Page 13 of Protecting Bree
“Hi,” Bree said.
Tex went on as if Bree hadn’t spoken.
“I’m on this,” he said. “I tracked a large sum of money that appeared in your ex’s account before you were taken. I traced it back through a series of other accounts to find the source. The organization that wants you is no joke. It’s bad news. And unfortunately, it’s tied to an asshole who was taken out a few years ago. Del Rio was at the top of his game in Peru before the Mountain Mercenaries and Silverstone took him out.”
Smiley looked at Bree to see how she was taking Tex’s no-nonsense talk. She was staring at the phone with no expression on her face. Without thought, he reached over and took her hand in his, resting their clasped hands on her thigh. She looked at him briefly, squeezed his hand, then turned her attention back to the phone.
“Tied how?” Safe asked.
“From what I’ve been able to dig up, the man in charge was one of the guys who used to supply del Rio with women.”
“Fuck.”
“Are you shitting me?”
“Damn.”
Smiley agreed with his teammates. They all knew about del Rio and how ruthless his operation had been. They didn’t know any of the Mountain Mercenariespersonally, but they’d heard how the leader’s wife had been kidnapped while in Las Vegas and held for an entire decade. It was only Rex’s relentless determination to find out what happened to her that led to del Rio finally being taken out.
“Yeah, and worse—wait. Who’s there? Just your team, Kevlar?”
“And Bree. Why?” Kevlar said.
“Because what I’m about to say will open up a can of worms I’m not sure needs to be opened.”
Smiley held his breath. If Tex didn’t think the information was good, it had to be very, very bad.
“Mateo Castillo. Has anyone heard of him?” Tex asked.
Everyone replied in the negative.
“He’s the head of this particular organization. The one who paid for Bree. The reason I asked if you guys were the only ones there is because…I have reason to believe years and years ago, he was a low-level player in a Mexican trafficking ring—the very one Fiona and Julie were rescued from.”
Smiley’s breath caught in his throat.Holy shit.Could that be true?
“Cookie’s going to lose his mind,” Flash muttered.
“Not to mention Hurt,” Preacher added.
“I don’t understand,” Bree whispered to Smiley.
But he didn’t have time to explain how huge this was. How really,reallynot good this information was.
“Right. Bree? You listening?” Tex asked.
“Yes,” she said dutifully.
“You do what Smiley tells you to do. The organization after you is one of the worst. Under no circumstances do you want them to find you. I’m doing what I can behindthe scenes to take them out, to hit them where it hurts the most—their bank accounts. But that isn’t going to stop what’s already in motion. Be smart. Be alert. It’s impressive that you’ve managed to stay one step ahead of them all this time, but it’s probably made them more determined than ever to find you and bring you into their organization. Trust me, you don’t want that.”
Bree nodded, and even though Tex couldn’t see her, he went on.
“If the worst happens,do not panic. Do whatever you have to in order to stay alive. Understand me? I’m on this. As is every man around that table with you.”
Smiley’s belly churned. He didn’t want to think about Bree falling into this Castillo’s hands.
“Okay,” Bree agreed.
“No one leaks this info to Cookie, Hurt, or anyone on Wolf’s team. I’ll talk to them myself when I have more information. I donotwant Fiona or Julie to have to deal with this until I have confirmation Castillo was involved in the group that abducted them.Anduntil we have good news we can give them. Namely, that we know where this asshole is and any threat that might exist is mitigated.”
