Page 34 of Challenging Jayce

"I'm sorry you had to deal with that." She grabbed Michael's hand. "Are you sure you're okay?"

"Yeah, I'm fine. Dad showed up and I never had to speak to the guy."

Dad. She liked hearing him refer to Jayce that way and it would appear so did her brother. It wasn't a conventional parenting situation, but it looked like it was going to work for them.

"So what's the plan?" Shaun asked.

"I wait for Luke to get back to me, but either way, I'm going after the Diego Cartel."

"I know someone in Texas who can help you."

Jayce lifted his brow at her brother's declaration.

"One of the guys I worked with at the VA. His wife was a Green Beret and has crazy good connections. I already asked her to look into things. I know she would be willing to help. They’re good people."

"What are their names?"

"Frankie and Annie Sanders. Like I said, they’re good people."

"I'm not saying they aren't, but I'll have Caden check into them anyway. I trust him with my life."

Shaun nodded his head in agreement.

"If they check out, then I'll stop over in Texas. I'll need to find a way to cross over into Mexico. Preferably undetected."

"I'm sure Annie can help with that. Her connections are pretty damn incredible."

Kennedy just sat back with Michael as Jayce and Shaun worked through a plan. Words like passport and helos were thrown around. She only half listened while giving the rest of her attention to her nephew. This was their domain, not hers, so she would leave all the planning to them and instead wait until the time was right to help as she could.

CHAPTER20

It only tooka couple of days but he was in Texas. Just as he thought, his friends had readily agreed that being proactive in this situation was for the best. As it turned out, Annie and Frankie weren't just friends of Shaun's but they also knew the mysterious Tex who was constantly helping his team. Because of their connection, Caden gave them glowing recommendations; a good thing too, since it would appear Annie had been extremely busy since Shaun reached out to her.

"Jayce, this is Annie and her husband, Frankie. Guys, this is Jayce. He's the one looking to take out the Diego Cartel before they come after Michael."

Shaun had given him a rundown of his friends on the flight down. Frankie worked at the VA helping vets adjust to hearing loss. Based on the cochlear implant Frankie had, he was a great person for the job.

Annie, on the other hand, was attending med school after leaving the Army. Jayce respected the woman without even knowing her. She was a former Green Beret who commanded her own team. That alone was both a difficult and impressive feat.

"Michael is such a great kid. We're more than happy to help in any way we can." Annie took charge just like he expected she would.

Frankie looked content to hang back and listen.

"Shaun mentioned you already had some information for us."

"Yes," Annie answered, getting straight to the point. He preferred that. "Between the help of Tex and my father, we were able to get the main location for the Diego Cartel. My father went down with one of his friends to scout the area until you get there but the leader of the cartel, Manuel Diego, and his two top guys are all here at the moment. The locals say they spend a couple weeks a month there at a time, so as long as you move quickly, you should catch them."

Good. He would rather this was done as soon as humanly possible. He didn't want to give them time to make the connection to Michael. So far, it would seem they hadn't, but it was only a matter of time.

"Are we able to get into Mexico undetected?" he turned to Caden and asked. In addition to Shaun, Luke, Caden, and Nash had joined the trip down south. Ryker, Austin, and Dom stayed back to guard Michael and Kennedy. Oh, and to help with the remodel since Kennedy thought it would be the perfect thing to help distract both her and Michael.

"Yes,” Caden replied, “but I would prefer to keep the specifics to myself. Plausible deniability and all that."

"I don't care how I get there as long as I get in and out without any issues."

He didn't need specifics, he trusted Caden implicitly. The man had saved his ass on more than one occasion. If he said not knowing was the best course of action, then so be it.

They spent the next few hours going over a plan. When they were sure they could slip in and out of Mexico without being detected, Jayce called Kennedy to give her an update and to check up on her. It had been a while since he cared enough about a person to contact them while on an assignment, and if he were being honest with himself, he kind of liked it.

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