Page 61 of Lethal Vengeance

Everything stops.

“What is it?” Zane practically growls, his body tense while he waits for us to answer.

“He took Raider,” Cruz calls out. “There’s a video. I don’t recognize the location.”

Zane stalks over with Sterling on his heels. “Let me see.” He holds out his hand and I place the phone in it.

The three of them watch it several times. I can’t bear to see it more than once. Damn it. I knew something like this was going to happen. How the hell do we find him before tomorrow?

Zane hands the phone to Sterling. “Run a location trace on the message and video. Maybe we’ll get lucky.” He turns to the rest of the room. “We have good news and bad news.”

“First, the bad. Our inside man has been taken. We need to figure out a retrieval plan,” he informs them. When they start shouting questions, he holds up his hand. “Second, the good news. Quinn has been invited to a celebration at Armando’s home tomorrow. With his full attention on the party, it gives us the perfect opportunity to attack. We’re pushing everything back a day and shifting the timeline a bit.”

A short, stocky man steps forward. “What time?”

“Event starts at…” Zane pauses to look at the phone. “Seven p.m.”

The man writes it down. “I’ll get started on revising the timeline. You concentrate on finding Raider.”

“Thanks, Thomas,” Zane replies, anger making his voice harsh. “Options.” He looks at Cruz and me.

Trading myself wouldn’t do any good. For some reason, Armando is obsessed with this event.

“We could pick up Rodrigo or Hugo, see if they know where the video was taken,” I suggest. “Although I’m not sure where either of them live, I have Rodrigo’s number and could arrange a meeting.”

Zane and Cruz grimace. “We have a small window. I’m not sure Rodrigo would break quickly enough. What do you know about Hugo?”

“The man can punch,” I state dryly, rubbing my stomach. “Other than that, nothing.”

Zane scowls and shares a look with Cruz, who nods.

Running a hand across his shaved head, Zane scans the room. “Margot, do you have a second?”

The young woman nods and walks over.

“Do you have any information on one of Armando’s men named Hugo?” he asks her.

“No, but I might be able to get the info. Just a sec,” she replies, holding up her phone. She dials a number.

“Hello, Captain. Do you miss me?” Her mouth twitches as she listens to him. “Of course, I need something. A piece of information. A thousand. What do you know about Hugo?”

She listens quietly for a minute. “You expect me to believe you only know his name? Weren’t you a first sergeant on the police force?” A golden eyebrow raises. “I see. I’ll call one of my other contacts. I’m sure they want the money.”

With a tap, she hangs up. “One, two, three…”

The phone rings. “Hello? Captain. That’s wonderful. Same account? I’ll pay once the information is verified. Always a pleasure doing business.”

She quickly types something into her phone, then holds it up. “His name and address. It’s all I could get out of the captain. This man, Hugo, must be high in the ranks and bad news.”

Cruz snaps a picture. “Sterling, address coming your way. Need some intel.”

“Thank you,” Zane says. He motions for us to follow him over to Sterling’s computer.

I grab Margot’s hand when we pass. “Come on. I know you’re dying to know whether it’s accurate or not.”

A surprised expression crosses her face, but it’s gone in a microsecond. “Thank you.” With her chin raised, she follows.

“Address is a house in Monterrey. Nice neighborhood. Owned by Hugo Ramirez. Bought it ten years ago. Let’s see if we get any hits on him,” Sterling says, pulling up a new screen and entering the info.