Boone and Russ circled wide to the left. I motioned for Julia to follow me along the right flank.
Halfway to the barn, movement flashed at the corner of my vision—someone stepping out of the van.
Tall. Broad-shouldered. Wearing a sheriff’s department jacket.
Julia froze beside me. “That’s Frank.”
He turned toward the barn, speaking to someone in the shadows.
Aaron’s voice came low through my earpiece. “Confirm visual. One deputy. Second target unidentified. Permission to intercept?”
I glanced at Julia. Her jaw was set, eyes locked on her cousin. “We take him alive.”
“Copy,” Aaron said. “Your call, Jensen.”
I signaled Boone and Russ to close in. The four of us converged on the clearing.
“Sheriff’s department!” Julia shouted, stepping out from behind a stack of barrels, weapon raised. “Frank, drop your weapon!”
He spun around, eyes wide. “Julia? What the hell are you doing here?”
“You tell me,” she snapped. “You’re standing in the middle of a cartel handoff site wearing our badge.”
“I didn’t—” He hesitated, panic flashing across his face.
And then, from the shadows behind him, a figure raised a gun.
“Down!” I shouted.
Julia hit the dirt as the first shot rang out. Frank staggered, blood blooming across his shoulder. I fired back, hitting the shooter square in the chest. He dropped instantly.
Boone and Russ rushed in, clearing the area.
“Secure him,” I said, kneeling beside Frank. “Stay with me, buddy.”
Frank coughed, grimacing. “They—used me—didn’t know…”
Julia’s face was pale. “Frank, who? Who used you?”
He swallowed hard. “Deputy Torres. Said we were running surveillance… said—”
His eyes rolled back.
“Pressure!” I barked. “He’s bleeding out!”
Julia pressed her hands over the wound, voice breaking. “Don’t you dare die, Frank.”
Aaron’s voice came through comms. “Med evac’s en route. We’ll have a chopper inbound in five.”
“Copy.”
I looked at Julia. “He’s gonna make it.”
She shook her head, tears mixing with the dirt on her face. “He didn’t even know what they dragged him into.”
“If he’s telling the truth, we will find the ones who did,” I said.
By the timethe helicopter lifted Frank out, night had fallen. The barn was empty except for bullet casings and a few scattered crates of weapons that proved everything Julia had suspected.
