Page 48 of Deadly Lust

“And you didn’t get any of it on recording?”

“No.” Her lips pursed, and I shook my head. “We believe Joaquín disabled it.”

Of course he had. We had both been trained on how to deactivate bombs and disable wires. Joaquín was smart. NCIS was stupid if they thought a highly trained SEAL wouldn’t notice a wire.

“If you have all this evidence against Rafael, why aren’t you arresting him?”

“Because we aren’t after him. We’re working with the DEA, and he’ll be dealt with later. I’m NCIS. My concern is drug smuggling in the Teams.”

My blood chilled, remembering the picture of a young Rafael Hernandez, the man whose truck had killed Mia’s parents. But maybe Rafael wasn’t the mastermind; maybe Joaquín was. There were still some clues to the puzzle that both Ashley and I were missing.

“So what’s the plan? What can we do now?”

She sighed and sat behind the desk. “We’re working with the DA to build the case against Joaquín. Maybe if they offer him a plea deal, probation, and time served, it will be enough incentive for him to give us some information about the cartel. And he would have to reveal the location of your son.”

My throat constricted. That was the stupidest idea I’d ever heard. Joaquín would never admit to anything. He would rather hang himself in jail than give up his secrets. We were SEALs. We were taught how to resist interrogation. How to lie. Not even the promise of his freedom would make him confess, and I told her as much.

“Well, we think it’s the best shot we have of finding your son. The murder charge won’t stick in court, and we’re still building our case against the cartel. We have enough to get him on the smuggling charges, and we do believe he murdered her, but our goal is to find your child and get intel on the drug operations.”

For months, I had dreamed of the day that Joaquín would be freed, that I’d have my best friend back. But now, everything had changed. I’d learned too many of Joaquín’s secrets. I didn’t trust him anymore. My best friend was dead to me forever.

In my heart, I knew he had killed Tiffany, and I believed that he had been involved in kidnapping my son. I wanted him to rot in jail. If he was freed, I would kill him myself.

“When will this plea happen?”

She pursed her lips. “I’m not at liberty to say. But soon enough.”

Soon enough didn’t cut it. This could take months, and by then, who knew where my kid would be. How the fuck did they expect me to trust them to find my son when they had already lost him once?

I didn’t trust them. I only trusted myself.

“And when you free him, Mia will be in danger.”

“Yes, she will. But we can protect her.”

I laughed, not caring if it was rude. The only person who could protect Mia was me. I was still pissed as fuck about her pictures with Mitch, but she was still my girl.

I made up my mind that I’d tell Ashley what she wanted to hear, but I would plan a counter attack to ensure that neither Mia nor my son were hurt and that they would both be safe.

To ensure that Joaquín wouldn’t harm them, I’d assemble my own Team.

“Well, I’m yours. Whatever you need from me, I’ll do.”

“I need you not to mention this conversation to Mia or let Joaquín know that you suspect him of anything. The reason I called you in here today was to ask you to try to get Mia to stop her investigation into Joaquín. And you also need to stop trying to locate your son. You are hurting the case, not helping it. I need you to trust me. We have good agents on this.”

I inhaled and let out a calming breath. “I won’t say a word.” But I purposely didn’t promise to stop doing my own intel. Luckily, she didn’t call me out on my omission.

Ashley might have fooled me about her identity, but an NCIS agent wasn’t any match for a SEAL. And Ashley was a fool if she thought she could outsmart Joaquín. He may be a drug smuggler, but he was still one of the best operators I’d ever met. A lethal weapon. A deadly SEAL.

I stood, locked down my anger, and forced myself to pretend to be grateful to her. She had, after all, shown me the picture of Julián that day at the coffeehouse. Without that photo, I might never have learned the truth.

She stood and held her hand out to me. “I’m sorry you’re wrapped up with these people. I promise I will do everything to return your son. We’ll be in touch.”

I left the room and went to my truck, already making a mental checklist of everything I needed to do.

Mia definitely had some explaining to do. I didn’t believe Ashley that Mia had been involved with Joaquín’s criminal activities, but Mia had still been lying to me. I had to find a way, without divulging what Ashley told me, to get Mia to tell me the truth and to get her to abandon this need to save her brother.

I needed her, for once in her life, to choose me over him.