The Lost Girls

CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX

It was dusk when Kane drove off in the jeep. Sean hated this plan, because it meant trusting Gabriella Romero, whom he didn’t know and had no reason to trust. Hell, even Kane said he didn’t trust her… yet their entire plan hinged on her.

Minutes after Kane left, Sean heard gunfire coming from down the road.

No no no!

Sean jumped on the motorcycle he’d stolen earlier, one gun strapped on his back and a handgun within reach. He kept his body low as he sped over the rocky dirt path that led to the main road. He was winding around, he couldn’t see far ahead in the twilight, but he heard several trucks and more gunfire. He was forced to slow down when the narrow road made a sharp curve to the right, then another to the left.

As soon as the dirt road widened, he saw Kane’s jeep. Several trucks were leaving, but Kane was nowhere to be seen.

Sean couldn’t risk shooting at the trucks, not knowing if Kane was inside.

“Dammit!”

How did they know where they were? Someone… Gabriella. She betrayed Kane. Which put not only Kane in danger, but Jesse.

Suddenly two men burst out of the bushes, guns on Sean.

“Two for one,” one of the guys said in Spanish.

Sean didn’t hesitate: He took his bike from idle to as fast as it would go toward Kane’s jeep, using the vehicle to shield him. They were firing indiscriminately, didn’t come close to hitting him. As soon as he was protected by the metal, Sean jumped off the bike and fired at the two men. They returned fire, hitting the jeep. If they hit Sean it would be from luck, because they didn’t know what they were doing. Sean focused, aimed, took one then the other down.

He looked down the road. He’d seen the last truck turn right. He assumed going to the Flores compound, but he didn’t know. Damn, damn, damn!

“Dammit Kane, what went wrong?” Sean was not going to lose his brother. It wasn’t an option. He grabbed his satchel, slung it over his shoulders, and left the marginal safety of the jeep to search the two men he’d taken out. A radio, maybe-anything.

The first guy was dead, and Sean retrieved a handgun and grabbed his AK-47 and slung it over his shoulder. He didn’t have a radio, but Sean found a cell phone in his pocket. He avoided looking at the man’s face. He was young. Too young to be in the middle of this war.

Maybe it wasn’t Gabriella. Kane shouldn’t be here at all. Sean should have taken this job on his own. Jesse was his son, his responsibility. There was a bounty on Kane’s head; anyone could have spotted him. At the football game last night. When he went to town to meet with Gabriella. Or Dante Romero turned on him.

The bastard. Sean would kill him if anything happened to Kane.

Sean turned to the second guy and stared at a gun in his face.

Blood poured from the guy’s leg and arm, but he was close enough to kill Sean. He spoke rapidly in Spanish and Sean didn’t know what he was saying.

Suddenly the guy’s head caved in from the side and he fell over, dead.

Sean whirled around, gun in hand, heart racing. Then he heard a whistle. Kane’s whistle. He lowered his gun just slightly, and Jack Kincaid jumped out of a tree, landing on both feet. Another man came from the opposite direction. JT Caruso. Jack and JT, the other principals of RCK. Sean almost thought he was injured himself and this was all an illusion.

Jack, Lucy’s brother, was a lot like Kane in the way he moved and operated. JT, though he, too, had been in the military years ago, rarely worked in the field anymore. He was the face of RCK, looked more like Rick Stockton or a wealthy businessman. Except now, when he was dressed all in black with a Kevlar vest.

“What the fuck?” Sean demanded.

“We don’t have time.” Jack pulled a radio off the second guy. “You’re good, Sean, but you’re not a soldier. Never turn your back on the fallen.”

Sean didn’t need to be lectured, not now. “They have Kane.”

“We know.”

Then it was clear. “That was the plan?” Sean said. “I told Kane it was a flawed plan from the beginning, and he said he had another way in! They will kill him. Dammit, Jack!”

“Pull it together, Rogan. I get it-Kane is your brother. Now focus, or I’ll tie you up in the fucking plane and get your brother and your son back without you.”

Sean forced his heart rate to slow. “You know.”

“I needed to know.” Jack put his hand on Sean’s shoulder. “I would have done the same thing. So would Kane or anyone else. But you have to bury those emotions right now. We have a plan, and I need you. I really need you-but we don’t have time to argue. Flores is going to weigh turning Kane over for the highest bounty or killing him. The first option gives us time, but once he disappears it will be next to impossible to find him. We have hours, not days.”

“They’re going to see this is a trap. They’ll beef up security.”

“That’s where you come in,” JT said. He walked over and dropped a duffel bag at Sean’s feet. “Open it.”

Sean did. Inside was cash and bearer bonds. He flipped through the top stack. “That’s millions in bearer bonds alone.”

“A million in cash and six million in bearer bonds, give or take.”

“Where the hell did you get this?”

“An operation years ago. The less you know, the better. But you’re going to go in and buy Kane’s freedom.”

“They’ll never agree.”

“Seven million is more than three times the highest bounty. It’ll at least buy your way into the compound.”

“I need more information. I’m not walking in with seven million and no weapons.”

“They’ll take your weapons, your cell phone, everything. But that bag has a tracker, and if Carson Spade is their accountant and chief money launderer, he’ll be given the bag to verify the authenticity of the bonds. Wherever it goes, we’ll find it.” Jack stared him in the eye. “Do you trust me?”

“Yes, but-”

“No buts. Do you trust me?”

“Yes.”

Sean’s heart skipped a beat.

“But don’t make me tell Lucy that you got yourself killed trying to save my son. It will tear her apart.”

“I have no intention of letting any of us die tonight.” He looked at his watch and nodded to JT. “It’s time.”

JT left. Sean wished he had more information. He didn’t like going in blind. Without knowing who else was out there, who wanted to kill Kane, how he was going to save his son.

Jack said, “Sean, this is how it’s going down. I don’t need to tell you that anything can happen, but I trust you, Sean. You’re smarter on your feet than anyone I’ve worked with before.”

“I’m not a soldier,” he said, quoting what Jack said to him.

“And that is why this is going to work. JT isn’t the only backup we have-we have Matt Elliott in the wings.”

“The prosecutor?”

“He was a SEAL with JT. They work well together. And if everything goes south, we’ll need a diplomat. Now listen. It’s important you play this right.”

When his dad came back from town, he was in a really bad mood, so Jesse stayed away from him. All he would say was that the bank was fine, but businesses in the States were falling apart.

“Then can’t we go home?”

“Jesse, it’s not that easy,” he said. “Just-just go play your video games.”

“Can I call my mom?”

“Later! Jeez, can’t you see I have a hundred things to do right now? You’re a big boy, do you need to talk to your mom every day?”

He walked away.

“Jesse, I’m sorry-” his dad began.

“It’s fine,” he mumbled and went back to his room.

Earlier he’d seen Gabriella come in and thought they could play pool-Dominick had a wicked cool pool table in a gigantic room designed like some scene from a James Bond movie. They’d played the first day Jesse was here-him, Gabriella, Jose, and one of the guys who worked for Dominick. They’d had fun.

But Gabriella said, “I can’t, Jess, I’m sorry. Maybe later. By the way, I found your game in the atrium. You shouldn’t leave your stuff lying around.” She handed it to him. “I know you like to play all the time.”

He didn’t remember leaving it anywhere, but he’d been looking for it.

“Thanks,” he mumbled.

So first Gabriella then his dad. Play your stupid games. That’s what they thought, because no grown-up liked games. Jose did, and he was fun, but he was also… well, he wasn’t really all that smart. What would his grandmother say? Simple. Yeah, he was simple, but nice. Nothing like his brothers.

Jesse pulled his DS out of its sleeve and a paper fell to the floor. He picked it up. It was folded over, no name on the outside. He hadn’t put it there. Had Gabriella slipped him a note? It had to be.

He opened it. It wasn’t written in girl writing. Small, clear printing slanted to the right.

Jesse ~

I’m sorry I scared you last night at the football game. I approached you all wrong. Forgive me.

I was asked by your mother Madison to find you and your stepfather and bring you both home. It wasn’t until I got to Acapulco that I learned that Carson Spade launders money for a drug cartel. Now, my only concern is bringing you back to the States safe.

You deserve the truth. I don’t want to tell you in a letter, but I need you to trust me and my brother. I am your biological father. I knew your mother when we were both at Stanford. She told me Monday that you were born. I didn’t even know she was pregnant. If I had… everything would be different. I hope we get a chance to talk about this soon. But for now know that I will do everything in my power to get you out of that house. It’s more dangerous than you know.

My brother Kane used to be in the Marines. He’s going to come for you tonight. Be ready. Unlock your window and the set of French doors into your suite. When he gets there, do exactly what he says. I trust Kane with my life. More, I trust him with yours.

I don’t know you, Jesse, but I love you. You are my son. You are a Rogan. And that means you are both strong and smart. Be both tonight.

~ Sean

Sean walked into Dante Romero’s house after his thugs disarmed him.

“I want my gun back,” Sean said.

“So you’re Little Rogan. How long has it been? Twenty years?”

“Gun.”

“When you leave.”

“Your sister betrayed Kane.”

“And what? You plan on killing me?” Dante smiled. “And I heard you were the smart Rogan.”

The comparison between Dante Romero and Sean’s brother Liam was right on, he thought. They had the same innate cockiness and superiority complex… and the same distrustful attitude.

“She promised she would help… then turned him over to Flores. I have enough money to buy his freedom.”

“I doubt that.”

“Don’t.”

“What I mean is, Kane’s head is priceless.”

“I will get my brother back.”

“You’re not like them, are you?”

“What the fuck do you mean?”

Dante waved Sean over into another room. “Relax, Sean. The Romeros and Rogans go way back.”

Sean couldn’t relax. He was worried about Kane and Jesse and he wanted to kill Carson Spade. Sean didn’t like that part of him, the part that would do violence to another. He much preferred destroying people with his brains, not his fists or guns.

Sean hesitated, then followed. Dante was a little older than Liam, who was nearly thirty-six. Just as confident, just as charming. Just as deadly.

Dante led Sean into a well-appointed library. If Sean were in the mood, he would have enjoyed the room, with books and art and a state-of-the-art computer system. Dante waved off his security and closed the door so he and Sean were alone.

“Sit.”

“No.”

“Kane at least plays the game.”

Sean grunted out a laugh.

“In his own way.” Dante walked over to his desk and leaned back in the leather chair. “You want me to broker a deal.”

“I want my brother.”

“And your brother wants the kid he was hired to retrieve. Some sort of domestic issue.”

“I’m just his pilot.”

Now Dante laughed. “Oh, Sean, that is so ridiculous. Do you think I’m an idiot? Just a pilot. You think you’re immune to this world, flying your brother around and guarding the plane? That anyone would even believe it anymore? The wrong people know exactly who you are. You can’t be a Rogan on this planet and not have the wrong people keep tabs on you. Your brother did you a grave disservice if he didn’t teach you the laws of the universe long ago.”

Sean crossed the library and put his hands on Dante’s desk. “I want my brother back. I don’t care about the kid, I don’t care about Flores or your ego or your love-hate relationship with my family. I want Kane. I have seven million dollars-one million in cash and six million in bearer bonds. Call Flores and tell him I want to make a trade.”

Dante stared at him for a long minute. Sean could see his brain running through all the possible scenarios. He was definitely intrigued. Then he said, “I want one thing in return.”

“What?” Sean said through clenched teeth.

“Not now. But I will call for a favor, and you will not say no.”

Sean didn’t want to be beholden to this man. He knew nothing about him other than what Kane and Jack had told him. But he knew that Dante was the only one who could broker this deal, and getting that meeting with Flores was crucial to rescuing Kane and Jesse.

“Okay.”

Dante smiled. “Kane is a man of his word, and I will assume you are as well. Don’t disappoint me.”

“Make the call.”

“Dear Sean, this is a game I am exceptionally good at, do not tell me how to do it. I will call you with a time and place.”

“I want my gun back.”

“Of course. It’s a dangerous city. I would never let you walk out of here unarmed.”

Dante made sure Sean Rogan had his weapon and phone returned, then went back to his office.

Six million in bearer bonds.

Kane Rogan was playing a dangerous game, but Dante knew exactly what was going on. Kane, the brilliant fool, had let himself get taken. He wouldn’t tell Sean where that money came from, but he knew that as soon as Sean came to him-and who else would Sean go to in Guadalajara who had any information about where Flores was keeping his brother?-that Dante would know exactly what Kane wanted him to do.

But he had Gabriella to think about. His beautiful, smart, revenge-driven sister.

He closed his eyes and played through every scenario he could imagine-something he was exceptionally good at. And in five minutes he realized that Kane must have gotten to Gabriella. Something he said or did or promised had Gabriella helping him.

Possibly. Sometimes, Dante didn’t understand his sister. Hell, he didn’t understand women. But he did understand Kane Rogan, and he decided that it would be fun to play along and see what happened.

Because Dante knew every party who wanted those bearer bonds. Every. Single. One.

Including the person Kane and JT had originally stolen them from.

It would also greatly benefit him to have Sean Rogan alive.

Sean Rogan who now owed him a favor. A favor that Dante couldn’t wait to call in.

Sean Rogan. He hadn’t seen him since he was a kid, but he was everything he expected. A bit hotheaded. Smart. Manipulative. That kid didn’t know his value. Or maybe he did… which made this deal all the more interesting.

He picked up his secure phone. First he called the eldest Flores brother. Dominick was the only sane one in a family of lunatics. He would take the money over killing Kane-at least, he would be willing to consider it.

It took him a bit of time to get through to Dominick. “What is it, Romero?”

“I’ve been hired by Rogan’s family to negotiate for his return.”

“He’s not up for negotiation.”

“Six million in bearer bonds, plus some cash.”

Silence.

“Do you have the money?”

“The family has it.”

“Who?”

“Sean Rogan.”

“I’ll call you back.” Dom hung up, but Dante knew the Flores family. They would argue, but they would want the money. So he’d either call back and set up the trade, kill Sean and Kane and take the money, or call back and set up the trade and let Sean negotiate.

This was a dangerous game, because there was no doubt Flores knew that Sean was a computer hacker. These people always wanted the best to help them secure their illegally gotten gains. Of course, Dante understood this because he, too, wanted the best.

Either way, Sean would go to the Flores compound with the money and bonds. And it would happen quickly.

Dante dialed a number he hadn’t called in years, but the phone was picked up after two rings.

Dante said, “I found your bonds. And I know who stole them.”

He gave the information to his old friend and they discussed what to do about the situation.

Then he made a third call and left a message.

“I have information you want and it’s free. You have my number.”

He hung up.

Kane Rogan made one fatal mistake. He may know who was looking for the bearer bonds-many people over the years had been looking for them for a variety of reasons-and he may think he would be able to capitalize on that knowledge to create a diversion at the Flores compound. But Dante knew who he’d stolen them from in the first place. And he couldn’t wait to expose Kane.

He truly hoped both Kane and Sean survived Dominick Flores and the rest of the Flores clan. Because the real fireworks were to come later.

And Dante, for one, couldn’t wait to witness that.