Jack catalogued every move Pilar made from the moment he said “F-BOMB” to when they arrived at the massive building they housed their office in. He eyed her when he drove under the building and parked his SUV in the designated spot for company vehicles. And he watched her as she processed where they were.
Either she was a damn good actress, or she was clueless.
“You work here?” she asked, scanning the underground parking structure. “You’re kidding right?”
Jack shrugged. “No. Why? Not fancy enough for you?”
She rolled her eyes and got out. Jack scrambled to follow her and hear what she had to say. “There are tons of places for people to hide down here. On top of that, there are multiple entrances, which means escaping is easier. And there aren’t any cameras, so if something were ever to happen down here, no one would know. This place is a criminal’s dream.”
He narrowed his eyes at the curvy beauty and wondered how she knew all the weak points. They were the same things the team talked about when they rented the office space, but it was nondescript and provided them with anonymity to operate without having to deal with anyone else.
Jack nodded and turned toward the elevators. “Then how about we head upstairs so we’re a little less vulnerable.” He added one of his grins to encourage her even more.
She rolled her eyes at that, too, then stalked off to the elevator without him.
With her arms crossed, she waited for Jack to swipe his card to give them access to the elevators. The only way up was with one of the security cards every employee was required to use. Each card gave them access to one floor only, the one where they worked. Jack was pretty sure English hacked his card and could visit any of the floors in the building, but Jack’s only went to the F-BOMB offices.
Pilar was silent as she stood in the corner and chewed on her lower lip. If it wasn’t already tempting him, the slick, red flesh was making Jack rethink his personal vow to stay away from women for a while.
The doors whooshed open, revealing the sterile entryway of their offices. He held the door open for Pilar and followed her out, her tension radiating through the small space.
“Pilar, you’re safe here.”
She shook her head. “I’m not safe anywhere.”
“Good, you’re here,” Dunn said, walking through the secured doors that led to the bowels of F-BOMB. He turned to Pilar with faux surprise and said, “I don’t think we’ve met. I’m Daniel Dunn.”
Pilar barely acknowledged him, shaking his hand and turning back to Jack. “Are you going to help me?”
Jack nodded. “Yeah, and so is Dunn. He’s in charge around here. You need to tell him everything that happened, Pilar.”
“Okay, well, I was walking down the street with my… brother.”
Dunn held up his hand. “Let’s get you inside. How about a cup of coffee? Or some tea?”
Jack shook his head as Pilar’s eyes lit up. She thought it was a coincidence that Dunn offered her tea.
“Tea, please. Thank you. I appreciate it,” she said with a grin.
“Of course,” Dunn said, leading Pilar through the doors and into the conference room they used for visitors.
Jack started to move past them, but Pilar called out to him. “Aren’t you staying here? I thought you were going to help me.”
Jack turned back and nodded. “I will. You need to tell Dunn everything first, though.”
Dunn swung his gaze between them and gave Jack a tight grin. “Maybe it would be best if you joined us,” he said carefully, offering Jack no room to argue.
Jack wanted to distance himself from Pilar, to ignore the attraction he felt for her and pass her off to someone else, but he was the one she knew. Sort of.
Jack finally nodded and moved into the room behind them. Pilar watched him until he claimed a seat, then took the one next to him. Dunn, the son of a bitch, smirked and sat across the table from them. He thumbed out a text to someone, probably asking for Pilar’s tea, then looked up at her.
“Okay, Pilar, right?” he asked.
She nodded.
“What’s your last name?”
She hesitated. “Luna.”
Dunn wrote it down on the pad in front of him. “And your brother is missing. What’s his name?”
She took a deep breath. “Juan Rios. He goes by John, though.”
Dunn nodded. “Rios? You have different last names? Are you married?”
She shook her head. “I’ve never been married. My brother and I both changed our names when he moved to the United States. For me, it was years ago. My degree is in my name.”
Jack sat up straighter and leaned toward her, offering her silent support.
“Is there a reason?” Dunn asked.
“Carlos Ibarra. He’s the man who took my brother. I… I was involved with him years ago, and I didn’t want him to find me. Juan was the same. Didn’t want Carlos to know where he was.”
Dunn nodded, taking notes as she spoke. His earpiece was quiet, but Jack knew English was listening, too. Typing in everything she said and recording the conversation. Everything would be checked and double checked. It was the only way for them to do their jobs.
“He’s dangerous. When I called things off with him, he was angry. He told my brother I’d pay for it.”
“Your brother was friends with,” Dunn pretended to check his notes, “Carlos?”
Pilar half-shrugged. “They worked together. That was how I met Carlos. He came with my brother to our house once. I was home from school for the summer and Carlos showed up. I was… stupid.”
Dunn smiled with her.
“I’d never known anyone like him. He had a way of making me feel special.”
The wistful look in her eyes had Jack ready to go hunt the bastard down and strangle him with his bare hands. Usually that was a job for Archer, whom they called Hulk, but for the first time, Jack understood the rage it took to kill someone up close and personal instead of from the other end of a sight at a few hundred feet.
“I’m sorry for what you went through, Pilar. I have to ask, though, what does this have to do with your brother missing now? If this Carlos was upset with you before, why is he now here and why would he take your brother?”
She shook her head once, enough to shake off the old memories in her eyes, then looked up at Dunn. “When Carlos threatened me, Juan said he decided it was time for him to find something else to do. It took him a couple of years before he could get out, though. Their boss wouldn’t let Carlos leave Mexico to come after me, but when Juan disappeared, I guess things changed.”
“How so? And how do you know that? He just disappeared an hour ago.” Dunn was good. He even sounded sincere.
Pilar shook her head. “No, I don’t mean when he was taken. He left his job a year ago. I was working in Texas, a few hours from the border. Juan showed up on my doorstep on the last day of school. He was done with the cartel and wanted to get as far away from Mexico as possible. We came here because our parents visited Niagara Falls on their honeymoon and constantly told us how beautiful it was. We wanted to be close to them. They died a few years ago.”
Dunn reached across and grabbed her hand, smiling up at her. “I’m sorry for your loss.”
She smiled back at him, then glanced at Jack. He didn’t know what she saw, but the hitch in her breath said it wasn’t good. He unclenched his fist on the table and worked at smoothing the anger from his face. He was always cool under pressure. It was a requirement for being a sniper, but sitting in the same room as Pilar and Dunn, and watching Dunn play her, had him ready to tear into his boss.
“Anyway,” Pilar continued, “once Juan left Mexico, it was only a matter of time before Carlos found us. We knew it, but I guess we got complacent.”
She glanced at Jack again. He hated that he couldn’t tell her what was really going on, but until he got the word from Dunn, he had to stay silent.
“You believe Carlos took Juan in order to get to you?” Dunn asked.
Pilar nodded. “I know he did. He told me he did. You heard him.” She turned to Jack for confirmation.
Jack shook his head. “He didn’t specifically say that. It was clear he wanted her to know he was the one who had her brother.”
“Why else would he take Juan, and why tell me, if he wasn’t after me, too?”
“What kind of work does Carlos do? That Juan used to do?” Dunn asked. He sounded bored, as though the question was simply a way to connect them.
“They worked for an import and export company,” Pilar said stiffly.
“With the borders?” Dunn asked.
Pilar shook her head. “Not always. Packaging and making sure everything had the right paperwork to pass customs. Stuff like that mostly.”
Dunn scribbled something on the paper, and there was finally a sound in Jack’s ear. “Clueless or hiding?”
Dunn caught Jack’s eye and lifted an eyebrow. Jack lifted two fingers against his chest, signaling the second option. Dunn nodded in agreement.
“Unfortunately, I’m not sure if we are going to be able to do anything,” Dunn said, leaning back in his chair. “There isn’t a whole lot to go on. This Carlos guy doesn’t have a motive for taking your brother, especially if he’s really after you. I have no way to track them, and if they’re not from here, I have no known associates to use to find them. This is probably something you’re going to need to report to the police.”
Pilar’s eyes filled, her tears spilling out onto her cheeks. “Please, Mr. Dunn. Don’t do this. I need your help. Jack said you would help me find my brother. Carlos will kill him. He’s a ruthless murderer, and he won’t hesitate to kill my brother if he thinks it’ll get me to go to him. He wants me back, and he doesn’t care if he has to keep me in a cage. He will, and I can’t live like that. I’d rather die than ever be with that monster again.”
Dunn leaned in, his eyes sharp. “Do you have any kind of proof that he’s killed people?”
Pilar shook her head, but her gaze slid to the side. Definitely lying. “I did, but it was destroyed. Juan… my brother is a good man. Growing up in Mexico isn’t easy. And Juan ended up getting involved with the wrong people.”
“So you’re saying you had proof of Carlos killing people, but your brother took it and destroyed it, and now you want us to save him from the man he was protecting? Your story sounds more and more like Carlos isn’t involved with your brother’s disappearance at all. Are you sure your brother didn’t just get lost in the crowd? That he’s truly gone?”
Pilar full out sobbed at Dunn’s accusation. Jack grabbed a box of tissues from the sideboard behind him and slapped them down on the table in front of her. “We’ll give you a minute,” he growled, then jerked his head to the door for Dunn to follow him.
Dunn raised his eyebrows at Jack, but he stood and followed him into the hallway, closing the soundproof door behind them. The recording devices in the room would pick up anything Pilar said to herself and any calls she made.
Dunn crossed his arms over his chest and waited for Jack to speak.
Jack paced a short distance up and down the hallway, his gaze falling to the door more than once. “Why did you go after her like that?” he finally hissed.
“Do you believe her?”
Jack nodded. “Yes. She thinks her brother’s gone. You heard Carlos. He made it pretty damn clear they took Juan.”
“We knew they were going to meet,” Dunn said slowly.
Jack sighed. “I know, but we were supposed to have eyes on Juan at all times. He wasn’t supposed to disappear. What the fuck happened?”
Dunn raised that damn eyebrow again. “Situations change. We all know this. We couldn’t stay on Juan and not have Pilar aware of our presence. We had to give him some space. He demanded it.”
“Do you think he double crossed us?” Jack asked.
Dunn shrugged. “Hard not to think that’s exactly what happened. He came to us with this whole thing. He was the one who set it all up. And when we’re closing in, all of a sudden he vanishes.”
Jack shook his head. “I just find it hard to believe he would leave Pilar. They seem to be really close.”
Dunn’s neutral expression slipped, just long enough for Jack to see the anger and distrust Dunn carried with him for the last two years. It had only gotten worse since their Commanding Officer and supposed friend betrayed them all almost a year earlier. Brady Williams was Dunn’s mentor, and he took the betrayal hardest, especially since he was already burned by an informant he thought he loved.
“People aren’t always who they seem. Juan grew up and became one of the go-to people for the Castillo cartel. He and Carlos were side-by-side through all of it, even though Carlos rose higher and faster. We’ve been suspicious of Juan from day one.”
Jack knew it was the truth, but the way Pilar broke down said she truly thought her brother had changed. That he was a good man. “I don’t think she knows anything about this.”
Dunn shook his head. “No, but she knows something. We need to keep her close. If Carlos gets them both, it’s likely he’ll kill them. She’s our new informant. Until we can get what Juan promised us, we need Pilar.”
Jack nodded. “What are we going to tell her?”
Dunn gave Jack a hard glare. “Nothing. You got me? She stays in the dark about everything going on. We will tell her we believe she may be right about her life being in danger, and that we will find Juan. After that, there’s nothing she needs to know.”
“Are you serious?” Jack asked, incredulous.
Dunn nodded sharply. “Yes. And if you can’t handle that, I’ll put someone else on her.”
“Whoa, wait. You want me on her?”
Dunn looked at him like he was crazy. “She knows you. She obviously trusts you. If she didn’t before, she definitely does now since you dragged me out of there after I attacked her. Good move, by the way. If you can get her to trust you, she might offer up whatever information she has on Carlos and the rest of them.”
“I didn’t do it so she’d trust me,” Jack grumbled.
Dunn narrowed his eyes at Jack. “There better not be another fucking reason, Squirrel. We all need our heads in the game with this one. Think with the head on your fucking shoulders, not the one you usually use.”
“Fuck you, Pres,” Jack said.
Dunn’s glare hardened. The two men stood in the hallway, staring at each other. Their breath came in rapid pants, tension ramping up higher and higher. Jack was ready to start swinging if he had to. Happily.
“Both of you pull your fucking shit together and get back in there. Now.”
Ryker Hamilton. Known as Dex to them. The voice of reason in their ears.
Dunn and Jack tossed each other another glare, then headed back into the conference room.
