Chapter Fifteen
Mia sat bolt upright in her chair and stared at the man sitting across from her as she tried to make sense of what he was saying. The same words kept replaying in her mind. Grandfather. Hospital. Poisoned.
“I have to go back.”
“No,” Brock and Tucker spoke at the same time from either side of her, and Cameron Barnes’ smile annoyed her more than it should have. CeCe leaned against the desk beside her husband flipping through several pages of what looked like a medical report, but she hadn’t so much as flinched at the outburst from the Deitz brothers.
“Yes. I’m his only living relative, and he needs me. I’m sorry if that doesn’t fit your agenda, but I don’t see that I have any choice. I’ll catch a flight when we reach Cozumel tomorrow.”
She could feel the frustration pulsing around her and briefly wondered if it was her own or if it was coming from the scowling men flanking her. CeCe continued to read, and her husband studied Mia as if she were some kind of mystery to be solved. There were a couple of other men she didn’t recognize standing to the side of the small room, but it was Carl who broke the silence.
“Mia, let me play devil’s advocate for a minute. Let’s say I knew you had suddenly disappeared and my boss was breathing down my neck to bring you in. What would be the best way for me to lure you back out into the open?”
“Cane toads.”
He blinked at her in surprise before a slow smile spread over his face.
“I bet your grandmother put her foot down on cursing, didn’t she? Damn, that’s great, and for the record, I know those little critters are nasty pieces of work.” He gave her a minute to consider what he’d said, then pressed on, “You didn’t answer my question, sweetie, and I suspect it isn’t because you don’t know the answer.”
Oh, she knew the answer all right, but she was loath to admit he was right. Dammit.
“Hurting my grandfather would be the best way to get me to return to Colombia. But this seems like a lot of fuss just because I sent Senator Tyson’s pictures to his wife.”
She could understand the man’s captors being pissed she’d helped him escape, but there wouldn’t be anything to be gained by bringing her back. She’d already shared the best of the pictures. When she said as much, Cam cleared his throat to get her attention.
“Perhaps I can explain.”
CeCe placed her small hand on her husband’s forearm, causing him to shift his attention to her.
“Before you get into all the minutia of the soldier and spy games, let me put Mia’s mind at ease about her grandfather. She’ll be able to think with a clear head if she’s not worrying about him.”
“Pet, soldiers do not get into minutia.” Mia almost laughed at the horrified look on Cameron’s face. “Soldiers and operatives deal with facts and details. Not minutia.”
Turning to Mia, CeCe smiled, and Mia almost laughed at the wicked gleam in her eyes as she carefully set the stack of papers aside.
“Whoever slipped him the drug wasn’t trying to kill him. The toxicology report shows a low-level of a drug intended to imitate the symptoms of a heart attack without causing any real damage. I suspect he’d only ingested a small amount when he talked to Cam, who—being the brilliant man that he is—made your grandfather promise to not eat or drink anything else until help arrived.”
“So, he’s going to be okay?” For the first time since she’d walked into the room, Mia felt a tiny bit of tension drain away.
“Absolutely. Even worst-case scenario, your grandfather will be out of the hospital in a day or two, depending on how cautious his physician is.” Mia knew her grandfather’s doctor, and he might be an arrogant ass, but he wasn’t a fool. The good doctor would be damned careful with the man who paid him an exorbitant amount of money for minimal health care.
“Thank you.” Sagging with relief, Mia felt like a marionette whose strings had just been cut. “I can’t tell you how relieved I am to know he’ll be okay. We may not always see eye to eye, but I do love him to distraction.” Returning her attention to Cam, Mia looked down and realized Brock and Tucker were each holding one of her hands. They’d lent her their strength even when she hadn’t realized how much she needed it.
Turning her attention back to Cameron Barnes, Mia spoke, “You said you might be able to explain why someone would be anxious to lure me back to Colombia. Can you tell me what you meant?”
*
Brock noted Mia hadn’t referred to Colombia as home and from the quick flair in Tucker’s eyes, he knew his brother hadn’t missed the small but significant slip as well. It made him wonder if she wasn’t secretly relieved to be out from under her grandfather’s thumb. Only time would tell.
Cam cleared his throat and let his eyes connect briefly with Brock’s. At his quick nod, Cam began explaining what he’d briefed Brock and Tucker on early this morning while Mia was still sleeping.
“You mentioned you sent Tally the best shots you’d taken of her husband, and from what we found on your electronics, you did.”
“You went through my camera and laptop? How did you access my computer files?” Brock wasn’t sure if she was angry at the invasion of her privacy or curious about how they’d broken her password.
“Mia, I learned a long time ago people often miss important peripheral details because they are focused on their goal. You were looking for the best pictures of Senator Tyson, and those were the details you focused on. What you didn’t see in a few the shots you’d taken were other people. Other people who weren’t important to you because you were focused on the man chained in the center of the compound. You’d been following the rumors about an American being held, and when you found him, you mentally zeroed in on him—but your camera was looking at a much larger picture.”
Brock saw Mia’s blue eyes flicker with understanding, and he could practically hear the whirl of her thoughts as comprehension washed over her. Cam must have seen the same response because he smiled at her indulgently.
“I do so love that spark of intelligence in a woman’s beautiful eyes. I see that in my lovely pet’s eyes all the time, and it fills me with pride knowing the brilliant woman behind those sparkling eyes belongs to me. Your Masters are very lucky men, Mia.”
Cam’s compliment sent a pretty pink stain over her cheeks, but some of the tension drained from her muscles, and Brock knew that had been part of Cam’s goal. Cameron Barnes could be a ruthless son of a bitch, but he was also a seasoned operator and interrogator who knew the value of a few well-placed words of praise.
“Are you saying I took pictures of someone who is worried enough about being exposed, they’d hurt my grandfather?”
“Not exactly. We believe General Moreno was responsible for poisoning your grandfather, and we believe he has a different motive for wanting to keep you close.”
Mia’s entire body went deathly still. Hell, she even stopped breathing until Brock leaned close and said, “Breathe, baby.”
Everyone on the team agreed there was something amiss between Mia and the man charged with her family’s security, but so far, they hadn’t been able to find any clues what the problem might be. If the retired general had pressured Mia for a romantic relationship, Brock wasn’t sure he’d be able to hold Tucker back, but his gut told him that wasn’t the real issue between them.
“I’ll kill the pickle licker with my bare hands,” Mia’s response startled everyone in the room except for her new friend whose roar of laughter earned her an embarrassed smile from Mia.
“Damn, I like her so much. Can we keep her, Master?” CeCe’s sweet words brought chuckles from around the room. Cam’s indulgent smile as he pulled CeCe down for a quick kiss gave everyone a chance to take a breath.
“It’s a lovely idea, pet, but I’ve gotten the idea Brock and Tucker might have other plans for her.”
Damned straight, we do.
*
Mia hadn’t been kidding about wanting to wrap her hands around Joseph Moreno’s wrinkled throat. The only problem was it would require her to get closer to him than she ever intended to be. Maybe she’d use a baseball bat. Although that wouldn’t allow her to feel his struggle to breathe. Damn, her fiery temper was going to get her in trouble if she wasn’t careful.
When Tucker turned to her, his green eyes were so pale with anger, she instinctively leaned away from him. His hard expression softened immediately, and she knew he hadn’t been angry with her but had simply picked up on her own powerful emotions.
“I’ll kill him myself if he hurts you, sweet cheeks. There won’t be a hole on this planet deep enough for him to hide in. Later, we’re going to be asking a lot of questions about why you don’t trust him, but right now we have bigger fish to fry.”
She remembered reading an article once about American slang and their strange expressions, but she didn’t recall anything being mentioned about cooking fish. Before she could ask, CeCe spoke up.
“Bigger problems.” Mia’s expression must have given away her confusion, because CeCe added, “The fish fry thing… it means there are bigger problems to deal with first. Don’t ask me why, but most southern expressions involve food or sports.”
Mia made a mental note to do a little research later on southern expressions. If she was going to Texas, it would be useful to speak the language… and evidently, English wasn’t the only language spoken there. Giving CeCe a quick nod of thanks, she turned her attention back to Cam.
“Okay, what other fish are you planning to fry?”
His entire expression shifted between one second and the next, and Mia felt the photographer in her sit up and take notice. God in heaven, how she would love to capture that fleeting expression on film. She’d gotten a glimpse of a much younger and more carefree man than the one who’d been studying her so closely every time they’d met. The man she’d seen so briefly was fun loving and overflowing with intellectual curiosity. He loved learning for the simple joy of discovering new things. And before she could stop her train of thought, Mia knew those were the same things she’d seen in Brock and Tucker’s eyes when they’d made love to her the night before.
“I’m not sure I’ve ever had a woman look at me with that particular expression. If I’m not mistaken, that’s the look of an artist assessing how to freeze a moment in time,” Cam’s quietly spoken words pulled her out her thoughts, and she nodded.
“Sorry, professional hazard. Now, can you explain what you saw in the pictures?”
One of the men leaning against the wall stood to his full height, stepped forward, and smiled at her. “I’m Micah Drake. I work for Kent and Kyle West.”
“Meet the Prairie Winds Club’s computer wizard.” CeCe’s brilliant smile told her she had a tremendous amount of respect for the man tapping on his phone’s keyboard.
“I’m not sure about the wizard part, but I appreciate your vote of confidence, CeCe.”
The man looked more like a surfer than a computer expert, but she wasn’t fooled by his casual stance. There was a will of pure iron lurking behind those crystal blue eyes. Damn, she wished she’d had time to do her homework on the people who worked for Prairie Winds. She hated being behind the information curve.
“Were you already on the ship when I arrived? I don’t remember seeing you before. I don’t always remember everyone, but I wouldn’t have missed you because you look like one of those singers. The ones who sing the beach songs.” CeCe’s snicker let Mia know she’d understood who Mia was referring to, but the scowling look on Tucker’s face wasn’t as reassuring. Who knew he’d have such a negative reaction to a singing group.
“No, I flew in this morning to speak with you personally.” His matter-of-fact tone was edged with something she wasn’t able to identify, and she wasn’t going to try. He walked over to what looked like a large television at the side of the room. With a few taps on his phone, the screen brightened with what she recognized as the encampment where Senator Tyson was being held. “I can tell by your expression you recognize the location.” She nodded and moved to stand in front of the screen.
“I don’t know what you’ve done to the shot, but I want you to teach me how to do it. Holy candlesticks, this is amazing. The detail is astonishing. Look at the delicate shadows highlighting the veins of the leaves. And the way the backlight filters through the jungle canopy, etching an added dimension to what was already a long-range picture.” It was hard to resist tracing the changes with her fingers, the enhancements were truly remarkable. When she finally looked back to Micah Drake, he was smiling indulgently.
“I’ll be happy to show you how to enhance your pictures although we’ll have to highjack the software since the program I used isn’t available on the commercial market. I promise you, Phoenix Morgan will be happy to barter with you, he has a young daughter who seems to delight in terrorizing photographers.” She couldn’t hold back her laughter. Mia seemed to have a gift for taking pictures of children and enjoyed it when she had the time.
“I’ll keep that in mind. I think I’m up to the challenge, and I’m certain it would be worth the trouble. This is amazing.”
“It isn’t hard when the photographs are this crisp. You’re very talented, Ms. Mendez. Now, I want you to turn your attention to the people in the picture. Do you recognize any of them?”