Page 26 of Breached

“Ears.” He made a motion for me to remove my earphones. I knew they’d check me over—they were simply a diversion. Bruno looked back and muttered something about a waste of time. I pulled them out and dropped them into his open hand, and as he lifted them to his ear, I quickly pressed my finger against the volume on the side of my phone to turn them up. “Lynyrd Skynyrd.” He nodded with approval. “Simple Man.” He listened for a moment and then tucked them in his pocket. “Go.”

“He’s next,” I muttered to John as I followed them down a hallway. I hoped he would lead us to his office.

“You know, I do have one question.” Bruno stopped in front of the door, and his hand fell away from the handle that led outside. “You entered through the back door and moved through the hallways easily. It is as if you have been here before. Why is that?” He waited for me to answer, and I was ready for him. I knew he would check the cameras.

“That’s because I’ve been here before.” I didn’t miss a beat as I looked around the lobby and glanced over at Hunter and Hinge. Hunter moved his hand over his rifle—and showed me two fingers indicating that the CRPAs had been set. “I told you that Esmeralda ordered me to lie low after the accident. She had me come here twice.”

“Why?”

“Because she wanted my advice on the tunnel.” I stared at him. “You don’t believe me, ask Rio. He should know I was here.”

His mouth twisted at the thought that Rio knew something about me that he didn’t. He hated his mother’s right-hand-man, and it showed. “I see.” He swept a hand around the room. “So, you got the tour?”

“No, I’ve only been in her office. We entered through the back.”

He nodded, and I could see his ego rise as he beamed. He wanted to take credit for his mother’s work. “Drinks can wait. Let me show you around.”

We stepped outside, and I saw a lot more security there. I knew I’d better lose my earpiece.

I held up a finger and looked around for a trash can and saw one in the corner. “Let me lose this chew.” I dug my tongue around my lip like I had some left. As I leaned in toward the can, I said quietly, “Need to go dark.”

“Copy that, going dark,” John repeated. I held my shaggy hair back, and as I pretended to spit, I flicked the earpiece inside, not caring how expensive that little piece of technology was. Frank could write it off as another planted bug in the area.

“Lead the way.” I motioned for him to start.

I knew the layout of the house, I also knew what he showed me was all smoke and mirrors, but I played the part of giving a shit. The tour went on for an hour or more, then we approached the area Hunter had said was more heavily guarded, and I saw a man screening anyone who entered—It had been a smart decision to get rid of that bug.

“I apologize for the inconvenience, my friend,” Bruno shrugged, “but you understand this is a highly sensitive area.” I was scanned and checked by a guy who I noticed deliberately avoided my midsection, leading me to believe he was one of Hunter’s men.

Then we stepped into the construction zone for Esmeralda’s massive tunnel, and I felt like I was being sucked into the gates of hell. It was as big as a subway track in New York. The number of people working on the massive project must have taken a great deal of planning. Nicole had said she knew Esmeralda was into something big roughly five years back, but from what I could see, it seemed like it might have been going on long before that.

Bruno continued to brag and spent a great amount of time explaining the process of constructing the tunnel. Of course, he knew about my tunnel in Rosarito, and it was obvious he wanted to outdo me. He introduced me to people he thought I would be impressed by and then continued to tell me about his grand ideas. I knew he had very little to do with any of it; it was all his mother.

By the time we were finished, it was dark, and I was tired. But Bruno still needed his ego stroked if I wanted him to lower his guard.

“It blows my mind that something this grand is being built right under the border.” I grinned at him, and he matched my mock excitement as we left the loud construction and went back inside the quiet wing of the house.

“Well, when you have some of the FBI, a branch of the military, some politicians, etcetera, funding the operation, the world has no limits.” He held up his hands. “And she’s all mine.”

“Yours?” fell from my mouth. What was I missing?

He stopped, as we were back in the lobby. Something raced over his face, and I wondered what he was thinking. Armondo hovered but kept his distance.

“This,” he waved his hand around again, “this is all mine. To finish, and to operate. I will make millions here. I can move money, people, drugs, you name it. That tunnel is a game changer.”

I swallowed, and my throat felt like sandpaper. The idea was mindboggling.

“You trying to put me out of business?” I joked and managed a chuckle.

He laughed. “No, just opening the market to more possibilities.”

“I’m confused, though. How is it yours? Did your mother hand over the reins?”

He shook his head. “I pushed that bitch down the stairs.” He adjusted his cufflink.

I pulled my chin in and blinked at him. “She’s dead?”

“Yes. She was drunk on power, always had been. She never saw my value—so I dealt with her.” He tugged at his sleeve while I digested what he just admitted. “It was only a matter of time.” He flinched suddenly as he saw a reflection in the window and spun around. I looked over and saw Rio’s wide bloodshot eyes. He had a gun pointed directly at Bruno.