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“Diablo rojo means red devil,” Jake said in a knowing voice.
“Does that mean something to you?” Finn asked.
“Unfortunately, it does.” Paper rustled over the line. “Javier Santiago is the son of a Maria Elena Rosarió Vargas and Philippe Leon Santiago Cárdenas. Ring any bells?”
Finn’s chest went cold. “No way. Santiago’s linked to the Cárdenas drug cartel?”
“Bing.”
“Holy shit.” Finn’s mind tumbled. The Cárdenas Cartel was one of the largest in this region of Mexico, responsible for numerous killings in the Acapulco area alone. “And Cárdenas’s son is a model? How is that even possible?”
“One of his sons.” Papers rustled again, and Finn imagined Jake behind the big mahogany desk in the dimly lit office he kept in his monster of a house. “Javier is the youngest of three sons. The older two—Manuel and Philippe, Jr.—followed in good ol’ Dad’s footsteps, running drugs north for the cartel. From what I can deduce, Javier’s been the black sheep of the family for quite some time. He doesn’t play by the rules and he makes no bones over the fact he has no interest in joining the family biz. He’s a player, a spoiled rich kid. Modeling apparently pisses his old man off, which is why he keeps doing it, but he’s small time in the industry. Most of his cash comes from Cárdenas sources, though lately rep
orts have surfaced that he’s had intimate contact with the Tijuana Cartel.”
“Shit,” Finn whispered. “So what was this? An honor killing?”
“Sorta,” Jake said. “Though not in the way you think. One of the Cárdenas Cartel’s lesser known drugs is Seconal, a barbiturate. Ever heard of it?”
“No.”
“Doesn’t surprise me. It’s also called ‘red dillies’ or ‘red devils.’” It’s been around since the twenties, but it fell out of popularity a while back. Word on the street is the Cárdenas Cartel’s created a new, more potent form of the drug—bigger highs, longer lasting—really nasty shit, and they were getting ready to start shipping it. They’ve got several key Mexican politicians in their back pocket, several with ties to the U.S. The influx of these new red devils on the street could turn the drug trade upside down in Mexico and seriously cut into the other cartels’ profits.”
“God, you’re talking about a bloodbath between rival cartels. And Javier knew about this? He was feeding info to the Tijuana Cartel about the new drug?”
“Possibly. No one knows for sure. But it’s probable he had access to family documents. Names, dates, shipments . . . maybe even the new drug formula. Tierney, the Cárdenas Cartel put a price on young Javier’s head just this morning.”
Holy hell. Things were seriously heading straight for the toilet. Finn blew out a breath. “What does all this have to do with Lauren?”
“I don’t know. How well does she know Santiago?”
How the hell would Finn know? “Well enough to let him grab her ass in public.”
Jake chuckled. “She’s a supermodel, Tierney. I imagine a lot of guys get to grab her ass on camera.”
No shit. And Finn didn’t like it one bit.
He pushed down the frustration. “Javier’s been with us at the shoot for the last week. He wasn’t at Cárdenas headquarters, spying on the cartel. Why now, all of the sudden, would they take him down, when if what you’re saying is true, he could have had the info a week ago?”
“I don’t know. But any way you toss this, it doesn’t look good. Are you still in Acapulco?”
“No. But within driving distance.”
“You got access to a vehicle?”
“I’ve got something lined up.”
“Good. Zane Archer’s a couple hours south of you, in the mountains northeast of San Marco.” Jake rattled off the GPS coordinates. “I’m going to alert him that ou’re coming. He can get you two on a chopper out of there, unseen. You can’t risk going to the authorities in the area. The Cárdenas Cartel has too much influence over local P.D. in the state of Guerrero, and Kauffman’s face is too well known. My guess is all eyes are watching for you, so it won’t be easy.”
“You sure Archer’s up for this?” Zane Archer was a former Aegis operative. Last Finn had heard, the man had taken an extended leave of absence after his principal was killed in a botched rescue attempt. Most of the guys in the agency figured Archer was knee-deep in Therapy 101 with good ol’ José Cuervo. But no one knew for sure just what he was up to in Mexico. Or for how long.
“He’s up for it. You just worry about getting Kauffman’s ass to his compound. Let Archer do the rest.”
Finn’s mind drifted to Lauren in the bathroom and he looked that way again. “Will do, but she needs an hour or two of rest first.”
Jake’s sigh said he didn’t like the delay. “You sure you’re secure where you’re at?”
No, but it was the best they had for the moment. Lauren was in no condition to move just yet. “Trust me. It’s as good as it’s gonna get for the time being.”
