CHAPTER EIGHT #2
With the exception of Calliope, who was barely over five feet tall, everyone on the team was over six feet.
Hell, Viking and Cole were both six-eight.
With that thought in mind, Eddie lifted out enough large plates for everyone, including Calliope.
Despite her diminutive size and thanks to her rabbit-like metabolism, she could pack the food away with the best of them.
Hawk opened the fridge, grabbed a large jug of orange juice and a gallon of milk, and set them on the peninsula, next to the food. Viking set a pile of forks and knives there, too.
Ten minutes later, they all had loaded their plates and were settled around the table. At first, the only sounds were forks and knives scraping across plates and the occasional hum of delight.
“How are Lucia and her little girl doing?” Cole wiped his mouth and set his fork on his plate.
“As well as can be expected, all things considered.” On their way to the school this morning, Eddie kept the conversation light.
Talking about being the target of a cartel boss was not exactly the best way to start your day, nor was it something he wanted to explain to a curious eight-year-old.
“I’ll pick them up at the school this afternoon and take them back to their place. ”
“Good.” Cole propped his elbows on the table and laced his fingers together.
“Munoz knows Border Patrol will grab him if he tries to enter the US.” Their boss wasn’t the kind of guy to waste words, so when he began speaking, everyone knew to pay attention.
“We already know he’s got Tamarin Rios doing his dirty work for him here.
There’s no way he could pull this off on his own, so we have to assume he has help.
” He turned to Eddie. “Any ideas who that might be?”
“Shit, most of the guys who were a part of AJ’s crew are either dead or scattered to the wind.” Eddie thought about it for a minute. He’d tried to keep track of them after leaving the NSA. “Jaime Ortega and Agustin Martín are the only two pieces of shit I can think of that would still be involved.”
“Hang on a sec. I want to bring Luna in on this.” Cole picked up his phone from the table, swiped his thumb on the screen, then tapped it.
“You available to do a video call?” He nodded.
“Okay, give me a minute to power it up.” He ended the call and set his phone down. “Viking, can you reach my laptop?”
“Sure thing.” He twisted to grab the laptop from where it sat on the counter and handed it to him.
“Thanks.” Cole powered it up, logged in to their encrypted video feed, and set the computer where everyone could see it.
There was a tone indicating an incoming call, and he tapped a key to open it. Luna’s smiling face appeared on the screen.
“Hey, guys.” She gave a little wave. “Hi, Boone.” Swear to God, the woman blushed whenever she looked at her fiancé.
“Hey, babe,” Boone said.
“What’s up?” She adjusted her headset.
“I need you to find out everything you can about Jaime Ortega and Agustin Martín.” Cole turned to Eddie. “Why don’t you tell her what you know.”
“Luna, both of these guys were a part of AJ Munoz’s crew when I was there.
” Eddie filled her in. “Ortega is probably around twenty-two, twenty-three years old, but mentally, he’s maybe twelve at best. He grew up with Rios as his sort of protector, so he is very loyal to him.
He’ll do whatever the guy tells him to do.
Martín is a bad bad dude who is seriously …
excuse my French … fucked in the head. I’m talkin’ psychopath level of bad.
He gets off on hurting people. It’s like a kink for him. ”
“Got it.” She instantly started tapping at her keyboard. “Anything else you can tell me about them?”
Eddie rattled off where each of them grew up and any of their family members’ names they might have shared with him or that he’d overheard without them knowing.
When you were deep undercover, you paid attention to every single little detail, because you never knew if or when it would be important, or if or when it might save your life.
“That helps narrow things down.” Luna was already in the zone. “I should be able to have something for you by tonight or tomorrow morning at the latest. In the meantime, I’m sending you all an encrypted file with what I’ve learned about Rios and Rodrigo Munoz.”
They all picked up their phones and pulled up the file.
“Looks like Rios entered the US through the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge nine days before the first girl went missing.” Eddie scrolled through the information. “That’s less than thirty minutes from San Salsillo.”
“Yep, he’s been in the San Salsillo area for over four months,” Luna said.
“With his criminal history, how is it possible he’s still able to enter the US?” Calliope looked from one team member to the other.
“Rios has a second cousin named Raphael Serrano, who works for Border Patrol as an entry agent.” Lucas looked up from his phone. “He’s stationed at the Brownsville & Matamoros International Bridge.”
“Gee, what a coincidence.” Sarcasm dripped from Calliope’s words.
“Should we turn him in?” Boone slid his empty plate away and crossed his forearms on the table.
“Not yet,” Cole said. “I want to see if he lets anyone else through.”
“Munoz.” One corner of Eddie’s mouth lifted.
“Munoz.” He nodded. “I’ll put in a call to Burke and get the name and number for Serrano’s superior. I want to give them a heads-up.”
Jeffrey Burke was the powerful head of the NSA and Eddie and Cole’s former boss.
“I haven’t had any luck finding a money trail for their time in San Salsillo.” Luna tapped some keys.
“They must be using cash,” Hawk said.
“That’s a lot of cash,” Viking said.
His teammate got his nickname because the combination of his height, build, and long, dark, wavy blond hair made him look like a damn Viking fresh back from raiding a village.
In reality, he was probably the nicest guy Eddie had ever met.
Until someone messed with his girl, Marigold. Then the guy unleashed his deadly side.
“Thanks for this information, Luna,” Cole said.
“You bet.” Her gaze moved to Boone, and she smiled before ending the call.
Cole shut his laptop.
“Hawk and I drove around San Salsillo yesterday afternoon, including the areas where the girls were taken.” Viking sat back in his chair. “We saw a bunch of empty houses with FOR SALE signs in the yard, but there was no sign of activity at any of them.”
“We’d like to expand our search to the surrounding area.” Hawk was a skilled tracker, having learned from his grandfather when he was just a kid. “If I were them, I’d keep moving. They would risk being noticed if they stayed at any one place too long.”
“Unless they can find someplace remote,” Boone said.
“Agreed,” Cole said. “Eddie, you and I will head to Mark’s office.
” He went from one person to the next. “There’s some rugged country around here, and Calliope and Hawk, you’re our strongest trackers.
So, Hawk, you and Viking search the area northeast of town.
Calliope, I want you with Lucas and Boone.
Focus your attention on the area southwest of San Salsillo. ”
They all nodded in confirmation.
Cole looked at his watch. “It’s almost ten. Let’s all meet back here at three.” He turned to Eddie. “Will that give you enough time to get to the school?”
“It should,” he said.
“All right.” Cole stood. “Let’s get this stuff put away, then get ready to head out.”
Chairs scraped across the floor, and they all carried their dishes into the kitchen. While Hawk and Eddie put the leftovers in the fridge, the others wiped counters, rinsed dishes, and loaded them into the dishwasher.
Seeing all of these hyper-alpha humans doing such mundane domestic tasks was humorous.
Everyone headed to their rooms, some showered, and they all returned with their weapons holstered at their hips. No one bothered to conceal them, because in southern Texas, not having a gun on your hip would almost be considered suspicious.
They left the rental house, engaged the alarm system, and headed to their respective vehicles.
Eddie climbed into the front seat of Cole’s rented Tahoe, and they both snapped their seat belts into place.
“Cole—”
He turned to look at Eddie.
“Thank you.”
“You’re family.” He fired up the engine and headed down the long, winding driveway.
Cole was right. They might not be family by blood, but their bond was just as powerful.