Family Money(65)

“Does Taylor know you’re here?”

I shook my head. “She doesn’t know about any of this.”

“Carol?”

“No. I’ve kept it from both of them. To protect them.”

Joe sighed, clearly trying to absorb it all. “I have hated keeping Carol in the dark about this all of these years. But I could see no other way to fully protect her. I always believed the more she knew, the more danger she would be in if this ever unraveled on me like it did this past week.” He looked over at me. “I’m sorry you’ve had to lie to Taylor to protect me. I never wanted my lies to infest the whole family.”

“You’re alive, Joe. That’s what matters right now. What happened after they took you? Why did they fake your death?”

Joe licked his cracked lips. “I had no idea they faked my death. When they finally pulled the hood off my head, I stared straight into the face of Miguel Cortez. That’s when I knew for sure what this was about: money and revenge. I tried to convince him that the CIA was protecting my family. I knew enough of the language because of Greta to make it sound convincing. I was terrified he would try to use you and the girls as leverage against me. I guess my bluff worked, and he decided to be more cautious. They put me in another van and drove me for what felt like forever until they shoved me into that dark room. I have no idea where we are right now or even what day it is anymore.”

“It’s Sunday. We’re in Mexico City.”

He nodded. “I can’t believe you’re here. And I’m still alive.”

“They’ve been beating you?”

He swallowed. “Yes. Repeatedly. Cortez wanted answers about the money. He wanted to know who else was involved. He wanted to go after everyone.”

“Did you tell him anything?”

Joe shook his head. “I knew he was going to kill me anyway. I was willing to die with the truth if it meant protecting my family and friends.”

“I’m glad it didn’t come to that. Why did you send me the text yesterday?”

“I overheard men outside my door talking specifically about you. I could tell one of them was Miguel Cortez. That’s when I realized you were searching for answers about me and how dangerous it was for you and the girls if you didn’t stop. I felt desperate. The boy came in later. I gave him the cash in my shoe and sent the text. But you clearly didn’t listen to me.”

I gave him a small smile. “Yeah, sorry about that.”

Joe started to chuckle but then began coughing.

“Take it easy,” I encouraged him.

He reached over and grabbed my hand. “Thank you, son.”

I squeezed his hand, fought back tears.

At this point, Greta entered the room and walked over to stand next to me beside Joe’s bed. He looked up at her, and they shared a quiet moment.

“You look like hell, Joe,” she said.

“Thanks for coming, Greta.”

“Yeah, well, I needed a vacation anyway. And I’ve always liked Mexico.”

They both smiled. Greta was no longer wearing her hoodie. She was in her gray T-shirt. I spotted the white bandage wrapped around her right arm.

“Are you okay?” I asked her, nodding toward the bandage.

“Flesh wound. I’ve seen much worse.”

“So what do we do now?” I asked her.

“A team is coming to get us. They’ll be here in about an hour. They’ll take Joe back to Brownsville and allow him to walk himself into a hospital there, where he’ll tell the authorities he just escaped from his abductors. Joe will know nothing other than he’s been kept in a dark room somewhere near Matamoros the past week, where they’ve beaten him up real good. You understand me, Joe?”

He nodded. “I understand.”

“What about Miguel Cortez?” I asked.

She looked over at me. “We will take care of Cortez privately.”

“We meaning . . .”

“Yes,” she answered, clearly knowing I was asking about the CIA.

“What about me being suspected of a crime here?”

“We’ll handle that, too.”

“What does that mean?”

“It will go away.”

“What? Like it never happened?”

“Yes, all of this will go away. Like none of it ever happened.”

My mouth dropped. “You can really do that?”

“You’d be surprised.”

“So, what, we just go back to our lives in Austin?”

“Correct. And never tell a soul about any of this.”

“Will we be safe?” Joe asked her.

Greta nodded. “I’ll keep some guys around you for a little while, just to make sure of it. But I doubt you’ll see any trouble once we handle Cortez.”

Something told me that Miguel Cortez was not going to be officially arrested. But I didn’t ask any further questions. I didn’t want to know what take care of Cortez privately really meant.

“What about the money?” Joe asked. “I don’t even know where Ethan put the rest of it.”

“We’ll find it,” Greta said. “Although I doubt you’ll be getting it back. The agency often plays by ‘finders keepers’ rules.”