Page 37 of Temptation and Treachery
Chapter Seventeen
Celeste glanced around at the group gathered in the conference room. Men filled several rows of chairs while Kari made herself comfortable on a side table. She winked, patting the spot beside her. Vix leaned her hip on the table, crossing her arms as she took in the whole group with a big grin.
Celeste crossed the room, her inner fashionista chastising her for purposely standing next to someone wearing the exact same outfit she wore. But nobody seemed to give them a second look.
Ever since showing up for breakfast, things had been different. No more curious looks. No checking her out. The men had been courteous and respectful. Heat climbed up her cheeks. They must all know where she spent the night.
“Settle down, guys,” Gatlin bellowed as Rio took the floor. Even among the cast of military men, he stood out as a man in command.
“We’ve identified another threat from the Ayala cartel,” Rio began.
“But we got Ayala himself, didn’t we?” one of the men asked.
“Ayala and the others captured during the raid are in custody,” Rio replied. “But recent intel leads us to believe we have an imposter passing himself off as Ayala.” A handful of curses made their way around the room. “I extended the forty-eight-hour media blackout on the arrests in order to lure out our unsub. Gatlin will give you the details.”
Rio stepped back, folding his arms as he leaned against the far wall. Their gazes locked for several heartbeats, and she could almost feel him surrounding her again.
Gatlin brought up their presentation on the screen. “This is the timeline we have for Ayala.” He clicked, separating the timelines. “Our intel says the unsub may be responsible for the events in Mazatlán, Tampico, and Monclova where we had tourists and non-cartel casualties.” Anger raked at her insides, leaving her chest raw. “In addition, we have two other events in Hermosillo and Juarez that don’t fit his M.O.”
“Do we have any idea who the unsub might be?” the man behind her asked.
“No,” Rio replied. “We only learned about the imposter after we arrested Ayala.”
“This could be a rival cartel or one of his own crew.” Gatlin switched to a diagram of Oz’s organization. “The unsub has a phone we’re tracking, but it’s an older generation, so no GPS.” The group replied with a grunt and a couple of annoyed exhales. “The best I can tell you is he/she is in Monterrey.”
With a city the size of Monterrey, it would be nearly impossible to pinpoint someone if you didn’t know who you were looking for.
“We’ll be rolling directly after the briefing so we can set up Eagle’s Nest at the Flamenco. Four teams will be dispatched at thirty-minute intervals to surround La Caverna hotel, the plaza on the next block, and the warehouse at the rear. We’ll be rerouting traffic so we have as little civilian intervention as possible.” The screen showed a twelve-block area with highlighted spots. “Snow White will check into the hotel, then walk out the back to switch off with Parker. I’ll take Snow White to Eagle’s Nest and text the unsub with the meet-point.”
Rio’s gaze found her again, a hint of amusement on his lips at Gatlin’s use of her code name.
“We don’t know where this guy is, so it could be hours or it could be days.” Several men nodded. “Parker will set up a pinhole camera in the hallway in case he decides to track her down.” He brought up a blueprint of the hotel. “Once we’ve identified the unsub, we’ll move in. Remember, we want to bring this guy in alive. We need information on his network.”
“We’ll make contact with the unsub once the second team is in position,” Rio added. “Holiday will be on point at Eagle’s Nest.” A man with a too-serious expression nodded toward her. “I’ll run the op with Damian, from the communications van.”
“Any questions?” Gatlin asked, looking around the room.
Kari raised her hand. “More of a comment, since I don’t usually have an active part in these things.”
“Go ahead.”
“I can’t stress enough how important it is to keep your medic safe and unharmed,” she said with a heartfelt expression and a hand to her chest. Celeste grinned as chairs scraped the floor and a couple of the guys shot out dismissing remarks.
Gatlin just shook his head. “Let’s roll.”
…
The taxi cut through traffic at breakneck speed. Celeste grasped the door handle and seat, hanging on for dear life. She wanted to check on Kari’s car to see if she was still in one piece. Rio’s plan started with them traveling separately. If they arrived together, the story about her escaping the raid wouldn’t sound true. Instead, the group would meet at La Caverna then split up.
The driver made a sharp right, coming to a hard stop in front of the hotel. “Here you go, lady.” Celeste handed him the fare and a generous tip for delivering her alive before stepping out to the sidewalk. She resisted the urge to search the street for the car with Kari and Gatlin. Even though, with her oversized sunglasses, nobody would likely notice.
She went to the front desk, asking for a room on the first floor.
“Only one night, miss?” asked the older lady, her nails clicking away at the keyboard.
“Yes.”
“Do you need help with your luggage? I can call someone up front.” Her voice dropped off with a note of curiosity.
