“Take care,” she said. “I’ll be in touch.”Hopefully, she added silently.
He nodded.
She climbed into the car with Raines. “Sorry it took so long,” she said quickly, noting his pent-up nervousness. “He asked a lot of questions.”
“Okay,” he said. “But we have to get to the airport in a hurry. He doesn’t suspect anything?” he added.
“Him? Of course not,” she scoffed.
“Heard any more about the boss’s young bulls?” he asked, trying not to sound concerned.
“Oh, they’re better,” she said easily. “They’ll be ready to be transported soon to Mr. Duarte’s ranch.”
He relaxed. He wondered why she knew the boss as Duarte instead of Velesquez, but it didn’t really matter. She couldn’t contact Velasquez, who knew nothing of tonight’s unexpected trip to Mexico. It was Jorge Vega who was calling the shots now. He’d have Josie here to take the fall if anything went wrong, and since she didn’t know who Velasquez even was, it simplified matters. He’d make money transporting the shipment of fentanyl for Vega, then he’d have another payday when he went to deliver the young bulls to Velasquez—of course, he’d remove his stolen drugs along the way, and the bulls would have died in a terrible accident with the truck. He’d make it look like an accident.
He even smiled. “Okay! That’s great! I already hired the cattle truck. I’ll drive them down myself when Mr. Velasquez calls me and tells me they’re ready to transport. We’ll have the main shipment of drugs across the border in the meantime!”
“The bulls are just having some tummy issues, so the vet’s treating them for scours,” she lied to put him at ease. He seemed to relax at once. “They’re also very secure,” she added. “Sothey’ll let Mr. Duarte know when they’re ready.” She frowned. “Does he work for Mr. Velasquez?” she asked.
“Of course,” he said smoothly. “He’s his second in command. But you don’t know that, see?” he added as if a veiled threat was being made.
“Oh, okay,” she said. It was sad that her friend from the bar was so high up in the drug lord’s operation. But then, people made bad choices and had to live with them. She’d be sorry to arrest Duarte, but she’d do it regardless of her friendly feelings toward him.
Raines seemed to be relieved, if that smirk could be called happiness. “Which airline are we flying?” she asked.
“Oh, we’re not taking an airline,” he said. “We’re going in a personal jet.” She should have been shocked, but she wasn’t. She knew drug dealers made plenty of money, especially people who were big in the industry. She hated the thought of how many people had been addicted to the illegal drugs that were smuggled into the country. None of her coworkers had any sympathy for these people. They wanted a quick buck and they didn’t care how they got it or how many people got hurt. And the saddest part was that most of the people involved in the drug trade in this country were legitimate business people and no one would ever have suspected them of being involved. They went to church, paid their taxes, paid their bills; they were pillars of the community. They were also rich and nobody knew how they got that way. It was a sad thing.
Her mind went back to the time just after Raines had called. JJ had awakened. When he heard her moving around in her bedroom, he came out into the hall in his pajamas and he looked frightened when he saw the suitcase that she was pulling after her. “You... you’re not leaving, are you?” he said worriedly.
She felt bad about lying to him; she felt bad about lying to everybody, but she had to do it. So she told him that they hada buyer for the big property and they were meeting him, so she had to go with Raines.
She had to call Heather so that she’d know why Josie wasn’t there to watch over JJ. Mercedes was going to take good care of him, she promised, but Heather barely listened. Something had happened with Odalie. Her phone call to Heather was brief.
Like Josie, Heather had this very odd connection to people; sometimes to random people. She had one to Josie. “Listen to me,” Heather said suddenly after Josie had told her why she had to leave so quickly. “Don’t go off with that man. I don’t care how good the property is. I don’t care how much they’ll pay you. Come back and stay with us. Don’t do anything that you shouldn’t. I couldn’t bear watching you go to prison. It would tear my heart.”
Josie had felt tears running down her pale cheeks. Heather was so much like her mother except that Heather was loving and kind and sweet and she cared about her family more than about anybody else. It was the first time in her life that Josie had ever been around people like that and it grieved her to have to lie to her.
“It’s not just me,” she’d told Heather. “This is very important. I can’t tell you anything beyond that.”
“But you won’t be in danger?” Heather asked.
Josie had hesitated only for a fraction of a second, but Heather came back on fast. “Don’t do it,” she told Josie. “Please don’t do it. I have a terrible feeling about this.”
So did Josie, but she’d smoothed it over. “Thank you for caring so much,” Josie had said quietly. “A lot of people are counting on me. I’m paying a debt. I must do it. Mercedes will be here with JJ. I’ll come to see you when you get home and when I get back home.” She’d swallowed hard. “I’ll come to see you the minute I get back.”
“Promise me,” Heather insisted.
Josie had closed her eyes and tears ran down her cheeks. “I will,” she’d said, her voice laced with pain. And she’d hoped it was the truth.
“Okay. You promise,” Heather said in a gentler tone.
Josie took a minute to wipe the tears away. “Yes, I do,” she replied. “Take care of John,” she added unexpectedly. “If something happens,” she said nebulously, “don’t let him do anything crazy...”
“Okay, now you’re scaring me,” Heather had said.
“It’s all right,” Josie promised. “I’ll be fine. I’ll be back before you know it, in time for Christmas if I’m invited.”
“Of course you’re invited,” Heather said. “You’re family.”
