“I want to see my grandfather.” She held the phone so Gage could hear. “The note says he is alive.”
“Your grandfather has been quite ill, but he is still breathing. If you wish to keep him that way, you will do exactly what I say.”
Her fingers tightened around the phone. “I’ll do whatever you ask.”
“You will come to the address on the letter. You will arrive there no later than midnight.”
It was almost ten. Mérida was over an hour away. They didn’t have enough time to get things set up. Gage pointed to his watch, mouthed the wordsmore time.
“We can’t get there by then. It’s late and dark on the roads. We need more time.”
“One o’clock. No later. Be at the address I gave you, or the old man will suffer. And be sure to come alone.”
Gage grabbed the phone out of her hand. “That isn’t happening. I go with her or she doesn’t go at all. And before we do anything, we’re going to need proof King’s alive. Put him on the line.”
Silence fell.
“You may come, Señor Logan, if that is your wish. I have no intention of harming Ms. Holland. The proof you seek lies in a sick bed in a cell beneath my hacienda. If you do not come, his life will end tonight.”
Abby’s face paled.
“We’ll be there by one,” Gage said, and the line went dead. He walked out of the room and banged on Edge’s door, which immediately swung open.
“What is it?” Edge wore clean jeans, but no shirt. Beads of water clung to the dark hair on his chest from the shower he had just taken.
“Abby got a letter from someone in Mérida. They claim her grandfather is alive but very ill. Basically, they’re using King as a lure to get to Abby. They’re after the gold.”
Edge ran his fingers through his wavy black hair. “Jesus, Gage. I didn’t realize hunting for treasure was like going to war.”
“These are unusual circumstances.”
“Yeah, right. So what do they want?”
“They want Abby to come to Mérida, to the address on the letter. They’ve given us three hours, and it’s going to take more than half that long to get there.”
“We’ll need to work fast, get everything set up before you go in. What’s your plan?”
“My plan is to leave it to you.”
Edge straightened. “Good choice. What’s the address?”
Gage handed him the letter.
“Trace is on watch. I can reach him on the radio. You talk to Skye. Tell her to grab her gear, including firearms, and bring it here.” He ducked back into his room, and Gage caught a glimpse of him opening his laptop, typing in the property address.
Gage strode down the corridor, banged on Skye’s door, and relayed Edge’s message.
“We’ve got a problem in Mérida,” he added. “I think you’re about to earn some hazard pay.”
Returning to his room, he found Abby, dressed in a clean pair of dark blue jeans and a black T-shirt, her face freshly washed. Gage stripped and also put on clean, dark-colored clothes.
“What’s the plan?” Abby asked.
“Edge is the plan. I’m trusting my brother to figure the best way in and out of this mess.”
“When do we leave?”
“As soon as Edge gets things set up. He doesn’t have much time, so he’ll have to improvise.” Gage walked over and grabbed his gear bag, pulled out the Beretta semiautomatic Mateo had provided when they’d first arrived.
