24/7 (20 page)

“What do you need me to do?” Brett asked.

Finn almost laughed at the absurdity of the question. “This situation is a lot different than trying to put the next issue of the magazine to bed. I know you’re used to being in charge instead of leaving the decisions to someone else, Brett, but I’m afraid there’s nothing you can do.”

“You know me. I can’t sit around with my thumb up my ass. That would be a fate worse than—” Brett caught herself before she said the word Finn didn’t want to hear. Especially now. “Stay safe.”

“I’ll do my best, but I’m afraid that’s out of my hands.” Tears stung Finn’s eyes as she considered everything she might be about to lose. Including her life. “Thanks for everything.”

“Don’t say that. It sounds too much like good-bye.”

That’s because it is.

“I’ve got to go,” Finn said. “I’m expecting another call.”

“Finn, don’t hang—”

Finn ended the call before the emotion she heard in Brett’s voice made her break down completely. She was barely holding on as it was. Her tenuous grip on reality was slipping by the second. It wouldn’t take much to push her over the edge. When her phone rang again, she thought it might be Brett calling back to get in the last word. The perks of being the boss. When she looked down, however, she didn’t see Brett’s name or number on the screen. “It’s Luisa.”

Ryan turned toward her and leaned forward, her body language tense and her face fraught with anxiety. “Well, answer it.”

Finn hoped Luisa had the answers she, Ryan, and the rest of the group so desperately needed to hear.

“Luisa? What did you find out?”

“Hold tight,
mariposa
. Help is on the way. State troopers are coming to intercept the bus. They should be there any minute now.”

As soon as Luisa said the words, Finn heard sirens. Far off at first, but growing steadily closer. Ryan and the rest of the women cheered when the police cars pulled even with the bus and flanked it on all sides.

“Take that, fuckhead,” Ryan said as she flipped Javier the bird.

“The police are here,” Finn said.

“Talk me through it,” Luisa said. “Tell me what’s happening.”

“The car in front is pumping his brakes to try to get Javier to slow down.”

A clash of bumpers made Finn pitch forward. Her shoulder slammed into the back of the seat in front of her. She managed to turn her head in time to avoid a broken nose, but not a nasty case of whiplash.

“What happened, Finn?” Luisa asked. “Are you still there? Tell me what’s going on?”

“Javier rammed the police car in front of the bus and ran it off the road.”

Finn craned her sore neck to look behind her. The car had come to a stop in the median, parts of its rear end strewn along the road. The troopers inside looked pissed but unhurt.

“That was close,” she said. Then her relief gave way to confusion. “Wait. Where are they going? Three of the cars flanking us just peeled off and roared ahead.”

“If the traffic in front of you has been cleared, they’re probably setting up for a roadblock.”

“That’s not going to stop him. If he’s crazy enough to ram a police car, he’s crazy enough to plow through a roadblock.”

Richard, who had seemed paralyzed by fear after the police cars showed up, finally found his voice.

“Javi, stop. This is suicide.”

“Yes, yours.”

When Richard took a step toward him, Javier opened the bus’s door, grabbed Richard by his collar, and shoved him outside. Finn watched as Richard tumbled across the pavement like a discarded rag doll. The remaining police cars on the right side of the bus swerved to miss him, then the drivers turned back to offer aid.

“Javier just threw our guide off the bus. We’re going sixty miles an hour and he just—he just—”

Finn was too shaken by what she had just seen to finish her sentence.

Javier closed the bus’s doors and turned to glare at his passengers.

“If anyone else has any bright ideas, they get to go for a ride next,” he said in heavily accented English. “Do I have any takers?”

Finn heard whimpering as some of the women started to cry. Javier stepped on the gas as the bus neared the three police cars parked across the road.

“He’s going to ram the roadblock.”

Finn braced herself for impact. Seconds before there would have been a collision, the police car in the middle cleared out and allowed the bus to pass through the barricade unscathed. On the other side was nothing but open road. Javier headed straight for it. And no one was on his tail.

“Why aren’t they coming for us, Luisa?” Finn asked. “Are they just going to let him go?”

“The troopers have decided it’s too dangerous to attempt an interception. They don’t want to risk anyone else getting hurt. They’re going to follow you from a safe distance until your bus arrives at the hotel.”

Luisa sounded frustrated as well as disappointed. Finn felt the same way. She also felt confused. And very, very afraid.

“Then what?” she asked. “They just w-w-wash their hands of us?”

“No. Calm down, Finn, and try to breathe. Is that better?” Luisa asked after Finn did as instructed.

“Yes.”

“Okay. Now listen carefully. The state guys from Quintana Roo have the resort surrounded, and Director Chavez and I are heading to the airport now to bring reinforcements. We should land in about three hours. Stay strong,
mariposa
. I’m coming for you.”

Finn hoped Luisa would arrive in time, but she didn’t see how she could. Unless the Federal Police had a plane that could break the speed of sound, Luisa and her fellow officers would land in Cancún a good two hours after the bus returned to the resort. Then they would have to secure ground transport for the drive from the airport. By then, they could be too late to save anyone.

“Did you hear me, Finn? I said I’m coming for you.”

“I heard you.” Finn didn’t want to give up, but it was hard to be positive when all hope seemed to be lost. “Hurry.”

❖

Luisa heard defeat in Finn’s voice. She didn’t like it. She tucked her cell phone in her pocket as she boarded the transport plane, more determined than ever to bring Javier Villalobos and the rest of the Jaguars to justice.

The bad guys are not going to win today. Not on my watch.

She placed her helmet and goggles on the seat beside her and checked her gear. Gloves, body armor, pistol, battle rifle, plus a supply of tear gas canisters. Everything she needed to take on a mob—or fend off an army. In this case, an army of highly trained mercenaries fighting for their lives with little to no regard for the lives of the women they were holding against their will.

Director Chavez took the seat to her left.

“I know this mission is personal for you,” he said as he eyed the sniper rifle she had added to her arsenal at the last minute. “But I need you to keep your emotions in check.”

“I know, sir. You can count on me.”

“Don’t make me regret bringing you along, Moreno.”

“I won’t, sir.”

Luisa made the promise, but she didn’t know if she could keep it. Even as she said the words, she imagined the team taking Javier Villalobos not just down but out. If he did anything to cause Finn harm, she would put a bullet in him herself. Several, if need be.

“What’s the plan?” she asked.

Director Chavez spread a map of the Mariposa Resort’s grounds across his lap.

“Preliminary reports indicate the Jaguars have two layers of defenses. They’ve infiltrated the resort’s security staff. The guards and the men they’ve apparently recruited from our ranks have ringed the resort, denying anyone entry or exit.” He pointed to a building in the center of the map. “The women are being held here in the theater, the only space large enough to house everyone at once.”

“How many guards are on them?” she asked as she surveyed the map.

Director Chavez shook his head.

“No one has been able to say for sure. At least ten. All of them heavily armed.”

“So even if we pierce the outer layer of the Jaguars’ defenses, they could still take out the hostages.”

“If they haven’t already.”

“Let’s think about this for a second. The organization is on the ropes. We’ve taken out their leader and their second-in-command is on the run. If they were going to kill the hostages, they would have done it fast while they still had a chance to get away.”

“What are you thinking?” Director Chavez asked.

“I don’t think Javier Villalobos is following orders. I think he’s acting on his own. He wants something.”

“Something like what?”

“Money, publicity, or an exchange of some kind. Something he wants for something we have. Whatever it is, he’s willing to barter five hundred women’s lives to get it.”

“If he holds you somehow responsible for his grandmother’s death, kidnapping your girlfriend could be his way of getting back at you. No matter what happens when we land, don’t let him bait you into doing something you might regret. We’re better than he is, Moreno. We’re here to seek justice, not exact revenge.”

Sometimes, Luisa thought as they continued to make their way to Cancún, justice and revenge were one and the same.

❖

The winding road that led to the Mariposa Resort was filled with so many patrol cars and support vehicles the bus couldn’t squeeze its way past them. Javier parked the damaged vehicle five hundred feet from the resort’s entrance and shut off the engine. He held his gun loosely. Almost casually. As if he did this kind of thing every day. In contrast, the policemen that quickly formed a circle around the bus gripped their weapons so tight Finn was surprised the guns didn’t snap in two. She could see the tension in the officers’ faces and in their body language. One wrong move and the standoff could end in bloodshed.

“Here’s what’s going to happen.”

Javier tossed his baseball cap and sunglasses aside, pulled LeeAnne from her seat, and pressed her against him to act as a human shield. Wesley, LeeAnne’s partner, seemed torn between staying in her seat and climbing over it to scratch Javier’s eyes out.

“We’re going to exit the bus in an orderly fashion. Then you’re going to walk, not run, to the resort and enter the theater. Stay single file. Don’t try to escape. If those chickenshit cops out there don’t kill you by accident, I will do it on purpose.”

“Javier Villalobos,” a police officer said through a bullhorn, “throw your weapon out the window, put your hands on your head, and surrender.”

Javier opened the window wide enough to shout his response.

“I’m coming out,” he said in Spanish, “but I’m bringing everyone with me. Let us pass and no one gets hurt. Back up or this one gets it first.”

LeeAnne trembled as Javier pressed the barrel of his gun to her head.

“No,” Wesley pleaded. “Please don’t.”

“Shut up,” Javier said in English, “or I’ll pop you, too.”

Finn gripped the seat in front of her and pulled herself to her feet. “What are you doing?” Ryan asked in a fierce whisper.

Finn resisted Ryan’s efforts to pull her back into her seat. She had never considered herself a follower or a leader. She was more of an observer than anything else. Now, though, she needed to participate instead of watch. She raised her hands and stepped into the aisle.

“I’m the one you want, Javier. Take me. Let everyone else go and take me.”

Javier turned his gun on her but didn’t loosen his grip on LeeAnne.

“Aren’t you the brave one? No wonder that fucking cop likes you so much.”

He waved his gun at her, indicating he wanted her to move closer. Finn walked up the aisle on shaky legs. She didn’t know what Javier had planned for her, but whatever happened, she hoped it would end quickly. He stopped her when she reached the first row of seats.

“That’s close enough.”

He looked her up and down, his eyes almost feral in their intensity. Then he pushed LeeAnne away from him and reached for her. “I was planning on killing you first. Now I think I might save you for last.”

He held her as closely as a lover, his beard stubble scraping her cheek and his breath hot against her skin.

“Everyone out!” he yelled, then lowered his voice to a malevolent whisper. “This one’s mine.”

No one moved when he opened the door. They remained glued to their seats as if they thought he might rescind his offer without warning.

“Leave before I change my mind.”

Finn watched as the women slowly disembarked and, once they were safely on the ground, ran into the waiting arms of the policemen. All except Ryan.

“Did you get lost on your way out?” Javier asked.

Ryan squared her shoulders. “Your men have my girl in there and I’m not going anywhere without her.”

“It looks like we have another brave one on our hands.”

“You’re crazy, you know that?” Finn asked.

“Look who’s talking,” Ryan said. “I’m not the one who willingly handed herself over to a gun-wielding madman.” She gave Javier a halfhearted shrug. “No offense, asshole.”

“It’s your funeral,” he said. “You can have it wherever you want.”

“That’s a good start, Javier,” the policeman with the bullhorn said. “Now hand over the rest.”

“Negative,” Javier said, switching to Spanish again. “These two are coming with me.” He pressed the gun to Finn’s temple and jerked his chin toward Ryan. “Move. Both of you.”

Ryan climbed off the bus first. Finn followed. Unable to look down because of Javier’s tight grip around her neck, she felt for the steps with her feet. She stumbled once and nearly went down, but Javier—probably less concerned with her well-being than his own safety—kept her from falling.

“Back off,” Javier said to the encroaching officers when he and Finn reached the ground. “We’re heading inside, and you’re not going to stop us.”

“Stand down,” the officer in charge ordered.

“That’s more like it,” Javier said after the other officers dutifully backed away.

He spun Finn around and forced her to walk backward as Ryan led the way up the hill. Then he pointed to the police and news helicopters circling overhead.

“Smile for the camera.”

When they neared the front of the resort, Finn saw the police standing on one side and the Jaguars on the other. The opposing forces flanked each other like fencers about to engage in a duel, though the weapons they held were much more powerful than swords. One side cheered Javier’s approach while the other showered him with epithets. It remained to be seen which side would have the final say. Finn hoped, for her sake, it would be Luisa’s.