Page 14 of Breached

“Look at the facts, Nicole. Bruno wants you back, and this is just a trick to lure you out.”

“First,” she jammed a finger into the table, “he’ll never have me. Second, we are in code red, remember, and that means all hands on deck. Right, gentlemen?” She looked around the room. “I’m not here as a guest. I’m here because I’m an asset. One who must change careers because I chose to help with your extraction.” She looked at Cole. “Not that I regret helping get that little guy safely here. I just want you to stop looking at me as someone you rescued and start looking at me as someone who can help get you the answers you need.”

“We totally appreciate your worth, Nicole,” Cole assured her. “Chase isn’t the only one who has benefited from your being here.” I noticed Cole carefully avoided looking at me.

“Thank you.” She looked around the table and sat up straighter. “You have a house full of the most wonderful people I have ever met. You’ve all seen the darker side of what the world can offer. Well, I’ve been on to something about Esmeralda for years now. She’s got a plan, and I know a lot that could help. I also know how Bruno thinks. I can help. Shouldn’t we all be about banding together and doing whatever is necessary to become safe again? Put aside ranks, and skill, and look at me as one of you. Because honestly, guys, what other choice do we have?”

“Oo-fucking-rah.” Keith leaned back with an impressed smile. “Cole, you’re up, team leader.”

I panicked and turned my attention to Cole and spoke in Pashto. “If it was Savi sitting here, would you let her go?”

He shook his head but gave a slow nod toward Frank. “But he’ll override me⁠—”

“Switch it back, boys,” Frank warned with an edge to his voice. He’d never learned the language of our enemy.

Cole ignored him and continued in Pashto. “She knows a lot, and she’s proven to be a huge asset. Add that to the fact that there’s no ring on her finger, he’s not going to look at her like one of the wives.” He referred to Frank.

“Note to self, learn Pashto.” Nicole tapped her head, and Mark’s face broke out into one of his shit eating grins—clearly entertained by her.

Shit, the fact that she even knew what language we spoke blew my mind. She picked up her phone and started typing away.

“Him aside, Paul, I’m sorry, but we need her.” Cole still spoke in Pashto, careful not to use Frank’s name. Then he looked at Nicole and switched to English. “Where does he want to meet you?”

“New Mexico.” She watched our faces fall. “I know it’s where Esmeralda’s compound is, but what choice do we have?”

John had been very quiet since Frank had shown up at the house earlier. He leaned forward. “Nicole, do you have any idea what he has for you? And did he mention if he wants anything in exchange for the information?”

She raised her hands. “He just said it would be worth the trip. But yes, he does want something. He wants you all to back off his next shipment of drugs coming in from Texas.”

I thought my head might explode. “We don’t make deals with the Cartel,” I ground out.

“Seems to me you were willing to make a deal once before,” she shot back and eyed me hard, and I knew she referred to the meeting I had sprung on her a while back with Grim Gates and Trigger at the Washington airport. Grim, a Vegas hotel owner with ties to organized crime, and Trigger, head of the Devil’s Reach motorcycle club, had some dangerous people, but they were also friends in spite of it all.

“Why don’t I know about that either?” Frank snapped. He was clearly losing his patience at being kept in the dark.

“Frank, at the time, you asked us not to share with you what we were doing,” I reminded him. “It was for your protection, Nicole,” I added.

“Is this any different?” she asked slowly. “I’m trying to help protect everything you’ve all worked so hard for and expose something that is happening on US soil.”

“All right,” Cole nodded, “change of plan. Given we’ve now got eyes on Bruno, and Sully Sanchez wanting to meet with Nicole—we act now.”

He looked at me, and I nodded in agreement. I might not like it, but he was right. Nicole was right—we needed her. “It’s all hands on deck. Nicole, let Sully know that you’ll meet him, but three miles away at a different location from the compound.” He turned to look at Mike. “Mike, find us an address.” Mike immediately picked up his phone and started texting. “Nicole, we’ll watch over you when you meet up with Sully, but we’ll stay back out of sight of any Cartel.”

“But, Cole, Sully will⁠—”

“We know how to avoid detection, Nicole,” he interrupted her. “We ship out tomorrow at zero-six-hundred. We get eyes on Bruno and do some recon on the compound before we make any moves. Mike, whoever your source is, make sure he meets us at the rendezvous point. You men know what else needs to be done.”

“Copy that,” we all called as we dispersed from the room.

“Wow, once things roll here, they roll fast.” Nicole laughed as we headed up the stairs together. “Also, I don’t need to be protected, Paul.” She spoke in Pashto. I pulled in my chin and raised a brow at her, and she held up her phone with a grin. I was still surprised at her ability to speak it so well, as I saw she’d used a translation app.

“Are you planning on fighting the Taliban next?” I said with sarcasm.

“No, apparently I’m just fighting you.” She winked then walked off with a sexy swing in her hips. I wasn’t happy with the situation, but I admired her for it. She’d put up one hell of a fight back there.

“I, for one, think Nicole would make an excellent teammate,” Mark said loudly to Keith.

“She’s got the balls to be one.” Keith chuckled as they walked by me.