A Covert Affair (Deadly Ops #5)(64)

“Do it. We’ve got your back.”

She desperately wanted to ask if Nathan would be part of the backup, but she still had some pride left. Instead she said, “I’m trusting you because Nathan does.”

“I know.”

And that was that. Because it was absolutely the truth. She was trusting that they’d have her back if she got tossed into a dangerous situation, because Nathan did. And that was good enough for her.

The comm van slowed to a stop and after a moment’s pause for Elliott to check out the surrounding neighborhood via their exterior cameras, Freeman, one of Burkhart’s field agents, slipped out the back door. He closed it behind him with barely a sound.

Their command center today looked like an electrical company truck. Everything on the exterior was authentic, as were Freeman’s uniform and credentials. They didn’t belong to him, but they were real. Not that anyone would question them anyway. Not in a ritzy neighborhood like this. Freeman was part of the working class, which basically made him invisible to the wealthy who might be curious enough to check out the electric company van.

Burkhart slipped his earpiece in and stepped behind Elliott and another analyst he’d pulled in for this backup op. There were also two other agents in the van, including Dax, who joined him behind Elliott.

“She’s in,” Elliott said, clacking away at the keyboard, even though they could all hear Amelia’s conversation with Mercado.

“She was a fucking champ today,” Dax said quietly, his comment directed at Burkhart.

He simply nodded. “I read the report.” The way she’d reacted to being attacked had no doubt saved her life and her employee’s life. Instead of running or panicking, she’d full-on attacked, taking that psycho off guard.

“Any news from Nieto about her attacker?”

“Not yet. Guy’s got a lawyer, but I think they’ll get him to talk.”

“We’re in!” Elliott’s voice was excited as code started streaming across his computer screen and the two above his main one.

“Thanks again for having me over. Today’s been rough,” Amelia said to Mercado, her voice clear. The connection they had to the microphone in her cell was strong.

“She left her purse in the kitchen like we instructed.” Elliott was talking more to himself than anyone else at this point. “The phone’s stopped moving.”

Burkhart had worked with him long enough to know when he was in the zone.

“She seems to be a natural at this. Maybe we should recruit her.” Dax’s voice was only partially joking.

Her voice grew fainter, as did Mercado’s. They were moving to somewhere else on his property, which meant there wouldn’t be any audio for her right now.

Burkhart just laughed even though he was worried that she was a naturally good liar. It was good for the op, only he couldn’t help worrying about Ortiz. His man was very adept at covering his emotions, as were most of his agents, but Amelia Rios meant something to Ortiz.

Burkhart had noticed it the first time Ortiz talked about her, even though he’d covered it well. She’d been more than a friend to Ortiz. A lot more. Burkhart still wasn’t certain what to make of their relationship.

“You tell Ortiz about this?” Dax asked quietly.

“No. Didn’t want to distract him.” Ortiz was in a potentially important meeting right now, and if he knew Amelia was inside Mercado’s house—or had been attacked earlier—it could screw with his concentration. Especially since they didn’t currently have audio on her.

Burkhart didn’t like it, but it was the way it had to be. They had eyes on the house too, so if anyone left, they’d know. “How’re you coming along?”

“Much faster this time since I already got a crack at his system once. There are still a few layers of encryption to slide through.”

Good. The sooner the better.

“Come on, he’ll never know. Don’t be such a baby,” a female voice streamed over the line.

“Who is that?” Burkhart demanded. He guessed it was Mercado’s daughter, since she lived at the palatial estate.

Eugene, the other analyst, pulled up another program on one of his screens. “Voice recognition says . . . Collette Mercado.”

“We shouldn’t disrespect him in his house,” a deep male voice said.

“It’s my house too. You used to be fun,” she snapped.

“Collette—”

There was a groan. Then another, longer one. Definitely sexual in nature.

Oh hell, they were having sex in the kitchen. Just great.

“Voice recognition says that’s Santino Luna, Iker’s head of security.”

Burkhart raised his eyebrows but didn’t respond. That was interesting and he made a mental note of it. If Mercado was involved in the kidnapping of all these women, maybe they’d be able to get to him through his daughter. Or his head of security. Burkhart had done thorough checks of all of Mercado’s people, so if Collette and Luna were having an affair, they were very secretive about it. Maybe he could use that against Luna. Burkhart never ruled out any option when it came to saving the innocent.

“I’m fully in,” Elliot announced quietly.

Burkhart’s heart rate increased a fraction, but he remained immobile. Years in the Navy had taught him to always remain calm and in control on the outside. His job now demanded it. “How long will it take to copy everything?”