“Two years ago.”
“Sounds like a match made in heaven.”
“Or hell, depending on your perspective.”
The two men fell silent. Jess’s mind spun with everything she’d heard. It was as if the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. “So how do we stop them?” she asked.
Both heads turned to her simultaneously. Looking into their eyes, Jess knew they were going to try to shut her out. Because she was a woman. Because they were professionals and she wasn’t. The reasons didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to let them do it.
“Angela was my friend,” she said. “These people tried to frame me. They tried to kill me. They tried to kill Nicolas. I need to do this.”
The two men exchanged looks, and Jess got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her worst fears were solidified when Madrid addressed her. “I want you to go back with Jake. Ride this out from a safe place.”
“No.” Anger surged. Jess rose abruptly. “Don’t try to shut me out of this.”
“You can help from MIDNIGHT headquarters.”
She shot Madrid a furious stare. “Don’t patronize me.”
He rose. “Jess, you’re going to have to trust me. Please. You’re more of a hindrance than a help here.”
“I’m a hindrance because you’re so obsessed with locking me out that you haven’t even considered using me as bait.”
The RV went silent. In her peripheral vision Jess saw Vanderpol’s gaze flick from her to Madrid. But Madrid never took his eyes off her. His laugh was fraught with annoyance and incredulity. “No dice.”
“They think I can ID Angela’s killer. They think Nicolas saw it. Or maybe they think he told me who it was. Whatever the case, they want me dead.”
“No.”
“You know it’s the best way to smoke out these bastards. Maybe the only way.”
“I know it’s the best way to get you dead!” he shouted.
She blinked, surprised by the vehemence behind the words. Knowing that for whatever reason she wasn’t going to get through to him, she turned her attention to Vanderpol. “Dangle me in front of them and they’ll bite.”
Vanderpol’s expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. But he didn’t say no.
Madrid, on the other hand, wasted no time with his refusal. He crossed to her, wrapped his fingers around her arms. “I know what these people are capable of, Jess. I’ve seen their handiwork. They’re brutal and savage and I won’t let you end up like Angela.”
“Then let me do this.” When he only stared at her, she lifted her hand. “Let me help, damn it.”
He winced when her palm brushed his cheek. Grasping her wrist, he lowered it to her side. “I won’t be the one to sign your death warrant,” he said, and walked away.
JAKE VANDERPOL and Mike Madrid stood outside the RV in the lightly falling rain. “You sure she’s not involved?” Jake asked.
“She didn’t kill Angela, if that’s what you’re asking.” Madrid shot him a hard look. “I’ll bet my life on it.”
“You might just be doing that, partner.”
Madrid was getting wet, but he didn’t care. He was too annoyed. Too damned worried about Jess. He felt as if he were losing control of the situation. He knew firsthand there was no better way to get someone hurt. Why the hell couldn’t she just cooperate?
“You might consider taking her up on her offer.”
Madrid’s gaze jerked to Jake’s. Anger swept through him that the other man would even suggest it. “I don’t want those bastards anywhere near her.”
Jake frowned. “Look, Madrid, it’s none of my business, but it seems to me you’re not thinking clearly about any of this.”
“I’m thinking clearly enough to know if I dangle Jess or the boy in front of these bastards there’s a damn good chance I won’t get them back.”
“Cutter thought it was a good idea.”
Realization reared up inside Jake, followed by another quick punch of anger. “Cutter knew you were coming here.”
“He knows a lot of things.”
“Did he ask you to try to talk me into using them, Jake?”
That the other man couldn’t meet his gaze was all the answer Madrid needed. “Cutter can go straight to hell.”
Jake did meet his gaze then. “This is about keeping things in perspective, Madrid. Think about it. You have a key that could stop untold misery. Yet you’re unwilling to use it because of something that happened a long time ago.”
“Shut up about that.”
“These bastards could be bringing in hundreds of women a year. God only knows how many of them don’t make the journey. You have the power to stop it, but you won’t.”
“I won’t risk an innocent woman’s life to do it. If that’s what you want, then you can go to hell, too.”
Unfazed by the remark, Jake shook his head. “You’re screwing up, my man.”