Page 6 of The True Garza

“We have a contract for you.”

“No.” For fuck’s sake. He and everyone else knows I’m done with this life.Done. Not after losing an agent. Not after losing my father. Not after losing mylife.

“Hear me out,” he says. “Please.”

“Nope.”

“It’s low risk. Easy. Fast money. And I know you’re low on funds now.”

Charles blocks the door when I try to leave, bulky arms crossed over his chest. I glower at him.

“It’s not homicide, Lonny. You’ll be undercover,” Uncle Walter goes on. “For you, this will be a walk in the park.”

Blocked from leaving, I whip back around. “How is beingundercovereverlow risk?”

He gestures. “Just have a seat and listen for a second.”

I glance at Brady who just shrugs. Then over my shoulder at Charles, still blocking the door. There’s no getting out of here without getting physical. Uncle Walter has a way of getting whatever he wants. And I knew that, I damn wellknewit, yet I walked right in here of my own free will. Serves me right.

Begrudgingly, I sit. “I’m listening.”

“About two years ago, we worked with the feds to take down a major human trafficking operation,” he starts. “Things were quiet for a while. But you know how it is, chop one head off and another grows in its place. There’s a new player now. But he’s playing it smarter, quieter. His operation is small, but growing. We want to take him down before he gets any bigger, spreads. That’s where you come in.”

I arch a brow but save my words, cross my arms, and wait for him to explain.

“I would have preferred to handle this ourselves, but the orders came down from the top. They want one agent—you—to work with RCI on this. RCI worked with the lead federal agent on the last case, and it appears they’ve got some kind of trusted partnership now.”

“RCI?”

“Red Cage Commando Security and Investigations.”

“There’s a Red Cage here? I only know of the one in Denver. They’re kind of untouchable.”

“Yes, the main headquarters are here in LA. We have a good relationship with them, but, truthfully, I don’t like them,” Uncle Walter says in a disgruntled tone. “They’re a bunch of cocky sons of bitches who think they can do our jobs better than us.”

I smirk. “Can they?”

He gives me an irritated look. “They can get shit done faster because they don’t have to follow protocols and can break the law if needed without any real consequences. That doesn’t mean they’re better.”

Like me?“Sounds fun. You know if they’re hiring?”

From behind me, Charles smacks the back of my head.

“You’re gonna pay for that,” I tell him. “Anyway, what’s the undercover part on this?”

“You’re the bait.”

Huh?“I don’t follow.”

“The plan is to try to sell you to him.”

This makes me guffaw. Hard and heartily. “Last I checked, human traffickers snatched teenagers and twenty-somethings. Not washed up thirty-two-year-old women.”

“You look twenty-five, Lonny. We’ve got no one else here who could pull this off.”

I stare at him like he’s lost his mind. “You’re serious about this?”

He leans back in his chair. “It’s no action. Low risk. Good money. You just need to look pretty, young and naive, smile a lot, and be someone’s fake girlfriend.”