رازهای مرگبار: رمانی از تعلیق

About the Author Allison Brennan is the author of ten bestselling romantic thrillers, including The Prey, Speak No Evil, Killing Fear , and Playing Dead . For thirteen years she worked as a consultant in the California State Legislature before leaving to devote herself fully to her family and writing. She is a member of Romance Writers of America, Mystery Writers of America, and International Thriller Writers. She lives in Northern California with her husband, Dan, and their five children. Excerpt. Reprinted by permission. All rights reserved. *Chapter One Theyll fire you. ICE Agent Sonia Knight gave her partner a sideways glance and rolled her eyes. Not if we succeed. Trace shook his head. I want this bastard as much as you, but were walking a very fine line here. Were so close. We could both end up dead. Our witness has risked everything to give us this information. If Jones gets even a whiff that Vega is turning states evidence, he and his pregnant wife are dead. Dont think it. You know it. He hasnt checked in for three days, which isnt like him. Kendra Vega is fine. We checked on her yesterday afternoon. For now. But Vega could be getting spooked. Its one thing to talk about getting out of the business, but doing it is another story. These people are ruthless. Vega knows it. And you pulled every string and called in every favor to get them into witness protection when he delivers the goods. You cant do squat for him unless he comes back with the promised intel. True, but Sonia feared that Xavier Jones was untouchable. Hed been getting away with trafficking in humans for years because his instincts were sharp and he trusted no one. That one of his top security men came to her three weeks ago to make a deal was a miracle. She wasnt going to blow itshe wanted Jones in prison and the Vegas safe. Thats why not hearing from Greg Vega for the last three days disturbed her. Where was he? Why hadnt he checked in? I wish we had better information, Trace said, not for the first time. They were hiding among the pine trees near Devils Lake, appropriately named considering the son of the devil, Xavier Jones, owned hundreds of acres in the Sierra Nevada foothills abutting the lake. She could see his house with field binoculars, and tonight, like the last two nights, it was dark. It will happen this week. This is our third night watching Joness place. Hes out of the state, like Vega reported last time he checked in. The kid could be wrong. Hes not. Theyd contacted the Transportation Security Administration. Xavier Jones hadnt used his passport. He usually traveled by private plane, both retaining a pilot and having a license himself. Tracking small craft was much more difficult, making the last few days even more frustrating. He could be back in northern California now for all they knew. Sonia had spent long days talking with ten-year-old Andres Zamora just to get him to trust her. He told her everything he remembered about his familys abduction and his brothers murder. It all held together, and he had the scars to prove it. I should never have run. You did the right thing. Your brother told you to go. I should have stayed to find Maya. She is all I have. Dont give up on your sister. How could she survive what they do to her? I dont even know where they took her. Sonia didnt have an answer, because she didnt know if she could find his sister. Eight days was a long time in the vile underworld, and thirteen-year-old Maya had most likely been sold before she ever set foot in the United States. If she even ended up here. Theyd been separated during the journey, and Andres had no idea where theyd been when shed been taken away. Hed ended up being smuggled in by truck, then boat. Sonia frowned at Trace. If youre worried about a reprimand, Ill tell them I lied to you like I lied to the rest of the team. She hadnt wanted to be dishonest, but she felt as if she had no choice. Her boss wouldnt have authorized this stakeout on the word of a pint-sized illegal immigrant. Trace slammed his fist on the ground. I cant believe you said that. Im sorry. She stared through the binoculars at the dark house. She didnt want to hurt Trace, but he hadnt been in the trenches long enough to know how brutal this business was. That the buying and selling of humans was even thought of as a business angered Sonia and kept her focused on the prize: slapping cuffs on Jones and getting him into an interrogation room. No youre not. You think youre protecting the team, but youre only hurting yourself. Dont be the martyr, Sonia. Youre too damn good. Im a big boy, and I could have told you to fuck off, or told Warner that Vega didnt give you this intel. I backed you up because I trust your instincts. I just dont want you to be blinded because Their earpieces came to life. Beta Two reporting three vehicles approaching from the west at approximately forty miles per hour, headed toward the residence. Beta Two was stationed at the fork, and there were only two private homes off this road, one being a vacation home belonging to a Silicon Valley executive who came up here quarterly. Adrenaline flushed her system and she was ready to rock and roll. This was what she lived for. It was 0100 with a near-full moon. ETA? Ninety seconds to our post. Stand down. Do not engageBeta Four, circle She was cut off mid-sentence. Theyre Fibbies, Beta Two said. What? Grille lights just went on. Red, white, and blue. Sonia slammed her fist against the nearest tree trunk. She watched the road and seconds later red and blue lights flashed intermittently through the trees lining the private road off Lake Amador Drive. She heard someoneit sounded like veteran Joe Nicholsonsay, Shes gonna fuckin blow like Mount Vesuvius. Wish I could see it, his partner replied. Wish I were on vacation. They were talking about her, and they were right. She had had more problems with the fucking FBI than any other law enforcement agency. And now theyd blown her operation. How did they get wind of the stakeout? Why didnt they call and find out if anyone was investigating Jones? They acted as if they were the only federal law enforcement in the country. Jones was ICE territory, and Sonia was going to make damn sure the FBI knew it. Innocent children were going to die if they screwed this up. She watched as three black Suburbans drove onto the wide, circular drive in front of Joness towering home, lights flashing, screeching to a halt as if they were in some B movie. Federal heads were going to roll. Sonia would see to it. Personally. She issued orders to her team, then turned to Trace. She was about to tell him to stay put, but shut her mouth. He was no longer a rookie, having been with her team for two years. Ready? He nodded. Dont be rash. This isnt the first time the Fibbies have screwed up one of our ops. You dont have to tell me that, but dont forget: more flies with honey, right? I dont want to catch them, I want to swat them. She and Trace ran low to the ground toward the residence. They were a good hundred yards or more off, but made it to the rock-strewn edge of the drive through sparse foliage without being seen by the feds. They halted behind a boulder where they could watch the action. Doors opened and at least eight Fibbies oozed from the interior, black bulletproof vests with bold white letters proclaiming their authority: FBI. Homeland Security trumped the FBI every time, and shed make sure the idiots who had driven into her stakeout damn well knew it. They were dressed in black tactical gear, and she pulled her hat from her pocket that identified her as ICE, peeled down the flap on Traces back revealing the same acronym, and clipped her badge to her belt. Trace did the same. She motioned to her partner and mouthed On three. They emerged from the large, decorative rocks only feet from the nearest agent. If she had been one of the bad guys, shed have an ideal head shot. Hell, with her weak hand she could have taken out three of them without breaking a sweat. Incompetent jerks. Did they know who they were up against in Xavier Jones? She strode toward three agents surveying the layout. One black-vested agent tried to stop her, flashing his badge and saying, Maam, well have to ask you to speak with She pointed to her badge, glanced at the name sewn onto his vest. Whos in charge, Ivers? Elliott? Richardson? I A black-haired agent approached. Sonia recognized Sam Callahan, Sacramento FBIs SSA for white-collar crimes. Political bribery and money laundering. What was he doing here when Joness crime was far more internationaland deadlyin scope? Callahan. Surprised to see you here. Right back at you, Sonia. He nodded at Trace. Anderson. She couldnt hold back her frustration. You just destroyed nearly two years work! Is covert not in your vocabulary? Were in the middle of a major investigation. Did you just not feel like contacting us? Callahan straightened and reddened. We have a subpoena. When a top lieutenant in a notorious ring of human traffickers agrees to turn state’s evidence, Immigration and Customs Enforcement senior agent Sonia Knight believes she’ll finally take down the illegal operation’s devilish mastermind, Xavier Jones. But when an FBI sting on Jones’s criminal enterprise collides with an ICE stakeout, Sonia is enraged: Her informant’s life and her evidence are in grave jeopardy.FBI agent Dean Hooper has been chasing Jones for years on money-laundering and tax-evasion charges and doesn’t need or want a hot-headed ICE agent second-guessing his every move. When the Bureau is ordered to join forces with ICE, Sonia is just as livid: Her job is to save lives, not money. But their team effort pays off as fierce mutual resentment fades and passion flares–along with risk.For Jones is just one piece of a depraved puzzle, answering to an even more dangerous predator. Denied his expected prey, this pitiless fiend intends to make Sonia and Dean pay with their own blood.