She wrapped her arms around herself, rubbing them as if she were cold. “I-I don’t understand. Someone actually...hired those men to take me?”
Following her lead, Jake reclaimed his chair as well. Propping his elbows on the table’s wooden top, he fisted his hands together and said, “Most of what went down is classified. I can’t give you all the details, but I’ll tell you what I can.”
She nodded her understanding.
“There was a group of men. Powerful men, with more money than God. Each month, they would put together the type of auction Cetro and his men were planning to take you to. One of the rich assholes saw your picture in the paper. It was with an article about relief workers offering aid to the victims of the hurricane.”
Olivia absentmindedly nodded again. “I remember a few people taking pictures of us while we were working there. Some asked for our names and wanted to know where we were from. I thought it was great exposure for the program.”
“I’m sure that was the intent behind the article, but the guy we went after saw it, saw you, and decided he...wanted you.” Jake worked to bite back his anger, hoping she didn’t notice how tightly his clenched fists had become. “He hired Cetro and his men to take you and hold you until the next auction.”
Olivia thought for a moment, and then said, “Okay. So, I get why you left the way you did, but why were you gone for so long? Jason and the other agents acted like you’d only be gone a few days. And why couldn’t you at least call or text me during that time to let me know you were okay?”
Jake understood her frustration. The two-day job had almost immediately turned into the mother of all cluster fucks. Ryker’s contact was supposed to meet with the team after they’d landed that night. He never showed.
“The situation we were in was delicate. I couldn’t risk either one of us by trying to contact you, even with a simple text. But, I swear to you, Olivia...when I left, I thought we’d only be gone a couple of days. A week, max.”
With genuine concern, Olivia asked, “So, what happened?”
“Like I said, I can’t tell you most of it, because it’s classified. The rest...”—Jake sighed. “Hell, Liv. You’ve got enough bad shit stored up inside already. I refuse to add to it when it’s not necessary. All you need to know is that my team did its thing. We found a way in, got what we needed, and took the organization down. Permanently.”
Jake wasn’t trying to be a chauvinistic prick. Olivia didn’t need to know that, two days after they’d landed in Argentina—where they were supposed to meet Homeland’s contact—Ryker had called with confirmation that his guy was found dead, his body dismembered.
He’d either been made as a snitch, or he’d pissed off someone in the group badly enough that they’d taken him out. In any case, the guy’s death had caused Jake and his team to start from scratch, in turn, extending the length of the mission by a whole fucking lot.
Olivia covered her mouth and inhaled deeply through her nose. Her entire body started to shake, making Jake feel helpless.
He wanted to take her in his arms and promise that everything would be okay. Vow that nothing bad would ever happen to her again. Instead, he stayed glued to his chair.
What she’d said earlier was true. She was a lot stronger than he gave her credit for, and didn’t need him swooping in every time there was a problem. Even if every primal instinct he had was screaming at him to do just that.
As much as he hated it, Jake forced himself to give her a few minutes to process everything without him rushing to her rescue. Finally, her eyes met his.
“But you got him, right? The man who wanted to b-buy me?”
Jake nodded once, his voice deadly. “We got him.”
She took in a cleansing breath and let it out slowly. “Did you kill him?”
Jake shook his head. She’d never know how hard it was for him not to put a bullet through the fucker’s brain.
“Unfortunately, we needed the asshole alive so we could use the information he had to help shut the entire organization down for good.”
Olivia sat quietly for a moment before asking, “And Cetro? Is he...”
“In a cell awaiting transport to the States. He’s been in a Mexican prison for about six weeks now. A trial will be set soon. He’s been charged with the murders of your friends and your kidnapping, along with human and drug trafficking charges, and a slew of other shit. Ryker’s going for the death penalty, and he’ll get it.”
Jake didn’t tell her he and his team found Cetro hiding out in a small village near the Texas border. Even now, the thought of him being so close to Olivia made his skin crawl.
“W-who was the man? The one who hired Cetro to take me?”
“I’m sorry, baby. I can’t tell you his name. However, I can promise he will never be able to hurt you or anyone else, ever again.”
Olivia stood and walked past him toward her living room, her body full of nervous energy. She ran a shaking hand through her hair several times, totally unaware—or maybe just not caring—that she’d pulled the elastic band loose from her ponytail.
The black ring went unnoticed as it fell to the floor behind her. She rubbed both hands across her face before turning back around.
“This is all so unreal. I can’t believe there are people out there who’d actually do such despicable things to another human being.”
Then, as if she’d suddenly realized something awful, a look of horror swept over her face.
Both hands flew to her chest, almost as if she were actually trying to reach in and grab hold of her
