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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.”