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Excelente. I’d have easily paid twice his original amount.
“Jefe,” Armondo leaned in close, “it would seem Nicole’s boyfriend has information that goes back only ten years. Then nada.” He raised a brow, and my blood boiled.
What game was Nicole playing?
“Get the car. We leave tonight.”
EIGHTEEN
PAUL
I smeared the last of the camouflage paint on my face, and the rest of the guys did the same. Concealing our identities had become a necessary part of every mission. It made everything more difficult, but gone were the good old days when the internet was dial-up and social media hadn’t been thought of.
Nicole strapped her GoPro to her chest and inched toward the door of the SUV we had borrowed. We couldn’t risk being followed again.
“You’re documenting this?” I checked the clip of my gun.
“Of course. Do you know how much is missed by the human eye? Besides, if something big happens, I have my next story.” She hopped out. I wasn’t sure how I felt about that.
“Hey,” I stepped closer and folded my arms across my bulletproof vest, “stay behind me, keep your head on a swivel, and if I tell you stay back, stay back.”
“I know.” She rolled her eyes as she pushed in the earpiece we gave her. “I told you before, this isn’t my first rodeo.” At my warning look, she made a face. “Paul, I’ve worked with soldiers before.”
“Maybe, but you haven’t worked with Blackstone.”
“Hate to break it to ya, Ace, but I’ve worked with some pretty elite teams. I promise I got this.” She smiled at me then raised her fingers and ran them down my painted neck then stroked them across the tops of her cheeks, smearing the paint across her own face. “Hooah!”
“Hooah,” I muttered as she left to join Mark.
Cole came up next to me. “No one would fault you if you wanted to hang back.” I shot him a crazed look. He chuckled lightly. “I figured. Remember, comb through everything?—”
“Because somewhere there’s something to point you in a direction.” I slapped his shoulder. “I got this, brother, I promise.”
“I know you do.” He walked with me over to the others. “All right, boys,” Nicole cleared her throat, “and girls,” he acknowledged her. “We all know what our jobs are. Let’s get in and out in under ten minutes. The moment we enter the property, start your watches. If anything goes wrong and we get separated, we know where to meet up. Copy?”
“Copy,” we all said in unison.
He signaled for us to approach the place, and we spread out with our rifles raised and eyes constantly scanning the area.
John and I took the side entrance while Mark and Cole took the driveway, and Keith and Mike took the back yard. Nicole was behind John, and I gave him a nod that we were clear to enter. She tapped his arm to signal she was ready. I bent low and moved across the straw-like grass then pressed my back flush to the house. The others followed, and once they were with me, I tried the handle and felt it was locked. I used my shoulder and carefully broke the lock from the wall.
We moved inside, and after a quick glance around the house, I felt as though I’d stepped back in time. Talya’s face was in several of the photos that lined the wall. It was like a kick to the heart. I hadn’t had time to process her death, and I knew that would have to be dealt with at some point. I stopped short, and John ran into me. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw him follow my line of sight to the baby photo of my son. It suddenly dawned on me how much I’d missed. If only the circumstances had been different. It was hard to drag my eyes away.
“What a cutie,” Nicole whispered behind us. I snapped out of it and shoved my sorrow down as I moved deeper into the house. It appeared they’d left in a hurry. There was a half glass of juice on the counter, along with a baby bowl and spoon in the sink. Diapers were scattered by the back door, and a tiny sock lay on the floor in the corner. That tiny sock got under my skin like a punch to the gut.
Then I smelled her, and my body locked in place as I searched for the source. A familiar sweater hung on a peg next to me. I picked it up and held it close to my face so I could drink in her scent. I closed my eyes and fought all the memories it unlocked inside my head. When I opened them again, I saw Nicole watching me, and I quickly tossed it aside and moved on.
“All clear in the bedrooms,” Cole said softly through the radio. “Moving toward you guys.”
As I turned to exit the kitchen, I caught sight of a photo propped against the windowsill above the sink. I picked it up and studied it carefully. It was of Talya, and she held my son. Her face looked a little fuller, and there was a small, raised scar along her jawline that hadn’t been there when I knew her. She had tiny lines at the corners of her beautiful brown eyes. I moved my attention to my son, and a lump built in my throat.
Nicole was suddenly by my side. “That had to be taken this month. Look at the newspaper.” She pointed to the background. “That story was printed only a few weeks ago.”
Well, shit, she was right.
The photo had been taken in the room where we stood, so I turned and looked to see where she’d been standing. I stood in front of the wall by the back door and held the photo up as if I were taking it myself. Then I lowered it, moved it up again, then lowered it again.
Nicole’s voice came from behind me. “What do you see?”