Chapter 20
20
HOPE
R elieved to be home from work, I kicked off my tennis shoes and sat at the breakfast bar beside Vaughn. He had his laptop open on the counter, ready for our video call with Brandon and Sage. After going through a procedure to set up a secure line, he dialed.
“Come here.” Vaughn gestured me closer with two fingers.
“Why?” His appealing leather-and-tobacco scent already overwhelmed my senses despite the two-foot gap between us. Any nearer and I wouldn’t be able to concentrate at all.
He pointed at the camera image in the top corner of the screen. “They can’t see us both.” Then he reached across and dragged my seat right next to his. “There. That’s better.”
At this range, his body heat invaded my personal space, and I wasn’t mad about it. What I didn’t appreciate was the way it made my heart beat in a strange fast-paced rhythm and my palms begin to sweat.
If I weren’t already stunned at being manhandled, the way Grim’s intense eyes held mine would’ve rendered me just as speechless. The longer he stared, the more uncomfortable I became.
When his gaze dipped to my mouth, I asked, “What is it? Do I have cilantro in my teeth?” I felt around with my tongue but couldn’t find anything.
His head tilted in an inquisitive way. “Maybe I just like looking at you. Is that all right?” He moistened his lips, and that was it. I was done for. Someone needed to scoop my remains from the floor, because I’d melted into a puddle of Hope jelly.
He hadn’t called me pretty or beautiful. All he’d said was that he liked looking at me, and somehow that was more profound than a vain compliment.
I figured this was how guys like him operated. Set the bar so low that when he actually said something nice, it seemed like a goddamn miracle.
I wasn’t falling for it.
So why was I still staring at him like an airhead?
“Um, hey,” came a feminine voice from the laptop.
Shit .
Vaughn and I whipped our heads toward the screen, which displayed two people sitting at a mahogany table.
I recognized the beautiful brunette as Sage, whom I’d spoken to this morning. Since then, she’d released her long locks from a ponytail and changed out of her ranch work wear into a cozy gray knit sweater.
The broad-shouldered, dark-haired hottie beside her must be her husband, Brandon. I wasn’t sure what I’d expected of Vaughn’s hacker teammate, but he was rocking a rancher-geek vibe, like if Clark Kent became a mountain man. No doubt about it, Brandon made a red flannel shirt paired with thick-rimmed glasses look mighty fine. The fact that he had the most amazing pair of ocean-blue eyes didn’t hurt, either.
Sage wriggled her fingers in greeting, and Brandon asked, “Brother, how are you?”
“Peachy,” Vaughn replied with his usual snark.
“Fantastic.” Brandon grinned as if he’d expected his teammate’s response. “Elena, I’m Brandon. Thanks for meeting with?—”
“Don’t call her that,” Vaughn grumbled.
Brandon recoiled. “Excuse me?”
“She hates that name and goes by Hope now. I thought Sage would’ve explained that.”
Sage’s mouth opened and closed. “Sorry. I’ve been busy today, and it slipped my mind.”
Beside me, Vaughn bristled in his seat. I should probably tell him I could speak up for myself, but his bout of protectiveness surprised me so much that I kept quiet.
“Apologies, Hope.” Brandon nodded. “I won’t make that mistake again. God forbid your rabid attack dog hunt me down if I do.”
“It’s okay.” I shrugged. “But Vaughn’s right. I don’t want anything to do with that name and what it represents.”
“Understood.” Brandon leaned back in his chair. “It’s late, and everyone’s probably tired, so we’ll get straight to business. Hope, you believe your father’s compound is in Acapulco. Vaughn told us you had video calls with him?”
I took a sip of hot cocoa and returned the mug to the counter. “Yeah. Carlos insisted on calling once a week to check on me.”
Brandon typed something into a tablet. “If you don’t mind me asking, what types of conversations would you have?”
I snorted. “Short ones when possible. He wanted to know about my life, my studies, if I had everything I needed. But I had nothing to say to Carlos.” With my hands in my lap, I picked at a fingernail. “He liked to pretend that he was a doting father and that he loved me, but that man is incapable of caring about anyone other than himself. He didn’t give a damn what I wanted, only that I obeyed his orders and followed in his footsteps. Every day, I was grateful to live thousands of miles away in a place he was too scared to visit.”
“But Jorge Ortega wasn’t too scared to visit,” Vaughn chipped in. The sneer on his face told me we shared the same opinion of my barbaric ex-fiancé.
A sour taste pooled in my mouth, the same way it always did at the mention of that name. “That’s because Jorge isn’t scared of anything.”
Every time he’d come to Jersey, I’d had to take extra precautions. I skipped classes. I didn’t call or message friends. I didn’t so much as acknowledge another man for fear of putting him on Jorge’s radar. I’d learned the hard way that it was safer for everyone if I kept to myself.
“How would you describe your relationship with Ortega?” Brandon asked.
“One-sided. Jorge wanted to marry me, and since he’s always been Carlos’s golden boy, my father agreed. The two of them orchestrated a succession plan, and I had no say in the matter. As far as I’m concerned, Jorge can go straight to hell along with Carlos.”
Brandon tapped his fingers on the table. “Let’s focus on narrowing down your father’s location. Now, you’re sure his calls were made from Acapulco?”
I nodded. “About ten years ago, he moved to a new compound somewhere in the city. At least that’s what he told me, and I have no reason to think it was a lie.”
“Did he buy an established property or build a new one?” Sage asked.
“He had it built. The construction took over two years to complete.”
Brandon nodded and made another note in the tablet. “And where were the video calls made from? Inside? Outside?”
“Both.”
“Tell us about the outside ones. And describe the property as best you can.”
“Carlos would talk while walking through the garden, which was surrounded by a high wall. The exterior of the house was Spanish colonial—white stucco walls with archway features, terra-cotta tiled roof, black iron balconies. There were date palms and other tropical plants in the yard, and a pond with a concrete statue of a woman in the center.”
Brandon propped his hands behind his head and leaned back in his chair. “Did you ever hear aircraft? Maybe commercial jets flying overhead?”
“No.”
“What about traffic noise?” Sage asked. “Like from a highway?”
I shook my head. “There’s one sound I remember, and it’s stuck in my mind because it made me uncomfortable.” I glanced at Vaughn. “Sometimes, I’d hear children playing.”
Sage tensed. “There are children inside the compound?”
I pressed my lips together. “I don’t think so, but maybe somewhere nearby. Like the compound could be near a school or a playground. I hated the idea that there were kids near such dangerous people.”
Vaughn grunted. “That could be strategic. Hide in plain sight and use a bunch of kids as human shields.”
I frowned. “Sounds like something my father would do.”
“It would also make a siege complicated.” Brandon placed the tablet on the table, removed his glasses, and rubbed his eyes. “Thank you, Hope. This is all good information. I just have one more question for tonight.” He rested his elbows on the armrests of his chair and raised his palms toward the ceiling. “Do you have any idea why the violence has escalated in the last year? Carlos Espinoza has more control than ever. It should be a time of relative peace.”
I shook my head. “I’ve asked myself the same thing, and I can’t explain it.”
Brandon was right. There’d been more disappearances and murders in the last twelve months than in the five years before. The media had hardly been able to keep up with reporting on all the Pacific Coast Cartel’s atrocities. Gang members. Civilians. No one was safe from Carlos’s brutality. Just thinking about it renewed my hesitations about Vaughn and his team attacking the compound.
I clasped my hands in my lap. “There’s something I need to ask. I already spoke to Vaughn about this, but I have to raise it again. I’d love nothing more than for my father’s kingdom to crumble, but are you sure your team is capable of tackling this?”
“Here we go again.” Vaughn groaned and dragged his hands over his face.
“What?” I glared at him. “It’s a valid concern.”
He looked at me as though I were clueless. “I already told you we know what we’re doing.”
I threw my hands up in the air. “And that’s the kind of cocky attitude that will get you killed.”
“Maybe it’s best if I answer Hope’s question,” Brandon said. “You’re right. Laying siege to the PCC compound will be dangerous. But there are risks with every mission, and we always assess them thoroughly before moving on a target. We’ll be ready to go after your father.”
I hadn’t known Vaughn for long, but the thought of him being involved in an attack on the compound filled me with unease. Undoubtedly, there’d be casualties on both sides. Would he be one of them?
Vaughn rubbed the back of his neck. “So what’s the plan?”
Brandon glanced at his wristwatch before returning his attention to us. “I’ll make a start on this tonight. Sit tight, and stay near your phone in case we have more questions. We’ll narrow down our search area and do some reconnaissance. With any luck we’ll find our target quickly.”
“With any luck?” Vaughn frowned. “You sounded confident a moment ago. How long will it take?”
Brandon rubbed his stubbly jaw. “You know I can’t answer that.”
“But we could be talking weeks or months, right?” Vaughn thrust his hands through his hair. “I can’t stay here that long. You need to send someone else.”
“He’s right,” I said. “We’re…incompatible.”
Vaughn gave a bitter laugh. “That’s only because you refuse to do as you’re told.”
“Well, you have terrible manners.”
“And you have no regard for your personal safety.”
“Is that why you follow me everywhere acting like an overbearing ass? It’s a miracle I’m allowed to pee without you hovering.”
“See what I mean?” Vaughn spoke to the screen while gesturing toward me. “I’m just trying to do my job, and she complains nonstop.”
“All right, you two. Message received,” Brandon said. “Can you at least act civil for another week or two until I can arrange a replacement?”
Sage’s lips twitched as if she knew a secret. “Liam Murphy will be back from Cuba soon.”
Vaughn’s spine straightened. “The new guy? That Irish pretty boy who always waits until Brandon’s not around before telling you how beautiful and smart you are?”
Sage shrugged. “I like him.”
“Irish accents are so hot,” I said.
“I know, right?” Sage grinned. “Wait until you see him. He used to play rugby for Ireland.”
I sat up straight. “Oh my God. Really?” I knew nothing about rugby except that it involved huge muscly men getting all up in each other’s business. The small amount I’d seen on TV had made me reach for a notepad to fan myself.
“Wait.” Brandon faced Sage wearing a perplexed expression. “What exactly has Murphy been saying to you, Wife ?”
Sage only shrugged as though she had no idea what all the fuss was about, but I suspected she was enjoying this conversation far too much. I liked her.
“Send someone else,” Vaughn snapped.
I pouted. “What if I want the Irish hunk?”
A muscle in Vaughn’s jaw flexed. “You’re not getting the leprechaun.”
“I don’t understand you, Decker.” Sage scoffed. “You just begged for a replacement, but Murphy isn’t good enough?”
Vaughn pounded his fist on the counter. “I don’t trust him with Hope.” When everyone went quiet at his outburst, he added, “I mean, I know nothing about his skills. I haven’t seen him in the field yet.”
“I have.” Brandon cleaned his glasses with the hem of his flannel shirt before returning the frames to his face. “He’s a solid operator.”
“Don’t care.” Vaughn gave a sharp shake of his head. “What about Owen?”
“Do you ever talk to your brother?” Sage asked. “He’s in San Diego for a fishing trip.”
“Fishing? Is that what he told you?” Vaughn snorted. “The only thing he’s trying to catch in California is some English ballerina pussy. He’s been chasing Freya’s sister since they hooked up after her rescue. I’ll call him and tell him to get his ass here.”
“Don’t you dare!” Sage growled. “Let Owen enjoy his time off. He’ll be back next week, and if he agrees, we’ll send him down. Is that okay with you, Hope?”
Was it? If Owen was Vaughn version 2.0, forget it.
“I don’t know.” I tucked my hair behind one ear. “What’s he like?”
“Nothing like Wolverine here.” Sage swept her hand toward the screen, and I laughed at her description. “Owen’s great. You’ll like him.”
“More importantly, I can trust him,” Vaughn said.
Why was he suddenly so picky about his substitute? Also, why was I having mixed emotions about Vaughn being replaced? I reminded myself that this was a good thing and I should welcome it. No. I should rejoice in his departure. He’d been nothing but trouble since the moment we’d met.
When Grim drove down my driveway for the last time, I’d wave, say good riddance, and celebrate never having to endure his confusing hot-and-cold bullshit ever again.