Chapter 27

 

“This is why civilians shouldn’t be allowed anywhere near an operation.” Callum’s face had gone red, and he looked like his head might explode. “What the hell were you thinking calling the press in?” He took a step towards the actor and Daniel flinched.

Isobel stood right in front of him and patted his chest. “We talked about this. You aren’t in the SAS anymore. You have to deal with civilians and you can’t kill everybody who annoys you. Now, calm the hell down.”

If Ryan hadn’t been mad enough to spit, he might have found watching tiny Isobel take on her raging husband amusing. As it was, he didn’t see anything funny in their situation. It had been a long day. The team were tired and hungry. They’d barely had time to clean up before they met to debrief, and now they were dealing with yet another setback. Callum was only saying what everyone else was thinking.

“I’m sorry,” Daniel said. “I was helping.”

That didn’t calm Callum down any. His fists clenched and his eyes narrowed. Isobel took one look at his face and launched herself at him. She wrapped her arms around his neck and her legs around his waist and held on like a limpet. Callum had no choice but to hold his wife.

He looked down at her, clearly exasperated, and opened his mouth to tell her so.

“Don’t you dare,” Isobel said. “You won’t punch him with me here, and you know it.”

There was a chuckle, and everyone turned to see Elle snapping photos of the pair. “For the company brochure,” she said, and laughed while Callum growled.

“Okay,” Lake said, and there was instant silence. “You contacted the press. What exactly did you tell them?”

All attention focused on Daniel. He cleared his throat. “I, uh, told them Belinda had been taken and that the baddies had asked for a ransom.”

Ryan groaned and pinched the bridge of his nose with his good hand. Now he wanted to punch the guy. Baddies? Daniel was calling the cartel baddies. Like this was one of his movies and he’d ridden in to save the day. Yeah, the baby actor needed punching.

“Did you tell them who took her?” Lake asked.

Daniel nodded. “The Martinez cartel.”

“Where did you arrange for this press conference to happen?” Callum said. “Is this one of those phone-in things?”

As soon as Callum said the words, Ryan knew it was the exact opposite. He shook his head. The guy was dumb as dirt.

“I, uh, told them to meet me here,” Daniel said. “They’re coming in the morning.”

Callum looked down at his wife, who was still wrapped around him. “Can I hit him now?”

She slid down his body and stepped aside. “Have at it. He’s a bloody idiot.”

“Let’s not hit the wealthy and famous actor,” Rachel drawled from where she was perched on a stool beside the bar, flicking at her phone screen. She was dressed in a cream trouser suit. The jacket buttoned up and it looked like there was nothing beneath it. Her nails were bright red to match her four-inch pumps, and her face was perfectly made-up. This was Rachel. In the jungle.

“What time did you say you’d talk to them?” Lake said.

“Breakfast?” Daniel didn’t sound sure, which was a worry.

“Then we have to get out of here before they turn up, or we’ll end up searching the jungle with the press on our tail.”

“We have another problem,” Dimitri said, and Belinda’s brother looked relieved when the attention moved from him. “The Martinez men are out in force, herding the pair towards the mining operation. We stumbled on a couple today. After some persuading, we discovered they had orders to either force the pair to head for the river or take them straight to Martinez. I wouldn’t be surprised if they’d already found Beast and Belinda. According to our source, the Martinez brother had every man in their operation out scouring the jungle.”

“Did your source survive your talk?” Lake asked.

“Absolutely, boss,” Dimitri said. “We take internal memos seriously in the London office. Julia printed the one about no unnecessary killing and posted it on the noticeboard.”

Lake’s lips twitched, but he didn’t break out a smile.

“What did you do with the bastards, then?” Callum said, cutting to the chase, as usual.

“We left them where we found them,” Dimitri said solemnly. His eyes glittered as they looked over at his search partner, Harvard. “Didn’t we?”

Harvard nodded, equally solemn. “When we left, they were secured to a tree and unharmed.”

Ryan shook his head. The morons had staked the cartel members out like offerings to the jungle predators.

“I think you might need to write a new memo,” Rachel said to Lake. “Maybe add more detail this time.”

Dimitri and Harvard grinned at each other.

“If the cartel doesn’t already have Beast and Belinda,” Ryan said, “there’s a good chance the pair will stumble into them anyway. Elle and I figure they have to be just hours away from walking straight into the mine. One way or another, things are coming to a head at that mine tomorrow.”

“We need to go back in tonight,” Lake said.

“Damn it to hell,” Callum said. “We only just got back.”

“We don’t have a choice. The cartel is closing in on them and the press are going to start arriving at dawn.” Lake shook his head at Belinda’s brother. “If they wait that long. I wouldn’t be surprised if a helicopter or two turn up tonight. We can’t be here when they arrive. It will make everything harder.”

“I thought I was helping,” Daniel whined, and Megan turned to him and hit him hard. Right on the jaw. Daniel hit the floor.

“Don’t talk,” Megan ordered him before turning back to her team.

“I wanted to hit him,” Callum said.

“What was it Violet said? You snooze, you lose?” Megan grinned at their boss.

“We can’t go in by air tonight,” De la Cruz said. “Can’t see to land.”

“We’ll take the boat,” Lake said. He looked over at Ryan. “Think you can drum up another at short notice?”

“No problem.” Ryan pulled out his phone and sent a text. He had a boat on standby, just in case. “It’ll be ready to go in half an hour.”

Lake nodded at him. “We’ll go in from both directions and drop teams north and south of the camp. We’ll work our way in on foot and get there before the sun rises.” He turned to the youngest Collins, who was still on the floor. “You will not speak to the press. Under any circumstances. Are we clear?”

Daniel rushed to assure Lake he was very clear, all the while keeping an eye on Megan.

Ryan felt a tug at his arm and turned to find Elle looking up at him.

“I need you to look at something for me.” Her unusually serious attitude set off alarm bells in his head.

“Sure.” He followed her over to the end of the large table where she’d set up her workstation.

She hit some keys then turned the laptop towards him. “Is that Esperanza?”

Ryan sucked in a breath as he saw the woman who’d used him and run. The photo showed her in a yellow T-shirt, her smile wide, as she looked straight into the camera. “Yeah.”

Elle nodded and brought up a new screen. “Her real name is Esther Redgrave. She’s an Australian national who went missing almost a year ago while trekking through the Andes.” Elle gave him a look that was equal parts compassion and trepidation.

“Spit it out,” Ryan said.

Elle licked her lips before continuing. “She was on the holiday of a lifetime.” She glanced at Ryan before turning to the screen. “With her husband.”

It was like being punched in the gut. Ryan actually took a step back before he righted himself. She was married? She’d played him. Slept with him. Stole from him. And she was married? He ran a hand over his face, wondering if this could get any worse.

“I’m sorry, Ryan,” Elle said softly.

“It’s fine. Give me the rest.” He knew from the way she was hesitating that there was more bad news to come.

“On the same day she went missing, her husband’s body was found at the bottom of a ravine, outside of Cusco.”

Ryan locked his knees to stop himself from collapsing. “She killed him?”

“That’s what the local authorities think.”

His throat was dry, and it took a couple of attempts to swallow. He knew he should say something, but he couldn’t formulate any words. She was a murderer? He’d let a murderer get close enough to bed him and clean him out. Hell, he didn’t deserve to be part of Benson Security. He was as big a screw-up as Belinda’s brother.

He felt a hand on his arm and tore his eyes from the laptop screen to see Elle’s sympathetic smile. “If it’s any consolation, she didn’t have a previous record.”

He shook his head. “Yeah, it’s a great consolation that her first foray into crime was to kill her husband.”

“I think there’s more to the story than meets the eye,” Elle said.

Ryan didn’t care. She’d made a fool of him. Damaged his standing with his team. Put their operation to find Belinda and Beast in danger. So, no, he didn’t give a crap about any mystery surrounding her husband. He only cared about one thing.

“Is she involved with the Martinez cartel? Did she have anything to do with this kidnapping?”

“No,” Elle said. “I’m certain the timing was pure coincidence.”

“Good.” Ryan nodded and straightened his shoulders. In that case, he was done with Essie, whoever she the hell she really was. “I need to make sure that second boat is here on time.”

Elle held out a hand to stop him. “I think there’s more to the story, Ryan. I think she’s in trouble.”

“Damn right she is.” Ryan pushed past Elle. “She killed her husband and stole from me.”

“No. I think she’s in trouble,” Elle called after him as he walked away.

Elle could tell Esperanza’s—no, Esther’s—story to someone else. As far as he was concerned, she’d taken enough from him already. He didn’t give a damn if she was in trouble. All he cared about was helping his team and getting the kidnapped pair back home safe. He’d learned his lesson. He wouldn’t be that careless again. From now on, he was going to be all about being professional. That way, no more women could take advantage of him and make him look like a fool to his teammates.

He stalked over to where Callum and Lake were discussing the operation with the rest of the team. He nodded at them, pulled up a chair and put Esperanza out of his mind for good.