The Omega Team: Hot Target (Kindle Worlds Novella) (11 page)

Borrego Ranch

Camila’s wall of muscle stood around her, the woman’s
soldados
ready for a fight. Athena heard the Vice President’s men move. Dirt crunched under their boots and the metallic sound of weapons shifting in their hands made her skin crawl. Rafferty and Landry put distance between her and tensed their bodies, ready to move.

“This has cluster fuck potential. Split up. Don’t be a bullet magnet,” Rafferty muttered under his breath.

Athena knew if anyone got trigger happy, she and her men would make a tougher target if they weren’t lined up like bowling pins.
Smart.
Anything could set off the mounting and palpable friction.

She slowed her breathing and stilled her heart to a dull thump in her ears as she stared at the woman cartel boss. She didn’t want to be the first to blink as she waited to hear what Ruiz would tell Camila Borrego. Would the man back her play—a foreigner—or would Camila’s threat of violence be too much hostility for him?

“There is no need for blood here today, Camila.” Ruiz said. “Miss Madero only needs reassurance her brother isn’t with you. That is all. We are not accusing you of anything. I am only asking your cooperation, in a sign of good faith.”

Camila glared at the man as if she willed his head to catch fire. If Athena didn’t need Ruiz on her side at the moment, she might’ve considered fanning the flames.

“Very well. I can provide such assurance, but only under two conditions.” Camila fixed her eyes on Athena and her men. “Only one man will trespass on my private property to look for Rafael Madero.”

The woman pointed to Sam Rafferty and said, “That one. Only him.”

Rafferty glanced to Landry and smirked.

“Don’t feel bad. I’m just havin’ a good hair day,” he whispered.

Landry rolled his eyes, but the tension never left his face.

“What else?” Ruiz asked. “What’s your other condition?”

“I want time alone with Athena Madero. Woman to woman.”

Before Ruiz could object, Athena spoke up.

“Agreed.” She nodded and said to Rafferty, “Search every square inch on her order.”

“Yes, ma’am.”

Camila gave the nod and Rafferty humped it through the front door. The woman cartel boss waved her hand at two of her men and they followed Sam, to make sure he didn’t take a detour.

“Come and join me.” Camila swept an arm toward Athena and welcomed her to enter her home. “We shall speak openly, so we understand one another.”

Athena tensed her jaw and glanced over her shoulder at Esteban Ruiz. The man did not look happy.

***

Inside the spacious fortress of Camila Borrego, Athena followed the woman to a drawing room near the foyer. A tasteful chandelier of dripping crystal hung from the center of the round room and added a feminine touch of bling. A massive stacked rock surround fireplace with a raised hearth of travertine stone anchored one side of a room of white furnishings with glass accents—an unusual blend of contemporary with traditional elements of texture.

Apparently the drug trade had its perks.

True to Camila’s word, they were alone. The cartel boss had dismissed her men and offered her a seat.

After Athena chose a plush chair, the woman stepped toward a small bar and opened a fresh bottle of white wine. From the stern look on Camila’s face, Athena knew there would be no small talk.

“After I met your brother Rafael the other night, something about him stayed with me.” Camila poured her a glass of wine, but Athena declined with a shake of her head. “His name. I had heard his name before, but I had forgotten. It had been many years.”

The woman stared at Athena as she took a long sip.

“My father told me your brother killed my cousin Mateo in Chicago. He paid informants to acquire your brother’s name and his address. Nothing was beyond my father’s reach, his legacy to me now.” Camila set down her glass. “Rafael is a marksman with a rifle. A sniper.”

“He was doing his duty, under orders. Your cousin killed a grandfather and was holding a five-year old boy hostage with a gun to his head. He held others, too. Lives were in danger. Rafe did what he had to do, what he was ordered to do.”

“He killed a twenty-year-old boy. Mateo did what he did because he was scared,” Camila yelled until the veins in her neck pulsed with her blood.

“He was stoned out of his mind on meth. I read the police reports.”

“Oh, and I suppose the police in your country, they do not lie, is that it?” Camila stood and paced behind her chair.

“So where does that leave us?” Athena stood and matched her stance. “Your father killed Rafael’s wife and baby girl. He had his man carve into their bodies, the sign of
your
cartel.” She pointed a finger at Camila.

Athena felt heat rush to her cheeks. Her rage, against the injustice her brother had endured, was never far from the surface.

Camila winced but did not speak.

“Haven’t we all suffered enough?” Athena asked. “When will the killing stop?”

The woman cartel boss leaned against the back of her chair, resting her elbows as she considered what to say.

“If I find that your brother had anything to do with the murder of my father, if any evidence ties to him, this will not be over. I promise you. I will finish what my father started. I won’t kill Rafael. That would be too easy. I will slaughter anyone he ever knew or loved. Do we understand one another?”

Athena struggled for her next breath and it took all her strength to keep the emotion off her face.

“Yes, yes we do.”

Athena knew in that instant that she could never reveal what she’d found on the shell casing. The bullet taken from the body of Hector Borrego would have to be lost, for good. Anything that could tie Rafael to the murder of Hector Borrego would have to be destroyed, or else Camila would not stop her rampage and innocent people would continue to die.

She would have to doctor the report she would file with Esteban Ruiz and hope he didn’t know the facts better than she did. If he knew the truth, the merciless killings would start again. Her decision wasn’t to save Rafael, alone.

Athena would have to sacrifice the ethical foundation she and Grey had built the Omega Team upon—to stop Camila.

Yes, she understood everything.

At the sound of boots bounding down the staircase in the hall, Athena looked to the open door and saw Rafferty. She knew by the expression on his face that he hadn’t found her brother. He shook his head and waited by the door for her to finish.

“Thank you for your courtesy. I will leave you…in peace.” Athena turned her back on her enemy and left the hacienda with Rafferty at her side.

She had no idea where to look for Rafael—but she wouldn’t leave Cuba without him.

***

Athena walked out of the Borrego estate with Rafferty. Camila followed, but kept her distance. She had nothing more to say and nudged her head to her men to stand down. The crisis had been averted, for now.

Ruiz furrowed his brow and waited for her by his vehicle.

“I take it Rafael is not here?” the man asked and shifted his gaze to Rafferty, who shook his head.

“No. He’s not here,” Athena said. “Where else can we look for him?”

Athena didn’t know why she trusted Camila not to lie to her about kidnapping her brother. A gut instinct. The woman didn’t strike her as someone who would play games. If she wanted Rafe dead, she would have done it and signed her work with a knife.

That thought made Athena sick.

“There’s been a development while we were searching for your brother.” Ruiz looked concerned, but before Athena could ask what he meant, a phone rang.

Victor Torres, Ruiz’s second in command, took the call after he saw the number displayed. It must’ve been urgent to interrupt his boss. With a somber face, the man listened and barely spoke. He rushed to Ruiz and leaned into his ear, whispering.

“Survivors?” Ruiz asked his man.

Torres only shook his head, no.

Ruiz raised his chin and took a deep breath before he spoke. Athena held her breath waiting for him to tell her what had just happened.

“We must go. Now.” He grabbed Athena’s arm and rushed her to his armored limo.

“Why? What’s happening?” Athena asked.

“The San Ignacio cartel abducted your brother.” Ruiz shoved her into the backseat, surrounded by his men to cover them.

“What?” she asked. “How?”

“My men found witnesses who said he was taken off the streets in downtown Havana. By the descriptions, we confirmed his abductors were from this rival cartel. I warned you it was not safe, but you and your brother ignored me. These men, they do not need a reason to abduct wealthy Americans.”

When they were alone in the backseat, Ruiz hit a button to give them privacy from his driver.

“Your brother was being held at a small rancho, west of Havana. My men got an anonymous tip and raided the residence, but they found the men butchered in a barn. The bodies carried the mark, the Borrego brand carved into the skin. Camila got to them first. I don’t know how she found out where your brother was.”

“That doesn’t make any sense. Why would she threaten to—” She stopped before she told Ruiz anything of the private conversation she’d had with Camila.

“She threatened you? In what way?” he asked. When she didn’t answer, he said, “Maybe the San Ignacio cartel thought they could extort more money from her to hand him over. Either way, it seems obvious Rafael was a pawn in all this. Do you have any idea why?”

A pawn, yes, but who had the most to gain?

She couldn’t breathe, or think clearly.
Rafael, what happened to him?

“When you asked your man if there were any survivors—” Athena’s eyes burned and a lump wedged tight in her throat. “Torres shook his head, no. Did your men find Rafael? Is he—?”

She couldn’t say it.

“No survivors.
Lo siento
.” Ruiz couldn’t look her in the eye.

“Oh, God.” She made the sign of the cross and fought to stay in control.

“You need to leave the country now. Have your young computer analyst pack your things at the hotel or I can ship them to you. I will have someone pick Miss Lyles up. She can meet you on the tarmac.”

Stern-faced, Ruiz fixed his gaze on her.

“If Camila Borrego has started a war with the San Ignacio cartel, it will be brutal. No one will be safe,” he said. “I have my private plane ready for you at the airport. You must leave immediately. Whatever your findings in the Hector Borrego investigation—from the autopsy to any ballistics evidence—you can send me your report when you can.
Entiendes?
”

Athena nodded, unable to argue. The limousine jostled over the dirt road, kicking up rocks and gravel into its undercarriage, as they headed for Havana.

“My brother’s body. I need to—”

“I understand. I will see to it.” The man promised.

Athena had no intention of leaving without Rafael’s body. As his only sister, it felt wrong, but she had the safety of her team to consider. If Rafe had somehow been in the middle of this burgeoning drug war, her team could be targeted in retaliation.

“No. I will stay. My team can go home. I will not leave without my brother.”

She’d made up her mind and Ruiz didn’t argue. Without another word, she stared out the window of the limo and watched the dying light of day. When she shut her eyes, tears streamed down her face and her mind filled with memories of Rafael.

She had desperately wanted to save him. It crushed her that would never happen now.

***

José Martí International Airport

Evening

The limousine drove past the well-lit industrial-looking airport, with its supporting steel girders and intersecting trusses, and remained on the shadowy two-lane road that led to a guarded gate and a private hangar. The Caribbean trade winds buffeted the side panels of the limo, making an eerie bellow inside the vehicle.

The driver parked on the tarmac near the plane Ruiz had promised. Athena opened the passenger door and it took all her strength to pull off her tactical gear and toss it into the trunk. She had a weight in the pit of her stomach.

When she saw Rafferty and Landry standing near the vehicle of Victor Torres, she steadied her nerves. She had to tell them about Rafael and dreaded saying the words that would make his death real, but by the looks on her men’s faces, they must’ve already known.

Torres had told them.

Rafferty didn’t bother with formalities. He hugged her and it felt good to be wrapped in his strong arms. It felt as if Grey were holding her.

“You need anything, I’m your guy,” Rafferty said.

“What he said,” Landry kissed her cheek and touched her arms with affection. “Does Jacquie know? She’s heading over here.” He nudged Rafferty and said, “Let’s beat it, give them privacy.”