Chapter Six
Alyssa
When Alyssa agreed to meet with Scott, she hadn’t been prepared for what would happen. She sure as fuck didn’t think he knew she’d checked up on him. How the fuck had he stayed hidden all these years? How could he live in West Hollywood and no one see him? She found out he’d worked for Kenner and Kenner Security for the past three years. He was a bodyguard for some of the richest people in the greater Los Angeles area, which didn’t seem to fit her memories of him.
Then to realize he’d checked her out as well … well the irrational anger really bit her in the ass as she flipped through the file on her brother. According to the FBI, Juan had been stealing from the Cajero Cartel and replacing their product with sub-par shit. It didn’t sound like her brother at all, yet what did she really know about him? While she’d been trying to work her ass off to be accepted within the ranks of the RSD, she’d cut everyone off, except her parents.
Which meant she didn’t understand her brother at all.
“Look, all this is a lot to take in,” she said, trying to rein in her temper. She’d come out with guns blazin’ and, yet, these two men were offering her a lifeline. She had to give them an inch—even if they ended up taking a mile.
“It is.” Scott placed his hand over hers, and a spark of recognition and heat bloomed there. “But, we need you, Alyssa. You are the missing piece to our puzzle.”
She gave a mirthless chuckle. “I don’t know how much I can help you. I’m at a dead-end too. Every time I think I can get close enough to him, he slithers away.”
“It’s why we’re offering you a hand. All three of us will receive credit for this takedown,” Scott stated. “If you’re willing to trust us a bit.”
She read over the information sitting in front of her. Drugs, weapons and more had been brought back into the area because of her brother. The death rates from overdose and gun violence had jumped by 15% in some areas. She couldn’t let this go any longer. She had to accept the lifeline.
“If I do this, you have to explain who the hell you are and how this all fits together.”
Scott nodded. “I understand. I planned on telling you everything as soon as you agreed.”
She glanced between the men. She had history with Scott. The new guy … nothing. If she had to put her trust in either man’s hands it would Scott, yet the longer she sat there, she realized she could trust his friend Santiago as well. Everything he’d said was the truth. It was there in black and white. They were on the up-and-up.
“If we do this, I have to make sure my parents and my younger sister are taken care of.”
Scott blew out a breath. “Done. You never have to worry about them. They’ll be safe.”
Santiago agreed. “If anything, I’ll bring a couple of men from Omega Team out here to sit with them.”
“Okay,” she stated. “Explain to me what Omega Team is and how all of this is going to happen.”
She couldn’t believe she’d agreed to their help or this whole situation. A nervous knot lodged itself in her gut. She not only worried about their safety but her mom and dad as well.
Even though they’d written off Juan, they had never given up on her, and she repaid them every day for believing she could change. She had concerns for her sister as well. Destiny was too young to remember the shit their brother had done, but at eighteen and graduating high school, she’d figure it out soon enough.
“Shit. Can we get someone to watch over my sister?” She startled herself when she asked the question. The idea of the 323 or the cartel getting at Destiny made Alyssa sick.
“Done.” Santiago nodded. He retrieved his phone from his pocket and placed a call. “Hey Athena. No, not yet … Sitting here with them now … No. No. No problems. I need a little help though. I promise Scott can get you fifteen minutes with your favorite telenovela cast.” He laughed. “I need a bodyguard. The girls name is Destiny Ramos. She’s eighteen and a student at …”
“Garfield High school,” she supplied.
“Did you hear her? Yeah … yeah, I’ll let her know. Thanks.” He hung up and placed the phone on the table. “We’re in luck. Athena has a team here for another mission. She’s going to send a guy to the high school. He’ll make contact through the office.”
“I can get Theo to send someone to your mom and dad’s house if you want?” Scott added. “They won’t even know they’re being watched.”
She shook her head. “Nah, I spend the evenings there anyway. If anyone saw me, they’d think nothing of it. Destiny, though, I can’t leave her open.” She retracted her hand from Scott’s grasp and instantly regretted it. “Tell me about this Omega Team.”
Santiago sat forward. “We’re a group of special ops people. We do all kinds of work, most of it dark site stuff—taking on the most dangerous missions when no one else can do them.”
She slid her gaze between both men. “And you both do this?”
Scott held up his hands. “I’m doing this as a favor. I like my bodyguard job.”
“I called him when I saw I needed someone undercover. What better way to get into the 323 territory than with a 323 member?” Santiago lifted his chin in her direction, his piercing hazel eyes pinned on her. “Same reason I suspect you were called up for this one too.”
She frowned. “Yeah, well …”
“Everyone one looks at us like we’re criminals, mami. We take what we can when we can. I bet you still catch shit at work, right?” Scott, damn him, understood her predicament.
“Every fucking day,” she muttered. “Like I’m the red-headed step child of the department.”
Getting it off her chest felt good. Everything Scott said was true. She got treated like shit when she went to work. The other day, one of the officers stopped her on the way out and reminded her it was “people like her who got good cops shot.” She didn’t understand his statement at the time, because her thoughts were on her mom and sister. But when she sat down to think about it, it was as though someone put an M-80 in her stomach and detonated it.
Day in and day out she did shit none of the deputies would do. Gone places running their mouths would get them into trouble. She never complained because she desperately wanted to be accepted as, “one of them.” Lately, she’d thought about switching to narcotics, but she feared the same shit she already put up with day in and day out would follow her. Plus, if anyone ever got wind of her tattoos, her cover would be blown.
“What do you need from me?” she whispered, flipping the page on the file.
“Anything about your brother you think could be important.”
“He lives in the hills, away from the city. He doesn’t like people spying on him. In the last five years, he’s become more paranoid about that shit,” she said. “It makes sense though. If he is stealing shit and replacing it, he wouldn’t want anyone sniffing around his stash.”
“If I were passing cartel drugs off as my own, and the cartel was selling my shit, yeah, I’d want my privacy too,” Scott added. “Do you know anything about the tunnels in Guadalupe Canyon?”
She shook her head. “No. But, I am sure they run into Mexico. Probably run by the cartel.”
“I agree,” Santiago interjected. “I believe the reason why he gets away with it is no one is supposed to know where they are.”
“So, he has a connection in the cartel then?”
Scott and Santiago stared at each other. By the expressions on their faces, she’d surprised them with her question. “Didn’t you think of that?”
A slow, easy smile filled Santiago’s features. “No. Not until this moment. I believe this case just got bigger. Son of a bitch.”
“Hey, I’m just the red-headed step child.” She grinned. “What do I know?”
“A helluva lot more than us, apparently.” Scott winked at her, and a warm wash of arousal spiked inside of her. The man still had it.
“It’s only supposition right now, but it fits. I mean no way in hell Cajero doesn’t watch those tunnels. No way in hell you’re going to get close to them unless you’re allowed in there, which I don’t think my brother is.”
“True. Which adds another layer to this mission.” Santiago drew his finger along the dip below his full bottom lip as though lost in thought. “It also makes sense now why someone would go to war with a low-level gang. Not only are they stepping into the cartel, they’re trying to overthrow it.”
“Then shouldn’t we be trying to take them all out?” Scott pointed to the file. “We have everything we need in this file.”
“We do, but I don’t think we have the resources to take down a billion-dollar cartel,” Santiago stated.
Alyssa shrugged. “So, we get the resources.”
Santiago drummed his fingers on the metal table where they sat. The crowd grew thicker as the hours progressed. It was one of the things Alyssa loved about living in Los Angeles, and one of the things she missed. The high desert didn’t have the hustle and bustle of the city. Sure, in the last few years Riverside and the surrounding areas had grown, as had the crime. She supposed in such a densely populated area, it would be hard to keep that element out.
“I’ll make the calls. You guys go back to what you’re doing, and I’ll get with you later.” He looked to Scott. “You’ll need to be wired up for tonight.”
“Tonight?” Alyssa quirked a brow.
“We’re going to the desert. Your brother arranged it,” he drawled, taking her hand again. “You worried, mami?”
Asshole. “Not in the least. Just curious why he lied.”
“It’s okay if you are,” he teased.
She rolled her eyes. “Why can’t you be more like, Santiago. Cool and quiet.”
He flashed Scott a brilliant smile. “I see why you like her.”
“Oh for …” she sighed. “Why did my brother lie?”
Scott rolled his shoulder. “Not sure. His reason didn’t make sense. I think he knows you’re on his ass, but I can’t say for sure.”
“I’m always on his ass. Our parents disowned him. I keep hoping he’ll wake up and come home.” Her parents didn’t even whisper his name anymore. Destiny didn’t even realize she had an older brother either. It sucked, to say the least.
“You do understand the chances of him doing anything like that is slim to none?” Scott asked and damn him for pointing out the obvious. Of course, she knew it. She hoped though.
“I try not to think of the inevitable.” She shrugged. “Makes everything easier.”
“For who?” Santiago questioned.
“All of us?” As it was, Juan’s actions had already cost her family so much, and she could count her own actions in there too. She’d done her fair share of running the streets wanting to be like her brother. She resented her baby sister for years because Destiny got more attention. She thought the gang had her back. Would be there. Would hold her hand when she needed it held.
All they did was tear her family apart.
“You see my tattoos, and you see a part of me I have spent years putting distance between.”
“Own it,” Scott snapped. “It’s part of you. It’s who you are. It’s who you overcame. Do you think I don’t want to get rid of mine? Do you think taking this job was easy for me?”
She swallowed hard. Seeing Scott after all this time … “No, because it wasn’t for me either.”
“We grew up. We figured out pretty fucking quick who would and wouldn’t have our backs. We figured out when we stood before the judge alone, no one taking up for us but our appointed attorney, we were better off for it. I am thankful for my second chance. How about you?” He eased into her space. “Can you tell me you wouldn’t makes the same choices again?”
She’d do it again. No questions asked. “Yeah. Given the same choices, I’d take the deal.”
Even if she was treated like shit every day. She saw it as a small price to pay for all the hell she’d raised as a teenager.
“That’s why I knew we could trust you,” Scott stated. “You have integrity. I believe it’s also why your brother is giving you the run around. He’s catching on to you.”
The realization hit her like a ton of bricks. “Shit. My parents.”
“All of you,” Santiago stated. “How about we set you and Scott up at a safe house and you keep working?”
She mulled it over. “My parents?”
“Told you I’d take care of it,” Scott said. “I’ll get a guy on them. He’s good. I served with him. His name is Doug, and he’s the best. Don’t worry.”
“My guy will call in as soon as he speaks to your sister.” Santiago pointed to his phone. “You want to call her school and give them a heads up?”
She nodded. Her heart thundered, beating against her ribs until she thought it would burst free. “Thank you.”
“No, Alyssa, thank you. We’ll keep you and your family safe. Trust us like we’re trusting you.”
She inclined her head as she dialed the school’s number and hit send. No matter what happened to her after all this shit, her sister and her parents would be safe. No matter what it cost. Their family had already lost one child to the gangs, she wouldn’t lose them to her brother’s stupidity.