Page 36 of Wayward (Wrecked #4)
Prime the Engine
Dante
“ S kills? Who the hell are you, Liam Neeson? This isn’t a fucking movie.” I step up to him. I don’t fucking care that he has a gun. He could have a machine gun pointed at my head. I’ve had enough.
“Dante Jones.” Nolan shakes his head. “I’m not an idiot. I’ve told the police. But since my sister vanished and withdrew from school without evidence of foul play and she’s an adult, the French police say there’s nothing they can do.”
I glare at the douche bag. I’m not changing my opinion of him now. He shot at Zane. He’s a damn talented actor if his wall of evidence is true. “I don’t care how good of an actor you are. You don’t have skills.”
“Eight years as a SEAL, four in spec ops. I’ve been in two wars that you don’t even know about.
I’ve got skills.” His green eyes peer at me, then he turns to Sam.
Fuck I thought he was like twenty something.
But looking at him now, I can see he’s well over thirty.
“I joined up with Ed’s team undercover. I had to do a ton of digging, but I found Ed’s men.
I worked my way in through some contacts and joined Ed’s guys.
I was with them for eight months. He’s into a lot of shit: drugs, money laundering, and human trafficking.
The crew he uses for trafficking is the most senior.
I wasn’t making any headway. I had to move.
The teams on both sides are fucking loyal and close-mouthed.
It’s what keeps both the Zambranos safe. Keeps their men safe too.”
He sinks onto the edge of the sofa. He’s still looking at the picture of his sister Keira—while his other hand is running over Penny’s ears. She’s got her head in his lap. Good thing she doesn’t work for Ed’s crew. She jumps sides with a scratch behind her ears.
Nolan tosses the picture on the table. “I heard the Rosewood had a trafficking locker, and since the younger Z’s been hanging out on it, it made the most sense.
What I didn’t realize was that there’s quite the rift between the two crews.
It’s a divide the elder Zambrano’s men don’t know about, but Thayer’s men?
Fuck, they hate the other crew. They weren’t going to ever tell me anything. ”
“So that’s why you busted us out?”
“No, I know a couple of guys in Ed’s crew who were more sociable than the others. They never told me anything useful, but we’d chat about football and shit. They’re doing a fantasy football league and told me they were going to be at the chateau later today. But not to let it slip.”
“You blew your cover to save us?” Haley sits on the other end of the sofa.
“Yes. I can’t be responsible for the deaths of six people to save one. One that might already be dead.” He picks up the picture again.
“Let’s go to the police now,” I say, glaring down at him. I know I’ve got that damn folder of Ed’s in my backpack. Zane moves to get it from where I dropped it near the door.
“No.” Nolan continues to pet Penny’s ears like that’s enough explanation for the children who know nothing.
I glare at the folder. Because cool, he’s got a CSI wall and a lot of facts. But I don’t need to believe everything he says. I shake my head, and Zane holds the folder at his side.
“Give us a good reason we shouldn’t?” Sam asks.
“You know, Holloway is right. You all are exhausting.” He rubs a hand down his face.
“Because the elder Zambrano has friends in high places. All over the world. It’s actually more dangerous for you to drop into a police station here than in Thailand.
Paris? Fuck no. New York is even worse. I’ve got a friend, but he’s on day shift and I’d rather not call him into work and have to explain what’s going on over the phone.
We hang here until nine a.m. Sorry it’s not up to the chateau standards.
There’s a dog relief area on the roof. Up two flights.
I’m going to go get some pizzas. I’m locking you in.
Is the dog good for an hour?” Nolan stands.
“She’ll manage,” Sam says.
“Good. Don’t touch my shit.” Nolan pulls the door shut.
Calvin and Easton stare at the wall. Haley joins them, and I glare at the locked door with Zane beside me.
“Why didn’t you want him to know about the folder and the evidence we have on Ed?”
“Do you believe all of that? Do you believe all that stuff on the wall too?” I ask.
“Why would he lie? What does he get out of taking us away from the chateau?” Zane sits where Nolan was and rubs Penny’s belly.
“Maybe he’s into human trafficking. Maybe he wants to keep us here until his buyers arrive.
” I know that sounds ridiculous. But I’m still mad.
I fucking hate not being in control. I hold my hand out and take the folder from Zane and flip it open.
I drag my finger over the page until I get to the UK section and what appears to be London.
It’s mostly initials. I count the accounts.
“Nolan was right. There are twice as many names or initials for England as there are for Thailand.”
“Twice as many?” Sam asks.
“Twice as many.” I toss the folder over to Zane and walk over to the board.
There’s an entire section of Rockwell family pictures and some from their website of Harding and Rockwell.
It’s the first time I’m seeing a picture of Rocky’s partner.
He’s the same age as my uncle and has the same scale of knowing everything that my uncle has.
I have an instant disdain for him. I tap the picture.
“Are you sure that Harding doesn’t have something to do with it? ”
“I don’t think so. I’m pretty confident it’s Susan.
” Easton drops his head and snaps it back up.
“Do you remember what we saw in the paper about the Futures of Markets Forum? Good chance Rocky will be there, along with a hell of a lot of media and security. Big and splashy. That’s what we need to keep Ed and his men away.
Getting on camera that the Rock Candy’s stranding was no accident?
And that we’re back? No sneaky operative of Ed’s will have the chance to come after us. Not if we’re on the evening news.”
We’ve got some proof. “Hell, if we get to the cameras of the resort in Thailand before Zambrano’s team does, there’ll be evidence of us running out onto the dock.”
“Those tapes are long erased.” Calvin grips the back of the sofa. “But I like the idea of crashing the Futures of Markets Forum. Did you ever see where it’s going to be held, Sam?”
“The Saint Redford.”
“Swanky,” Zane says.
“How far are we from there?” Haley asks.
“It’s on the other side of town, but by the tube it takes thirty minutes.” Zane puts his arm around her shoulders.
“It starts tomorrow.” Easton crosses his arms over his chest. “We don’t know if Rocky will be there. He might videoconference in. But it doesn’t matter. We can still crash the cameras. There’s always a group of protesters outside.”
We’re spread out on the tube but all in the same car. I’m still shocked Nolan agreed to the plan. Well, he agreed after he changed almost every detail we’d worked out. But we’re on our way. It’s an amazing feeling. It feels like we’re almost free. Almost home.
Haley’s holding on to the railing in front of me.
Zane stands behind me. He’s definitely got the I’m-home swagger, the I belong here .
I can almost picture him with earbuds and a cell phone in his hand.
Even though I can feel this is almost over, I .
. . I don’t want it to be right now. It’s just us and Nolan, but in a few scant hours we’re going to be put to the test even more so than running from the Zambranos.
We’re gonna be tested by societal norms. And I fucking hate it.
I do a good job not caring. But I know Sassy is going to care.
Haley changes handholds to the strap above my head and, with her other arm, gives me a quick hug. “Are you doing okay?”
I pull her back to my chest. “When you’re next to me, I’m always good.”
“That’s so sappy. But I feel the same way.”
Zane taps me on my arm. “Nolan says this next stop is ours.” He takes Haley’s other hand. “We’ve got this, Little Bird.”
“Yeah, we do,” I say.
There’s a coffee shop across the street from the Saint Redford London Hotel.
There are five-star hotels and then there’s the Saint Redford.
I’m pretty sure the damn thing costs $1000 just to look at.
I’ve never been inside. And the plan is for us to not go inside now but to stay in the coffee shop across the street.
Nolan came up with a plan to get Easton onto the camera. Hopefully, he can get a reporter to turn around without having to beg. At this point, I’d cross a road of glass to get us out in the clear. I need Haley out of this mess.
We walk along the platform, trying to keep anyone from recognizing Easton before it’s too soon.
Though this is London and he’s an American Olympian.
Still, he’s a missing billionaire. We come out into the gray morning with people bustling about to their jobs.
Just living their normal lives, not dealing with the craziness that has become our daily life.
Nolan nods and enters the shop. There’s a guard at the front who mutters at us as we bypass the front counter. “You have to buy something to use the tables.”