Alba?” Brooks asked.

Ale let out a heavy breath and moved to the table, his eyes on the photo. “Trujillo is pretty tight-lipped. Alba’s still scheduled to show on Saturday. When? Not entirely sure.”

“That doesn’t give us much of a window,” Phillips stated.

The dissatisfied voice of Ale’s boss nettled him. Ale raised his eyes to his boss and Brooks, confidence steeling his voice. “I plan to return to the garage tonight. Carlos will be there. He may be open to discussing Alba’s plans.”

Brooks nodded. “Good. Whatever you can get. The more specific the better, of course.”

“Right,” Ale agreed.

Phillips continued to eye Ale. “Any other updates we should know about?”

Great. He can read me too?
Ale struggled to control his rising temper. First Trujillo, and now his boss. What did he have stamped across his forehead? “I’ve got a secret?” Before he could dwell a second on her, Ale squelched thoughts of Audrey and the trouble she and Angel encountered today. If Mel was doing her job — as she was so capable — Phillips would already know about the tail she’d lost today and the possibility it was Trujillo’s men. Phillips continued to wait for an answer.
He’ll want my input on the situation.
He didn’t have anything. “Ah, nope.”

Phillips smirked. “How succinct.”

“You know I don’t like to waste time.”

“No, you don’t.” Phillips’s gaze refused to relent. “Do we need to discuss Ms. Hughes?”

I’m already thinking about her all the time, and now you want to discuss her? How’s that going to help?
Choosing not to speak, Ale simply shook his head.

Phillips laughed loudly. “The look on your face, Santiago, like a kid with his hand in the cookie jar — caught.”

Brooks’s eyes darted between the two men. “What’s this? You’ve got something going on with the witness?” He directed his question at Ale.

Heat burned the flesh of his neck and face, and he resisted the urge to wipe the sweat gathering at his temple.
Think cool.
“She’s the sister of the dead witness, and no,” Ale said through gritted teeth.

“A few of Trujillo’s men found her, her nephew, and one of our agents at the kid’s school,” Phillips offered.

“Trujillo wants the kid?” Brooks asked, his eyes widening in amazement.

Ale found a space on the wall and leaned against it, crossing his arms. “He says the boy is his.”

“Anything we can use for leverage?”

Brooks had to be out of his mind. Using the kid to get a known drug trafficker? It was enough he got Angel’s mother killed; there was no way he’d agree to Angel’s participation in the operation. Ale eyed Brooks evenly. “No.”

“Not yet,” Phillips replied at the same time.

Ale’s stare shot to Phillips. “Seriously?” he spat.

Phillips held up his hands, yielding the fight. “No options are off the table. We may be able to use
knowledge
of the kid’s whereabouts in exchange for Alba, if we don’t get Alba during the raid.”

Ale curled his fists beneath his biceps. Remembering the look on Trujillo’s face as he’d spoken about the boy the other night in the garage — he’d use deadly force when it came to his son. They couldn’t negotiate with a cold-blooded killer. If they used Angel… How would he explain it to Audrey? No doubt she’d be against the idea. The woman would sooner hail a cab and take her chances on the road with her nephew than consider Phillips’s suggestion. “I’d say that option is off the table. Besides, you’d never convince Ms. Hughes.”

Goosebumps pricked Ale’s flesh as he eyed the sly grin on Phillips’s face.

“Who said anything about
me
convincing her?” Phillips asked, his grin widening.

Brooks inhaled sharply before putting a fist to his mouth. Ale read shock and humor in his eyes. “You
do
have a thing going on with her,” Brooks whispered, as if happening upon some exciting secret.

“If he did, it’d be against protocol.” Phillips’s hard eyes matched his stern tone.

“So, how’d you expect me to
convince
Audrey?”

“Turn on that Santiago charm.”

Ale let the sarcasm drip from his mouth. “Oh, so getting involved with a witness is okay, as long as the ends justify the means.”

“Don’t be so self-righteous, Santiago. No one’s asking you to do anything more than to get her to say ‘yes.’ And considering it’s you, I doubt that’ll be a problem.”

Embarrassment heated Ale’s face. Not because his boss’s words were true, but because he’d just been prostituted for the mission. Given his encounters with Audrey already, there was no doubt she’d
say yes
, yet, putting her in the position where she’d have to make the choice felt a bit — over the line.

“How far out are Ms. Hughes and the boy?” Phillips asked.

Ale cleared his throat, hoping to distract his audience from the nuclear fallout radiating from his face. “They should just be a few minutes behind me. Mel’s bringing them in.”

“Good. When they get here,” Phillips pointed at him, the corners of his mouth twitching upwards, “you start on Ms. Hughes.”

Ale rolled his eyes before fixing a hard stare at a snickering Brooks. “It’s too tough a sell.”

“Alejandro—”

“No.” Ale returned his gaze to Phillips. “Remember her sister, Lana?”

“The boy will have zero involvement. He’ll be safe.”

“And I’m sure Ms. Hughes will use that line as her argument against the plan. We couldn’t keep Lana safe. How are we supposed to keep her son out of danger?”

“It’s just a backup plan,” Brooks interjected. He put out both hands between the men as though breaking up a fight. “I intend for the raid to be a success. If we have to use the kid to draw out Trujillo, fine, but I have a lot of eyes and ears on the streets. I’m sure we’ll get Trujillo one way or the other.”

Ale met the glare of his boss with one of his own. For years, he had the run of the operation. Why, all of a sudden, did his boss feel the need to exert his authority? Didn’t he trust him to do his job? Didn’t anyone trust him anymore? Even if he was lying? Pushing himself off the wall, Ale marched toward the door.

Phillips’s firm hand gripped Ale’s bicep as he passed. “Don’t think I don’t see what’s going on here,” Phillips whispered harshly into Ale’s ear. “You rushing to see Ms. Hughes, leaving the garage and any chance of a break in this case. Keep your emotions on lockdown, Santiago. You can take the girl to bed
after
the op.”

Steel eyes held Phillips’s insistent gaze. Fury at the reprimand, and the crass insinuation, coursed through Ale. If he were still the juvenile who disrespected authority, he’d have punched his boss in the face. But he’d grown up and moved past that phase of his life into the self-controlled — except with Audrey — man he was today. A patient man who could hold his temper and restrain his emotions until the opportune moment. He respected Audrey and tried hard not to treat her in the callous way others have allowed him to. Breathing heavily with nostrils flared, his unblinking stare continued until Phillips relented with a release of his arm and a step back.

Ale tore past the agents in the room and slammed the door on the way out. He stood in the middle of the office — one hand on his hip, the other covering his eyes — not caring if he attracted the attention of his coworkers. A couple of deep breaths later, his anger dissipated, but a new frustration swelled.

His boss was right.

Keep your emotions on lockdown…
He hadn’t done a very good job of that lately. His mouth had a mind of its own, seeking out Audrey’s almost every time they were together. If Mel hadn’t been in the apartment earlier, Ale didn’t doubt he’d have tasted Audrey’s lips. Again. The thought of her in harm’s way — if anything had happened to her, or Angel. Lana’s death… The idea of Audrey suffering the same fate had him going out of his mind with worry.

Take the girl to bed after the op…
He wouldn’t be a man if he hadn’t considered Audrey in his arms. She’d indulged him a few kisses, but he had a suspicion the woman was chaste. On lockdown herself. Ale’s lips tilted upward as he remembered how she ran out of the kitchen a couple of nights ago. He’d finally met a woman who could resist him. She wouldn’t let just any man in, and the value she placed on herself was something he cherished.

“Alejandro!”

Dropping his hand from his face, he eyed Mel, Angel, and the woman wreaking havoc with his emotions. Hair strewn around her shoulders, her features strained, Audrey looked troubled. So different was she from her sister. Lana had flaunted her looks with bleach blonde hair, blood-red lipstick, and flashy-colored nails. Audrey possessed an understated beauty — a guarded honor that would drive a man wild with need to unlock every mystery within her. With each step she drew nearer, the blood in his ears pounded louder.
So much for lockdown.

“Where’s the boss?” Mel asked when she approached.

Recalling the last conversation he’d had with Phillips, Ale grunted. “In the conference room.”

“You want to get these two set up in the lounge? Phillips wanted to see me when I arrived.”

“Sure. Wait, what about?”

Mel shrugged. “I have no idea. I briefed him about the tail we had at the school. He must want more details about that.”

Ale held the eyes of his lovely partner. She was as forthcoming as she wanted to be, nothing more. Mel had her secrets, but he trusted her. “What else could it be?”

Narrowing her eyes on him, she put her hands on her small waist. “I don’t know. What
could
it be, Ale?” She cast a glance in Audrey’s direction before returning to him. “Something
you
haven’t said? About Lana?”

Ale’s head snapped back.
Whoa, Lana?
He expected her to say “Audrey.” For a second, he’d suspected Mel had put two and two together just like Brooks and Phillips. Ale stared at Audrey. Had she and Mel been discussing Lana? Would that explain Audrey’s behavior in the apartment? She was distant. Almost icy. As if he’d done something to her. What did it have to do with Lana? “Not sure what you’re talking about.”

Mel’s lips twisted downward. “Yeah, I’m not buying that line.”

“Melody—”

“Look.” She held up a hand to silence him. “Whatever is going on between you and Audrey, I don’t want any part of it. But, she has the impression you and her sister were involved.”

His dry throat refused to let words out. He and Lana?

“I suggest you clear things up, especially considering you’re protecting her sister.”

Mel left him standing there stupefied.

After a hard swallow, Ale ordered his legs to move toward Audrey and her nephew, who stood clinging to his aunt’s hand, his brows meshed together in confusion and fear.
It’ll be over soon, kid.

Audrey inhaled, lifting a firm chin. “What’s the plan?”

Her voice didn’t waver. He wished his willpower didn’t — especially around her. Ale licked his lips. “Ah, we’ll set you and Angel up in the lounge. As soon as I’m done here, we’ll get you two back to the safe house.”

“A couple more days, right?”

Ale nodded. “Right.” She answered with her own nod. Ale inclined his head toward the corner of the suite where the lounge was located. “Follow me.”

****

Audrey kept her eyes on Ale’s broad back as he led her and Angel to the lounge.
I get to care.
The words had repeated themselves a hundred times since she’d last seen him. What did he mean? Was he referring to his assignment? Keeping her and Angel safe? Refusing to believe he meant her at all, Audrey forced herself to believe he spoke about his duty. He’d seemed genuinely sorry about Penny’s death. Was sympathy fueling his desire to protect her and Angel? Nothing more?
He’s dedicated. It’s just the job. He blames himself for Penny, so he doesn’t want to make another mistake.

Penny. How much did he blame himself?
Is he seeking revenge for Penny because they were involved? Stop it, Audrey. You’re getting worked up over something you know nothing about. Penny, Penny… What happened?

“Auntie Audrey?”

“Hmm?”

“I’m hungry.”

Audrey looked at the upturned face of a five-year-old boy. Did they ever stop eating? She cast him a smile while opening her hobo. “Okay, hold on.” There had to be a granola bar hidden somewhere. Fingers grasping at all items, Audrey gasped. Penny’s note! The one from the reading of the will.
I’d forgotten all about it.
She started to pull the letter from her bag when Ale faced them.

“This is it.” He opened the door and allowed them to pass. A couple of couches, a large flat screen, full kitchen — Audrey appreciated the money the US Marshals spent on creature comforts. “There’s plenty of food in the refrigerator. Frozen meals, cereal, and other things in the cabinets.”