He instructed her to pull forward into the secondary inspection area. Then she was escorted to an interrogation room. She had to pee really bad, but they wouldn’t let her go until a female officer appeared to search her. Caitlyn endured the indignity, squirming with discomfort.
After she used the restroom, she was given a tray of terrible food that she suspected was for detainees. Another hour passed. Finally two men entered the interrogation room. One was tall and lean, with a mustache and a bandage on his eyebrow. The other had dark eyes and silver-threaded hair. They were both handsome, but not in a way that put her at ease.
“Ms. Weiss? I’m Special Agent in Charge Mark LaGuardia and this is Special Agent Foster.”
She nodded hello.
“We just flew in from Nogales. We’ve been looking for you.”
“Here I am.”
“You were taken hostage by Armando Villarreal and forced to drive across the border.”
“Yes.”
“Can you tell us what happened?”
She told them about arriving at the house in Tijuana and being held against her will for over a week. When she mentioned Carlos and his extensive burn injuries, Special Agent Foster exchanged a glance with LaGuardia.
“The man told you his name was Carlos Moreno?” Foster asked.
“He introduced himself as Carlos.”
“Go on.”
She continued her story, concluding with this morning’s surprise release. They stared at her with inscrutable expressions. “You don’t believe me?”
“That’s not it,” LaGuardia said. “It’s just that Carlos Moreno had already been declared dead. I investigated the scene of the fire myself. Reliable witnesses saw him go inside the house before it blew up. The conditions weren’t survivable.”
“I see,” she said, reconsidering. “So the more plausible explanation is that a strange man set himself on fire to impersonate a drug lord?”
Foster arched a brow at LaGuardia. “That does seem far-fetched.”
“We’ll look into it,” LaGuardia said. “What else can you tell us about his condition?”
“He was improving, which surprised me.”
“Why?”
“Well, I’m a veterinarian, first of all. I have very little experience with burns and gunshot wounds, so I didn’t expect any miracle cures. He wasn’t a very good patient, either. He refused morphine and couldn’t sleep. He was in constant pain.”
“Did he have a head injury?”
“He might have. Smoke inhalation can prevent oxygen from getting to the brain. But he seemed sharp mentally. He said he wanted to die in the fire, so I don’t think it caused his depression. He continued to get better every day, sort of despite himself.”
LaGuardia leaned back in his chair, absorbing this information. “We found Armando Villarreal’s body in the Sonoran Desert yesterday.”
Caitlyn drew in a sharp breath. “What killed him?”
“Two bullets to the chest.”
She wasn’t sure he would have recovered from the previous gunshot wound. Which was ironic, because he had more will to live in his little finger than Carlos Moreno had in his entire body. “Did he save his daughter, by chance?”
Foster drummed his fingertips against the table, not answering.
“We can’t discuss the confidential details of the case,” LaGuardia said.
“What about the money I was given?”
“I don’t know anything about that,” LaGuardia said, glancing at Foster. “Do you?”
“No, sir. Sounds like a lot of paperwork, though.”
“Another agency handles issues like this. We’re required to seize bribes and criminal assets, but going after payments for legitimate services isn’t worth our trouble. You’re welcome to surrender it to HSI if you feel more comfortable.”
Caitlyn wasn’t worried about Carlos showing up on her doorstep to demand his money back. He’d given it to her without obligations, and that amount was probably nothing to him. She’d earned it. A real hospital visit would have cost him thousands more.
When she was finished with the interview, Caitlyn called her parents. They were overjoyed to hear from her. They’d spent the entire week in San Diego communicating with local law enforcement. They’d just flown back to Arizona this morning.
“They told us to go home,” her mother cried.
“It’s okay, Mom. I’m fine.”
Her parents insisted on coming to visit her anyway. Caitlyn didn’t argue. She said she’d call them back later and hung up.
Then she drove home to pick up the pieces of her life.
Chapter 27
FOUR MONTHS LATER
Ian parked in front of the pottery shop in Mezcala, his heart pounding with anticipation.
He hadn’t seen Maria since the night they’d spent at the hotel in Nogales.
And what a night that had been. The best of his life, by far. He’d been insatiable. She’d been right there with him, naked and trembling and whispering hot things in his ear. He’d done everything she wanted and then some. He’d had her on the dresser, in the shower, against the wall. She’d taken every inch of him, reveled in every touch. She’d told him she loved him over and over. He’d showed her he loved her with his hands and mouth and body.
When they were finished, he’d pleasured her with his tongue again. She’d climaxed one last time and pushed him away in exhaustion. He’d fallen asleep on her belly. He’d woken at dawn with his face between her thighs and her taste on his lips.
Damn. What a way to start the day.
He’d thought about that every morning since. He’d replayed it in his head while he showered. He’d jerked off to the memory a hundred times. They’d talked about it on the phone, and he’d begged her to touch herself for him. She’d done it, to his delight.
After he returned to San Diego, he’d attended his investigation hearing. Ian was cleared of misconduct and negligence, but not reckless endangerment. This was grounds for termination. If Ian hadn’t resigned from the DEA, he’d have been fired. He couldn’t reapply to that agency ever again. That was the outcome he’d expected, and it was more than fair.