Page 20

CHAPTER 20

It only took a couple of days but he was in Texas. Just as he thought, his friends had readily agreed that being proactive in this situation was for the best. As it turned out, Annie and Frankie weren't just friends of Shaun's but they also knew the mysterious Tex who was constantly helping his team. Because of their connection, Caden gave them glowing recommendations; a good thing too, since it would appear Annie had been extremely busy since Shaun reached out to her.

"Jayce, this is Annie and her husband, Frankie. Guys, this is Jayce. He's the one looking to take out the Diego Cartel before they come after Michael."

Shaun had given him a rundown of his friends on the flight down. Frankie worked at the VA helping vets adjust to hearing loss. Based on the cochlear implant Frankie had, he was a great person for the job.

Annie, on the other hand, was attending med school after leaving the Army. Jayce respected the woman without even knowing her. She was a former Green Beret who commanded her own team. That alone was both a difficult and impressive feat.

"Michael is such a great kid. We're more than happy to help in any way we can." Annie took charge just like he expected she would.

Frankie looked content to hang back and listen.

"Shaun mentioned you already had some information for us."

"Yes," Annie answered, getting straight to the point. He preferred that. "Between the help of Tex and my father, we were able to get the main location for the Diego Cartel. My father went down with one of his friends to scout the area until you get there but the leader of the cartel, Manuel Diego, and his two top guys are all here at the moment. The locals say they spend a couple weeks a month there at a time, so as long as you move quickly, you should catch them."

Good. He would rather this was done as soon as humanly possible. He didn't want to give them time to make the connection to Michael. So far, it would seem they hadn't, but it was only a matter of time.

"Are we able to get into Mexico undetected?" he turned to Caden and asked. In addition to Shaun, Luke, Caden, and Nash had joined the trip down south. Ryker, Austin, and Dom stayed back to guard Michael and Kennedy. Oh, and to help with the remodel since Kennedy thought it would be the perfect thing to help distract both her and Michael.

"Yes,” Caden replied, “but I would prefer to keep the specifics to myself. Plausible deniability and all that."

"I don't care how I get there as long as I get in and out without any issues."

He didn't need specifics, he trusted Caden implicitly. The man had saved his ass on more than one occasion. If he said not knowing was the best course of action, then so be it.

They spent the next few hours going over a plan. When they were sure they could slip in and out of Mexico without being detected, Jayce called Kennedy to give her an update and to check up on her. It had been a while since he cared enough about a person to contact them while on an assignment, and if he were being honest with himself, he kind of liked it.