TANGO (Dark Waters #4)

Chapter 1

Eric

“Paul?” Frank repeated, and I squeezed my eyes shut and cursed. Everything was heading south so quickly I could barely keep up. “What’s happening?”

“The subject…” The words were like a ball of acid in my throat that slowly dripped down into my chest and burned. “The subject is down—” A cry ripped through me. “Jesus, Frank,” my voice quivered, “Lexi’s dead.”

Silence.

Frank made a sound, and I knew it had hit him, then he cleared his throat and was back to business.

“Have you been compromised?” His normal voice commanded and helped ground me.

“Yes.”

“Pull the pin, take nothing. Get out. You know where to go. And Paul…”

“Yeah?”

“No man left behind. You’ll be met. Do whatever’s necessary to get both of you out.”

“Roger that.” The line went dead.

I glanced at my phone for a moment then shoved it back into my pocket as I desperately tried to clear my head. I needed a way out. I needed to blend in with the locals, and that wouldn’t be easy with Lexi. I knew there would be police everywhere after the convoy was attacked.

I bent down and scooped Lexi’s limp body into my arms and cradled her close to my chest. I raced down the street in the opposite direction from the one Alejandro had taken. Once I got to the end of the alleyway, I risked a quick look around the corner but quickly whirled back around, slamming my back to the wall. Two police cars crawled by with their lights flashing.

“Stay off the streets,” one yelled in broken English over a speaker. “Go inside. It is not safe for you.”

I inched forward, shifting Lexi in my arms, and saw a crowd of young people who looked like tourists, standing in front of the nightclub trying to catch a peek at what was going on. Clearly, the sound of bullets in the distance didn’t get through their drunken revelry. Blood from Lexi’s stomach wound made my hands slippery, and I fought to hold her tight against me. This wasn’t going to work. If one person saw the blood, they’d scream. I sat her against a wall behind a trash bin and peeled off my bloody dress shirt, then whisked out into the busy street. A vendor was preparing to close, and I quickly caught the door as he went to shut it.

“Please,” I said in Spanish, “I need a jacket, or a sweater, a shirt, just something. My friend got sick all over me and I need something clean.” When the man shook his head, I fished out a bill. “This for anything you’ve got.” He turned to a shelf and tugged out a t-shirt and a ratty old blanket. He grabbed the bill and tossed me the stuff then yelled at me to get out. I was happy to oblige.

Keeping my head low as I pulled the shirt over my head, I hurried back to where I’d left Lexi and gently pulled her arms through the sleeves of my suit jacket and fumbled my way through the buttons. I pushed the ratty blanket inside the jacket to try to camouflage the blood.

“I’m so sorry, Lexi.” I tucked her hair behind her ear and fought the nausea that wanted to come up. Suddenly, Keith’s face flashed in front of me, and I heaved over to the side and purged what I had in my stomach. Mostly liquor. More sirens could be heard, and I knew I needed to move. The city wasn’t that big.

Chatter from the crowd in the street had me gather up Lexi again. The group of partiers were loud and obviously had had a lot to drink, which would serve my purpose well. Some had their phones out recording a patrol car that was stopped a few blocks down. Others carried tequila or beer bottles as they milled about. The officers were placing barricades to block off a street. f**k me, the entire city was going to be locked down. If I didn’t get out of here soon, I’d be stuck.

I quickly darted across the pavement and joined the tequila-soaked crowd. Lexi’s arm dangled, and I quickly tucked it up with a comment to a couple girls about my drunk woman.

“Any idea what’s happening?” I stepped closer as I used their bodies to hide me from the police. I had to concentrate hard to fit in and not let my mind go dark.

“No,” one girl looked at me, clearly half in the bag, “but there’s police everywhere.”

“Do you guys know where the blue hotel is?” I played dumb. “My girl’s had way too much to drink.”

“No, sorry, I don’t.” One girl quickly shut me down, but the other pulled out her phone.

“Do you remember the name of it? I could look it up for you.”

“I feel like an ass, but no, I don’t.” I tried to look like a dumb tourist and shrugged with a sloppy smile. I hoped I looked like I’d had a few too many myself.

“s**t, bro, was that gunshots?” One tuned in, and I hoped to hell they didn’t start to freak out or run.

Another police car came by and slowed as they went by us. I tilted Lexi’s body like I was placing her down on her feet when one guy glared at me.

“Dude, she’s too wasted to walk, just carry her ass home.” Then the guy turned and wrapped an arm around his girl’s shoulders.

“That’s what he’s trying to do.” The girl shoved the guy’s arm away.

I scanned the street ahead, and the guy must have caught my uneasiness.

“Take your problems somewhere else dude.” I didn’t like the look he gave me, and I backed off. His other friends seemed to be picking up on the uneasy vibe. Great, just what I needed right now, a scene. I swallowed hard as I felt Lexi’s blood soaking into my t-shirt. I didn’t dare look down and give them a reason to follow my gaze.

“I mean no harm. I’ll ask a local for help.” I stepped back. Just then I spotted Filippo as he raced around a corner and more police lights lit up the building in front of us. They were closing in. It was now or never.

“Let’s bolt. This s**t is getting nuts,” one guy called to his friends, and they all started to walk away.

Normally, I was more resourceful, but given that my head was stuck in a loop, and my brother’s dead wife was in my arms, I found it impossible to get a clear thought.

I whirled around and ducked under an awning to get out of sight.

“Eric.” I couldn’t miss that smooth, whiskey, billionaire voice. “My friend, you look like you could use a hand.” Damn. I wondered how long he’d been watching. “You look like s**t,” he added. Grim’s eyes darted to Lexi in my arms then back up to me. The tattooed cross just below the corner of his eye twitched. It was obvious he knew s**t was going down.

“Grim—” I started to speak, but he shook his head and pressed the button on a key fob. I saw the lights flash on a car. Then he stuck his fob into my jeans pocket, as both my hands were locked around Lexi’s body.

“Black Lincoln across the street.” He turned his back and walked inside the building without even so much as a hesitation.

I didn’t miss a beat either and bolted in the direction of the car. Shouts came from down the street, and I worked quickly. Carefully, I lay Lexi on the back seat, jumped in the front, and, against all my instincts, eased slowly onto the street, thankful the windows were tinted as black as night.

I watched as two police cars rolled up to the building Grim went in, and officers raced inside. I let out a heavy breath and glanced back at Lexi. I knew I just saved the both of us in very different ways.

I drove to the outskirts of town, constantly watching my mirrors. I needed to pick up the pace. It wouldn’t be long before the entire Cartel would realize Lexi and I were nowhere to be found and would be on our trail. I wondered how Castillo would take the news that he’d been working with a former Blackstone agent for over a decade. There was a part of me that wished I could have been a witness to that moment. I’d have liked to have watched as his reputation was ripped away from his nasty hands and watched how others turned their backs on him.

The sun was just up when I pulled into a gas station. I looked around at Lexi. She was as pale as paper, and I reached back and gently brushed my hand down her arm. Once again, I apologized for not being able to keep my promise to her.

I turned the engine off and pulled the blood-soaked blanket out of the suit jacket and folded it over Lexi as though she slept then stepped out of the car and took a quick scan of the place. A chicken truck was parked in front of me. Perfect. I pulled out my phone, cleared the call log to Frank, and tossed it in among the clucking hens.

Years ago, before I left for Mexico, Frank had given me some advice. Find myself a safe place to hide what I might need in case I ever needed to flee. I thanked him internally as I went inside.

The owner of the gas station barely looked at me as he dropped a ring of keys on the dusty old counter. I headed without comment toward the back stockroom and unlocked the door. I’d chosen this place for a good reason. Most people would take one look at the place and want to get in and out as fast as possible. The old guy and I had made an agreement years back, and I had a fancy safe installed under the floorboards that could only be opened with my fingerprint.

After the door was locked behind me. I grabbed a book bag that was slung on a chair and emptied out the contents on the floor. Very aware I’d left Lexi out in the car, I tried to hurry. A sweatshirt hung on a hook nearby, and I pulled it on over my t-shirt. It was small, but it would do. I glanced around. I wanted to be careful not to leave anything behind that could connect me to the old man outside, and that included fingerprints. I ran my stained fingers under the rusty tap and did my best to wash the tacky blood away. My fingernails were a dead giveaway, though, and showed I was deep into something bad. I grabbed a rag and made sure to wipe everything I touched.

I strained to listen in case there was anyone around. Satisfied, I pushed the deep freeze over a few feet, then used the heel of my shoe to jimmy a floorboard to loosen the old nails. I flipped open my pocketknife and popped the nails free. The safe was exactly how I’d left it. I thumbed at the protective flap that hid the screen and placed my middle finger against it. It scanned my print, and a satisfying click vibrated under my finger. With a sigh of relief, I reached inside and pulled out four passports and four stacks of cash that went with each passport’s country. I was even happier when I removed the weapon and two magazines of ammunition. I took out the burner phone. I knew it was already programmed with a single number. Underneath that was a small, square, black box.

I stuffed everything into the bag, tucked the gun into my waistband, and pushed the freezer back in place. I quickly wiped everything with the damp, greasy rag. I hoped it was enough.

Slowly, I opened the door a c***k and looked around. The place was quiet. I made eye contact with the owner as I walked through the office, and he gave me a slight nod that the coast was clear.

“Gracias.” I grabbed a power bar, a battery, and a couple bottles of water and placed some money on the counter along with the keys he’d given me. “I’ll send my last payment next month. Stay safe.”

“You too, mi amigo.” He tucked the money in his shirt pocket and went back to watching his game.

I got back in the car after a quick scan of the area and headed north toward Nueva. The power bar and water helped clear my head, and now I just needed to make sure I got Lexi into the right hands before anything else happened.

“Jesus, if the Cartel got their hands on you…” I muttered like she could hear me. “They’re ruthless creatures. It wouldn’t matter you’re already gone.” I shuddered at the thought and was even more determined to get her body home or die trying.

I rolled the window down, and the cool air brushed my face. I rubbed my temples to relieve the headache that had settled behind my eyes and let my mind drift into a memory.

Everything hurt, and I wanted to stay in my black bliss, but faint voices forced me to the surface...

“Paul, I need you to open your eyes.” Two Franks stood over me, but soon they morphed into one as my eyes focused. I was in a room with gray walls. “We don’t have much time, Paul. I need you to tell me if you can understand what I’m saying. Who’s Cole married to?”

“Savannah. One child, Olivia.” I choked on the sandpaper in my throat.

“Good.”

A memory surfaced. “Who the f**k shot me?”

“We’re not sure.” He looked at his watch then over my head. “Lift the bed so he can sit up.” The head of the bed started to rise, and I winced at the pain. f**k, that hurt.

“Where am I?”

“Well, that depends on your next answer.” He snatched a water from someone in the room and handed it to me. I tossed the straw and poured the cool water down my aching throat. “Paul, as of right now, your brothers think you’re dead. Technically, you did flatline in the chopper on the way back.”

I lowered the cup, confused, and studied Frank with narrowed eyes.

“Hear me out.” He held up his hands. “There was a witness in the Cartel who told Castillo that you were dead. He said he saw it with his own eyes. The news spread like wildfire, and we’re hearing chatter that one of our guys died, but they don’t know for sure exactly who was killed. We can play this in two ways. You come back from the dead and join your brothers, or you fight from the inside and protect your family as a ghost agent.”

“Jesus,” I huffed.

“Look, Paul,” Frank sat on the side of the bed, “I get it’s a lot, but truth be told, you’re the one agent who doesn’t have much for a blood family, no real ties to anything. You’re the one guy who—other than Blackstone, of course—no one knows much about.”

“I see. And what about John?” Blackstone were my brothers, but John was on a different level. He and I were one and the same. “You think he’s going to agree to me doing this?”

“He’ll never know. He can’t know.” Frank put a hand on my arm, but I pulled it back and glared at him.

“I know what this means, Paul. I would never have wished this on you, on anyone, but it’s happened, and when you consider how this could work, how valuable you could be…” He shrugged. “So, maybe if you grew a beard, tattooed some s**t on your arms. Well, I’d handle the rest.”

“What about the informants you have there now?”

“They’re good, but nothing like you could be. You’re business smart, a leader, but most of all you know how they operate. I need someone in Rosarito I trust, someone who can handle Castillo. Things are unraveling fast there, and we need someone like you there to feed us intel.” He looked at his phone. “These opportunities don’t happen often, and I know it’s a lot to digest. We only have a small window to play this right.” The pain I felt wasn’t just from the bullet wound; it radiated through my core as my mind spun.

“Blackstone needs this.”

“How can I lie to them?”

“It’s a necessary lie, Paul, and in fairness, you did die. We were just able to bring you back. But this is a lie to protect them. You’ll be protecting them, just from the other side.”

“If,” I paused, shocked I was even considering this, “I do this, I want to be already established. My name needs to already mean something within the Cartel world. Can you do that?” I didn’t wait for an answer and went on. “I also want a house with soldiers, and I need to know I have constant communication with you when I need it. Regular check-ins.” I shifted. I could remember hearing the horror stories about other agents who had switched to ghost agents and had lost themselves mentally in those positions.

“I’ve already thought that out. You’d be Denton Barlow’s cousin. As for everything else, I’ll handle it. It’ll be done.” He held out a hand, and one of the armed men in the room handed him a small black box. “Do we have a deal?”

I’d do anything for Blackstone and Shadows. He was right. I had no real family. My sister was much older and had her own life struggles, and my aunt who raised me when my parents bounced would survive. No one would really care enough to come looking for me. I tried not to think of John and all the memories we had together. How we talked about our future families and how we were brothers ’til the end.

“Deal.” What the hell was I thinking?

“These,” he set the box next to me, “are going to be given to the team because what Cole went through. We thought it was time you all had some kind of tracker.” He explained how the watch worked. “I removed the battery from yours, but you are and will always be a Blackstone member, so I had this one made for you. This, your passports, money, and a weapon should be stored somewhere safe outside of town. If you ever get compromised, all you need is a watch battery, and once it’s powered up, the tracker will send a signal to us and we’ll find you. If you get caught, pull the pin and swallow it. That way, we can still track you even if the watch is taken.”

“Okay.” I couldn’t believe I was doing this. I hated to know I was going to bring my brothers at Shadows such pain, but if I could make a difference to protect them, I would make the sacrifice.

“Your country thanks you.” Frank shook my hand.

A bump in the road jolted me back to the present, and I shook my head clear. Ten f*****g years I’d lived with and as the enemy, but Frank had kept his word and checked in with me every single month. If I hadn’t had that, I was sure I’d never have survived at all, certainly not as long as I did.

I eyed the small black box, then thumbed it open and pulled the sleek black watch from its case. I pressed my palm hard against the wheel and used my knife to pop the back off, then ripped the battery package open with my teeth. Despite my large hands, I was able to drop it in place and saw the mini contraption come to life. I spotted the little pin in the strap, but only because I knew where to look.

Nice job, Logan.

Once I was a mile from the safehouse, I used the one number that was programmed into the burner phone. I turned it on, shocked that the friggin’ thing even worked, and waited for them to answer.

“Are you here?” It was a male.

“I’m a mile out, in a borrowed car, and I’m not sure—”

He cut me off. “Stay put. We’ll come to you.”

Though I didn’t have the exact address to the safehouse, I did have a point of contact that would have called them once I made it there. We were close to the San Ysidro port of entry between Tijuana and San Diego, and that meant we were in heavy Cartel land.

It didn’t take them long to find me. They had their weapons drawn as they exited their car. Two men opened the back door and carefully lifted Lexi’s body out as three men covered me.

“What’s your code and number?” the one in charge asked.

“Fox One. 135241494.”

The man repeated the information into his radio. “Confirmed. Let’s go.” They formed around me, and we rushed to the Land Rover.

I watched as the others drove off in a different direction with Lexi and we headed for the border.

“Major,” the leader turned in his seat, “we’ve got no time to go to the safehouse. We have orders to cross you now.” He looked at my dress shoes and pants then at my sweatshirt. “Shit.”

Yeah, I looked like I was the one just kidn*pped.