Chapter Twenty-Six
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I n the backseat of his luxury SUV, Jordan stared at his phone screen as the live feed showed a figure stepping out onto a deserted dirt road near a marina close to Crimson Point. Rain pounded on the roof as the vehicle sped down the highway heading south toward the marina, the wind gusts pushing it sideways.
The man on screen wore a hoodie over a ballcap, the shadow cast by the brim concealing most of his face from view. “Where is this?” Jordan demanded. He’d had Hawk go to the marina to look for Barros and get a precise location on him.
“Just up the hill from the marina,” Hawk said quietly. “Wait. There’s someone else waiting across the road. They must have set up a meeting.”
Jordan’s attention sharpened as Hawk moved to a different position and another figure came into view across the road from Barros. “Can you see his face?”
“Trying to get a better angle, hang on.” A minute later Hawk cursed. “You’re not gonna believe this.”
Jordan was aware of his heart rate climbing as Hawk’s phone zoomed in on the two men. The man Barros was meeting turned toward the camera slightly, allowing a clearer view of him.
All the blood drained from Jordan’s face, shock detonating like a bomb. “No.” His guts clenched, nausea gripping his belly. “No, I don’t believe it.” It couldn’t be.
“It’s him, boss. Sorry.”
Jordan couldn’t answer. Could only stare, transfixed with horror as the man he’d trusted more than any other these past three years spoke to Barros and handed him something small. Something that looked like it could be a flash drive.
The betrayal cut deep. He sucked in a painful breath, an involuntary wheeze escaping, like he’d just been stabbed in the lung.
He’d hand-selected Jon from the beginning and promoted him through the ranks. Had eventually made him his second-in-command. Had traveled with him. Shared countless meals and bottles of the best whiskey money could buy with him.
Jordan had made Jon rich beyond his wildest dreams, given him protection and power and influence... And in return Jon had turned on him. Spied on and stolen from him.
Then betrayed him by handing over things to the DEA that would end him.
Why? A howl of rage and agony clawed inside his chest.
He swallowed. Struggled to push back the red tide of rage suffusing him that squeezed his lungs and blurred his vision. This wasn’t some sick prank or a misunderstanding. There was no way to refute what he’d just seen with his own eyes.
Jon had sold him out to the DEA.
“I’ll kill him.” His voice was raspy, hands shaking. “I’ll motherfucking kill him for what he’s done.” Him and the goddamned DEA agent.
Who had Jon been working with? Jordan didn’t believe for a moment that he’d pulled this off all on his own. There had to be others. How far had the rot spread?
No one could be trusted now. He had to cull the herd, implement maximum and immediate damage control if he was going to have a prayer at saving himself. Couldn’t risk letting the infection spread any further.
“Where’s Angel?” he snapped at Hawk, his breathing ragged.
“Last I heard, getting himself some insurance to ensure Barros cooperates.”
Jordan didn’t give a shit about the girl anymore. “Tell him to get his ass to the marina and deal with this. Now .”
“You want both Barros and Jon captured?”
“N—” He stopped himself. He wanted them to die for what they’d done, but that was just his wounded ego talking. Better to have them captured so he could have them interrogated and find out the extent of the damage.
And that way he would have Angel there as well. He would have to be dealt with too, of course. No loose ends. Three birds with one stone. And Jordan also wanted to be the one to demand answers. See the terror in their eyes when they realized he knew what they’d done and that they would die for it.
“Yes. Tell him to bring them to me and I’ll double his fee.” Angel would want to know the compensation up front before agreeing. It was just smart business. Too bad he’d never collect a dime of it. “I’ll meet you and him at the marina. Keep an eye on everything until I get there.” He was only twenty minutes away. Half that, if the driver really pushed it.
“Boss? You sure you want to risk—” Hawk said.
“Fucking do it,” he snarled. He ended the call and ordered his driver to take him straight to the marina as fast as he could. His next call arranged to have a boat waiting there for him. A fast one. And then he made one last call to arrange his getaway vehicle.
Timing was critical. He wasn’t leaving anything to chance this time.
He couldn’t trust anyone now. Not Jon. Probably not Angel. Or even Hawk. He wondered if any of them guessed that.
He opened a hidden panel in the floorboard and began loading some weapons. It was time to take matters into his own hands. He’d clawed his way up through the shit of this world and through the deadly web of the cartel to get where he was. He’d survived everything they’d thrown at him, the might of the cartel and government law enforcement agencies combined.
He wouldn’t let anyone take his empire from him now. Let alone a fucking undercover DEA agent and some assholes he’d made the mistake of placing his trust in.
****
A ngel paused in the stairwell when another buzz in his back pocket signaled a new message from Hawk. He pulled out his phone.
Shit is going down. Jon is the leak. He just met with Barros near the marina.
His eyebrows shot up. Jon had been leaking intel to the Feds? Wow. Ballsy. He hadn’t seen that one coming.
Okay , he responded. And? He wasn’t sure what that had to do with him. I’m busy.
Boss wants you to ditch the girl and deal with this instead. Pronto. Capture them both and bring them to the marina. We’ll meet you there. He says he’ll double your usual fee.
A rush of elation flashed through Angel. This was it. This should be enough to pay for what he needed. It was a huge risk going after two men with training, but if he pulled it off and lived, he could walk away and leave this all behind him. He and Liana could leave for Europe as soon as the money hit his account, with the fake passports he already had stashed with the go-bags she didn’t know about.
He was tempted to turn around and head straight for the marina immediately, but paused, his gaze on the fire door ahead of him that led to the fourth-floor hallway. He was already here. And if the woman was inside the condo, she could prove highly valuable to him on this op by guaranteeing Barros’s cooperation. A DEA agent wasn’t likely to sit back and let an innocent woman die. Especially if there was any kind of connection between them.
Angel was banking that there was.
Got it , was all he said to Hawk in answer, and tucked the phone away. Nobody needed to know how he captured Jon and Barros, they only cared that he got it done.
He pushed open the steel fire door and glanced both ways. The hallway was empty, the building silent except for the sound of the wind moaning around the edges of the windows. It was built of concrete and rebar and had good soundproofing. That would work in his favor.
On silent feet, he made his way to the target unit. Keeping his eye out for anyone who might step out into the hallway, he reached a gloved hand back for his lockpick kit. In seconds he had it picked.
He stepped inside, ready to collect his insurance.