Vincent Morales liked hiding in plain sight. In fact, he’d owned the unpretentious house outside Puerto Vallarta for years. It was comfortable enough, though he did tire of playing an old man. As far as the villagers knew, he was a retired agave farmer. His acres had been bought out by a big corporation for a pittance and all he could afford was the little adobe house with two bedrooms. At least it had a terrace that overlooked the ocean where he could sit and dream away his afternoons—though he did more stewing than dreaming.
In fact, he didn’t dream. He didn’t have time.
Now that Hacienda Paraiso was back under his control and his operations had successfully moved to secure sites, business again had settled down for the most part. Marco was running things at the hacienda, thank God. Vincent never should have trusted Lucas Lewis. The pilot may have saved his life, but the man was an outsider. Vincent had broken his own rule by giving the newcomer so much power.
And the bastard double-crossed him. When the hacienda was under attack, not only did he fly away like a coward, he took Mia with him. And the backstabber hadn’t been heard from since. But Vincent had his ways. He was a patient man. Sooner or later, Lewis would be spotted and Mia would return. And when he got her back, she would never leave again. Vincent had lain awake at night thinking of the ways he planned to strike fear in Mia’s heart—the ways he would make sure she knew where she belonged.
So, she wanted a moment of freedom? She wanted to enjoy spending time with a younger man? A blond Australian. Why wouldn’t a girl be interested in testing the water with a man who looked as buff and handsome as Lewis? But every day she evaded Vincent meant another day of suffering upon her return.
And she will be back.
But Lewis had found the tracker—that was obvious. He’d acted swiftly and dispatched two of his best men on the border, but they proved to be worthless. Lewis cut them down and disappeared with Mia and she hadn’t been on the grid since. If Andrea hadn’t reported that she’d caught them in an embrace, Vincent might think the bastard had abducted her. But after Marco conducted his interrogation, enough of his people had thought the pair might be having an affair. No, she was guilty whether or not she’d tried to call.
Vincent cracked his knuckles. Her reasons didn’t matter. Getting her back mattered.
But where did the Australian take her after they left Las Cruces? They didn’t use El Padrino’s plane. It was still being held by U.S. Customs. Oddly, she hadn’t tried to find her family. Yet. The Bradfords’ phones were bugged and Vincent had men watching their house in Ames. Still, he hadn’t given up hope of finding Mia there sooner or later. She always did pine for her mother. Eventually, she wouldn’t be able to stay away. But Vincent needed to find her before she revealed herself to her parents. He might be able to withstand an attack by Zambada. He might be able to weather the seizure of his shipments, but once Mia fell into the protective arms of her family, he’d have no choice but to kill them all. The only alternative was unthinkable. No, he wasn’t about to let Mia go forever.
She’s mine.
***
“With all due respect, sir, what you’re suggesting is asinine.”
“Oh, really, Wombat?” asked Garth while his eyes bugged out. “Have you brought your brain to this meeting?”
Luke’s jaw twitched. “Engaged, locked and loaded.”
“Then don’t keep it to yourself, flyboy. If you have something better, spew your guts before I do something you’ll regret.”
He ground his fist into the oblong sit room table. They’d been shut inside for two hours and he was already about to kill the CO. Too right, he respected Garth as much as the next guy, but he didn’t like someone who ran things from the safety of ICE suggesting a move that had disaster written all over it. Yeah, Garth might be right—his idea was the fastest way to bring Morales out of hiding, but he wasn’t thinking of the repercussions. So like a Marine. “I’d wager a whole year’s salary if Mia shows up in Ames, Vincent Morales will hear about it—”
“That’s what I’m saying!” Garth practically rocketed out of his seat.
Luke cleared his throat and stared Garth in the eye. “But Morales won’t just sneak in and nab Mia. He’d leave too much evidence. He’ll target her whole family.”
“Luke’s right,” Mia said, sitting beside him. “We can’t put my family in danger.”
Garth crossed his arms and leaned back. “All right. I’m listening. Tell me your idea, Einstein.”
“My guess is Morales isn’t that far away from home. The man had pretty major surgery not to mention he’s in terrible shape. My guess is he went undercover for the operation and hasn’t moved.”
“Traveling would bear a risk,” said Henri. “If anyone recognized him, we’d know about it.”
“That’s right.” Luke rapped his knuckles on the table, relieved to have a little support. “Let’s assume he’s still in Mexico. I think we should keep him there—leave the Bradfords out of it.”
Letting out a long breath that sounded like she’d been holding it for three minutes, Mia anxiously nodded her head.
Before anyone could jump in with a rebuttal, Luke continued. “I think Lucas Lewis ought to set up a charter plane venture for the moneybags vacationing in Acapulco and use Morales’ Gulfstream. If Mia plays the part of flight attendant, El Padrino will not only be slapped in the face, he’ll be backhanded, too.”
Garth rubbed his chin, his beetle-brows slanting over his hawkish eyes. “It’ll take longer to set up.”
“Jà,” said Asa. “We’ll need to make the business look legit—set up a booking office, print flyers.”
“Flyers yes, but all the bookings could be done on the internet or phone.”
Asa held up a finger. “Of course, the first thing we’d do is set up a website.”
“And that will take you what? A couple hours?” asked Henri.
“I’m liking it.” Garth leaned forward on his elbows. “We could give it a whirl, but if it doesn’t bring Morales out of hiding within a few weeks, I’m pulling the pin and you pair are heading to Iowa.”
“In that case, put my picture on the website and the flyers.” Mia smiled for the first time since they sat down. “Let me be the poster child for the business.”
“Good idea.” Luke patted her leg before he thought. When a jolt of electricity shot up his arm, he snatched his hand away. “How about putting her picture on busses?”
“If Morales is in hiding, will he see busses?” asked Henri.
“I think so—maybe.” Mia drummed her fingers against her chin. “He might not see the internet. He doesn’t allow his employees to use computers.”
“But I’ll bet he uses one,” said Asa. “He’s just off the grid.”
“Does a TV commercial make sense?” Luke asked.
“Too expensive for a con who’s in Mexico trying to earn enough money to go home and live in the lap of luxury.” Garth’s eyebrows shot up as he focused on Mia. “But, what about banner ads at a soccer games? Does he watch sports?”
Mia’s eyes brightened. “He does and soccer is his favorite.”
“Then I think we have a plan.” Garth thrust his finger at Luke. “We’ll go with it for now. I’m giving you a month. If we don’t have any nibbles by then, I’m pulling the pin.”