“Maybe later,” said Colt, keeping his options open. For the next few minutes, he filled Alex in on the missing boy, his father, Ray Spearman, and the compound El Puñal owned in Monterrey.
“You need more than just a helicopter, my friends,” Alex said. “You need information. We’ll fly down together, stay till we get what we need. I have family in Monterrey. And I know people there who can help us.”
“Us?”Colt repeated.
Alex shrugged those linebacker shoulders. “Things have been pretty dull here lately. I could use a little excitement.”
Lissa brightened. “That would be great, Alex. We could really use your help.”
“Things could get rough,” Colt warned.
Alex grinned, flashing a mouth full of ivory in a darkly masculine face women loved. “Sounds perfect.”
Colt leaned back in his chair, damned glad to have Alex on board. “All right,” he said. “Let’s make it happen.”
The three of them went to work.
CHAPTER EIGHT
LISSAREALLYLIKEDAlejandro, who preferred she call him Alex. He was smart and capable and, once they had come up with a plan, determined to make it work.
“We’ll leave this afternoon, fly across the border into Nuevo León and down to Monterrey. It’s only a hundred and thirty miles, an easy flight in this weather.”
“Where do we land?” Colt asked.
“There’s a small private airport south of the city. The owner, Benito Cortez, is a friend. He and his family are extremely well connected. I’ll call him, ask him to find out what he can about El Puñal. We need a location. Info about the area where the guy lives, and anything else Benito might be able to come up with.”
Lissa felt a rush of excitement. She was eager to get started, but she wanted to find out if there was anything new on Spearman or Timmy first. “I need to make some calls, as well. See if there are any new developments before we leave.”
Pulling her cell from the pocket of her black stretch jeans, she excused herself and walked out into the hot, humid air. She made the call from a spot in the shadow of a metal building, which provided at least a little shade.
This was her second call to Julie that day. She had phoned from the motel first thing that morning. Ray hadn’t brought Timmy home or phoned to let Julie talk to him.
“Lissa...” Julie’s voice trembled over the line. “I was hoping you’d call again. Have you found Timmy?”
“Not yet. I just wanted to let you know we’re still on the road. We’ve got a couple of leads we’re pursuing. I’ll keep you posted. If you hear from Ray, phone me immediately.”
“I will.”
“I’ve got another call to make, so I’ve got to go. I’ll be back in touch soon.”
“You said you had a couple of leads,” Julie pressed.
Lissa didn’t want to tell her they were flying into Mexico. She didn’t want to frighten her friend even more than she was already.
“Nothing concrete. I’ll let you know as soon as we figure out where he is.”
Lissa hit the end button before Julie could ask any more questions. Next she phoned Detective Mack Handley.
“I would have called,” Mack said, “but I’ve been waiting, hoping to have something to tell you.”
“I guess that means you don’t have Spearman in custody.”
“No such luck. The guy was long gone before we got the wheels in motion. We’ve got BOLOs out all over the state, but there are thousands of silver Chevy pickups in Texas. Without a license plate number or something more useful than a man and a boy in a truck, we don’t have much chance of finding him.”
“We think he’s already crossed the border, Mack. We’re exploring that angle.”
“Meaning you’re headed to Mexico? I don’t like the sound of that.”
