Hidden Agenda (29 page)

He slid in across from her and set his shopping bag on the floor beside his chair.

The smile he gave her was tempered with an edge of caution. “I wasn't sure you'd show up.”

“You told me this had to do with Ivan. What choice did I have?”

“There are so many things you don't know. But as much as you probably hate me right now, I want you to know that I never regretted loving your mother. Never regretted you and Ivan.”

Olivia's jaw tensed. It was too late to start over. Too late to erase the damage from the past. And she was tired of his excuses.

“What I know,” she said, “is that I've spent my entire life living a lie. Surrounded by secrets that no one would tell me. Maybe you and my mother were only trying to protect me, but Ivan could lose his life because of those secrets. It has to end. Now.”

“Can I assume that Michael filled you in on some of those secrets,
mi
princesa
?”

Olivia flinched at the pet name. “Does it matter? And maybe we should skip the pleasantries and just focus on where Ivan is.”

“Salazar has him.”

“Why?” she asked.

“For the past few years he's been setting up a place to operate out of northern Mexico, supplying heroin, cocaine, marijuana, and meth that he plans to flood the region with. He's in the process of centralizing the shipping, warehousing, and distribution of the drugs, then the collection and transport of the money back to Mexico. He's setting himself up to take over Cártel de Rey.”

The pieces were beginning to snap into place. She knew some of the answers, but wanted to hear them from him. “How do Ivan and I fit into all of this?”

“He's using you to get to me.”

“What are they asking for?”

Her father tapped his fingers against the table, clearly taking in everything that was going on around him while he spoke. “There's a list of names some call the Canary List. It's a record of cartel informants within the government and police department. He needs that list in order to ensure loyalties.”

Olivia felt her stomach clench. “That's what they're asking for?”

“If they don't get that list, they've said they'll kill your brother.” Her father reached out and grasped her hands. “No matter what kind of father you think I've been, I don't want to be responsible for my son's death. But I swear, I don't have the list.”

The panic was back. Did her father have any idea that with the Canary List in the hands of the police, it had become worthless to Salazar? Olivia felt her head pound, not knowing how much to tell him, or how much she could trust him. But the bottom line was that their leverage to save Ivan's life had just vanished.

“How much time do we have?”

“I don't know yet.” Her father glanced at his watch. “I'm waiting for Salazar to call me back and tell me where to meet him, but there are rumors that Felipe gave you the list. Is that true?”

Olivia ignored his question. “And without the list? How do we save him?”

Her father's gaze darkened. “Why? What do you know, Olivia?”

“I know it's too late.” Olivia felt the darkness of the room close in on her. They'd torture and kill him. “The police already have that list.”

“Making the list completely worthless to Salazar.” Her father raked his hands through his hair.

“What do we do?”

“I don't know, but what I do know,
mi princesa
, is that all those years I kept my distance from you, it was never because I didn't care. It was because I was afraid of this very thing happening.”

“Then what do we do now? There has to be a way to get Ivan back alive.” The panic was rising again. The noise from the crowd and the music pressed in around her, making her want to bolt. “They've already made a number of arrests. It won't be long before Salazar knows that list is worthless, if he doesn't already know.”

Her father reached into his coat pocket and pulled out his phone to check his messages.

Olivia leaned forward. “What is it?”

“I have to go.”

“Wait. It's Salazar, isn't it?” She reached out and grabbed his arm as he stood up to leave. “Tell me what he says.”

“He's given me a meeting place. He's expecting that list.”

“Where?”

“I don't want you involved in this. Salazar doesn't just want that list. He wants me. And he'll use you to get to me, just like he's using Ivan.”

“Tell me where.” She grabbed his hand holding the phone and pulled it toward her.

The Addison Hotel.

“Stay out of this, Olivia,” he said.

She stumbled away from the table and tried to follow him through the crowded food court. He dodged the woman cleaning a table, sidestepping her cart by slipping through a bunch of rowdy teenagers.

“Excuse me.” Olivia pushed her way through the group. If they lost him now . . .

She caught sight of him again briefly, heading down the crowded corridor of the mall. He was pulling out a jacket and
a ball cap from his shopping bag and slipped them both on as he disappeared into a sea of shoppers. Her stomach cinched. He'd planned for everything, and now they were going to lose him . . .

A moment later she was finally at the edge of the congested food court. And her father was gone.

She spoke into the mike. “He put on a jacket and cap . . .” Her words trailed away. She hadn't been close enough to be able to describe them. And she had no idea where he'd gone.

Avery met her at the edge of the food court and swept her down an empty hallway, toward the back exit.

Olivia forced down the rising despair. “We lost him.”

“Maybe,” Avery said. “We've still got men on all the exits.”

“They won't find him.” He'd spent his life staying one step ahead of the cops. “But he received a text message right before he left. He's meeting Salazar at the Addison Hotel.”

Avery passed on the information to the rest of the team on her radio, then turned back to Olivia. “We can have backup there in the next ten minutes, and we'll pick up Salazar and Valez.”

“Ivan could be there too.”

“I'll have security start searching the video footage from the time he was taken until now.” Avery rested her hand on Olivia's arm. “If your brother's there, we will find him. For now, Carlos is waiting to pick us up outside.”

Olivia wanted to cry, wanted to scream, but all she could do was follow Avery down the hallway, letting the shock of her father's words consume her. “We've just lost all our leverage to save my brother. They want the list. Ivan's life for that stupid list, and if they don't get it they're going to kill him.”

How could she save Ivan when there was no way to give them what they were demanding?

O
livia struggled to keep up with Avery as she escorted her out of the mall and into the cold Atlanta night. “Where's Carlos going to take us?”

Avery buttoned the top of her coat. “The captain secured a safe house where you can stay out of the line of fire until it's over.”

They paused in front of an unmarked car at the edge of the parking lot, making Olivia feel as if she were trying to escape the paparazzi.

She slid into the seat ahead of Avery. “I want to go to the Addison Hotel with you. If my brother's there, I can help find him.”

“I need you to trust me. It's not safe, Olivia.”

As soon as Avery shut the door, Carlos drove off. “Where's Michael?”

“He'll meet us at the safe house.”

Olivia leaned back against the seat as they pulled out of the mall parking lot and tried to relax, but all she could think about was her brother. They would kill him without the Canary List, and the list was worthless. How had doing the right thing turned into this?

Five minutes later, Carlos pulled onto the freeway, passing neighborhoods still lit up for the festive holiday season. For most
people it was another ordinary Friday night watching television and eating pizza. For her, nothing was ordinary about today.

God, the past few days have felt like one nightmare
after another. And this time . . . this time I can't
see a way out. We don't have what they
want. Can't get what they want.

Her fingers gripped the armrest. Ivan could be at the hotel, but the reality was they could have taken him anywhere.

Olivia looked at Avery, who'd just answered her cell, trying to gauge by her expression what was going on.

“What is it?” she asked as soon as Avery had hung up.

“They found something.”

“Please. Tell me what's going on.”

Avery hesitated as if deciding whether or not she should tell her. “Security at the Addison Hotel started going through the footage for us, and they think they found your brother.”

“So he's there? Where my father is going to meet Salazar.” Olivia gripped Avery's arm, the first seed of hope she'd felt all day springing to life. “Where is he?”

Avery shrugged. “That's the problem. They don't know. Not yet, anyway. Ivan was caught on the security footage as he got into one of the elevators with two men, but the problem is that there are over a thousand rooms, 150,000 square feet of indoor meeting spaces, laundry, pools, underground parking . . .”

There had to be a way to find him. “So you're saying he's at the hotel, but you have no idea where.”

“I'm sorry, Olivia, but at least we have his whereabouts narrowed down.”

“They're going through the rest of the footage to see if he left.”

A chill ran up Olivia's spine. “I want to see the footage.”

“The captain doesn't want you involved in this.”

Olivia shook her head. “Please. Ivan is smart. He might have found a way to communicate.”

“They said there's nothing there—”

“Please. Just let me see it.”

Avery made another call, then spoke to Carlos.

“You're in luck,” she told Olivia. “The captain agrees you should look at the footage, but then I want you out of there.”

Olivia nodded. “Thank you.”

Avery's expression softened in the light of the passing cars. “Listen . . . I know this has all been hard, but you did what was right. And I promise we'll do everything we can to find your brother.”

Then why did doing what was right make her feel as if she'd just betrayed someone? “Do you think my father was telling the truth? That he really is concerned about Ivan's life, or do you think he just wanted the list for himself?”

“I wish I could answer that question for you, but I don't know. All we can do right now is focus on finding Ivan.”

Carlos took the next exit, heading for the hotel. Avery was right, but Olivia still couldn't help but wonder what her father was thinking. Wonder what his real motives were for asking her to come and help. Was it because he cared about Ivan, or because he needed the list for himself?

Something told her it was the latter. He'd spent his entire life building his empire, oblivious to what was going on in her and Ivan's lives. They had been an inconvenience to deal with and nothing more. It was easy to have an accountant write a check every month. How could she ever have expected anything more?

At the hotel they entered through a back entrance, and Olivia was ushered into a nice-sized office behind the front desk, where Tory was working with one of the employees at a computer.

“Tory, I need you to show Olivia the footage of her brother,” Avery said.

“Give me just a second,” Tory said. “The resolution isn't
great, but it's clearly Ivan. This is Brett Fuller,” she continued, making quick introductions. “He's with the hotel security.”

Olivia nodded at the balding, uniformed officer, then turned her eyes to the computer screen, her heart pumping fast in anticipation. If Ivan
was
here, with or without the list, they needed to find him.

With a few clicks of the mouse, the footage appeared on the screen. “This is what they found of Ivan getting ready to get on the elevator.”

Olivia braced her hands against the desk, studying the footage. Ivan walked between two men. He looked up at the camera as they passed by right before getting into the elevator.

Five seconds later, Tory froze the footage.

“Where did they get off?” Olivia asked.

“That's the problem. We don't know. It looks like two of the cameras aren't working, since we never see him get off the elevator. We're still trying to find out why.”

Which meant this was all they had to go on.

“Can I see it again?” she asked.

“Sure.” Tory rewound the grainy footage, then played it again.

Olivia watched Ivan look at the camera again. His hands were behind his back. He looked away . . . “Stop. Rewind the footage ten seconds, then zoom in on my brother's hands.”

“Okay.”

“There. Slow down the speed.”

Olivia held her breath as she watched the footage replay in slow motion. Ivan glanced up . . .

“Stop . . . Right there.”

“What's he doing?” the guard asked.

Olivia smiled. “Signing. My brother's deaf. He can read lips, and he must have caught something important that he's trying to tell us.”

“What is he saying?”

“Run it back one more time.”

Olivia watched for the fourth time. There was no mistake. “Three hundred twenty-two. It must be a room number.”

“Are you sure?”

“Positive.”

Michael slipped into the hotel lobby behind Mason and clicked on his radio. “Avery, we're here. What have you got?”

“Olivia found something in the surveillance video. Looks like Ivan might be in room number 322.”

“I'm on it.”

“Can you meet us there with a key?” Mason asked.

Michael passed a row of elevators, opting instead for the stairs at the end of the short hallway, praying as he went. Praying for Olivia and Ivan . . . and for a way to end all of this without anyone else getting hurt.

He paused to catch his breath at the third floor before opening the metal fire door.

I need to find
him, Lord . . .

Avery met them at the room, where he shoved the key card into the lock and waited for the green light to come on, then burst into the room.

“Ivan!”

They swept the room and bathroom, but there was no sign of Ivan.

Michael turned to Mason, frustrated. Another dead end meant they were back to square one. “He's not here.”

“Do you think Olivia made a mistake with the numbers?” Mason asked.

“I don't think so.” Michael picked something up off the floor and walked across the room to where Mason and Avery were opening drawers, looking under the chairs, anything to find a clue.

“What's that?”

“Part of a detonator.” Michael's heart pounded. “There's a good chance that bomb is somewhere here in this building.”

“What about the bomb squad?” Michael asked Avery.

“I've already got them here on standby, just in case.”

Michael turned back to Mason. “If Salazar wanted to make a statement, where would he set it off?”

“Wait a minute.” Avery had pulled back one of the chairs from the table and looked underneath it. “I think Ivan left us a message.”

Michael knelt down beside his sister and read the message scratched into the underside of the table.

Balrom.

“Balrom?” Mason asked.

“Ballroom.” Michael checked his watch. “I glanced at the schedule earlier. There's some kind of event going on here tonight in the ballroom, and the master of ceremonies is scheduled to speak right about now.”

Michael turned to Avery. “Have the bomb squad meet us on the first floor with the bomb dogs to make a sweep . . . and start evacuating the hotel.”

“I'm on it.”

Michael radioed Tory as they started for the stairwell and gave her a quick update. “Have you found Valez?”

“Not yet.”

“And Olivia?”

“She's here with me.”

“Make sure she goes somewhere safe. Please.”

“I will.”

“And pray we find that bomb before it goes off.”

Three minutes later, Michael ran through the lobby, his pulse racing. The fire alarm screamed in the background. Staff members were trying to keep order with walkie-talkies while guests hurried toward the exits.

One of the K9 handlers called Michael and led him down a hallway behind the ballroom. “I think we might have something. It's a storage room, but it's locked.”

“Can we get a key?” Mason asked.

“We don't have time for a key.” Michael kicked open the door of the storage closet with his heel and flipped on the light. Ivan and Valez sat tied up and gagged in the shadows beside the bomb.

Michael pulled out their gags.

“Don't bother with me—get him out of here,” Valez said. “We're out of time.”

Michael radioed the captain. “We've found the bomb. It's in the storage closet behind the main ballroom.”

“How much time?”

Michael glanced at the timer. “Five minutes, twenty-nine seconds.”

Ivan was trembling. “You should go.”

Michael shook his head. “Are you kidding? I'm not leaving without you, Ivan. You did good, leaving the message under the table.”

The bomb squad moved in and got to work defusing the bomb. Michael worked on the duct tape wrapped around Ivan's wrists that secured him to a metal pole behind him, while Mason worked to free Valez.

“Listen, there's nothing for you to worry about. The bomb squad knows what they're doing.” Michael freed Ivan's second arm with his pocketknife. “Besides, there's someone waiting for you outside. I'm pretty sure she wouldn't forgive me if I let something happen to you.”

He started on freeing Ivan's legs.

He glanced at the bomb as he struggled to unloose Ivan. The fire alarm screamed in the background.

Three minutes, fifty-two seconds.

“Come on . . . come on . . .”

With three minutes left on the timer, Mason finished freeing Valez, who refused to budge until Ivan was also free.

All four men ran toward the hotel exit.

They found Olivia standing behind the yellow police line with Carlos, who was talking on his radio.

“The bomb squad just gave the all clear,” Carlos said. “It's over.”

Ivan flew into his sister's embrace, then stepped away, nodding at Michael.

Adrenaline still raced through him. But that wasn't the only reason his heart was pounding. He took a step forward, cupped her face between his hands, and paused a moment to breathe in her sweetness. “I was so afraid I might lose you.”