MADRID STARED at the blueprints spread out on the table, putting every level, every hatch, every corridor to memory. Next to him, Jake Vanderpol shoved hollow-point rounds into a clip.
“I’d lay odds he’s on the ship,” Madrid said.
Jake jammed the full clip into the Beretta and shoved the pistol into his shoulder holster. “If there wasn’t so much steel, we could get infrared.”
“No time for that.”
“Yeah.” Jake grimaced. “So are we going in after him or what?”
Both men jumped when Jake’s cell phone chirped. Madrid knew what the display would read even before Jake showed it to him.
Code 99.
Jess.
Jake hit the retrieve button for the text message details. Madrid. Code 99. All available agents respond. Waypoint: N3801.650 W12257.754.
“That’s your code, partner.”
Jake’s voice came to him as if out of a fog. Madrid’s gaze snapped to him. “I gave my GPS unit to Jess.”
“Looks like she’s in trouble.”
Jake was studying him closely, as if expecting him to explode at any moment. “I told her to stay put.”
“Has there ever been any time in your life when a woman has done what you’ve asked?”
Madrid barely heard the words. “I have to go.”
“Not alone you don’t.”
“Cutter isn’t going to condone this.”
“He doesn’t condone half of what we do.” Jake looked down at the coordinates and punched numbers into a larger GPS hand-held unit. His brows snapped together. “Looking at the grid, I’d say she’s on board the ship, partner.”
Nausea rose inside Madrid at the thought of Jess being on board the Dorian Rae alone and at the hands of brutal smugglers. “I think that’s where the boy is, too.”
Jake Vanderpol started for the door. “Let’s bring them home.”
JESS COULDN’T BELIEVE she’d screwed up so royally. What was she thinking, rushing into a potentially dangerous situation without a plan and without someone to back her up? But she knew where her mind had been. She’d been thinking of a five-year-old boy with special needs. A child who’d already been through so much and was once again facing terrible danger.
A hand between her shoulder blades shoved her forward. She stumbled, wondering if Madrid had gotten her message. If he knew she was in trouble. If he would be able to reach her in time to save her and Nicolas.
They came to another corridor and went left, up some steel stairs and through another hatch. The corridor here was wider and better lit. Beyond, she heard voices. At the end of the hall, light spilled from a doorway. Dread and a new terror rose inside her when she realized they were probably taking her to whoever was in charge to decide what to do with her. It didn’t take much imagination to figure out what that fate might be.
She paused outside the door, her heart pounding. She didn’t want to go inside. She didn’t want to face those men. She considered trying to break free and making a run for it.
“Move it.” A rough hand shoved her through the portal. Jess stumbled into a room filled with cigarette smoke. Half a dozen male faces jerked in her direction. Six unshaven men sat at a table with cards and money spread out before them.
“Ah, Jessica Atwood. What a pleasant and unexpected surprise.”
The familiarity of the voice jolted her. Jess scanned the room, her gaze landing on the source. Norm Mummert. Even though she’d suspected his involvement in the smuggling ring, the sight of the police chief still stunned her. Up until yesterday he’d represented the good guys.
“I’m glad you could join us,” he said.
“I can’t say the same.” She tried to make her voice come out strongly, but the words were little more than a squeak.
She looked around the room, shuddering inwardly at the expressions of the men staring back. She turned her eyes to Mummert. “I can’t believe you’re part of this,” she said.
He shrugged amicably. “We do what we must.”
“And what is that?” she asked, unable to keep the rancor from her voice. “Kill innocent children?”
“Unfortunately, collateral damage is part of the cost of doing business in this industry. You understand.”
“What I understand is that you murdered one of your own in cold blood.”
“Interesting you should mention Angela. I’d like to hear all about her. I understand she was working undercover. Some kind of federal agent.” He tsked. “Her death was an unfortunate complication. I liked her very much. Good thing we had you to take the fall, wasn’t it?”
“She trusted you, you son of a bitch.”
Twisted amusement danced in his eyes. “She always was too trusting.” The amusement turned cruel and hard. “My only true regret is the boy. But then that brings us back to our real lack of options here, doesn’t it?”
Jess choked back a sob at the thought of Nicolas being hurt. “He’s a defenseless child.”