Her boss gave her a long look. “If you like, we’ll have Sheriff Marlowe pull John Everett in and tell him the truth.”
“Could you?” she asked hopefully.
“Of course,” her boss replied. “Meanwhile, you’ll be safe here. When you heal, we’ll discuss your next assignment, but it won’t be undercover, I’m afraid. Too dangerous, now that Vega and his men have seen you.”
She sighed and lay back, grimacing a little. “Well, it was getting a little tedious,” she had to admit.
Velasquez had his own theories about what might happen to Josie next, and it involved a blond rancher. But he kept his silence.
John was curious about why Dunn Marlowe wanted him to stop by the detention center. He assumed it was about Josie. Maybe her case was coming up. Or maybe she’d committed another crime. He grimaced. He’d been worried, especially as days had gone by with no word for or about her.
“Come in and sit down,” Dunn told him, indicating his guest chair.
Marlowe dropped into his own chair. “I guess you’re wondering why I asked you here. I’ve been appropriated by a federal agency to share some news.”
“It’s about Josie, isn’t it?” John asked. “Is she in trouble somewhere else?” His jaw tautened. “If she is, I can get a lawyer for her...”
Dunn held up a hand. “Just be patient.” He opened his desk drawer and pulled out two items. One was Josie’s cell phone. The other was a leather case. He pushed them across the desk to John.
“What are these?” he asked apprehensively.
“They’re Josie’s.”
John’s face went waxen. “She’s... dead?” he asked. Every hint of color drained right out of the world, every drop of it. The road ahead dropped off into oblivion. He could see no future, nothing to look forward to ever again. He felt empty. Drained.
“Open it,” Dunn prompted, indicating the leather case.
Sadly, John opened it to reveal a badge. He stared at it. Looked up at Marlowe. Stared at it again.
“She’s a fed?” he exclaimed.
Dunn nodded. “She was undercover, trying to shut down a shipment of extremely dangerous drugs. Raines was in the loop, along with Velasquez. But Velasquez was double-crossed by a rival drug lord named Vega. There was an attempt to move the shipment, which Vega interdicted. There was a shootout and Josie was wounded.”
“Is she alive?” he asked, his eyes wild. “Is she?”
Dunn nodded. “Alive and recovering.” His face hardened.
“Where is she? In a hospital?”
“No.” Dunn’s eyes glittered. “She’s at Velasquez’s ranch, over the border.”
John’s eyes widened. “She’s where? Is she a hostage?”
“No. She’s a guest.”
“Velasquez. The drug lord Velasquez?”
“Yes. He’s the biggest drug lord in northeastern Mexico. He’s worth more than the annual budget of a small country.”
“Why is she at his ranch?”
“Because they’re friends,” he muttered.
“Friends? How does she even know him?” John asked.
“She met him at a local bar. She thought he was in the chain of distribution. She didn’t know he was the drug lord himself.” He cocked his head. “Neither did you or your dad, apparently.”
“What?”
