Chapter 9

A BALL OFice formed in Sawyer’s gut. This wasn’t good. Two hit men coming after Janie? Was this related to her brother or something else? Despite her detailed journey through the events of the hijacking, was it possible that Janie saw or heard something that was a threat to someone in the gang? Was Brent correct in wondering if the missing passenger was the head of the Vatos Locos?

Brent rose. “I’ll return in a minute. Sit tight.” He looked at Sawyer. “Take care of her.”

“Yes, sir.”

After he left the conference room, Janie said, “You don’t have to do that, Sawyer. I’m fine. Really.”

“You won’t disobey your grandmother’s directives in her will. I won’t disobey my boss. So, do you need anything?”

“I’m still cold,” she admitted. “Would the break room have more tea packets?”

He walked toward the door. “It does. I’ll be right back. If anything happens while I’m gone, do exactly what Zane tells you to do. He’ll keep you safe.” Although Sawyer hated to hand responsibility for her safety to anyone else, he trusted Zane as much as he trusted Brent. Both of the SEALs had saved his life more than once since Fortress had employed him.

He hurried to the break room, found another packet of mint tea, and nuked the water in a to-go cup. When the brewing cycle finished, Sawyer added the lid and carried the drink to the conference room.

In his absence, the rest of his team had assembled around the conference table. Brent motioned Sawyer to take a seat.

“Has there been a development?” Brody asked.

“Two things. Z is picking up chatter from the dark web about a Vatos Locos bigwig bringing two hit men to deal with a problem in the states.”

“And you think the problem is Janie?”

A nod from the CEO of Fortress Security.

Brody blew out a breath. “Nice. We’re taking on a gang whose membership is 10,000 strong, plus two guest assassins.”

“You said two developments,” Logan said. “What’s the second one?”

“Sawyer and I showed Janie pictures of all those hostages we believed were passengers aboard the hijacked plane. One man is missing. We also showed her pictures of the known Vatos Locos gang members from that compound in Mexico. The missing man’s picture wasn’t in the array we showed her.”

Two beats later, Logan said, “Janie saw Diego Hernandez?”

Max’s eyebrows soared. “Good for us. Not for our principal.”

Jesse whistled.

“The danger level just increased by a thousand percent,” Brody said.

“If your guess is correct.” Janie looked at each man. “This is pure speculation.”

“Zane doesn’t raise the alarm unless he’s sure.” Brent shook his head. “I’m sorry, sugar.”

“This makes little sense. I was just on a plane, minding my own business. Now, I’m a wanted woman just because I saw some random guy that I’ll probably never see again in my life?”

“Remember what we mentioned earlier.” Sawyer pressed the warm cup of tea into Janie’s shaking hands. “No one knows what Diego Hernandez looks like. It’s what has kept him out of prison for so long. No one knows who to look for. Now, that may change.”

“What about a sketch artist?” Brody asked. “Think a session with Ian would help?”

Ian McGregor was a top-notch sketch artist who worked for Fortress but also contracted with police departments around the country is they needed an artist of his caliber. The suggestion was a good one.

Sawyer said, “You’d like him, Janie. He’s very good at what he does. Ian can pull more information out of you than you realize you have inside your brain. Would you be willing to work with him?”

“Of course.”

Brent looked at Zane. “Find him. Let’s do this as quickly as possible so the team can take Janie into seclusion.”

“Wait a minute,” Janie protested. “No one said anything about going into hiding. I have a business to run, Brent. I can’t disappear without an explanation and plans.”

He eyed her. “Would you rather risk your life and those of your employees?”

“We don’t know if I’m in danger. No offense to Zane, but the warning from the Internet could be about anything. The rumors didn’t mention the name of the target.”

“Of course not. Rumors leak. The Vatos Locos wouldn’t want their prey to escape.”

She shuddered. “You must be wrong.”

“What if I’m not? Do you want to gamble on the lives of your people, Janie?”

“That’s not fair. You know I wouldn’t. But I’m not convinced you’re right. Why would anyone consider me a threat?”

“The gang kept you alive for a reason, Janie.” Sawyer wrapped his arm around her shoulders. “Until we uncover that reason, you and everyone around you are in danger.”

She was silent a moment. “How long do we have before the bigwig shows up in the US?”

“Tomorrow, possibly the day after,” Zane answered. “It’s a guess at this point. There’s not enough information on the dark web to come up with an exact time.”

“Do I have enough time to check on my shop and my people? I can do it fast, but I need to check in.”

“We’ll work it out,” Sawyer said. “Can you ask your employees to come in early? The fewer people around, the better.”

“No problem. We always get started on the stock early, before the shop opens.”

“You make everything from scratch, right?” Max asked.

Janie nodded. “We make stock early to bring our supplies up to full level. After that, we make stock to order or to fill out the shelves during the day. We also offer classes.”

“My wife would like that.”

“All our women would like it,” Brody said. “Once this problem with Vatos Locos is settled, we’ll book a class for the women.”

Janie beamed. “I’d love to do a class with them. It will be fun.”

“My wallet already hurts,” Logan said, although his eyes twinkled.

The rest of the men laughed.

“Back to business,” Brent said. “Create a security plan, Brody.”

“Yes, sir. Location?”

“Sawyer?”

“Hartman, so she can check in on her shop,” he said. Janie was having enough trouble accepting the need for protection instead of returning to her normal life. If she was in her hometown, at least she would be more accepting of the precautions.

Soon, though, Sawyer figured the hometown solution would give way to something more drastic. Vatos Locos wouldn’t have difficulty locating Janie if she returned home. When they did, he and his teammates would move Janie to a more remote location unless he found out she was being targeted by someone else.

Janie smiled at him. “Thanks, Sawyer.”

“We can’t stay long. I know you’ll want to help with the stock. It’s not safe for you or them to stay for more than an hour or two. We’ll work as fast as we can to solve this problem and bring you back home.”

Brent glanced at his watch. “I have another meeting in ten minutes. Brody, you need a place in Hartman to protect Janie. Figure out where is safest for her. Zane can help with safe house arrangements if you need the assist. Let me know if I can help.” He looked at Janie. “We’ve got you covered, sugar. Do what your bodyguards tell you to do.” Brent pointed at her. “Don’t make their jobs more difficult.”

“Yes, sir.”

He stood and looked at Sawyer.

Yeah, he got the unspoken message. He gave a slight nod. He would take care of Janie no matter the cost to himself.

“Zane, report to me when you and the team finish.”

“Yes, sir.”

With that, Brent left the conference room.

“I’ve never seen this side of him. Is he always like this?” Janie asked.

“At work, yeah, he is.” Brody turned to Zane. “What options do we have, Z?”

“Hotel near Interstate 40, one house inside Hartman town limits, and two outside of town.”

“Not the hotel,” Janie said. “Too many people around.”

“Agreed,” Sawyer said. “Let’s try a house outside Hartman first. How many of us can it house at one time?”

“All of you. However, I thought since you were in your hometown, the five of you would switch off on watch shifts.”

“Not me.” Sawyer glanced at Brody and received a nod of approval. “I’m permanent until the danger is gone. Everyone else can rotate in and out. How close are our houses to the safe house?”

“Farthest is fifteen minutes.”

Brody nodded. “We can work with that. Who wants the first shift with Sawyer?”

“I’ll take it,” Jesse said. “I’ll be able to keep tabs on my patient that way.”

“That’s settled. Has everyone restocked their Go bags?” When each man indicated they were stocked and ready, Brody stood. “Let’s go. Traffic is picking up as we speak. Sawyer, you stay in the middle of our caravan. We’ll separate when we reach Hartman. Move out.”

“Wait,” Janie said. “What about my shop? When can I go to my shop?”

“Tomorrow morning. I know you want to go sooner, but we need time to evaluate the security risks and make plans to deal with problems that might come up. Also, by going tomorrow, we’ll give Sawyer a little more time to heal before he steps into full bodyguard mode.” He smiled. “And as much as you won’t want to admit it, you probably have jet lag. Call your shop. Meet your employees tomorrow morning, and we’ll go from there.”

“What will you do in the meantime?”

“Arrange an appointment with Ian McGregor and hunt for the people who have a target on your back.” He glanced at Z. “Access to the safe house and address?”

“Stop by the comm center and I’ll get you everything you need.”

They followed Zane down the hall to his domain filled with computer screens and keyboards and a high-tech communications setup. This was the place where Z kept the teams out in the field connected and informed. Sawyer knew for a fact that his friend had a similar setup in his home office. He’d wondered more than once when Z slept. He seemed to always be on duty.

In the comm center, Zane zoomed to a set of cabinets and drawers. He opened one and pulled out a small packet, which he tossed to Sawyer. “Codes and keys, plus an address. The house is fifteen minutes outside of Hartman. Security system is top of the line. You won’t have any close neighbors, so no nosy questions.”

“Clothes?” Sawyer knew Janie didn’t have her luggage, and he didn’t want to take her by her own home in case someone was watching the place.

“We have the basics in almost every size. It should take care of you for a few days. If you’re still in the safe house by then, we’ll provide more clothes.”

“I don’t want Fortress to go to that expense. Wouldn’t it be simpler to stop by our homes to get what we need?” Janie asked.

“Too dangerous.” Sawyer gave Zane a chin lift and guided Janie into the hall toward the elevator. “It won’t be hard for anyone to find you, Janie. A simple Internet search would do the trick.”

She stopped and swung around to face him. “We left Mexico less than 24 hours ago. How could they get out of Mexico, find my house, and set up an ambush this fast?”

“We didn’t wipe out the Vatos Locos gang in that compound.” Taking the gang out would have meant Janie was safe. Probably. He didn’t believe the gang had targeted Janie at random, not with her brother pressuring her for money. When they settled into the safe house and she’d rested, he and Jesse would question her about other potential enemies who might want to harm her. One thing he knew. Janie was definitely a target. The hijacking wasn’t a random event. Now he had to find out why she’d been singled out. He wouldn’t rest until he had.

She paled. “You’re telling me there could be more members of the gang?”

“Yes, ma’am. They’re 10,000 strong in Mexico, Central America, the US, and Canada. The men we killed have colleagues who will be glad to run you to ground and kill you if that’s their orders.”

“You’re serious?”

“I never joke about things like this. You’ll know when I’m teasing you, Janie. Your life being at stake is no laughing matter to any of us.”

She sighed. “And you have no way of knowing how long it will take to handle the problem, do you?”

“I wish.”

“You weren’t kidding about my employees being at risk?”

He shook his head, then jabbed the elevator call button. “I’ll ask Brent to assign someone to monitor the place, but I don’t know if he’ll be able to protect each person after business hours. We’re shorthanded.” Familiar story at Fortress. The boss was constantly recruiting new talent, but training them to Fortress standards took time.

“I wish I could shut down the store to protect everyone, but I haven’t been open long enough to survive financially if I do.” She stepped into the elevator with him. “Perhaps I should tell everyone to stay home and run the store myself.”

“No.”

“But Sawyer….”

“It’s not safe for you to be in the same place day after day with a set schedule. You’d be begging the gang to take you out along with your bodyguards.”

Her head whipped his direction. “You’re talking about yourself.”

“I’m not leaving your side until this is resolved or unless I know you’re in a secure place with no chance of the gang attacking you.”

“Surely Brent will deploy you and your team soon.”

“You’re our mission, Janie. We won’t deploy until you’re safe.”

“That could take a long time.”

“It’s possible.”

The elevator car came to a stop. They stepped into the garage to see the Texas Team waiting for them.

“All set?” Brody asked.

Sawyer gave a curt nod. “The safe house is fifteen minutes from my place. If we’re compromised, we’ll take Janie to my house.”

“Works for me,” Logan said. “Your place isn’t far from all our homes. We’ll be minutes away if you need backup. Brody?”

“It’s a good plan. I’m sure Brent and Zane thought about that when they suggested this safe house.” He straightened. “Let’s move. My wife is waiting for me.”

“Same,” the others said, except for Jesse.

“What about you, Jesse?” Janie asked. “Will you wife be upset with you for staying to protect me?”

“Simone and I are engaged, but she’ll be fine with a phone call or video chat with me and our dog, Goose.”

“Goose?” She smiled.

“He’s a toy poodle. His name is almost bigger than he is.”

“Smart, though,” Sawyer said. “I’m training him to be a watchdog.”

Janie’s eyebrows rose. “Seriously?”

“Don’t underestimate him. He’s a smart little dog. Goose has great instincts.”

Jesse chuckled. “We’ll introduce you to him, Janie.”

“I’m looking forward to it.”

“Let’s go.” Brody turned toward his SUV. “I’ll follow you to the safe house, Sawyer. The rest of you go on home and get some rest. Sawyer will send the watch rotation in a few hours.”

“Copy that.”

In less than a minute, the rest of the team had driven away from the garage while Sawyer was helping Janie into his vehicle. He circled the hood and climbed behind the wheel. Soon, he turned onto Harding Place and headed for the Interstate. Time to get Janie behind closed doors and let her regroup.

While she rested, Sawyer had some Internet searching to do.