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Trees scowled. “Tonight?”
“About four hours ago.”
Around the same time he’d received the video of Victor fucking her. “Then I hate to burst your bubble, but it’s probably bullshit. She’s proven she’s a really good liar.”
“Matt told us what happened.”
“Happened?” Like the universe had just shit out that horrible fucking video to rip out his heart. “No, what she did. Let’s be clear. And I’m fucking sorry I fell for it.”
“This is why you shouldn’t touch a client. But that train left the station. I know.” And Logan looked pissed. “Did you ever think she sent that video to stop you from coming after her because she didn’t want you in danger?”
Logan still believed there was a chance Laila hadn’t played him? It was a nice fantasy, and definitely something Laila would do—for Valeria and Jorge. He’d just been an annoyance, a toy she’d been done playing with, so she’d made sure he wouldn’t bother her with his protectiveness, his affection, or his heart beating for her anymore.
“No. I learned a while ago that when people show you who they really are, you should pay attention. Let’s just say she opened my eyes with a crowbar.”
Logan winced. “I know you don’t trust her, but my baby sister’s life is hanging in the balance. We have to try.”
“You do.” Trees and his attitude backed down. Laila had stabbed him in the back, but he’d recover…eventually. The Edgingtons and Deke Trenton had a hole in their lives that would never be filled if they didn’t recover Kimber alive. She had children who needed her, and she’d done nothing to deserve death at these monsters’ hands. “Just…watch your six.”
“That’s your job tonight.” Logan hesitated. “No idea where Laila is now?”
With Victor Ramos, probably celebrating the moment that asshole had shot him and he’d conked his fucking head on the pavement. “No. Don’t you? You’ve talked to her.”
“Not me. She reached out to Valeria, but Laila refused to even tell her sister where she’d gone. Valeria said she sounded rattled. She was crying. That’s why I thought”—he shrugged—“I don’t know, that maybe the video she’d sent was fabricated so you’d keep your distance.”
There was a time he would have thought that, too. Now he knew better. “Nope.”
Logan must have realized that was a closed subject since he changed it. “We’re less than ten away from the meet point. You need anything?”
Like a pep talk? Fuck that. “No. I’ll gear up when everyone else does.”
“All right. The colonel is supposed to call with—”
The phone rang, interrupting whatever Logan had been about to say. He lunged for it, putting it on speaker. “Talk to me, Dad.”
The team’s former owner sighed tiredly. “We poked around as much as we dared. We don’t know if Kimber is there, but the place is as quiet as it’s going to get. We need to go in now. If this security is their version of a skeleton crew, it’s heavy duty. It’s obvious the Mexican army is rubbing elbows with DEA to protect the cartel.”
Trees couldn’t say he was surprised. He’d seen plenty of evidence over the years that both were corrupt to the core.
“Money talks,” Logan drawled.
“Sadly, it does,” the elder Edgington agreed. “But I suspect security will get even more serious after sunrise, so it’s now or never.”
“South and west still the best ways in?” Logan asked.
“Yeah. There’s only a handful of guards by the stables, all armed to the teeth, of course. But something’s…off. As far as Hunter and Ghost could tell, there were no horses in the stables, so why bother guarding them?”
“Maybe that’s where Montilla is stashing drugs or counting money,” Logan surmised.
“Or holding hostages,” Trees added.
“I’m wondering that,” Caleb Edgington said. “Deke and I got a brief peek inside the main house. It’s ostentatious as hell and over the top, like Hugh Hefner and Liberace decorated the place together. Booze was flowing, and there were naked women everywhere.”
“So Montilla is there partying?” Logan surmised.
“I caught a glimpse of the son of a bitch, yeah. And since he has others in the house, I doubt he’d keep Kimber where anyone might find her.”
“Why not? No one will double-cross him, unless they want to die,” Logan pointed out.
“For the right cash incentive, people will risk anything.” The colonel smiled tightly. “He knows that.”
“True.” Logan turned to Trees. “Maybe you’re right about what Montilla is really stashing in the stables.”
“How far are you from the meet point?” Caleb asked.
“About three. The others there waiting?”
“Yeah. Listen, Hunter is talking to Kata now. I think you ought to—”
“I was already planning to call Tara. I’ll see you soon.”
The Edgington brothers were both notoriously devoted to their gorgeous, gutsy wives. But missions like this would rattle even the strongest women, despite the fact they’d dealt with their husbands being Navy SEALs once upon a time.
“Tell her you love her.” The colonel hesitated. “I’m worried about this.”
Since Laila had provided the intel, Trees was, too. If she was playing for Victor Ramos’s team, it stood to reason that her lover—fuck, that term made him grind his teeth—wanted them all dead. If Ramos pulled that off, he’d have a nearly open path to Valeria and the means to pull Montilla’s strings.
Caleb said goodbye, and Logan immediately dialed his wife. Trees heard a sleepy female voice answer. “Hello?”
“Cherry,” Logan murmured.
