CHAPTER 21

ON A BREAK DURING THE FBI BRIEFING, Cal called Noah and left a message. He wanted Seattle’s most popular professional athlete to know he was risking his own life to save his son. Even while he was leaving the message, Cal felt strange about it. He didn’t want to brag or seem like some hero, but he did want Noah to appreciate the sacrifices he was making to save Jake.

Five minutes after he left the message, he received a text from Noah: “Thx.”

Cal felt like complaining to Kelly about it but then thought it would make him sound like a whiny brat. That’s it? A simple three-letter text response? Instead, he began pondering a better question: What were his true motivations? To be a hero and get an award-winning story? Or to help a dad get his son back? It shouldn’t have been a question Cal had to ask—and if he was asking it, maybe the answer wasn’t so noble. This couldn’t be about him. It had to be about Jake and Noah and nothing else. If something else beneficial to his career came out of this, then great. But he had to get the proper mindset: He would do this if no one else ever heard about it or read about it. This wasn’t about him.

Cal returned to the briefing room and sat down next to Kelly.

“You think you can do this?” Cal asked her again.

“Geez, Cal, I’m not some China doll. I think you know I can handle myself. Why else would you have asked me to go?”

Cal smiled. He wanted to answer her rhetorical question but decided against it. There were multiple reasons why he wanted her to go. If she couldn’t figure that out, she wasn’t as smart as Cal gave her credit for being.

To Cal, Kelly’s fiery spirit was more attractive than her striking outward appearance. Her mom once told Cal about Kelly’s first co-ed soccer practice. After 30 minutes, Kelly realized the boys were not passing her the ball. She ended that with an impromptu speech about how they better start passing her the ball and just because she was a girl was no excuse to leave her out. The next pass went to her and she buried the ball in the back of the net. She finished the season as the team’s second-leading scorer. That attitude made Kelly stand out in a crowd. She could be a dainty princess one minute, a Marine commander the next. She was her own woman—and she was going to make a fine partner on this operation in Juarez.

The briefing last another 30 minutes and wrapped up just before one o’clock.

“Your plane leaves in two hours,” Solterbeck said, handing the journalists a packet with their itinerary and contacts in Juarez. “You’ll find your new agency issued passports as well. Getting in and out of the country will be a breeze for you with these. Any final questions?”

“Nope. I think we’ve got a good idea of what we’re supposed to do: locate where they are holding Jake and tell you what we can about the compound.”

“That’s it. Good luck, you two.”

* * *

MR. HERNANDEZ HEARD THE TIRES BARK as his Gulfstream G450 touched down on his personal runway, and he headed outside. Having a place to land your private jet meant dispensing with government employees. The amount he saved on bribes alone for officials at Gonzalez International more than paid for the paved strip.

He stood near the door and waited for Diaz to exit.

“How was your flight?” Hernandez asked as Diaz began lumbering down the plane’s steps.

“Good.”

“So, we have much to discuss, starting with how we’re going to dispense of Mr. Murphy and his lady friend.”

“It will be my pleasure.” Diaz snarled and cast a menacing gaze toward his boss.

Hernandez had seen this look only once before from Diaz. It came when a member of the Menendez cartel nearly killed him. A few weeks later, Hernandez found the man in his compound, tied to a chair and barely alive. Diaz had cut off the man’s fingers and used them to gouge his eyes out. Five years later, the image still haunted Hernandez.

“What really happened in Houston, Diaz?”

Diaz ignored the question. “How are we going to dispense of Mr. Murphy?”

Hernandez shuttered. He knew Diaz’s thirst for revenge would only be quenched one way.

“Let’s go inside and talk.”