AllFreeNovel
Share Us
“Why?”
“That’s when Juan Barrantes was murdered.”
Diego stared at him, his color fading beneath his dark tan. The muscles of his jaw tensed, then tensed again, his expression fixed and inscrutable. He didn’t say anything for a moment, and when he finally spoke, his voice was flat and controlled. “Do what you have to do. I haven’t done anything illegal.” He looked away, his tone seething with anger. “As for poor Mr. Barrantes, I was in the greenhouse, and several workers were with me. I was preparing seedlings for the transition to planting. I’ll give you their names.”
They were at the end of the line as far as information was concerned. Buck couldn’t force him to trust him enough to tell him everything. He had to hope that they wouldn’t find anything in their finances or reports that implicated Diego. He left the small room with the names of Diego’s workers to corroborate his story. Kat was on the phone when he emerged from the room. She hung up immediately.
“He has an alibi for the time of death.” He handed her the pad and gave her a quick rundown of what he and Diego had talked about.
“I was just on the phone with the FBI office in Panama. They are working on the records right now.”
Buck nodded. “Now, where is Mari?”
“You think she’s going to have a convenient alibi as well?” Russ sneered.
“She does have an alibi,” Buck said, losing his patience with the DEA agent. At first, he had sympathy for the man. His whole operation to apprehend one of the biggest drug cartel traffickers in Colombia had ended in disaster with dead pilots and one of Watson’s own, injured SEALs, culminating in a shoot-out on personal property with innocents. “Just a bit of advice, Watson. Shit happens in operations. The plan never goes to plan, but you need to own your mistakes and not take out your frustrations, guilt, or failure on the people around you. A good leader knows that.” He glanced at Joker. “And Mari’s convenient alibi? It’s me. I was with her when Barrantes was murdered.”
His expression solemn, Watson glanced away, the muscles along his jaw tensing, then he looked back at Buck, his voice quiet. “Of course you were with her. She’s your assignment.” He looked down the hall and let out a hard breath. “She’s across the hall from her brother,” he said wearily.
He nodded, then looked at Kat. “I’m going to tell her everything. After that raid at Diego’s, she has to be suspicious, and I will garner more trust in her if I tell her what happened, and why I’m really here. Lying to her doesn’t really serve any purpose now that we’re digging into the family.”
“I agree. You’re authorized to reveal the mission to her, but only to her. Let her know this is important information to keep to herself.” When he started down the hall, Kat put her hand on his arm. “Tell her that we genuinely care about her family’s protection, and we want to see them safe with their business intact.” She released a soft sigh, and he understood completely. The CIA, like his team, saw some horrific stuff during their service, and so many times they were powerless to truly help the innocent. This was a moment when they could make a difference, and he’d be damned if Mari’s family business, her family, and more importantly, if she suffered unduly. He wanted with all his heart for them to come out of this unscathed.
* * *
Mari sat in the uncomfortable chair, sweat trickling down her sides and between her shoulder blades. She had been trying to sort through everything that had happened. Her stomach knotted with dread, not because she feared any repercussions regarding this incident, but because something was going on underneath it all, and she wasn’t exactly sure about the impact to her, her family, Diego, the business. It all ran around in her head, full of chaotic thoughts.
First, her brother had created a new drum roaster, on his own initiative, behind her father’s back…a prototype, an engineering marvel. That was so damned impressive. He had kept it secret, and he didn’t have to explain to her why.
Don Raul Navarro was so old school, he couldn’t see the jungle for the trees. He was rigid and set in his ways. His big-picture view was blinded by tradition. His favorite saying was: It was good enough for my father and grandfather, it is good enough for us.
She suspected that he wanted to show her the machine to garner her opinion and sway her to his way of thinking. She had to commend Diego for his foresight, his skill, innovation, and his courage. Standing up to Don Raul wasn’t an easy task.
It made her think about how much stock she’d put into his leadership all these years from the time she was a small child. Her father loved it when she excelled, succeeded, and paid little heed to her when she didn’t. Whenever she deviated from the family business path, he none-too-gently manipulated her back on it, until she fell into line. He didn’t seem to be interested in her true feelings, leaving her feeling lonely and scared when she wasn’t recognized for just being herself.
Her reaction to all this was to shapeshift into whoever she needed to be to promote and safeguard her family legacy. Her workaholism was a direct result of juggling everything to please so many people. She had lost herself, and with it, her real emotions. Her strategies had worked so well, she never even had time to wonder about who she really was.
Then there was Buck.
On the one hand, she was upset about him not confiding in her, and on the other, she was trying not to overreact here.
After the raid on Diego’s secret workshop, Mari couldn’t continue to buy into the fact that Buck was here simply for protection. They had been following Diego. It was the only way they could have found the place. It hadn’t been random.
They had been geared up for action, had zip-tied her and her brother, and they were both now at the police station. He had a secret agenda he didn’t tell her about, and with a sick feeling, she suspected he wasn’t here by accident. Had he been working her for information about her family and their possible cooperation with drug trafficking? She didn’t want it to be true, because she trusted him unconditionally, but with a sinking sensation, she couldn’t ignore the facts either.
Buck was an American military special operator. He would always put his country first. He must. She had to wonder where that left her.
Draping her arms over the table in the room, she rested her head on her wrists, her heart pounding so hard she could barely breathe, pain gathering. She worked at stopping the ache from spreading. She was in so deep here. She couldn’t figure out how to pull out of…this…death spiral. That’s what it felt like
The sound of the door opening made her sit bolt upright. Finally! But her stomach dropped when she saw it was Buck who entered.
He was carrying a bottle of water. He walked to the chair and offered her the water. She already had one beside her, but she took it, set it down, while he sat in the chair.
“Hey,” he said. “I’m sure you’re confused and have a lot of questions.”
Focusing on keeping her voice steady, she said, “You’re here to enlighten me and answer them.”
“Yes. There’s a lot at stake.”
