Home at Last
Glennon
When they arrived in Galveston, Triumph brought her up onto the deck, where she was surrounded by a half dozen men dressed a lot like Triumph, although some wore T-shirts, and some wore unbuttoned camp shirts.
If a single one of them was under six feet, she couldn’t tell.
They all appeared to be fit and projected alpha vibes, standing with feet shoulder-width apart, arms crossed over their chests or resting on their hips.
Given that they were all in law enforcement, she figured it shouldn’t have been a surprise, but it still took her back for a moment. She was used to men of that ilk, but this felt different. Definitely less threatening.
Triumph introduced her. “Glennon, this is Wes, Daxton, Cruz, Quint, and TJ. The guy on the pier is Conor.”
Each of the men gave her a nod in greeting.
Not normally a shy person, she still found their presence disconcerting. “Thank you. It doesn’t begin to feel adequate, but thank you.”
“We didn’t do all that much,” Wes said. “Just provided a ride and an entry to the port. Got some fishing in while we waited and had a boys’ weekend. Not sure we should be thanked for having a good time after your long trek across an entire continent.”
“Would have been longer if you hadn’t been there,” Triumph corrected him. “Thanks from me, as well. Tripoli logged a membership at Elysium for you and your significant others. You’re welcome anytime, even if we’re at capacity. Just show up at the door.”
“I’ve been telling them all about it,” Cruz said. “Mickie and I have been there several times since Francesca moved here. Never seen anything like it. Girls are going to love it. Probably be a great girls’ night out for them.”
“Yeah, and then we’ll have to pick up their happy asses when they’ve had too much to drink,” Dax joked. He didn’t sound that broken up about it.
“So what now?” Glennon asked. “Guillermo’s not likely to give up just because I fled to the States. Especially after you showed Cesar up.”
A look was shared among the men.
Icy tendrils rooted in her gut and snaked through her insides, winding, twisting, and squeezing as they traveled. She already knew the answer.
Cruz delivered the news. “As soon as Cesar reported your departure from the village, Guillermo had his people working to locate you.”
“How the hell is he tracking her?” Wes asked.
“She doesn’t have a single item of what she had on her when we started talking, including jewelry, so there’s really only one way,” Triumph said.
“At some point, he injected her with a tracker. It could have been done in a lot of different ways. A shot from a doctor he paid to make it look like a vaccination. Maybe when she was asleep, or possibly under the influence of drugs or alcohol.”
The tendrils grew colder and began to constrict further. “How do we figure out if he put something inside me?”
“We could try an MRI or some type of medical scan. Calder has access to those things. I’ll call him.”
Cruz stepped away to contact the medical examiner to see if they could bring her to the morgue.
Triumph put an arm around her shoulders when he saw her shiver.
His body heat comforted her, as well as eased the tremors.
“While you were sleeping, I got the drone surveillance on Guillermo from Midas. He’s already mobilized some of his men, and they appear to be heading to rendezvous with Cesar.
It’ll take a couple of days, but it won’t be difficult for them to cross the border, given their connections. ”
Wes said, “Wherever you decide to stash Glennon in the immediate future, you’ll need an alternate location once we determine how he’s tracking her. Keep her in the same place, and he’ll just find her anyway.”
Cruz returned to the group. “Calder’s on call tonight. When we get to San Antonio, we’ll head straight for the morgue. He says an X-ray alone should do the trick.”
“Sounds like a plan. We’ll put the two of you up at a hotel, then once we see what Calder finds, we’ll proceed from there.”
“If there’s a chip and we can get it out easily, or disable it, we can stay at Tripoli’s apartment over Elysium. It’s got my tech and Cosmos’ security systems protecting it. Nothing should get in there.”
“Yeah, we saw how that worked out with the McCabe brothers,” Cruz reminded him.
“We’ve improved things since then. They’re smart. Guillermo’s a hothead. Reacts without thinking. He’s unlikely to have our skills.”
“Either way, the six of us will help out as we can with keeping an eye on wherever you are until we can deal with Guillermo,” Wes promised.
“You’ve got a lot of firepower here between the FBI, the highway patrol, SAPD, and the Rangers.
Not to mention a sheriff we can probably finagle into helping out. ”
Looking at his watch, Cruz clapped his hands and rubbed them together.
“All right, lady and gentlemen, Chief Hammerling is supposed to meet us at customs. He’s going to expedite us through.
Price of admission to the US of A, madam, is one cup of coffee with the director tomorrow,” he said, looking at Glennon and Triumph.
He caught Glennon’s eye, and she nodded.
Luckily, during one of their chats in the gap, Triumph had prepared her for this eventuality.
She didn’t like it, and it had been more than clear he didn’t either.
He told her he’d support her if she said no, but she understood why the man wanted to meet with her.
And all that had really been promised was to meet with him.
She didn’t have to tell the man anything if she didn’t want to.
“I can do that. Francesca and Tripoli assured me he can be trusted.”
Not that she trusted the chief because of that. But the couple had been instrumental in helping her get back to the States, so she would meet with him for them.
“I can second that. And Francesca and I will be there, if you want us, just to be on the safe side.”
“I appreciate that,” she replied.
“Before she sees Hammerling, she needs to be checked out by a doctor.” Triumph’s tone told them he would not be denied on this.
Cruz nodded. “Calder would be happy to take a look tonight, I’m sure. Or tomorrow. He is a doctor, after all. If that’s it, then let’s get moving.”