Page 17 of Breached

I let out a sigh and knew I passed the test. If I had done what Paul had wanted, he would have known I was being watched. I’ve never backed down to the Cartel in front of Sully, and I wasn’t about to do it then.

I turned off the Land Rover and pretended to brush back my hair and dropped the earpiece between the seats. I eyed the man who held the gun on me and chuckled at his Hawaiian shirt.

“Nice shirt. I see you’ve mastered the concept of blending in.” I snickered as he looked blankly at me. I walked toward Sully. “What’s with Hawaiian Ken? Did he miss the memo you aren’t in Florida?”

“You know these guys—they are, how do you say, riff raff.” He shrugged. “It’s just impressive they stand upright.” He looked me over. “You hot?”

“The car is.” I didn’t miss a beat. “Want to talk in yours?”

“I do, but…” He waved, and one of the men approached with a scanner. Sully looked apologetic.

“It’s fine.” I held up my arms. He waved it all over me and stopped at my cell phone. I pulled it out. “It’s turned off.” I eyed the man. Sully took it then handed it back. “I think I’ve earned a little trust over the years.”

His lips pressed together. “You have, but you can’t be too careful. Thank you for alerting me of the vehicle. Come on.” I followed him to his Escalade. “Stay,” he warned the driver so he’d stay outside, leaving just the two of us to talk. “You look good.”

“I don’t have much time.”

“Okay, but seriously, you do.” He let out a long breath and put a hand on my thigh. “You are a beautiful woman. I’d like to⁠—”

I grabbed his arm. “Sully, don’t. I’ve always thought of you as a good friend. Please don’t go where Bruno did.”

“I would never treat you the way that man did,” he sputtered and looked horrified. “I know what he is capable of, Nicole. I am a gentleman.”

“You have always been.” I smiled. “We are here to do business, remember.” I patted his arm. “You brought me here, and you know of my connections, so I have only a very short window before we have company.”

“Is your company Blackstone?”

I shook my head. “You know I can’t answer that.”

“But you can get a message to them?”

“Yes, I was able to let them know what you wanted, but if you want them to agree, you have to give me something worthwhile.”

“Turn on your phone and video what I will show you,” Sully instructed.

“All right.” I held up my powered-on phone. “Now what?”

“One moment.” He tapped away on his screen, looking for something. “Ah, here it is.” He held up a photo. It seemed to be a screen shot of another cell phone. “You’re not the only one who sees Bruno for the complete idiot he is.”

“What do you mean?” I wasn’t sure where this was going.

“After many drinks, he left his phone unattended.”

“You took photos of his call list? But how? Armondo is always with⁠—”

“I will not bore you with all the details. Let’s just say that when Armondo went to talk to Rio, who was upset about Esmeralda being late, I used an opportune moment to get some insurance of my own.” He waved a hand. “Apparently, our friend has been communicating with several people who he only identifies with letters. As you can see, the calls were made to three different places within the US.”

The sleepers.

“Don’t get my face, but video what I’m about to show you,” Sully said.

“All right.” I had to tread carefully. “Three-two-one.” I hit record and filmed his phone as he flipped through at least ten screenshots, and I got each one in my video. “There are twelve contacts in total,” he said slowly. “The ones he talks to the most seem to be J, who has an area code in Montana,” I held my breath careful not to react, “M in North Carolina, and Q in Washington.” I filmed his finger as he pointed out each one.

“Okay.” My mouth felt like sandpaper. “Did you ever hear any of Bruno’s actual conversations with any of these people?”

“Perhaps, but I will only say I heard enough to know that this information will be very valuable to certain people.” He eyed me knowingly and put his phone away, and I did the same. “Now I have done my part as promised, Nicole, can I depend on your company to do what I asked?”

“Of course,” I assured him. Sully had proven to be much more valuable than I ever expected. “They have given their word that your business dealings will not be interrupted.”