“Where’s Jameson?” Julio asked.
“I put the ninny out of his misery while I adjusted his nose and he hasn’t woken up yet,” Patch informed him.
“Matthew, we need a flight to New York. Rebecca has information at her apartment and then we’ll accompany her tothe CIA building. Leo, I need you to make a few calls to get us guest passes because she’s not going in alone,” Julio directed him.
“I’ll get right on it,” Leo assured him. “What do you need from us?”
“We must find my partner, Warren Harrison. He’s one of the rats and killed part of my team. Once we figure out who called the shots, I’ll have them arrested.”
“Doesn’t it fall under the FBI jurisdiction?” Ivan asked. “Everything happened in the US.”
“They worked with Hassan and planned to send me out of the country. I can’t be the first and only one. None of the traffickers you rounded up will know because it’s someone higher up in the chain of command. It’s how they hid it so easily,” Rebecca explained. “International trafficking will seem like child’s play by the time they tack on other charges.”
Leo scratched his chin. “When we rescued Avie in Afghanistan, two CIA agents showed up, real assholes, trying to take over Avie’s rescue. Who recalls their names?”
Ragu grunted, “Agent Keenes and Agent Burke. I took out one and Ivan handled the other. Agent Keenes went by another name, but I can’t recall it.”
“What happened to him?” Rebecca asked, staring at the head of the Russian Mafia and guessing his answer.
Ivan smiled. “He’s a guest in my country. Apparently, he suffered an accident and has recently recovered. We planned to bring him back to the States after extracting information from him. After all, they tried to kill Julio and Ragu. We wanted to know why. I haven’t returned since my wife got shot and Kassie gave birth to the babies. As you say, he didn’t top my list.”
Julio peered at Rebecca. “Does the name sound familiar?”
She shook her head. “No. I wonder if it’s worth taking a trip to Ivan’s homeland and bringing him back with us as ajoint investigation. He traveled internationally to kill an official government operation. I left Avie in your care per our contract,” she said, glancing at Leo.
“You know, I’m sure Whiskey has it. Do you want us to help here and return to Serenity Mountain?” Leo asked.
“If Ivan can escort us to our suspect, we can handle it from there. I’ll keep you informed. Matthew, I want you to stay here, too. Line up interviews for our team. We can’t afford to get blindsided again. When I return, we’ll sit down as a team and get our shit together,” Julio ordered.
“I’ll be working from my home until we decide what to do with the farmhouse,” Matthew informed him.
Julio turned to Patch. “Get Jameson and ensure he has something for the pain. The trip to Russia will be a long one.”
Leo chuckled. “He’s gonna love you.”
“He may have more information he didn’t share with us before getting caught. It might help Rebecca connect all the dots,” Julio explained.
“I want to check on Kara before we leave,” Rebecca said, rising from her chair.
“Rachel didn’t want the teen alone. She doesn’t fit in with the kids and is too young to stay with the women. She’s our guest while you take care of things,” Matthew spoke up. “You’ll find her with Rachel at our house in about half an hour. They returned to your cabin to fetch her things.”
“I guess I’ll need to pack mine,” Rebecca said. “I’ll stop before we leave.”
She turned to leave and Julio called out, “Becca, wait.”
“Thank you for coming. I couldn’t have rescued Rebecca without all your help, including Ivan’s men. You’re my brothers and I owe you. If you ever need me, you know where to find us,” Julio said, giving them a chin lift.
“We’ll expect a visit to Serenity Mountain soon. Ty’s promised us a steak dinner with all the fixings in honor of Rebecca’s homecoming,” Leo said, winking at her. “We missed you. Welcome home, Rebecca.”
“Thank you for everything,” she said before walking out the door.
Julio shook Leo’s hand, nodded to the others, and turned to Ivan. “Can we spin up in three hours? I have something to take care of first.”
“I’ll have the flight plan and jet fueled,” Ivan assured him.
Julio’s heart raced as he caught up with Becca. “We’ll take Satan home and then I’ll drive you to the cabin for your things. Then, we’ll say goodbye to Kara.”
She stiffly nodded and walked toward the horse. They needed to clear the air since she finally let him in. He didn’t want to miss his shot.
