Beady Eyes turned his head, and then he winced as his face was shoved against the door.
Lauren kept his gun trained on him.
His gaze narrowed as he focused on her. “Chuparla, bitch.”
Beady Eyes whirled around, and Jaden slammed his knee into the guy’s gut. Before he could react, the Latino ended up flat on his back on the ground in the hallway with Jaden straddling the man’s torso. His arms were tight to his side, trapped by Jaden’s unyielding thighs.
Jaden’s gaze swept the hallway, reminding Lauren other bad guys could be lurking nearby.
She stepped over the unconscious guy in the tub and stood over Beady Eyes. “Where’s my brother? What have you done to him?”
He grinned. White crooked teeth contrasted against his dark brown skin.
“You heard the lady. Where’s her brother?” Jaden demanded, shoving the barrel of his gun into the guy’s forehead hard enough to leave a mark.
Beady Eyes glared at them. “Do you see him here?” He paused a beat. “Me, either.”
“Right. You’re nothing. Your bosses would never trust you with important information,” Jaden taunted.
“Do you think he knows where Max is?” she asked Jaden.
“You sure this is the guy?”
“Yes. I think. I mean I was so freaked out on the phone I can’t be sure, but it sounds like him.” Hearing his voice again had her shaking with a mix of fear, anger, and resentment.
With one hand, Jaden pulled his cell from his back pocket, snapped a pic, and hit Send. His other held the insurance Beady Eyes wouldn’t move to his forehead. “Gotcha.”
He pocketed his cell, and then jerked Beady Eyes to his feet, forcing him to walk in front of them. “Move.”
Lauren followed closely behind as Jaden led them into the living room. She gasped when she saw Gregory slumped over in the corner. His lifeless eyes were open and a wire wrapped around his neck.
Jaden made quick work of tying Beady Eyes to a chair before moving to Lauren.
“Gregory,” she said in almost a whisper.
Jaden’s lips thinned and she could see the frustration and grief in his eyes. His presence brought a sense of calm it shouldn’t have as his hand closed around her arm reassuringly, moving her out of earshot.
“If this guy doesn’t know where my brother is, does that mean Max is…?” She couldn’t bring herself to finish the question.
“They most likely transferred Max to another location. The guys heading operations like these don’t take chances. They move victims around, using different people each time. I doubt this scumbag would know where the new location is. But he’d know if he handed Max off alive.”
Alive? Oh, God. Lauren thought she might be sick.
His attention turned to the screen on his phone. “The first scumbag has been identified. He works for the Menendez cartel out of Venezuela. We know a few of their hiding spots. One of our female agents, Helena, has been working with them for months. She’ll know where to look.”
“Won’t matter if they think they don’t need Max, right?” She could barely bring herself to ask.
“I’m sure he’s okay,” Jaden said. “We haven’t figured out the real reason they took him. It wasn’t money.”
“Sounds like an operation they have down pat,” Lauren said, hating the panic in her voice.
“These are the same guys who smuggle little girls out of our country and sell them into the sex trade. When they’re not doing that, they’re funneling money in. They have sophisticated channels set up like you wouldn’t believe.”
Lauren’s shoulders dropped forward. With effort, she forced her back straight, refusing to let them win. She wouldn’t cry anywhere near those jerks. They didn’t deserve the satisfaction. “It sounds so hopeless.”
“Not hopeless, sweetheart. We’ll find him. I can’t figure out one thing though. Why are they looking for you? They must want you something awful to come looking in a hurricane.”
A shiver ran down Lauren’s spine. Why would they want her? She hadn’t done anything wrong. She’d never once so much as cheated on her tax return. She drove the speed limit. “They don’t know me, except that I’m related to Max. I haven’t gotten mixed up with anyone bad that I know of. Work is my life.” She searched his face, needing him to believe her. “Is it the money?”
He shrugged. “None of it makes sense. You’re not involved. So why keep coming at you?”
“How on earth did they find us here? And Gregory…” Tears streamed down her cheeks.
“He could’ve been involved. We find Max and we’ll get answers to both our questions,” Jaden said quickly.
Did something warm flicker in his eyes?
“Don’t you mean if he’s still alive?” she asked.
“He is,” Jaden said confidently.
It was confidence Lauren wished she had, but didn’t. Max’s situation had never felt more hopeless to her. A hot tear broke loose and raced down her cheek. “How can you be so sure?”
“Professional hunch,” he said calmly.
How he was being so cool, she had no clue. The whole situation had her nerves jittery.
One glance in the corner toward Gregory had her stomach churning. “Your instincts always right?”
“I’ve only been wrong once before,” he said.
“Let’s hope this doesn’t make twice,” she said, but he didn’t hear. He’d already moved back to the South American.
“Where’d you take the gringo?”
Beady Eyes’ lips thinned. He said nothing.
“Oh, you want to do this the hard way? That works too,” Jaden said. He palmed a set of matches, lit the first one, and held it against the guy’s hairline.
He shook his head, and then huffed out a breath. The flame flickered and extinguished. His black eyes were unreadable.
Jaden lit another match and waved it close to the Latino. “He still alive?”
Beady Eyes nodded.
“Where then?”
“I already said I don’t know.”
“Fine.” Jaden balled up a piece of paper before setting it on fire. He dropped it in the Latino’s lap.
Chapter 12
Beady Eyes bucked, trying to knock the lit match off his lap. “Damn. I told you everything I know.
