Page 111 of Coff

Okay, now I’m wondering if my brother is delusional. “And how do you plan to do that, given who her dad is?”

“I have enough evidence to put him away. Then Sofia will be free to be with me.”

I spin around and notice the guys all staring at us, impatiently waiting. I turn back. “Are you serious? The man will continue to come after you, even if he is in prison. I’ve heard love makes you blind, but damn, Brian, you know how this works.”

He nods. “I do. And truth be told, I’m hoping Mr. Ruiz doesn’t survive.”

“You brought us here to execute your lover’s father?” I yell a little too loudly. I’m being an asshole, I know. And a hypocrite since I want the man dead, too.

“What’s going on?” Ozzie asks.

Brian glares at me. “No. You have it wrong. Now, I’m going to explain everything to the entire team.” He pushes past me and walks back to the guys.

I reluctantly follow.

“Thank you all for coming out today,” Brian says. “I know Reed was short on the details of this assignment. There is a man who has put out a hit on me.” He pulls his phone out of his pocket and pulls up a photo, then shows each of us. “This is Mr. Ruiz. He is in charge of the cartel’s drugs going into San Diego. I’ve been working to stop him by pretending to be a dirty agent. He found out that I’ve been undercover this entire time.”

“How did he find out?” Axel asks.

Brian puts his phone into his pocket. “I’m not sure of that. We need to detain him and his crew. He has three guys who work closely with him. I’m sure one of them is looking for me. I have photos of all three in my car. It’s parked next to your rentals.”

“Rentals?” I ask. I’m not going to say the FBI is cheap, but well, they are, so more than one car is surprising. And that, on top of a private flight here.

“Two cars were delivered this morning. Due to the nature of the assignment, it makes sense for you to work in teams of two.”

Durango crosses his arms. I don’t have to ask to know what he’s thinking. We don’t like others telling us how to run an operation. And that is what my brother is trying to do. We don’t split up unless we have to.

“Explain,” Axel says.

Yeah, he’s thinking the same thing.

Brian glances around. “Mr. Ruiz will be at a fundraiser tonight. His front is that he’s a wealthy businessman.” Brian frowns. “Well, his cover. He actually is one, but most of his wealth has come from the cartel; however, the elite of San Diego do not know that.”

“Wait,” I step forward. “No one suspects he has ties to the cartel? They buy his businessman front?”

Brian licks his lips again, and I’m realizing it’s a nervous tick he’s developed. “Well, if anyone knows more, they aren’t speaking to the FBI about it.”

“Is there something you’re not telling us?” Durango asks, his arms crossed. “Because you and Coff appeared to have quite a heated discussion over there.” He nods to where we were standing.

Brian closes his eyes. When he opens them, he tells the guys everything he told me. They ask the same questions I did.

Ozzie looks at each one of us, then back to Brian. “You want us to go to this fundraiser and kidnap him, then kill him?” Ozzie asks.

I bite back a grin. Ozzie doesn’t mince words with Brian. They’ve worked together enough that Ozzie and Brian have grown close. Like brothers. He already is like one to me as my roommate.

Brian frowns. “The FBI doesn’t kidnap; we detain. And no, you do not have an order to kill.”

“Of course. That’s what I meant,” Ozzie says.

Brian shakes his head. “It makes sense for two of you to attend and two to be watching from the outside. Now I managed to get a couple of invitations for you.”

Axel steps forward. “With all due respect, you’ve worked with us enough times to know that we decide how the operation goes. Why are you trying to direct us this time?”

That’s exactly what I want to know as well.

“Look, there will be a lot of civilians at this event. And the press will be covering it. You can’t go in all rogue, throw a bag over his head, and carry him out. There needs to be some finesse,” Brian says, then licks his lips again.

Damn, maybe it’s more than a nervous tick. Maybe that’s how the cartel figured him out.

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