“You werewrong?” Shock and anger threatened to undo the careful control he’d forced into place. “You’re fucking Homeland Security, Jason. For Christ’s sake, theCIAwas in on that op. How the hell does something that big get overlooked?”
After Adrian tortured and killed Cesar Ortiz, the United States government made sure pictures of the man’s body were leaked to all the major news channels. The hope was that the horrifying images would reach the remaining members of the Ortiz cartel. Convince them it was a good idea to cooperate with authorities.
They’d also hoped the photos would act as a deterrent to anyone else who may have thought joining a cartel was a good life choice.
Adrian had been all for the plan, but now? Shit, now he realized Ortiz’s own son had seen those images as well.
Matais knew exactly what had been done to his father. And somehow, he’d discovered Adrian was the person responsible.
“Trust me,” Ryker attempted to empathize. “I was just as pissed as you when I found out Cesar had a son. But up until two months ago, Matais Ortiz didn’t exist. MataisSanchez, however, did.”
“He used a different last name?” Matt asked from his seat at the corner of the room.
Ryker nodded. “His mother’s maiden name. Rumor has it Matais was born in some shack in the middle of Cesar’s in-law’s family land. Cesar insisted they not list Ortiz as the baby’s last name to protect the child from his enemies.”
“That’s surprising,” Nate commented. “Usually guys like that are all about carrying on the family name.”
“As was Cesar.” Ryker turned to the other man. “However, he had the aforethought to focus on the long game. He knew our government had him in their sights, even back then. Since the man is dead, we can only go by assumptions. But our guess is he knew the risks that came with running a successful cartel, and he needed someone to take over the business should anything happen to him. Someone he trusted.”
Gabe cursed beneath his breath. “Like a son.”
Son of a bitch.
“So…what.” Adrian looked to Ryker for more answers. “This secret son just suddenly appeared out of nowhere to claim his rightful place at the fucking throne?”
“Something like that. He’s been working hard the past few years to rebuild what his father lost. Bastard’s well on his way, too.”
“Which is probably why he decided to take his father’s name,” Kole surmised.
The trained sniper was sitting at the table with Matt, and both men—every man in the room, actually—looked nearly as pissed as Adrian felt.
Actually, pissed didn’t even begin to describe how he was feeling.
This was a major fuckup on the American government’s dime. One that had already cost Ben his life. One that may very well cost Jenna hers.
No. Donotgo there!
Adrian’s subconscious was right. He needed to keep that shit locked down. If he didn’t—if he allowed himself even a second to think about what could be happening to her—he’d lose his fucking mind.
“How long has the government known about this?” he demanded.
“MataisSanchezhas been under our radar for about eighteen months,” Ryker explained. “At first it was just chatter. A new Colombian organization claiming its leader had the knowledge and power to rival that of El Chapo and Escobar.”
“Jesus.” Adrian shifted the weight off of his injured leg.
“The discovery that Sanchez was really Ortiz happened about six weeks ago.” Ryker’s intense gaze fell on his. “A CIA operative was already in place. It took a bit, but she managed to get close to Matais. According to her report, Matais likes to talk when he drinks. And when he has sex. He spouted off a few things that made her suspicious, and she was able to obtain DNA and pass it along to her handler. The report confirms Matais is a familial match to Cesar.”
Jesus.
“Wait.” Excitement shot through him. “If you have an agent on the inside, then that means you know where Ortiz is located.”
Ryker shook his head. “Wehada location. Up until a few days ago.”
His excitement dissipated in a flash. “What happened?”
“The agent inside vanished. We were actually talking about bringing you in on the investigation,” Ryker told him. “But then that shit went down with Dawson’s wife and—”
Anger flooded Adrian’s veins. “Are you shitting me? You could’ve at leasttoldme about it.”