CHAPTER SIX
Cooper stood on his steps waiting and watching for the lights to go out in the cottage where Bianca was staying. She’d left the small light above the kitchen sink on, but all the others were out.
“Everything okay?” asked AJ walking toward him.
“I think so,” he said nodding. “She’s nervous about someone watching her or finding her but there’s no one left who knew her.”
“Coop, we know it’s late but I came out here to find you. Come to the office with me,” said AJ.
“Well, that sounds ominous,” he frowned. He walked beside the smaller man without a word. AJ might be a little shorter than him, a little less bulky, but he was damn sure every bit as deadly and wicked smart.
When they entered the office, Coop knew immediately that they were not alone. The voices of Ham, Gator, and a few others floated toward him.
“Everything okay?” he frowned staring at the room of men.
“It’s fine, nothing catastrophic for a change,” smirked Rush. “As with everyone who receives medical care, we perform some routine bloodwork, including DNA samples.”
“Okay,” he nodded, frowning at the group. His father stared at him, clearing his throat.
“Coop, something she said earlier stuck with me. Her comment about her father being distant, never hugging the children. It felt wrong.”
“Not everyone has affectionate parents like we have,” he said with a half a smile. He withheld the other half knowing there was going to be bad news.
“Her mother and brothers were recovered from that river and were buried,” said AJ. “Her father was never recovered. There’s a reason for that. Her father died when she was just a little girl.”
“Wait. What?”
“She would have never known that he wasn’t her father. Her mother obviously didn’t tell her. She married her father’s brother within six months. A man by the name of Pablo Garcia.”
Cooper stiffened hearing that name. He stared at each of the men, shaking his head.
“Garcia is a very popular name,” said AJ. “We never suspected anything. DNA for Pablo Garcia has been collected over the years from murder sites, rape victims, and much more. His distance from his children, and her brothers were his biological children, was probably a protective instinct.”
“He allowed his children, his wife to be murdered, but not his niece or stepdaughter or whatever she is?”
“It looks that way,” said Gator. “When Matthew carried her back here, he brought a satchel that he said had important things of hers inside. We thought it was going to be a cell phone or purse, maybe some important papers.”
“But that’s not it?” frowned Cooper.
“It is. Some of it anyway. There were two slip drives buried beneath long strips of used seatbelt material.”
“She uses that material to make handbags,” frowned Cooper.
“We know. But the drives are what was important. We think her mother or one of the brothers, downloaded the information to use against Pablo but never got the chance to give it to the right people.”
“What’s on it?” he asked with a serious expression.
“Offshore account numbers, accounts that were siphoned by government officials to help Rodriguez, names of officials, and a lot more, Coop. It’s literally everything to bring the government to their knees,” said Ham.
“What about him? What about Pablo?” he asked.
“He’s alive and he crossed the border into Texas two days ago.
There was a cell phone inside her bag. We didn’t tell her we had it because we wanted to search it.
There were trackers on it. We downloaded everything to a different phone and then put that phone in the cargo hold of a flight that was going to Canada. ”
“Well, that will keep him busy for a day or two but if he’s anything like Rodriguez, he won’t follow it for long,” said Coop.
“Coop, we don’t think she knew anything about this. She would have said something if she did. She would have been trying to seek vengeance for her family if she’d known, at least for her mother and brothers.”
“I know,” he said nodding. “I’m just trying to figure out how I tell her that the man she thought was her father is actually nearly as vicious as the man who beat her.”
“You use honesty,” said the cracked voice behind them. Ham stared at AJ.
“Don’t we have alarms to tell us when someone enters this building?” he frowned. AJ shrugged.
“Didn’t seem necessary when all of you were here. I’m sorry, Bianca. Did you hear it all?”
“I heard enough,” she said staring at the men. “I might be weak right now but I am not a weak woman.”
“No one…” started Cooper. She held up her hand.
“Don’t. Don’t or I swear to God I will slap you again.
In the future if there are things relating to me, my family, my safety, I would sincerely appreciate you not treating me like some invalid imbecile who can’t handle the truth.
” She started to shake and Coop took one step toward her before she began to fall face first in his arms.
“Fuck,” he muttered, lifting her.
“I’ll call for the doc,” said AJ. “Get her to your cottage.”