Chapter 17

After hours of stress, Nyx wanted to relax on the return drive to the hacienda—at least for a few minutes. Her brain, though, continued to spin. She'd been superfluous, a completely unnecessary arm accessory, so why had Julián dragged her to Trujillo?

She wanted to ask him, but she needed to wait until he put his phone down. He'd been messaging since they got in the limo.

They'd attended strictly to see the president. Shortly afterward, the car had been brought around, and they'd left. Soft lights were on in the back of the limo. The two bodyguards sat silent and alert.

There was a pause in the texting. "I was wondering," she began, trying to sound deferential, "why you needed me to attend your meeting tonight? I didn't even speak to the president."

The drug lord appeared resigned when he looked at her. "If I approached President Cardozo without you, he wouldn't have believed any claim I made about the treasure."

"But I didn't say anything, and he didn't ask for details. Why would he believe you about the Treasure of Trujillo simply because I was with you tonight? I would think he'd be just as skeptical."

Julián tucked his phone into his tuxedo jacket. "He didn't believe me because you were along. He's going to do an investigation. He will learn you work for the Paladin League."

"I could be in Trujillo for a thousand different artifacts."

"Do you think your foundation is airtight? That there are no leaks? He'll be able to learn exactly why you're here. It might take him a few phone calls, but eventually he or one of his men will find the right contact."

They had a mole at the Paladin League? Why? Who cared about a small nonprofit? She itched to phone Archer and let him know someone in his organization was betraying them, but Nyx had to save that for later. "I know I'm missing something," she said. "The Paladin League's presence in Trujillo—even if it is for the treasure—shouldn't convince anyone that it will be located, especially not Cardozo. He didn't rise to his position by trusting slim evidence."

Julián shrugged, the motion smooth, unconcerned. "It doesn't matter if he has doubts. He merely needs to believe there's a chance the treasure will be found."

Nyx considered that for a moment, then started to connect the dots. "Because he only needs to get those weapons to Puerto Jardin. Once they're in the country, your organization—or the man Charlie is supposed to work with, Torres—can get hold of them. Security in the United States would be harder to overcome."

"And there's the problem of smuggling them out."

"Why didn't you just give Cardozo my name and leave me on the estate?"

He stared at her as if she were a failing student.

It irritated her enough to cycle through ideas. One stuck. "It makes it appear," Nyx said slowly, "as if I'm working with you. That I'll betray the Paladin League for whatever you're giving me. That bolsters your claim that you'll have the treasure because why would I risk my job if I didn't believe we'd find the cache?"

"The perception will help overcome the holes in the story. Cardozo's greed will do the rest."

"You don't like the president." The expression on Julián's face had her swallowing hard. She'd inadvertently poked something.

"Once, I was a member of the presidential brigade. My unit was the elite of the elite. It was the beginning of Cardozo's presidency. We believed he was trying to clean up the corruption, and that we were helping. Then we learned the truth."

His voice was flat, but something about it raised goosebumps on her arms. "He was using you to get rid of his opposition, anyone who might make things difficult for him." It was a guess. The anger on the drug lord's face told her it was accurate.

"When we began to suspect the truth, we became dangerous to him. My wife and daughter were in our car, waiting for me. I pressed the auto start as I walked toward the vehicle. It exploded. My family died. I was left with this souvenir." Julián ran his finger across the ragged scar on his cheek. "So no, I do not like Cardozo."

The idea was horrifying, and in Puerto Jardin, all too believable. "He doesn't remember who you are," Nyx said as realization hit her.

"My unit—we weren't people to him. We were tools."

"You could have joined the revolution to overthrow his regime."

Julián shook his head. "The rebels won't succeed, and I no longer champion impossible causes."

Nyx's hands were clenched, her stomach tight. She could feel the man's pain over the deaths of his wife and child. Julián might never move past the grief.

"The rebels have held their own for more than ten years," Nyx argued.

Leaning back in his seat, the drug lord said, "The rebels were lucky enough to have supporters who were willing to bankroll mercenaries for them."

"To match the government's army and their mercenaries."

The drug lord made a careless gesture with his hand. "The rebels had a large group splinter off, and Ramirez cares nothing for the cause . Only money. As more of them realize they can't win, their army will fracture more. Next will be infighting among the insurgents. Then it will all be over."

"You don't like Ramirez, either."

Julián didn't hide his disdain. "Ramirez is trying to usurp my territory. We've had interactions."

"You mean skirmishes."

He shrugged. "We're negotiating a truce now. If it fails…" Julián let his voice trail off, but Nyx could fill in the rest. For the sake of the people who lived in this part of the country, she'd hope they reached détente.

Case remained hidden in the shadows between the main house and the guest house. The hacienda was large, and he needed to move slowly to avoid being recaptured. Even though it had taken more time than he wanted to spend, he'd checked every room, including the drug lord's personal suite.

Nyx wasn't there.

She wasn't in the casita either. She wasn't on the property.

Where in the hell did Vargas take her and why? Fuck, he didn't like this. He needed to find Oz. That meant another search. A more dangerous one.

Oz said he always got the worst assignments from Vargas. What was worse than working the night shift?

Patrolling the grounds or manning the wall? Case didn't have to think about it long. Someone assigned to patrol would be bored shitless. The odds of anyone making it past the wall had to be low, which meant all they were doing was walking around. Checking the wall and checking the men patrolling the grounds was definitely high risk, but he wasn't leaving his Fireball hung out to dry, and that meant taking a few chances.

He found Oz on the south side of the hacienda. Staying hidden in the shadows close to the house, Case made a clicking sound. One of the team's signals.

Oz's hand gesture looked casual, but it told Case that his teammate had heard and would make his way over as soon as he could. It took a while.

"You're lucky you found me," Oz said, voice low. "Not only was I locked out of the compound until this morning, but my patrol is nearly over. Ten more minutes, and I'd be manning Gate Three."

"Did Vargas leave tonight?" The words came out more urgently than he'd planned.

"Yeah," Oz said, dragging out the word. "He left before sunset in a stretch limo. Why?"

"Did he have a woman with him? A sexy brunette in a red dress?"

With a smirk, the Wizard said, "Yes, he did. Your sexy brunette?" Case was trying to come up with how to answer, when Oz added, "Or do I have a shot with her?"

"Keep your hands off."

Oz's grin told Case he'd been played. "BD isn't going to like this."

Yeah, he knew that. "BD doesn't have much ground left to stand on."

"True that." Oz sobered. "Is she the missing archaeologist?"

"Geoarchaeologist," he corrected, not surprised Oz knew about her. "Why did the boss take her off the grounds?"

His teammate went quiet and sank deeper into the shadows. A guard passed by but didn't glance in their direction. When it was safe to whisper again, Oz said, "I heard some dinner party in Trujillo. I don't have any more details than that."

"They're coming back after this party, right?"

"As far as I know. Don't ask me what time."

Since Case had been about to do that, he went to his next question. "Any chance I can get a diversion to get her off this property?"

"BD has been waiting for you to get word to him. I'll let him know you're ready to move."

That meant it wouldn't be tonight. Probably tomorrow. Maybe even the day after. He'd need to return to the room and being a prisoner. And do something about the guard he'd tied up. It wasn't as if he could hide him indefinitely. "Oz?"

"What?"

"I have an issue. Any ideas how I can?—"

Shouting. Men moving. "Someone's approaching the gate," Oz said. "You better get back to the suite. I'm betting that's the boss. I'll get word to you when BD is ready to roll."

When he was back in the rooms, Case checked on the guard. Still out cold, trussed up behind the sofa in the sitting room. He returned to the bedroom and tucked the backpack and the assault rifle behind one of the nightstands. He was slouched on the bed, pretending to doze, when the door to the suite opened and Nyx was brought in. He sat up, but no one spoke to him. He stayed where he was until the men left.

Case crossed to Nyx, scanning her from head to toe. "Are you okay?" he asked when he reached her, his hands gently cupping her shoulders.

"I'm fine." She wrapped her arms around his waist and held on tightly.

Biding his time, Case waited until her hold lessened. "Is it okay to ask what happened?"

He felt her nod against his chest. "It's about those rifles, the same ones Julián wants you to get for him."

Case went still. "Julián?"

"Se?or Vargas wanted me to call him by his first name."

"Did he touch you?"

She shook her head. "No, nothing like that happened. I was only along to further his goal. The M4 replacement."

"How did your presence help that?" He didn't worry about bugs. The curiosity would be natural. In fact, it would be considered strange if he didn't ask.

"We met President Cardozo at a dinner party in Trujillo. Vargas offered the man the treasure in exchange for ten to fifteen thousand of the weapons."

Case tipped Nyx's face up to his. "He did what?"

"I know. I was stunned."

"I'm going to need you to tell me everything that?—"

An alarm sounded outside, stopping him mid-sentence. Case let go of Nyx and went to the windows. He didn't know what was going on, but men were running, and in the distance, the guards were streaming out of the barracks. With weapons. This wasn't good.

Gunfire punctuated the thought.

Case grabbed the backpack, tugged it open, and tossed her clothes at Nyx. "Hurry up and change." He reached for his rifle.

He expected her to go to the bathroom. Instead, Nyx turned her back to him and said, "Tug down my zipper, please."

More gunfire. A lot more.

As soon as he had the zipper down, she stripped out of her dress and heels and dressed in her normal clothes, right down to her baseball cap in maybe a minute. "I'm ready." Nyx reached for the pack and shrugged it on.

Damn, he liked this woman. She knew it was go time without him saying a word. "I can carry the pack."

"No. If someone attacks, you might need to aim your weapon in a hurry. I can handle it."

The shooting was happening near the rear of the compound. That meant they were going out on a different side. Case turned out the lights in the suite. "Follow me," he said. He went over the railing, caught her legs as she dangled, and helped Nyx to the ground.

It was only as they moved farther along the side of the hacienda that Case got a good look at exactly what was going on. Armed men were coming over the wall.

It wasn't his team.

He needed to get Nyx out. Now.