Page 99 of Everything We Found

“We believe Ruiz will arrive shortly after you both,” Marquez continued.

“Make sure you kill him. I want him dead.”

Nadia’s eyes widened at James’s bluntness.

“Our primary objective is to neutralize the threat and ensure civilian safety,” Bailey said. “That includes you, your bother, and your mother.”

James met his glare. “I understand the official stance on this. But we all know what needs to happen.”

No one contradicted him.

“Let’s continue,” Marquez said, glancing at the clock. “We’ll have snipers positioned here, here, and here.” She pointed at themap. “HRT will be in concealed positions within fifty yards of the exchange point.”

“DEA tactical units will maintain the outer perimeter,” Nelson added. “We’ll have air support stationed two miles out.”

“You won’t be alone for a second,” Marquez assured James, handing him a flesh-colored earpiece. “This connects directly to tactical command. It’s designed to look like a hearing aid. If questioned?—”

“Tell them I lost partial hearing. Yeah, I got it.” James pocketed the device.

“We need a code word,” Nelson said. “Something you can say if things go wrong and you need immediate intervention.”

“Uh… Eclipse?” James suggested.

“Too obvious. You’ll alert the Hidalgos something’s going down. Make it ‘sandstorm,’” Marguez ordered. “Appropriate given the location.”

“You heard it, team. ‘Sandstorm,’ whether alone or in a sentence, triggers a full tactical response,” Nelson confirmed. “Once that happens, drop to the ground immediately and stay there until one of our guys reaches you.”

“All right, team,” Marquez announced. “Get Mr. Donato and Ms. Jacobs fitted with vests. We deploy in fifteen.”

“James,” Nadia said when he started following the other agents toward the door. He turned. She reached up and fixed his hair over his ears. “Make sure your ears are covered when the piece is in.” Even Thomas wouldn’t know James wore one.

“Thanks,” he said.

“Don’t be a hero and get yourself killed.” She worried he, like Thomas, wouldn’t trust the professionals to do their jobs.

“I’ve no intention of dying again, Nadia. Not today.” He winked at her and left the room.

She turned to the satellite image on screen, that scar of an airstrip in the middle of nowhere. And she thought of all theyears that had led to this. Ten years of lies, deception, and sacrifice. All converging on a patch of dust before sunset.

33

THOMAS

Thomas stopped the truck where he believed he was supposed to be. Cell service had been spotty for miles, so he was making a calculated guess. Before him stretched an abandoned airstrip that was little more than a faded scar on the ground, its edges softened by time and weather. If he was off by any amount of distance that required him to drive elsewhere, he’d just signed his mother’s death certificate. A quick glance at his watch showed he was out of time.

He cut the engine and the old metal hinges creaked as he swung open the heavy door. Oppressive heat slammed into him despite the late hour, filling the cab like water flooding a sinking ship. There was no escaping the hot, dry air that tasted as dusty as it was suffocating to breathe.

Sliding his sunglasses onto his head, he stepped onto the baked earth and studied the terrain, his shoes scraping against gravel on the cracked, packed surface. Nothing was visible for miles other than clumps of giant desert grass and mesquite trees. The mountain range he’d driven through was in the near distance. But here, he stood in the open in the middle of nowhere. No place to hide which left zero chance of escape. Notthat he intended to try. He’d made peace with his decision and would see this through.

He circled the truck, hot wind tearing through his clothes, heating his skin. The Hidalgos had to be arriving by air given the airstrip and that it was less than sixty miles to the border. So what appeared to be a car in the distance, a cloud of dust trailing, didn’t add up. He saw a flash, what was probably sunlight reflected on metal, as the car drew closer. Thomas tensed. Whoever was coming, was coming fast.

This was it. The exchange would happen here. Thomas prepared to turn himself over to the cartel in exchange for Claire. He’d give her the truck’s keys, negotiate for them to let her put some distance between them before they killed him. She didn’t need to witness his execution, but he did need to see that she was safe. That was his plan.

He could see the car’s headlights and Thomas braced himself for the end. Minutes ticked down, then seconds. He could now make out that the car was a black Prius with blacked-out windows. In a moment of insanity, he wondered who’d ordered the Uber.

The car parked beside the truck and a gust of wind pelted his bare forearms and face with sand. He watched the door, waited for it to open, for a window to go down. But seconds ticked by and nothing. The car just sat there as a subtle tremor moved through his hands, his senses heightening with the ticking sound of the car’s cooling system. A high-pitched whistling as the wind whipped against the truck. Metal creaked and groaned. He could smell his own sweat. Claire better be in that car. Was Ruiz the driver? What was he waiting for?

A faint electronic whine pierced the eerie silence as the car’s systems powered down. A quietthunkas the car shifted slightly, the mechanical click of the parking system engaging. Then the door swung open.