“Bullshit. I would already be dead if my cover had been blown,” Angelo countered, his body going still.
“Not if they are waiting for Hubbard, your former Ghost Ops Commander. He was arrested three weeks ago for a slew of charges that range from human trafficking, arms, drugs, and treason.”
“Bullshit!” Angelo said venomously.
“She’s not lying. My brother and I both said the same thing. We’ve seen the reports and the pieces of evidence gathered against him. He’d been under investigation for the last several years.”
Lana and Angelo both turned at Jayson’s cracked voice sounded from behind her. She could finally breathe again because she knew Jayson was okay.
“Okay, if he was arrested, then what makes you think my cover was blown?” Angelo asked, causing Lana to look back at him.
“He was released the other day, and he’s gone into the wind. We’ve found out he’s got ties with the Soriano Cartel,” Lana laid it out on the line.
“Shit. I went off on him just before I got pulled in to work on this case. I saw with my own eyes how he treated a female soldier on an op and had words with him. He threatened to have me thrown in the brig back then.” Angelo groaned as he leaned his head back and closed his eyes.
Lana gave Angelo several minutes to get himself together at the news that he was given. She could understand his frustration over the whole situation, since it now seemed that two and a half years of undercover work just went down the drain because of one man.
“Angelo, how many of the Soriano MC or cartel are here in Hellburn Falls? Are they behind the string of girls that have gone missing over the last couple of years?”
“Just me, Jesus Vargas, and Rodric Torres. And we only got in the day I taunted you. Nice shot by the way, Ice.” Angelo winked at her, making Jayson grin.
“Your fucking buddy aimed his gun at my wife!” Jayson growled at his former teammate.
“And I prevented him from taking the shot. He was pissed because he knew I’d just spent a mint on that bike. But she did what she had to do for me to leave her the message I did.”
Lana listened to Jayson and Angelo gripe back and forth. Angelo wasn’t upset about his motorcycle.
He knew the agency would pay to have it fixed the way he wanted once the case was over and done with. But it didn’t explain why they were here.
“Okay, if you three just got here the other day, what are you doing here, then?” Lana asked, her brows knitting in confusion.
“Word got back to Francisco Ortega and Javier Guiterez that the brand they use for their MC and cartel business was showing up here in North Carolina. We have nothing here in this state, much less this small town. We’d stick out like a sore thumb in this area. Plus, let’s not mention there are already way too many MCs we’d have to compete with. While these aren’t afraid of a turf war, they aren’t ready for something in this small town yet.”
Lana nodded her head in agreement with Angelo. “We’d already figured out the brand wasn’t really yours. First glance, yeah it would pass as theirs, but when we actually got to looking at it, we saw the differences.”
“Any idea who it is using it?” Angelo asked, leaning forward and putting his forearm on his knees. “Being blunt, you guys need to find out before they do, because the Soriano’s will wipe them off the face of the planet. They see this as a frame job, trying to start a war they do not know about.”
“No, but we have some ideas. The Sorianos aren’t the only ones they are trying to frame on this, too. The girls lately, that have gone missing, are daughters of different MCs.”
CHAPTER
FORTY-SEVEN
Lana sent Sgt. Bueller a quick text, letting her and the team know Angelo was at Jayson’s. Because of Jayme and the surrounding uncertainty, she left Ryan out of everything for now.
She listened to Angelo and Jayson talk as she walked down the hall to check the kids’ room and let go of the breath she’d been holding when she saw their room was empty.
“The kids stayed the night with Mom and Dad,” Jayson told her as she came back into the living room.
“How did you find out we were looking for you and your friends?” Lana asked Angelo, after nodding at Jayson.
“Eh, besides the inevitable since I came at you? A little birdie called Rodric to warn him that a BOLO was sent out regarding myself and Rodric after the whole store fiasco. Told us to lie low for a couple of days.”
“Male or female?” Lana asked, staring Angelo down.
Angelo shrugged nonchalantly. “A female. Says her contact in the P.D. warned her.”
“Do you know a name by chance?”
