Betrayed: Military MC Romance (Hell's Fire Riders Book 2) (14 page)

“Our friends are back,” Stone told him as he motioned toward the cameras.

Dewey watched the cameras and saw three men carefully searching the grounds. He quickly glanced at Stone and saw the other man looked as concerned as he was.

The three men seemed to be looking for something specific. The only thing out this way was the underground room they were in.

Then Dewey remembered something about Ronnie having a tracking unit in his arm. “Parker told me Ronnie had ripped his arm open. He said something about a tracker. It didn’t make any sense to me then but if the cartel put a tracker into his body they wanted to be able to find him at any time and any place.”

Stone surveyed the cameras for a moment. “Must be cartel men then. They just never give up do they?” Then he looked at his friend. “Why would they hunt her down like this, if all she took from them was money? Money they’ve probably made ten times back by now.”

“You think she took something besides the money that night?” Dewey frowned.

“It’s been almost a decade since she swiped that money,” Stone pointed out. “It’s got to be more than just that.”

“Do you think she knows she took something they’d want back?” Dewey wondered out loud.

“Maybe you should ask her,” Stone suggested.

Dewey peered down the hall at the door to his room. “Maybe I should at that.” He went down the hall and opened the door. He saw her laying on the bed he’d just left. He felt hot all over as he stared at her. The woman was so beautiful and all his. He shook his head. He needed to keep his focus and right now, it was on what happened that night ten years ago.

He sat down beside her and gently stroked her cheek waiting for her to open her eyes. When she did, Dewey smiled. “Sweetheart, Stone and I need to ask you something. Can you get dressed?”

Trudy groaned. “I suppose. Give me a few minutes to wake up.”

Dewey got up and went back to the main room. He got two cups of coffee and waited for Trudy to get dressed and come out.

Stone sat watching the cameras looking puzzled.

Trudy came out and sat down next to Dewey.

Stone joined them.

“What’s up guys?”

“I’d like to ask you about the night you fucked with the drug dealer…” Stone began.

Trudy frowned and picked up her coffee. “Why that night?”

“Because something about this cartel thing doesn’t make sense.” Stone shrugged.

“What do you mean?” Trudy frowned.

“I mean they wouldn’t be chasing you down for ten years if all you took that night was money. They could have and probably have made that back, plus a whole lot more.”

Trudy thought back for a moment. Had she taken something the cartel wanted back bad enough to chase her for the last ten years? What about Ronnie? If all they wanted was their money back, would they really have let him live this long? “IS that why Ronnie is still around do you think?” she asked.

“Honey, these men are ruthless murderers. If all you took that night was the money, they would have killed your brother a long time ago and went on with their business,” Dewey assured her. “There are three men up top searching for this place right now.”

“What did you do that night? Can you walk us through the events and what happened?” Stone asked.

Trudy searched her memories for the night that changed her life ten years ago. “I had to wait until everyone in the house was asleep. I knew the dealers’ routine by then. I had watched his movements for over a week. Thursday was the night he collected for the cartel. He would bring the money home, count it, put the amount in his files then the next day, he would take it to the drop-off point for the cartel to pick it up. The first thing I did that night was hack his records. I copied every file on his computer then I moved the money around until there was no trace of it anywhere. Then I wiped the computer files and left him with a blank computer. There was nothing left on it. It was almost like the day he bought it. Then I destroyed his stash of drugs and I left.”

“Wait a minute,” Dewey called out. “Back up, you said you copied everything on his computer?”

Trudy nodded. “Yeah, I did.’

“Why did you do that?” Stone asked.

Trudy shrugged. “I don’t really know. I didn’t do it on purpose. I just did it. It was my first adventure into the criminal world, so give me a break.”

“Do you still have the copy of what you downloaded that night?” Stone asked.

“Yeah, I have it.”

“Did you ever look at it?” Dewey asked.

“No, I never did. Other things went on and I never got the chance to see what was there. Why?”

“The cartel wants that information back,” Stone informed her. “They’ve waited ten years to get it back. They let your brother live in hopes that he could get you to them. I know you have mad skills and all of that but I have a feeling there’s more to it than that.”

“Well then, let’s find out. I’ll be right back.” She got up and went to the bedroom. When she returned a few minutes later, she had a flash drive in her hand. She went over to her secure computer and plugged in the drive.

When the files came up they quickly searched them for something that would mean anything to the cartel. Most of the files were checks and balances. Payments in and payments out. They went through everything on the drive.

It wasn’t until they got to almost the last file that Stone knew they’d hit pay dirt. He searched the information he found there and sat back in his chair. Still staring at the computer screen, he finally turned his head and stared at her for a moment. “Do you have any idea what this is?”

“No I have no clue what this is. Do you know what it is?”

Stone nodded. “Yeah, I think I do. This is the evidence the State department and the military will use to shut down not only the cartel that’s been chasing you for the last ten years but this information will bring down the existing Mexican government and take out some of our own corrupt power people.”

Trudy glanced over at Dewey then back to Stone. “But we just busted up the cartel, didn’t we?”

“We broke a small piece of the whole. All the families in the different cartels belong to a bigger family. It’s sort of like our Mafia. There are different families but they all belong to a bigger whole. This list names them all. This lists every crime, ever bribe, every rule they ever broke. It also lists their activities, who did what and where all the bodies are buried. More than that, it will tell our government who aided them and to what extent.”

Trudy looked puzzled this information for a moment. “But this info is almost a decade old. How can that be useful now?”

“Whatever your drug dealer was into it wasn’t just the drugs he was peddling. He was a records keeper for the cartels. These files are only the beginning. They will open up our knowledge of how the cartels work. It will show us who does what and just how deep the corruption in their government is as well as our own. This is why they’ve chased you for the last decade.”

Trudy sat back in her chair and stared at her computer screen. She couldn’t believe she had this the whole time and didn’t know it. She leaned forward and clicked on the next to the last file they hadn’t looked at yet. This one was more banking accounts. She frowned as she skimmed over the list. Glancing over at Stone she commented, “I’ve never seen these accounts before.”

Stone and Dewey leaned closer and studied what was on the screen. Stone frowned and Dewey had no clue what he was looking at.

“Damn girl, you just hit the mother lode!” Stone whispered.

“What mother lode?” she frowned.

“These accounts are in bank storage areas. They hold stuff like a safe deposit box would, but these boxes are a lot bigger. I’ll bet there’s gold in at least some of these boxes.” Stone turned his head and stared at her. “Your drug dealer was most likely a courier. All these accounts are located here in the states. In Mexico, these accounts would have been seized by whatever government was in control at the time. But here in the States, all this would have been protected by the account holder.”

“So, all this money if that’s what is in in the boxes is still waiting for whoever has the key to the box?”

Stone nodded. “This is what they might consider their retirement accounts. They would need it at some point and for the last ten years, it’s been safe and hidden. No one knew where it was.”

Dewey pushed his chair back and got up. He began pacing. “This is all fucked up. This is more than just busting a small piece of the cartel. This could get everyone of us killed, if they knew we had it.”

“I know,” Stone agreed. He turned his head and stared at the screen that showed what was happening outside. Now it all made sense.

“What are you going to do with this information?” Trudy asked quietly.

“Well, we’re not giving it back that’s for damn sure,” Stone replied.

“Are you going to turn it over to Shay?” Dewey asked.

Stone nodded. “He’ll know what to do with it. I wish we could give him the key to unlock the boxes though. That would make this so much easier.”

“Why do you say that?” Trudy asked.

“Because without the key, we have to go through a bunch of shit to get into the boxes,” Stone explained. “We’d have to go through the courts and take our chances. If a judge allows access, we’ve got no problem but if he doesn’t, everything is screwed.”

Boomer got up from where he’d been watching and listening to their conversation. Walking over to where Trudy was sitting, he squatted down beside her. “Is everything all right, baby girl?”

Trudy motioned toward her computer screen. “We found what the cartel has been looking for all these years. We just don’t know what to do with it. It’s enough to get us all killed and even if we turn it over to our authorities, we don’t have the key they need to get into the boxes to get out what’s inside.” She turned to Stone. “Is that about right?”

“That’s about it in a nutshell,” Stone agreed.

Boomer rubbed his chin with the back of his hand. “A key huh?” He stared at the computer screen for a moment. “Is that all you need?” Boomer looked over at Stone. “How valuable is that information?”

“These men are desperate to get it back. How valuable to them do you think it is?”

“I get your point.” Boomer nodded. He reached inside his shirt and pulled out a chain. On the end of the chain was a single key. He snapped the chain and handed Stone the key. “I took that from the drug dealer we beat the hell out of the night he ran the girls off the road. I never knew what it was for, but I kept it all this time. If you know someone to turn that evidence over to, someone who will make it right, I’ll give up the key. But know this, I’m only doing it to protect her.” He pointed at Trudy. “When all this is said and done, she better be safe or I’ll come looking for you.”

“You won’t have far to go,” Dewey announced. “She’ll be right here with me.”

Boomer glared at Dewey for a moment. Then looked over at Trudy. “Is that true baby girl? Are you going to stay here with him now?”

Trudy smiled weakly. “I think so.”

Dewey frowned. “What do you mean you think so?”

Trudy got to her feet and backed away from the table, putting some distance between them. “I can’t and won’t put anyone in danger. If that means I have to leave here, then I will leave here. I love you too much to see you die protecting me.” She paused as she wrung her hands. “Please don’t ask me to do that.” She then turned and walked down the hall to the bedroom.

All three men watched her go.

When the door closed behind her Stone turned to the others. “We need to get this information to Shay. This is something we’ve been looking for to break the back of the cartels for years.”

Boomer ignored Stone for the moment. His eyes were on Dewey. “If anything happens to her I will hunt you down and take my time killing you. Then me and the boys will hunt down every single one of those cartel fuckers and kill them too.”

“Don’t threaten me old man.” Dewey growled. “I’d give my life for that woman.”

Boomer nodded then glanced down the hall at the closed door. “Yeah, you might at that. She’d never let you but I believe you would.” He turned to get Stone’s attention. “My boy just called. They are about an hour out yet. I told them they would have a welcome committee, so they are going to take care of them for us. He said Hawk’s boys were waiting for them at the Texas border and that they are all riding in together.”