Zach’s phone rang. “That’s Rowan’s office, calling to tell me Wulfe’s file is missing or encrypted.” He answered. “McBride . . . What the fuck? How did that happen? . . . Goddamnit!”
Natalie’s mind swirled with a thousand terrible possibilities. Something had happened to Julian, Marc, or Gabe. Zach had been removed from the case by the people in Washington who’d been investigating him. Wulfe had hacked into the USMS system, found out where she was, and was on his way with Cárdenas to kill her.
By the time Zach ended the call, her pulse was racing. “Wh-what is it?”
He met her gaze, black rage on his face. “A U.S. marshal convoy was hit on its way from the Denver jail to the ICE detention facility. Rowan’s chief deputy was shot and killed. Four other DUSMs were wounded in a shoot-out. Quintana has escaped.”
CHAPTER 30
“DO YOU THINK Rowan is compromised?”
Zach had been asking himself this same question. He looked over at Darcangelo and shrugged. “My gut says no, but Quintana’s escape happened on her watch. Nothing is impossible. I think we should proceed under the assumption that she or someone close to her is working for Wulfe.”
Hunter frowned, peeling off his body armor and dropping it on the floor near his feet, exposing the Glock he wore in a hip holster. “That means you’re shit out of tactical support.”
“It means that, for the time being, I’m relying almost entirely on you three.” Zach met each man’s gaze.
Natalie entered the room carrying a tray laden with a coffeepot, five mugs, a small pitcher of cream, and a bowl of sugar, and set it down on the coffee table, making eye contact with Zach briefly before walking back to the kitchen.
He lowered his voice, hoping she wouldn’t hear. News of Quintana’s escape and the slain and injured DUSMs had upset her greatly. She was terrified—and not just for herself. What he was about to say wouldn’t make things any easier for her.
“You all signed on thinking we were dealing with the Zetas. But the game has changed. There’s no doubt in my mind that taking on Wulfe could expose both you and your families to significantly greater risk. I won’t think anything less of you if you want to turn in your badges and take care of your own.”
Three armed men glared at him.
“Sorry, McBride.” Hunter stretched his arms across the back of his armchair as if to say he wasn’t leaving any time soon. “You’re not shaking us off that easily. Besides, Natalieisone of our own.”
Rossiter grabbed a cup and poured himself some coffee. “I’ve sent Kat and the baby to the rez, so I’ve got nothing better to do than hang with you losers anyway.”
“We’ve already taken steps to protect our families.” Darcangelo peeled off the black sports jacket that hid a shoulder holster and a SIG Sauer, his concealable body armor barely noticeable beneath his black T-shirt. “Let’s just get the job done.”
And just like that, they moved on.
“You’ve already warned Joaquin?” Zach asked, as Natalie entered the room and settled herself on the couch beside him. He reached over and threaded his fingers through hers, wanting to offer her whatever comfort he could. The guys noticed, but wisely they kept their teeth together. “Given the role he played in capturing Quintana, it’s not farfetched to think the Zetas might want to retaliate.”
Hunter nodded, aiming a reassuring smile at Natalie. “I’ve assigned a couple of cops I trust to keep a watch on him, but the Latin Kings are watching over him, too. He’s armed, and I’ve given him some basic instruction. He’s a natural. That kid shoots almost as well with a forty-five as he does with a camera.”
“Good.” Zach rose, walked to the standing dry erase board he’d asked Hunter to pick up, and rolled it to the center of the room where they could all see it. “Let’s piece this together from the beginning and see where it takes us. Natalie, if you could fill in some of the blanks for us regarding your investigation, that would help.”
“Yes, of course.” She looked relieved to be asked to play a role.
Zach could understand that. No one wanted to feel helpless.
He stuck the photo of Cárdenas and Wulfe at the top far left. “So it’s 1983, and Cárdenas wants to be a cop. His family’s money has kept him out of prison so far, and he thinks maybe he’ll do better if he’s the one with the uniform and the gun. He joins Los Zetas, an elite law enforcement group, rises through the ranks, then gets into AMINTAC, where he meets Edward Wulfe, who at the time is working for the Agency.”
Darcangelo looked up at the photo, coffee mug in his hand. “Cárdenas goes back to Mexico a better killer with better weapons and better technology than thefederales. He’s gotten a taste of real power, and helikesit. There’s not a lot of money to be made in police work, and his instincts run to rape and torture anyway. Slowly, secretly, he and his men go to work for one of the bigger cartels.”
“I studied this when I was with DEA.” Hunter leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “The Zetas started small, carrying out hits and raids against the enemies of the Oaxaca Cartel while still pretending to uphold the law. They were still catching drug smugglers and impounding contraband, so no one knew. Then almost overnight, they annihilated the Oaxaca Cartel, claiming their territory. It was a brilliant strategy. With the other cartels weakened from their constant raids and arrests, and the Oaxaca Cartel gone, the entire balance of power shifted.”
“I bet it did—right into Cárdenas’s offshore bank accounts.” Rossiter rested his boots on the coffee table, his denim shirt falling open to reveal the shoulder holster he wore over a white T-shirt beneath. “But how does Wulfe come back into the picture?”
“That’s easy.” Zach took over. “Cárdenas and the Zetas are still pretending to be cops when the Berlin Wall comes down. The Cold War ends, and Wulfe now finds himself nearing retirement. Could be that he’s made good money over the years selling classified information to the Soviets. By the early nineties, with the Soviet Union gone, he turns to illegal arms and drugs sales to keep raking in the jack.”
Darcangelo seemed to consider this. “Wulfe would’ve been in a position to follow Cárdenas’s career, even if they weren’t in touch. He would have known that federal agents suspected the Zetas of being crooked. And he would have known when the Zetas finally hit out on their own.”
Zach wrote the dates on the oard—1989–1991. “Hell, maybe it was Wulfe’s idea. He sees Cárdenas trying to fit in as an officer of the law and makes a suggestion. ‘You’d make a lot more money—’ ”
“ ‘—and be a lot more powerful—’ ” Hunter added.