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Cal Baggnell believed he would find Io quickly. After all, he knew her and had ideas about the places she would choose to hide from Petrova or anyone else who was after her.

None of those panned out.

The room at the boarding house gave him no space to pace.

A twin bed and dresser were jammed in. There wasn’t even a chair, so he sat on the side of the bed.

The one window in the room was painted black and the only light he had came from the bare bulb hanging by a wire that stretched from the wall to the ceiling.

It was a flophouse, but he only needed it to catch some rest. Cal guessed he shouldn’t have bothered. He managed about an hour’s worth of sleep, which was more than he’d gotten any other day.

Checking the brothels for Io… fuck . He’d never been so happy not to find someone in his life. He wouldn’t wish that kind of hell on anyone. Cal rested his forearms on his thighs and leaned forward. Where did he look next?

She wasn’t dead. He refused to consider that.

He’d struck out at the hospitals and with the doctors he checked in with during the daylight hours. According to the Wizard, her sister believed Io was drugged and being held prisoner in a house. Somewhere.

Cal grimaced. His Wild Thing never mentioned some weird link with her twin, but there were a lot of subjects they didn’t get around to discussing.

Even if he believed the information was correct, it didn’t help him find Io.

Trujillo and the area surrounding it were full of homes, and it narrowed nothing down.

He heard knocking begin at the far end of the hallway. Time to get out of here unless he wanted to pay for another day. Cal stood, checked to make sure he had everything, dropped off the key, and left.

The neighborhood was as shitty as the boarding house, with rotting garbage and other debris strewn everywhere. Unfortunately, he’d become used to it.

When he’d spoken with Lurch, his teammate said the treasure was entangled with the arms dealing. He’d mentioned that it was well known that the Paladin League was looking for this treasure. Asking a few questions made it clear Io wouldn’t have had that piece of intel in time for it to help her.

She would have used her cover story as a photojournalist for the organization. One of the men after the treasure could have believed she knew something and grabbed her the way Lurch’s Fireball had been taken. It made sense, but it didn’t help Cal find Iona.

There were too many players.

Torres, the arms dealer, had men surrounding the convent.

They would have alerted their boss when Io showed up there.

Vargas, the drug lord, had held Lurch prisoner to get the weapons he wanted and had used the Fireball to research the treasure.

Ditto with the group that had been cast out from the rebels, and although Ramirez was dead, his men could still be involved. And then there was Petrova.

It was unlikely the Russian mob had Io, but they were looking for her. It was why the Wizard’s Pollita was in danger.

Fuentes was the wild card in this.

Pruitt, the team’s senior intelligence sergeant, had come up with nothing. Archer, Iona’s boss, had sent her to Puerto Jardin because he had nothing and wanted her to get intel. It left Cal edgy. Staying off the radar was difficult, yet this Fuentes asshole had done it.

Did this shadow figure learn about Io’s mission? Did Fuentes have her?

The area improved enough to have traffic lights and Cal got stopped by a do-not-walk symbol. He struggled with impatience as he waited. The small cluster of people also standing there edged away from him.

Lurch said that Fuentes wanted the treasure badly. That Cal better find Io fast. Yet he’d gotten nowhere. None of his team had gotten anywhere.

As soon as the light turned, Cal was off and moving, outpacing the rest of the crowd. He didn’t have one damn thing to lead him to Fuentes, but if everything centered around the treasure, then that was the string he needed to tug.

Io would have been briefed on it, and to find her, Cal needed the same intel she had.

He was willing to bet none of his teammates, not even the captain, had the full story.

Not the way the Paladin League operated.

His step hitched. Archer had two employees in Trujillo right now researching.

A conversation with the Nerd might help him find his Wild Thing.

And if Cal went anywhere near Captain Nguyen’s woman, he’d be in deep shit. BD wanted her safe and talking to her had the potential to attract the wrong attention.

He thought of Iona. Going to bed with her at night, waking up with her in the morning.

Trying to cook together in her small kitchen.

Getting in each other’s way. Laughing about it.

Lifting her onto the counter and making love with her.

The tightness in his chest grew until he couldn’t take a full breath.

The idea of anything happening to her… Cal let the thought trail off and shook his head.

Even though things hadn’t ended well between them, he wouldn’t be able to live with himself if he didn’t do everything he could to rescue his woman.

The Nerd wouldn’t be in danger as long as no one was aware he spoke to her.

Sneaking into and out of her hotel suite would be easy. He was Special Forces, for fuck’s sake.

He wouldn’t scare her. The Nerd and the blonde working with her had both stayed at the safe house. Cal had met them. She’d remember who he was.

Adjusting course, he headed for Palacio Monasterio.

Archer’s secure line rang. He glanced at caller ID before answering the phone. “Hello, Francesca, what can I do for you?”

“You can stop keeping secrets from me for a start,” she said, and there was definitely irritation in his archivist’s voice.

“Secrets?”

“Don’t play dumb with me, Archer. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”

He had a fair idea, but as there was more than one piece of information he hadn’t given to Francesca, he wasn’t about to make any assumptions. “I’m afraid I don’t. What has you angry with me?”

Her huff of annoyance came across loud and clear. “You could have alerted me that you sent another person to Puerto Jardin and that she disappeared. How do you expect me to keep Ellis safe if you don’t warn me there’s a potential threat?”

“You’ve spoken with your fiancé.”

“No, but one of his men dropped by to ask me a few questions. He wanted more information about the treasure.”

Archer’s brows raised. Nguyen was well aware of most of the intel surrounding the treasure.

If one of his Special Forces sergeants was talking to Francesca, that meant the captain hadn’t passed those details along to his men.

Or was it someone pretending to be one of his men?

It seemed odd that Nguyen wouldn’t share the intel with his team.

“Are you certain it was one of his men? I would have thought that your captain would have briefed his team on the treasure.”

Francesca’s irritation increased. He could tell by her voice. “Yes, I’m certain. I met him when I was at their house. I don’t know why Deck didn’t fill him in. All I know is that you didn’t fill me in on a vital piece of knowledge.”

Archer closed the folder on his desk and leaned back in his desk chair. “If I believed you or Ellis were at risk, I would have called you.”

“Would you? Forgive my skepticism, but I’m seeing a pattern with you. Your definition of need to know is more ridiculous than Deck’s, and that’s saying something.”

“I sent Iona Desmond to Puerto Jardin to look for a person named Fuentes, not the treasure.”

“But this Fuentes is looking for the treasure. You know how na?ve Ellis is. For heaven’s sake, Archer, you need to tell me these things so I can keep her out of trouble.”

“Forgive me,” he said, keeping his tone smooth and easy.

“Your fiancé believed Iona might have accidentally become enmeshed in something related to why he and his men are in Trujillo. His assessment is why I didn’t believe this would affect you or Ellis and I didn’t want to worry you unnecessarily.

Going forward, I won’t rely on his judgment. ”

There was silence and Archer allowed his lips to curve. It was difficult to leave Francesca speechless, but it was clear she didn’t know what to say. It took a moment before she spoke. “Don’t keep any more secrets from me.”

“If I learn anything that could impact the safety of you or Ellis, I will immediately notify you. Does that satisfy you?”

“Yes. I guess. I don’t know. Somehow, I think you gave yourself a loophole in that promise.”

Of course, he had, but Archer wasn’t about to admit to it. “Do you have any questions about Iona’s disappearance? I’m afraid I have little information, but your captain has men looking for her.”

“No, the guy I talked to gave me what he knows,” Francesca said grudgingly. “Unless you have details you didn’t bother to tell Deck?”

“I do not have additional information. Word of honor.”

Her distrust came across in her silence.

“I promise you, Francesca, that I did not withhold intelligence from your fiancé. Iona has been missing for a full week, and I fear for her life. You can accuse me of a lot of things, but not being cavalier with the wellbeing of my employees.”

“That’s true. Let me know if you learn anything, and I do mean anything , even if there’s a minuscule chance that it would involve Ellis or me.”

“I will. I promise.”

It took a few more assurances to end the call, and with a sigh, Archer swiveled the desk chair, stood, and walked over to the chessboard.

Spending thousands of dollars for a hand-carved wooden set was an indulgence.

The dark pieces were made from ebony, the light from maple.

Even the board itself was crafted by hand with meticulous care.

He reached for the dark king and ran his thumb around the base.

He was in the middle of a match with someone at least as expert as he was. Perhaps even more skilled since Fuentes remained invisible except for a name. Thus far, the man had outmaneuvered him at every turn.

Archer didn’t like it.

Returning the king to the board, he considered the game. Pawns. Fuentes wasn’t operating alone, so who were his men?

That could be the key to identifying his opponent. Fuentes might be a master, but what were the chances his employees were as clever as he was? Slim. Archer walked back to his desk and resumed his seat. Perhaps he should travel to Puerto Jardin and personally handle this matter.

Fuentes paid attention to the smallest detail. A car stopping in front of the house for a protracted period was not a minute thing. It took but a moment to adjust the nearest security camera and zoom in on the occupants.

Both appeared familiar.

A moment later, the vehicle pulled away.

It was a nice home in a quiet neighborhood, and losing it gave Fuentes a pang. Despite that, it was time to move on before the Special Forces team arrived to perform a rescue.