A Covert Affair (Deadly Ops #5)(22)

He shook his head. “No. We know about your call to Detective Sinclair—”

She shoved away from the counter and crossed over to the island, her movements jerky. The granite countertop separated them, but it did nothing to hide her sparking temper. “You’re listening to my freaking phone calls?”

He nodded once. He’d be as honest with her as he could. After she’d made that phone call to Sinclair, Burkhart gave Nathan operational latitude with Amelia. He could tell her as much or as little as he thought necessary so she’d keep quiet about this and . . . fuck, he didn’t even want to think about the other reason. Burkhart had made it clear he’d use Amelia to get to Mercado if she was open to it. Nathan didn’t want her involved at all, though. “Yes. Iker Mercado is at the top of our suspect list right now, and when you showed up as his date, you moved up on our list too.”

Her mouth opened the slightest fraction, her expression one of complete incredulity. “Wait, I was on the list to begin with? As someone who could actually kidnap women for . . . whatever purposes?”

“You were a person of interest because of your connection to some of them—though I didn’t realize it was you until I saw you at the auction. You changed your last name.” He could guess why too.

“So now you’re convinced I’m not involved?” Apparently she was going to ignore his statement about her last name.

“Yes.”

She seemed to relax at his words before she asked, “You’re with the FBI?”

He pulled out a badge and ID and slid them over the counter to her. The credentials themselves were real, but his information wasn’t. He couldn’t tell her that he worked for the NSA. Not yet. Maybe never. So the FBI it was.

She looked hard at them, then shrugged. “These could be fake.”

“They could be,” he agreed.

Amelia watched him for a long moment, her vivid eyes searching for something. Finally she sighed. “What do you want from me, Nathan? Are you worried I’ll blow your cover with Iker? I don’t even plan on seeing him after tonight—last night.” She shook her head, looking suddenly exhausted as she turned back to the other counter and picked up her wine.

“Will you sit next to me?” he asked softly, wanting her close. He hated this mistrust between them.

Surprise flickered in her eyes, but she nodded and rounded the counter. Her dress barely rustled as she sat next to him and turned the chair toward him. Watching him with eyes that missed nothing, she was silent, waiting for him to continue.

“My team and I need to know everything you know about Mercado.” Because fuck what Burkhart had told Nathan, he didn’t want to bring her deeper into this. Not if he didn’t need to.

“It’s not much. He’s in antiquities and a really respected businessman. He owns a ton of property in Miami; he’s got a grown daughter; he never remarried after his wife died . . . uh, I don’t know. We’ve literally been on one date, last night. The majority of what I found out about him is from Google. If you’re really with the FBI, you’re going to know more than me. Why do you think he’s involved in kidnapping women?”

Now was the tricky part. “Do you remember hearing about a man named Paul Hill last year?” She’d have had to be completely cut off from the media not to.

It took less than a second for the name to register. Her lips twisted in clear disgust. “Yeah, I remember the news reports. That whole thing is revolting. They’re still arresting people involved, right?”

He nodded, pushing back the rage that surfaced whenever he thought of that scum. Dead scum, thankfully. Hill had sold women and children to the highest bidder as if they were property, had run a huge international sex slave ring with a base here in Miami. The city was still recovering from a terrorist bombing that was a direct effect of his crimes. “Yeah. Some of the people involved—buyers—fled the country, but various branches of law enforcement are slowly hunting them down.” He hoped they got them all, but he knew in the end, there were still sick bastards out there living their lives, hurting innocent people.

“What does that have to do with Iker or the missing women?”

“Maybe nothing. But my team is determined not to let another person take Hill’s place.”

“You think Iker is involved in the slave trade?” Her face pale, she idly traced the stem of her wineglass.

“We don’t know, but he’s involved in more than just antiquities. He’s never been convicted, but he’s been brought in for questioning multiple times for suspected smuggling.”

“Of people?”

He shook his head. “No, but he’s been linked to smuggling in antiquities taken during various wars in addition to rhino and ivory smuggling.” It was big money and very illegal. Not to mention fucking cruel. “We’ve only got rumors at this point, but if someone is involved in taking women in Miami, chances are high Mercado is involved or knows about it. Which is why I want you to stay away from him.”

Amelia didn’t respond, just took a long sip of her wine as she seemed to digest what he’d told her. As she did, Cade’s voice came over his earpiece. “I’m at the front door. Burkhart wants me to talk to her.”

Damn it, he wanted more time with Amelia alone and he had a bad feeling he knew exactly what Burkhart wanted Cade to tell Amelia. “Cade’s at the front door,” he said to her.