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East actually smiled at that, knowing that it was a favorite trick of their team. It was a good trick, and it worked.
“This isn’t just about Sutton, East. Someone else is involved and clearing the path for him. We need to know who that is so we can stop all of it.”
“You won’t ever stop all of it, Brooke. That’s not how this works. You say you’ve been working with Rivera. Great. He helps you; you bring down Sutton, and then Rivera is in power.”
“N-no,” she said quietly. “No, that’s not how this would go.”
“Then how would it go? Tell me. Because that’s for fucking sure how it would go.”
The three men walked back in, shaking their heads.
“The rooms on either side aren’t being used, but they can’t let them out. They’re being worked on during the day. Sorry, but we’re stuck in here with you.”
“It’s fine,” said Brooke. “Let’s just get some sleep.”
“No,” said East, standing and stopping her from lying down. “No. You said you didn’t want to go to bed fighting, angry with me. Well, let’s settle this. Why the fuck is it so important to you to nail Sutton?”
Brooke stared up at his handsome face, then took the seat that he’d vacated. She leaned forward, her elbows on her knees, shaking her head. East sat on the bed, his brother beside him as Cowboy and Matt sprawled out on the floor.
“I went to college with a girl named Celeste Ferrin. She was beautiful,” she smiled. “Blonde hair, big blue eyes, the sweetest smile. And she was absolutely brilliant. When I went to work for the DEA, she went to work in their chemistry division, examining new drugs. We were great friends and became roommates.” She looked at the men, smiling at Eazee.
“Don’t get mad, but I secretly hoped to introduce her to you one day. She would have been perfect for you,” she said softly.
“Would have been?” asked Eazee.
“When I was sent here, at first, I was lonely, and it was long nights in the office. Celeste offered to come down and spend the weekend with me. We went out to eat having a great time. She was always so much fun, always laughing and smiling. She got up to use the restroom, and that was the last time I saw her alive.
“It was Fuentes who found her three weeks later floating in the Rio Grande. She’d been raped, beaten, and branded by Sutton. She was so full of drugs that the coroner, mortician, everyone had to wear masks for fear of contamination. Her smile was gone. Her light was gone. Her life gone. All because she came to visit me and help me feel not so lonely. It was my fault,” she said, sniffing, wiping tears from her face. “Mine. And I’m going to make it right.”
“Baby,” said East, standing and pulling her to him. He sat back down, her on his lap, and held her. “Brooke, baby, it’s not your fault. You couldn’t have known.”
“Brooke, if Sutton’s men took her, they would have seen you with her,” frowned Cowboy.
“Yep. That’s how I got where am. They were following me for a few weeks after that. They didn’t know anything about Celeste or where she worked because she had no ID for the DEA. She was a contract chemist.
“His men approached me one night when I was leaving the grocery store. Said it would be a shame for something to happen to me the way it happened to my friend. I tried to pretend to be afraid. Hell, I was afraid. They offered me another option. I spoke with Fuentes and took it.
“I’m not leaving El Paso until Sutton is buried. I want to put the bullet in his brain. Me. I want to see him beg for his life the way he made Celeste beg for hers.” They all stared at her, their brows knitted in confusion and worry. “He took great delight in telling me everything they did to her. Everything.”
“And you still want to do this?” asked East. She stood from his lap, pushing the men off the bed. Lying down, she let one arm fall over her eyes.
“I have to do this.”
CHAPTER SEVEN
Unsure of whether or not Sutton was watching him, East had no choice but to remain in the room with his three teammates. Not wanting to disturb Brooke, they communicated only by sign language.
“What do you think?” asked Eazee.
“I think if we don’t finish this with her, she’s going to do it herself. We have to find out where those tunnels start and finish.”
“Undercover?” asked Cowboy.
“No. That’s too many men in there at once. I think we should use the technology at our fingertips and see if we can find where those tunnels are located,” said Matt.
The men all nodded, agreeing to look for the tunnels tomorrow. Sprawled on the floor of the room, there was no way that East was going to get time alone with Brooke tonight. He was actually okay with that. Knowing that she was safe, beside him, and not leaving was all he could ask for right now.
Later, he would ask her to leave El Paso.
