Page 36 of Everything We Found

12

THOMAS

TEN YEARS AGO

Thomas watched Nadia through James and Aimee’s kitchen window from the truck he’d rented. Was he worried she’d tell Aimee about James? No, he was terrified. Nadia didn’t realize the power she held over him now. He would give her anything she asked for—do anything she asked—as long as she kept her word. James’s existence stayed between them.

So far, he didn’t think she’d said anything, otherwise he’d have heard from Aimee. Though it had only been forty-eight hours since Nadia showed up at the funeral home. There was always tomorrow. Or next week. Still plenty of time for her to confide the truth, and not just to Aimee. To anyone.

He hated that she knew. He couldn’t stand how much trust he’d been forced to place in her. Most of all, he regretted she had to share yet another burden of his. This truth would destroy him. It was a matter of when. He couldn’t let it destroy her too.

Thomas tapped the door ledge where his arm rested and glanced at the time. Kristen had left a couple of hours ago. Nadia was cleaning James’s kitchen. She’d been there with Aimee likely since yesterday after James’s burial. It was after 11:00p.m., and he hadn’t seen Aimee in over twenty minutes. He thought she’d gone to bed. He was hoping she was in bed. He was counting on her being asleep while he did what needed to be done.

Nadia glanced out the window, and not for the first time. She knew he was there, parked just outside the edge of the streetlamp’s glow. She dried her hands with a dish towel and dropped the blinds right after she flipped him off through the window.

Two minutes later he picked up his phone to text her to come outside when the front door opened. He sat up in his seat, his bone-weary back complaining, his left leg having gone numb. He’d been sitting there for hours. Nadia cut across the yard and the street to where he waited in the dark. She rounded the truck to the passenger side and leaned into the open window.

“What are you doing here?”

“Get in,” he said. He didn’t want Aimee to look out the window and see her.

“Our deal doesn’t include you spying on me,” she said, heated. “Or ordering me around.”

“Get in the fucking car, Nadia.”

She glared at him and yanked open the door, settling in the front seat. Thankfully, she didn’t slam it closed.

“Thank you,” he said when she angled her body toward him.

“What do you want?”

“You’re angry.”

“Angry?” She huffed a guttural laugh. “I’m furious. Do you know how hard it is to not tell her this is all a lie?” He knew firsthand exactly how hard it was, but she didn’t wait for his answer. She thumped her chest above her heart. “It’s killing me.”

“If it helps, I’m sorry. I’ve never regretted anything more than having to get you involved.” He’d only asked anything of her twice in his life. Both were huge asks.

“Then uninvolve me,” she spat. “You want to help? Tell her the truth. Tell everyone.”

Thomas met her cold, hard eyes. “You know I can’t.”

She held his gaze then sank back into the seat. “That’s what I hate most. That you’re right.” She crossed her arms and glared out the windshield. “I hate it. I hate you. I hate that I saw and heard what I did. I wish I didn’t know.”

He stared into the darkness beyond his windshield and loosened a long sigh. “James told me he had proof Phil was laundering and I ordered him to back off. What I should have done was tell him I was working with the DEA, and that I was under strict orders to let Phil do his thing. Phil’s cell and office phones are tapped because their sources said he has a direct connection to the Hidalgos’ second-in-command. That’s the guy the DEA wants, not Phil. Capturing him leads them to their leader Ruiz, then they’re one step closer to dismantling one of the most brutal cartels in existence. Leave it to James to piece it all together.

“I shouldn’t have been surprised.” Thomas looked at her. “He’s brilliant. Phil’s the rotting idiot. He’s doing it all. Over-invoicing, phantom shipments, smuggling cash over the border inside our furniture. James was our CFO. I was stupid to think Phil’s transactions would fly under his radar. Phil is trying to take Donato down and us along with him, and James thought I shrugged it off. He went after Phil himself.” Thomas pinched the inside corners of his eyes and sighed into his cupped palm, regretting for the millionth time he’d listened to Kane and hadn’t brought James up to speed.

“There’s an agent I report to at the DEA. I called him as soon as I heard James went to Mexico. I knew he was going after Phil, and that he was walking straight into a hornet’s nest. My handler called me two days later to say they’d located him. A woman had found James wandering the beach and took him to the hospital.The cartel had dumped him in the ocean, expecting him to drown. His body was a mess, still is. And he has no memory.”

“Jesus. Where is he?” Nadia interrupted.

“I can’t tell you. Not because I don’t want to.” His eyes met hers. “I can’t.”

Her mouth pursed and she shook her head. “No, you have to give me something. If I’m in this with you?—”

“He’s in witness protection, Nadia. I legally can’t tell anyone anything. You already know more than you should. Word gets back to the DEA or FBI and they have every right to arrest us both.”

Her eyes widened. There was a catch in her breath. Thomas hated her reaction, but he was glad she was scared. He needed her to be afraid. It would keep her alive, and she’d keep their secret.