Fight For Me by Claudia Burgoa
Chapter Thirty-Three
Harrison
“The dog owner, huh?”Tiago points at the multiple pictures of the guy.
We’re at an empty house Mason Bradley rented where we set up the operation. We’re close enough to the neighborhood where the kidnapping happened, but far enough that no one will notice us.
“I bet he doesn’t own the dog,” I say, looking at the board that Mason and Luna created.
I’ve seen Mason work millions of times. He’s fast and good at what he does but adding Luna to his process was mind-blowing. Their combined skills has made this case one of the best I’ve worked on in the past few years. Everything happened quickly, and they were thorough about it.
Once Mason landed, he sent Luna some of the information he had gathered. She took my computer, and they began chatting. A few minutes later, they connected through our company’s video system. Luna suggested the board, he started it on the wall of our hotel suite. Since then, the two of them have been working on putting the pieces together to find the kid.
We all suggested motives and found similarities between one case or the other. Each crime had been different, but they all had a few similarities. Like a big commotion before the kid disappeared. There was never a cry for help from the child. Either they went away willingly, or they were sedated. The child was never with a parent. Once we landed, they sent Hawk, Tiago, and me to different parts of the city to gather information and get them some live footage without them having to move from the house.
Around midnight, Tiago, Hawk, and I went out to scout the park, the kid’s house, and the neighborhood. Luna insisted that the perpetrator lived around the ritzy vicinity. She was right. A couple of hours after we left, I called them letting them know what we’d seen. Each house in the neighborhood is armed with a system connected to the same security company. The company is from New Jersey, and it belongs to another company. After tracking four pseudonyms, we found Oscar Wilson who works for no other than Juan Carlos Medina. The same guy the FBI is trying to catch, and Luna is investigating.
If we’re lucky, after this we’ll get not only Oscar but Juan Carlos Medina too. Lucas, another team from The Organization, and the FBI are working with us to get Mr. Medina.
As we put all the names, companies, and photographs together, we gathered that he was at least our number one suspect, if not the guy. Then, they matched the dog owner with his picture. Hawk and I surveyed the house. We tried to break into it, but according to the infrared report, they have a lot of guests inside the five-bedroom home.
Thank God for small miracles. The residence across the street from Mr. Wilson is empty and for sale. We were able to break in and start setting up some of our equipment.
“Oscar is the financial advisor to the parents of all these children,” Luna explains. “He knows how much they have. Hence, the amounts always change.”
With her laser pointer, she shows the northern part of the city. “He lived there for four years under the name of Dawson Malone. Eighteen children were abducted. Only five came home. However, only ten bodies were returned. Around the same time, teenage girls and young women disappeared around the area.”
She points at the pictures we gathered from the CCTV during Esteban’s abduction. “The guy uses a way to distract everyone around and he—” She points at another image where a woman is walking Esteban away from the scene— “or his wife snatches the target while someone else is part of the distraction.”
“Do you think Esteban is alive?”
“That’s a fifty-fifty possibility,” Luna answers. “He’s old enough to recognize them. Esteban went willingly with the woman in the picture. He could be dead, or…” She sighs. “Already left the country and he’s being sold to a new family.”
She presses a hand to her heart. “We have to find him. Mason already has people searching the CCTV of the airport and keeping an eye at the gates. If they are driving him away, they’ll do it themselves.”
“Why hasn’t anyone noticed it?” Tiago wonders aloud, pacing. “He’s making loads of money, you can’t hide that.”
“He’s wealthy. And he’s laundering the cash.” Mason is the one who responds. “He uses the arcades, nail salons, dry cleaners, and other businesses he owns around the city. Then, he transfers it to Mr. Medina’s account in the Cayman Islands.”
“What’s the plan?” Anderson checks his watch. “We don’t have much time left. The crew is already waiting at the empty house for our instructions.”
“But we’re not sure where they’re hiding the kid.” Tiago brings up an important point.
“If he’s still alive and in town, he’s either at an abandoned place or at this man’s home,” Luna suggests, moving toward the list of properties we found under his name, his companies name, or his wife’s name. “Either way, I propose that we enter his house and either locate the kid or torture Mr. and Mrs. Wilson until they tell us where they’re keeping him.”
“There’s not going to be any torturing.” Mason glares at her.
She looks at her phone, counts her fingers and then glances at the four of us. “How soon can we go in? If my profiling is correct, they have an operation almost as big as ours. Maybe even with weapons and professionals to protect them. He’s smart and has plenty of resources. I bet that he can give us a fight—if we let him. We won’t allow him to scratch us.” She places her hands on her waist and says, “Another thing, I’m going inside with you. I want to kick his ass. Plus, the kid needs someone he can trust.”
“And there she is, my bloodthirsty-justice-loving-ass-kicker girl,” I point out, walking to her and taking her into my arms. “I was wondering where you’d hidden her.”
She smiles, wiggling her way out of my grasp. “I’m bloodthirsty, but not your girl, Everhart.”
Luna salutes everyone as she walks to the adjacent room. She stops at the door. “I’m taking a shower and getting dressed. Brief me once you have figured out a plan of attack.”
“This is not a good idea,”I protest, looking at Luna who wears a flouncy dress, her sandals, and her chopsticks holding her hair—three of them. “You’re going inside that house like that. Unarmed and willingly.”
I can feel my body react at the thought of her going in unarmed. I divert my attention to Mason. “You’re sending her just like that,” I said disapprovingly.
Luna turns to study me, her face unreadable. Those full lips pressed together into a thin line.
“Are you new to the team?” Mason says indignantly. He lifts his chin proudly, frowning deeply as he puffs his chest out. “I’ve never sent anyone in, ‘just like that,’ Everhart. There’s always a purpose and a backup. There’s also you, the sniper on top of the roof, ready to pull the trigger if something is about to go wrong.”
I curl my hands into fists, stepping towards him. “She isn’t wearing any armor.” I touch my bulletproof jacket. “There’s no space on her body to hide a weapon. Please, enlighten me, what is the plan?”
“She’s looking to buy the house across the street. Tiago is her real estate agent, and they’ll go across the street to ask them questions about the neighborhood.”
Luna taps her stomach twice. “Like any other pregnant woman, I’m going to have to make a quick stop in their restroom.”
My back stiffens. This is a bad idea. I hate to contradict the boss but, “Again, she doesn’t have any weapons with her.”
“She does,” Mason corrects me. “But Luna doesn’t need them. Tiago is with her, and you’ll be watching her from across the street. I gave you the infrared goggles. But if you have a problem with any of that, you can stay behind.”
“She is right here. I already told you that I hate when you talk as if I’m not in the room.” Luna marches toward us, putting herself between us and pushing us to opposite sides.
She looks up at me and rests her hands lightly on my chest. “Are you doubting yourself or me?” Her chin is up, her eyes burning with that fire she had when I broke into her house. She looks like a spitting cat. “Because your attitude is telling me that you either don’t trust what I can do or that I shouldn’t trust you.”
She crosses her arms. “Which is it? I expect this behavior from my superiors at the FBI. Not from you. I want you to treat me the same way you do the rest of the guys.” She smooths her dress. “At least during the mission.”
“You’re right.” I sigh, feeling sorry for snapping at everyone, and at her the most. “I trust you.”
It’s just that the fucking pandemonium of emotions that she’s causing inside my chest are preventing me from thinking straight.
The lust I have for her still predominates all those feelings, but there are so many new ones blossoming inside my heart. They are spreading like wildflowers during the summer rain. I can’t fathom the thought of her being hurt.
“As long as you’re under my watch, nothing will happen to you,” I promise.
Finally, a corner of her mouth quirks.
“I trust you too,” she says, cupping my chin. “As soon as we are out of this room, I’m one of the guys. Don’t forget it.”
She gives me a peck and saunters away, her feet light as feathers, her sunshine spreading around the room.
“A hundred—” Hawk pulls a bill setting it on the dresser—“he’s proposing in less than a month.”
“She’s my sister, asshole.” Tiago slams his hand on the table, his eyes filled with rage just like his sister’s. “Stay away from her, Everhart. After this shit ends, I’m killing you.”
“Too late, T.” Bradley takes the bill. “Though, I think I won the last bet. Didn’t I say he’d fall for her when they met?”
“Whatever,” I say, snatching the money from his hold and walking to the door. “The rest of the team is waiting for us. Let’s go and save this kid.”
