Page 68 of Resolution

“Why?” Miguel asked.

“You know Damon has some way of listening in on phone conversations. He told us about it back in the office.”

“Yeah?” I asked.

“Well, after we all talked, he went back to listen in.”

“And?” I began feeling panicky.

“And, Damon overheard a conversation with Mancuso talking with who we can only guess is Rafael Castillo, Oscar’s half-brother, head of the cartel. He said that everyone but a handful of his sicarios who’ll be going to the bank with Flores and Aston, are staying put until they come back with the money, locked up inside the house.”

“Does that mean they know about the FBI raid on the compound?” Miguel asked.

I glanced over at him. He was frowning.

“We can’t be sure. It might just be that Rafael doesn’t want to risk Oscar’s life, but the reason for it doesn’t matter. I just wanted to let you know that when we do breach, Oscar and possibly Rafael will be inside the house.”

“How does this change things?” Miguel asked.

Lincoln stood. “It doesn’t really change anything. Whether they suspect the raid or not, we’re still going in. I just wanted you to know that if they do suspect something, they may have taken extra security measures, that’s all. We’re still going forward. We’re going to do our jobs and rescue those hostages, while putting an end to Castillo and if we’re lucky, his half-brother, Rafael, assuming he’s in the house also.”

Miguel nodded at Lincoln. “Thanks for letting us know, Snow.”

“No problem.” Lincoln walked back to his seat.

“Don’t worry, Raven. It’s better to know than not to know.”

I frowned at him. “I wish the FBI and DEA didn’t have to go through with this fucking raid at all. I naively thought it was going to be easier.”

Miguel squeezed my hand. “It never was going to be easy, Raven. That’s why we stopped in Houston to pick up the FBI’s best tac team. Trust me. We’re going to be just fine.”

I nodded, feeling a knot in my belly. Moments later, the flight attendant opened the door at the front of the plane, not far from where we sat. Boots clomped up the steps.

Jarrett and SAC Sarah Connor, were the first to get on the plane. They greeted us with smiles before moving to the rear. Next to board was the Spec. Ops tac team that I’d heard so much about. I watched them with interest as they came aboard, and wasn’t disappointed in the least.

Watching the FBI’s tac team board the plane was like spending an evening at Chippendales. They came onto the plane one by one, bowing their heads as they walked down the aisle carrying small duffels, some nodding, some smiling. All of them were perfectly intimidating in their all-black tac gear. There were quite a variety of sizes, some tall, some on the shorter side. One had a deep scar tracking down his cheek which disappeared into a full red beard. He looked like a Viking. Most wore knives at their belts, one so massive, I was positive it had to be a prop right off the set ofCrocodile Dundee. All of them were physically fit, evidenced by the defined muscles that were outlined through the long-sleeved, fitted, black T-shirts they wore with black cargo pants.

They took their seats in economy behind us, and I marveled at how some of them managed to fit themselves into seats not made for men their size. The Viking stood speaking with Lincoln and Mac, and I guessed he was their leader or whatever they called a man in charge of a tac team. When they were finally all seated, the plane took off again, flying into the night sky for the two-hour, forty-seven-minute flight, according to the pilot. I wondered if the pilot and co-pilot were FBI also.

We flew in a commuter jet, but this wasn’t a commercial flight. I could only assume it was owned and maintained by the Bureau. We’d checked in with TSA when we’d boarded through LAX’s executive terminal. The only thing I knew about it was that it catered to wealthy fliers who took private planes and thought themselves too good or too rich to mingle with the masses.

Miguel was subdued during the last leg of the journey, sitting beside me with his eyes closed, although I knew he wasn’t sleeping.He’s probably gearing up, figuring out how many bad guys he’s going to kill once he gets in there. Shut up. Shut up. Shut up. Get a grip, Mathis. He doesn’t need you falling apart now. He needs you to believe in him. That’s your role here.As if I’d said the words out loud, he opened his eyes and turned to face me.

“Stop worrying. I can hear the gears in your brain turning a mile a minute. Once we get there, things are gonna happen fast, Raven, and you have to be prepared.”

I nodded. “Yes…be prepared…okay.” I bit my lower lip. “Be prepared for what exactly?”

He smiled. “They’ll probably give you an earwig so you can listen in to whatever’s happening inside the house and if they don’t do it right off, your stubborn ass is going to bellyache until you get one.”

I opened my mouth to…what? Agree? Probably. But I shut it as he raised his hand.

“Let me finish.” He looked down at my lap where I was twisting both hands together. He reached over and took one. “Listen. There’s probably not going to be a whole lot of negotiating once we get in there. There will be shooting, lots of it. You’ll hear running and screaming, cries of pain and all that shit.” He stared at me, eyes clear, a small frown on his face.

“If we find the hostages dead or alive, someone—whoever finds them first—is gonna announce that, so the rest of us know. The whole reason we’re going in there is to find living hostages. If we don’t, well, we’ll be bringing out bodies, Raven. I don’t want you to see that, especially if it’s Tawny or even Brian Leopard. That’s gonna be hard for you to take and frankly, we have no idea what they’ve been put through. Understand?”

I swallowed hard. “You mean torture, right?”

He nodded. “Yes. I’ve seen some of that and I can tell you, it’s not a pretty sight. I don’t want you to have those memories.” He reached out and placed his palm over my heart then looked up at me. “I don’t want this gentle, kind heart to be broken. That’s the stuff of nightmares, the kind of stuff you can’t put out of your mind. I never wanted you touched by that. I don’t want you tainted by what you see.”

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