Chapter 11
ELEVEN
PAUL
We spent the rest of the morning going over everything Nicole had.
On the plane, we sifted through all her notes, photos, and possible leads.
To say we were impressed would be an understatement.
Nicole brought answers to questions we’d been trying to figure out for years.
She had a timeline of specific events we’d been involved in and the aftermath of our extractions.
Critical information came out that would help us improve our missions moving forward.
It was like we got a sneak peek into their world looking at us instead of the other way around.
“Change of plans.” I grabbed Nicole’s suitcase when we landed in North Dakota.
Mike caught up and fell in step with me. “They’re here. First class lounge back in the private room.”
“Copy that.”
Nicole fought to keep up as her legs were shorter than ours, and I wished I could slow down a little, but we had to hurry. “What’s up? Where are we going?” She looked from me to Mike and back.
“We need to check in with some people, and time’s not on our side.” I spotted the sign for the first-class lounge. We stepped inside and handed our luggage to a man at the desk.
“Where did the others go?” Nicole gasped for air.
“We’ll be fast.” I addressed the guy and handed him a twenty.
“Of course, Mr. Paul.”
Nicole looked confused, but I didn’t have time to explain.
We quickly moved through the room where men and women who were lucky enough to sip their drinks away from the madness of the airport enjoyed their time between flights.
I made my way through to another room where only a select few could go.
I waved a card at a rather round man, and he reached down to press a button without comment, and the door opened.
It was dark and cool inside, and the décor was elegant and low-lit. I looked around then turned to Nicole and put my hands on her shoulders.
“Hey,” she looked up at me, “I want you to meet some people. They’re friends of mine, okay?” I kept a hand on her shoulder but stepped to her side so she could see who I referred to.
I felt her tense under my hold and wished I’d taken a moment to give her a heads up, but there really hadn’t been time. “Oh, fuck,” she breathed.
“Just follow my lead.” I didn’t wait for her to answer and steered her in their direction.
“Ms. Winter.” Grim Gates stood and loomed over her as he buttoned his suit jacket. I knew that jacket probably cost more than our chopper. “Nice to meet you again. I’m glad it’s in a much calmer setting.” His eyes seemed to glow under the lights.
“Mr. Gates, I hardly recognized you without blood dripping from your hands,” she replied smoothly, and I squeezed her shoulder as a warning to be nice.
“Job hazard.” He grinned.
I moved on. “Nicole, this is—”
“No introductions needed.” She sat in the chair I pulled out for her. “Trigger, it’s been a while.” I glanced at Trigger; he never mentioned they’d met.
“It has.” His voice carried its usual rasp. He tilted his head and cracked his neck as he studied her. “Nice to see you made it over the border alive.”
“Only time will tell.” She gave a wry smile then looked around while I tried to process the fact that she knew the two of them as well as she seemed to.
I cleared my throat. “I wasn’t aware you knew each other.”
“Job hazard.” She shrugged a shoulder. “So, gentlemen,” she jumped back in, “where’s the third horseman?” Fuck, she had balls sometimes.
“Mr. Capri isn’t on this particular trip,” Grim seemed amused rather than annoyed, “though I will send him your regards.”
“Oh, yes, please do.” I really couldn’t tell if she was being sarcastic or serious but either way, she was impressing the hell out of me.
“All right,” I knew we didn’t have much time, “so, I’m going to jump right into this.
Nicole, Grim and Trigger have offered their help on this mission.
” She physically flinched. “We’re all in this for the same reason, Nicole,” I explained as her face paled.
“Grim will be visiting Bruno the same day you arrive. He’ll get what you need past security and hand them off to you to plant later.
If you have any problem, your code word is to ask him about his wife.
” I expected pushback, but instead, she looked at Grim and nodded.
“Understood.” She raised a hand. “As long as it’s us three and not the other.”
Trigger’s jaw ticked. “You have a problem with Elio Capri?”
“No,” she shook her head, “but I do with that FBI agent Colin who tried to take Chase from me. I don’t know who sent him, but I sure as hell wasn’t giving a child to that slimy—”
“Paul?” Trigger interrupted her and looked at me straight on.
I closed my eyes and steadied myself. “Chili mentioned something about them being intercepted on their way back to us, but we got interrupted, and I told him to take it to Frank. Clearly not a good choice.” I sucked in my cheeks. “If I’d known Colin would get involved, I’d have said something.”
“Okay, so,” Nicole looked around, “who is this guy? And who sent him to take Chase from me?”
I hesitated to reply. I’d always felt there was something off with Agent Colin, but I could never pinpoint it. He had helped us out more than once, but I didn’t like that he always made it a point to mention how he liked people owing him favors. Trigger saved me answering as he turned to Grim.
“Maybe it’s time to make our move.” I saw them exchange a glance. “Nicole, do you remember exactly what Colin said to you?”
“I do, and better. I have the entire thing on camera.”
I swung my gaze over to her. “That’s news to me.”
“And all this is news to me.” She waved at us. “I’ll hand it over if you fill me in. I’m getting a major vibe here. Maybe whatever you’ve got going on, I can help with. FBI or not, whoever he is, I want in.”
Trigger eyed me as he rubbed his chin. I knew he was intrigued by Nicole being so gutsy. It made me nervous that she was willing to go down a dangerous path. I glanced over my shoulder at Mike, who shook his head.
“I don’t know what Colin’s up to, but we’ll check it out.” He didn’t look happy.
“We’ll pick this back up later.” I knew things needed to move along. “But no, Nicole, Agent Colin isn’t a part of this.”
“Good,” she shot back.
“Good,” I repeated and turned to Trigger and saw him nod at Mike.
I knew they went way back. Then he looked at Nicole.
His Mohawk covered part of his eye as he sucked back on a joint, and it went through my head that in a room like this, rules didn’t apply.
“Trigger will be in town with the rest of his biker club. They’ll be trying to locate someone.
He’ll have one of his men stay down the hill from Bruno’s place.
There’s a guest room that looks over the church—”
She cleared her throat. “I know it.”
“Click the light three times if you’re in trouble.”
“Copy that,” she looked at Trigger. “Who are you trying to locate?” I cringed when she asked such a direct question.
Trigger’s colorful hand stroked his beard as he sat there, and I was surprised he answered. “Milo Garcia, the VP of the Cazadores de Sangre gang.”
“I heard his cousin, Vincente, works at the Guerra del Diablo pub in La Gloria.” Nicole pursed her lips. “I know Milo sometimes goes there. Wave some money and a hot chick in front of Vincente, and he’ll roll over on Milo in a heartbeat. They’ve got bad blood between them.”
“Appreciated.”
Damn, she’s good.
He raised his hand as if to say something else.
It was very unlike Trigger to speak more than he needed.
“Impressive you’re willing to go back into the lion’s den,” he stroked his beard, “but, fuck, you shot Bruno, betrayed the guy, and snatched the kid. That was his bargaining chip to take down the fuckin’ Canos clan.
You think he won’t just shoot you in the face? ”
“No, because he’s in love with her.” Grim stared dead-eyed with Nicole. “He’s said it to you before, hasn’t he?”
That is news to me. After our conversation in Washington, she assured us she could handle Bruno. She never once shared that the guy was in love with her.
“Yes, he has, but it’s more like obsession.” She didn’t break his stare.
“And you plan on using that to your advantage?” He ignored her correction and raised his perfectly arched brow at her.
She nodded. “I do.”
Grim flipped his Zippo lighter through his fingers like a drummer with a stick as he thought. “I was there that night, at Sully’s, when Bruno flexed his power for you to see.” Nicole visibly flinched. “There’s no stopping him when he wants to prove a point.”
“I can handle him.”
Grim moved his gaze over to me. “I hope you know what she’s getting into.”
“He does.” Nicole didn’t miss a beat. “I’ve been on the receiving end of Bruno’s wrath before, and I’m still here.”
Trigger blew smoke toward the ceiling. “We’ll do our part, but fuckin’ stay close.”
That was the plan. I nodded.
Grim checked his watch, and I knew we needed to leave. I stood and pulled Nicole to her feet.
“Paul,” Grim stopped me as Mike took a moment to talk to Trigger, “you find out who killed Talya?”
Everything around me stopped, sweat broke under my collar, and my gaze flickered to Nicole who, thank God, didn’t seem to notice my reaction.
“Not yet.”
“When you do, let me know. I’m sure we could come up with a rather amusing payback.”
“I’d enjoy that very much,” I muttered and gave him a tight smile. Nicole shot me a look, and I knew she’d heard that. I silently repeated what I’d just said in my head. Shit, that sounds personal.
“See you soon.” I hooked Nicole’s waist, nodded at Mike, and we hurried off to grab our luggage. Back in the main airport, I set a fast pace.
“Hey,” Nicole sounded pissed, “what the hell? I don’t appreciate the blindside back there.”
“You blindsided me too with that whole Agent Colin, Bruno in love thing. What happened at Sully’s party, anyway?”