“Us?” Colt repeated.
Alex shrugged those linebacker shoulders. “Things have been pretty dull here lately. I could use a little excitement.”
Lissa brightened. “That would be great, Alex. We could really use your help.”
“Things could get rough,” Colt warned.
Alex grinned, flashing a mouth full of ivory in a darkly masculine face women loved. “Sounds perfect.”
Colt leaned back in his chair, damned glad to have Alex on board. “All right,” he said. “Let’s make it happen.”
The three of them went to work.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LISSA REALLY LIKED Alejandro, who preferred she call him Alex. He was smart and capable and, once they had come up with a plan, determined to make it work.
“We’ll leave this afternoon, fly across the border into Nuevo León and down to Monterrey. It’s only a hundred and thirty miles, an easy flight in this weather.”
“Where do we land?” Colt asked.
“There’s a small private airport south of the city. The owner, Benito Cortez, is a friend. He and his family are extremely well connected. I’ll call him, ask him to find out what he can about El Puñal. We need a location. Info about the area where the guy lives, and anything else Benito might be able to come up with.”
Lissa felt a rush of excitement. She was eager to get started, but she wanted to find out if there was anything new on Spearman or Timmy first. “I need to make some calls, as well. See if there are any new developments before we leave.”
Pulling her cell from the pocket of her black stretch jeans, she excused herself and walked out into the hot, humid air. She made the call from a spot in the shadow of a metal building, which provided at least a little shade.
This was her second call to Julie that day. She had phoned from the motel first thing that morning. Ray hadn’t brought Timmy home or phoned to let Julie talk to him.
“Lissa...” Julie’s voice trembled over the line. “I was hoping you’d call again. Have you found Timmy?”
“Not yet. I just wanted to let you know we’re still on the road. We’ve got a couple of leads we’re pursuing. I’ll keep you posted. If you hear from Ray, phone me immediately.”
“I will.”
“I’ve got another call to make, so I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in touch soon.”
“You said you had a couple of leads,” Julie pressed.
Lissa didn’t want to tell her they were flying into Mexico. She didn’t want to frighten her friend even more than she was already.
“Nothing concrete. I’ll let you know as soon as we figure out where he is.”
Lissa hit the end button before Julie could ask any more questions. Next she phoned Detective Mack Handley.
“I would have called,” Mack said, “but I’ve been waiting, hoping to have something to tell you.”
“I guess that means you don’t have Spearman in custody.”
“No such luck. The guy was long gone before we got the wheels in motion. We’ve got BOLOs out all over the state, but there are thousands of silver Chevy pickups in Texas. Without a license plate number or something more useful than a man and a boy in a truck, we don’t have much chance of finding him.”
“We think he’s already crossed the border, Mack. We’re exploring that angle.”
“Meaning you’re headed to Mexico? I don’t like the sound of that.”
“Meaning we’re keeping our options open.”
“You and the Special Forces guy?”
She and Mack were friends. She had told him she was going after Timmy, and knowing he would be worried, she had mentioned Colt Wheeler. “Yes. Colt’s with me.”
She could almost see the burly cop nodding. “Good. Those guys know how to handle themselves. You two take care. I come up with anything, I’ll let you know.”
“Thanks, Mack.”
Ending the call, she finger-combed her hair back from her face, thankful she kept it short, and walked back into the air-conditioned office.
“Anything?” Colt asked.
“No, which means we’re probably right and he’s already crossed into Mexico.”
“There’s bottled water and Cokes in the fridge in the other room,” Alex said. “Help yourselves while I call Cortez.”
Lissa headed toward a door at the rear of the office, Colt close behind her. The lunchroom had a table and chairs, a Formica counter with a sink, and a refrigerator. She pulled open the door of the fridge.
“Coke or water?”
“Water.”
She took one for herself and handed a bottle to Colt.
“Thanks.” Both of them twisted off the caps and took long, refreshing swallows, then sat down at the table to wait for Alex.
“You ready for this?” Colt asked.
“Ready or not—I’m going. You think this guy, Cortez, can help us?”
“If Spearman’s a fixer for the cartel, he’s got money and plenty of it. People with money are usually not that hard to find.”
“Then why hasn’t he been arrested and put back in prison?”
“Exactly the same reason. He’s got money. In Mexico, money equals power. Mordidas is the name of the game.”
“Bribes.”
“Exactly. El Puñal pays off the local authorities and lives his life without a problem. That’s why he feels safe bringing Timmy into his home.”
“Assuming we’re right.”
One of his dark blond eyebrows arched up. “You don’t think so?”
She sighed. “Unfortunately, I do.”
Colt tipped up the water bottle and took several long swallows, moving the corded muscles in his throat. She tried not to think of last night, of pressing her mouth against the spot on the side of his neck where his pulse beat under her tongue. She tried not to remember inhaling the scent of salty skin and hot, virile male.
She turned away as her nipples tightened beneath the orange T-shirt she had put on that morning.
Colt rose from the table. “Let’s go check out our gear, make sure we have everything we need.”
Lissa nodded. She had a feeling Colt knew exactly what was in his gear bag. So did she, but it never hurt to double check.
They headed out into the heat and Colt popped the trunk on the Mustang. He unzipped a long black canvas bag to reveal what looked like
