“I’m sorry I didn’t tell you. I didn’t know if I could trust you.”
He put his hand on his forehead. This was unbelievable. “After what I offered to do?”
“This was when you first arrived. I didn’t know if I should tell you.”
What the hell else don’t we know?
He wiped his mouth with the back of his hand. It wasn’t worth getting into an argument right now. He’d save that for later. “Where’s the body?”
Jackie pursed her lips. “I threw it over the cliffs into the ocean before you got here. Well, rolled it out of the bed of the truck, actually.”
“You rolled it out of the bed of your truck,” Razorback repeated, then turned to Sloan. “She rolled it out of the bed of the truck.”
“I heard that,” said Sloan, pulling him aside, out of earshot from the others. “Listen, we don’t just need backup, we might need the whole damn team.”
“What are you talking about?”
Sloan ran a hand through his hair. “You remember my friend who works for SVX? We stopped talking because he had to board his plane, but I’ve been thinking. With the storm, most of the flights were cancelled. We lucked out, remember?”
“So what?”
“How many planes do you think left the airport that day?”
“I don’t know. What the hell difference does it…” His eyes went wide, the pieces sliding into place with a strained click. It was no coincidence Sloan’s friend from SVX was in the airport in Mexico City. He’d been on their damn plane, headed to the same place they’d been going.
Right here.
“Oh, Jesus. That’s SVX out there?”
“I’ll have Moto check with the airline to be sure. Calling him now.” Within ten minutes, he had confirmation. “Four other Americans on that flight, all of them male, former military, mid-thirties, and employed by Secure Vigilance X-division. Mac’s on his way, but Atlanta can get here faster. Cowboy’s sending a team.”
SVX. Four of them, here at the resort, no doubt with orders to erase Jackie and Selena from this earth. They hadn’t made their move, and he wondered what they were waiting for. He knew from experience it could be anything. The final go-ahead coming across the comm set.
Darkness.
Weather.
Opportunity.
Selena had slipped beneath the covers and was playing quietly on an iPad, headphones over her ears. Jackie had her arms wrapped around herself as she slowly paced the room. “What do we do now?”
“We fortify our position, and we wait,” said Razorback.
“I’m not good at waiting.”
Neither was he, especially knowing SVX was outside. “Help me go through Bill’s things, see if there’s anything we can use.” She nodded, following him.
“How long will it take your friends to arrive?”
“Five hours, maybe six.” Razorback had left the shades in this room down when he woke up, which meant they could also move freely in here. He could hear the wind picking up speed outside, and pulled out his phone to check the weather. “Shit.”
He held up the device for her to see the colorful radar image. “The storm went out to sea, picked up speed, and is headed back this way.”
“You’re kidding.”
“Not kidding.” He shook his head and pocketed the device. “That’s going to make it harder for them to get here.”
Jackie gave him the key to the gun safe, and he selected an M4A1 assault rifle and a Sig Sauer P226. Razorback might never have met Bill Whitton, but SEALs were SEALs, and the dead man’s weapons were as known to Razorback as a fork and spoon. He found several body armor plates and a vest, grabbing them for good measure.
