Chapter 3

Chapter Three

Derrick

"And did you enjoy yourself, Ric ?"

I hated that name. Colbie knew I hated it, too, which was exactly why he'd used it, including giving it the tiny bit of inflection he had. A subtle, not-so-subtle way of letting me know where I stood and who was in charge.

Something Colbie made sure everyone who worked for him never forgot.

"I'd be lying if I said I didn't take a certain amount of pleasure in my work."

"You're too modest. One should take pride in a task well completed, even if it is only for a… side hustle, as I believe they call it now."

"I never know with you if that's supposed to be some sort of veiled warning or not."

Even over the phone, Colbie's patient-bordering-on-condescending sigh was audible. "You wound me, Ric. I've never asked for exclusivity from any asset."

"Maybe not exclusivity, but when you need something..."

"I made that very clear from day one."

"And you never let us forget it."

Colbie ignored the gibe, instead asking, "So, where's the girl now?"

I thought back to the car ride to Oregon, handing Lindsey over to the man who'd spend the next few months molding her into the perfect sexual slave. "I've already turned her over to Devlin."

"Interesting."

I tilted my head. "How so?"

"I've noticed in some instances you seem to take additional time before pushing product upstream."

"She was ready for more formal training. I saw no reason to delay."

"Well… let's hope these new suppliers will be more stable than the Williams brothers were. As a resource, they filled a need, but their instability—especially young Marcus—left much to be desired. That said, the amount of money James Hawkins spent to have that young woman of his retrieved from Marcus, and then what he paid to have Anthony Williams killed, bordered on the obscene. I suppose I should be thanking both of the brothers for making our alliance with Dr. Hawkins as lucrative as it turned out to be." There was a short pause. "Well, if either of them was still alive, that is."

"I have a feeling working for Mr. Cane will pay out quite nicely, for as long as it lasts."

"For as long as it lasts," Colbie replied thoughtfully. "An accurate if not exactly ringing endorsement for the longevity of such enterprises."

I shrugged. "High risk, high reward ventures rarely go on forever."

"True, and yet here you are, Ric, how many years later?"

"I could say the same of you, Colbie."

"Eh. Being a civil servant is the least risky employment option of all."

"Civil servant," I replied with a chuckle. "Is that how you see yourself?"

"I mean, I do have a CAC card, and I fall under the GS pay-grade scale."

"Sure. Whatever helps you sleep at night."

The line went silent for a few seconds until Colbie continued in a dry tone. "At any rate, discussing our age and employment status is not why I called."

"I assumed not."

"I have an op for you."

"Color me surprised. Who do you want taken?"

"No one, actually."

I raised my eyebrow. "No one? Okay, what then?"

"I need you," he replied impassively, "to go torture a young woman whose father has strayed from the fold. Provide him a reminder of the consequences of thinking he can have it both ways."

Now I narrowed my eyes. "Why me?"

"Why not you?"

"Much as I love playing these word games," I grumbled, "isn't this something more suited to Trey and his team?"

"While this is exactly what they excel at, unfortunately they're indisposed at the moment," he answered with a sigh.

"So, wait until they aren't."

"Bold of you to think you know the timeline of my needs better than I."

"Okay, if Trey isn't available, don't you have another of your little obsidian ops squads that can handle this?"

"Again, bold of you to assume I haven't already considered all my options," he said drily.

"Well, I suggest taking a second look. This sort of thing isn't in my wheelhouse. I'll pass."

"Ric, this isn't the first time you've done something like this. While I'm cognizant your preference of late has trended toward abduction, I've not forgotten your exemplary work with a certain Ms. Wilkerson, nor Olivia Caen."

Fuck . "That was a long time ago. I don't do torture now."

"Please." Colbie snorted. "You're a sadist. You've simply redirected your cruelty in a different direction and tailored it accordingly. I'm well aware of the methods you employ in your current iteration."

God, he wasn't giving up on this . "Still not interested. Pass."

For the first time in the call, irritation crept into his voice. "Ah, my apologies, I've been remiss and given you the impression I'm asking. Please pardon my lack of clarity."

Well… shit . "Seriously?"

"I grow tired of this portion of our conversation. Consider it finished."

Shit, shit, shit. I really didn't want this assignment, but it was becoming clearer by the moment Colbie was going to foist it on me whether I liked it or not.

"Okay, Colbie, who's the target?"

"Are you at your work computer?"

"I am."

"I'm sending you a dossier. Let me know when you have it."

The Toolbox—a large, chunky gray computer tower the CIA had supplied me to use strictly for my business with Colbie—whirred to life. A few seconds later, a prompt flashed on my monitor, and as per protocol, I unplugged the ethernet cable from the back of the workstation.

"You have it?" he asked as a folder appeared on my desktop.

"Yes," I murmured, clicking it open.

"I'll give you a few minutes."

I used the time to scan the files he'd sent. Skimming through the written data, I searched for keywords and phrases to uncover the gist of what this op was about. It didn't take long to determine most of it focused on one person.

"Wait… Delgado? Antonio Delgado. Of the Delgado family?"

"One and the same."

I blew out a soft whistle. "That's a big family to cross."

"We're not crossing them," Colbie corrected. "We're working with them. This has already been vetted at the highest level inside the family. Antonio Delgado has chosen to try and play both ends against the middle between us, his own familia , and the Sinacola cartel. Rather than remove him outright, an agreement has been reached to provide him some… guidance. Motivation to help him see the error of his ways."

"And that would be?"

"Sonja Delgado."

I searched quickly through the file until I found her name. "His daughter."

"Yes. Intelligent young woman, quite fetching, I might add. Chemistry major at the University of California, Davis, less than a year and a half to go before she graduates. I see a potentially bright future ahead of her at DARPA or perhaps even the CIA."

"After you've had her tortured to send a message to her father."

Colbie gave a quiet huff. "She'll never know the source behind what's going to happen to her, nor will her father."

"And you call me a sadist," I mumbled.

"It's valuable in our trade to have multiple skill sets to draw upon."

I took a longer look at the contents of the folder this time. There were several pictures of Antonio Delgado, plus an equal number of his daughter. Some were of each of them alone, a few with them together. Colbie was right; Sonja Delgado was a very alluring young woman, black-haired and sienna-skinned like her father, and equally as attractive as he was handsome.

There was another picture in the folder, too, separate from the rest. It showed a group of people, but only one of them was circled. A young woman who was not Sonja Delgado. Sandy-blonde hair, gray eyes almost blue, a freckled face turned slightly to the left… I took in all those things, but it wasn't her physical features that held my attention. There was no questioning she was attractive, but what kept me focused on her was her stance, where she was looking. While the other people in the picture gazed forward toward the lens, her face was turned toward an older man at the edge of the group. He was tall, with graying beard and temples, distinguished-looking in a professorial way. The way she was looking at him, though; that was what I keyed in on. Where everyone else was concentrating on the camera, her gaze was fixed on him, the tiniest trace of a smile curling up the corners of her lips.

"This other girl…"

"Aubrey Taryn."

"Who's she?"

"A friend of the daughter's from school. She's staying at their home over break. When Mr. Delgado leaves for the weekend, she'll remain behind with Sonja."

"So, I'll have two of them to contend with."

"Are you really going to suggest you can't deal with two twenty-three-year-old women at the same time?"

"Did I say that? I simply stated a fact."

Colbie sighed. "Yes, Ric, you'll have two of them to handle."

Colbie was right; unless one of them had hidden skills I was unaware of, managing them wasn't going to be an issue. And of the two of them, Sonja Delgado was the one I should be most concerned with, considering who her father was. However, it was the second girl who continued to hold my attention.

"So, this Aubrey… is she off-limits?"

"Not at all. She's of no importance to the Agency. Consider her collateral damage, nothing more."

Collateral damage.

"And how exactly do you want this message delivered?"

"I want Mr. Delgado to believe the Sinacola cartel has found out he's been cooperating with the CIA, and that they're displeased he's chosen to do so. This displeasure must appear to originate with them rather than us. The particulars of how to accomplish that I leave in your capable hands. You know what's desired; how you go about it I leave to your discretion."

"And afterward… once I've delivered your message, is Sonja Delgado expendable?"

"No," Colbie replied firmly. "We want the message delivered, but without bloodshed to his family. I want to be perfectly clear on that."

"Okay. And Aubrey Taryn?"

"Expendable? I mean, if you feel it's the appropriate thing to do, then that's fine. She's of no value to us."

"Nooo," I shook my head, "that's where you're wrong. She's not only valuable; she's a bonus."

"A bonus?"

"Yes," I replied with a tight smile.

"And one I intend to collect on."