Jacked Up (Bowen Boys #4)(69)

Now he just had to figure out where she was.

Where Elle Cooper wasn’t, was at her place or at Rosita’s, which was under surveillance. Too many military guys around for it to be a coincidence. It was not going to be possible to get to her as long as this bunch were on high alert. Not to mention Alex Ayala was with her. Nico had personally checked Ayala’s background when Exxum had started dealing with him; after all, his job was to foresee the unexpected, and everything had added up. Except for the fact that high-profile career criminals did not protect federal witnesses.

Nico drove to Elle’s neighborhood and parked several streets over. People were too nosy in that area.

Sneaking into the house was a piece of cake. There were door squealers but they had been dismantled.

He moved methodically through the house. It didn’t look like they had run away or had taken anything with them. The fridge was full; suitcases were still in the closet. There were several bedrooms in the house, but only one seemed to have been used. So Alex, or whoever he was, was screwing this chick.

Elle’s laptop didn’t provide any big clues until he checked the e-mails. She’d deleted them, but apparently she didn’t know enough about computers to erase them permanently, because he retrieved a rather big bunch of them, which confirmed Alex was a covert operative of some sort and totally in love with her. Any respectable agent with half a brain would have severed this relationship long ago. Deleted the e-mail account. Instead, Alex, or the “Borg,” as Elle called him, had allowed this to continue. Which also explained how come Elle was roaming around instead of hiding in a hole.

On his way to the kitchen, he picked up the mail from the floor. Bills, catalogs, nothing worth his time, until he came upon a big, heavy envelope from a photography studio. He opened it and studied the pictures. They were from a christening. Cute kid. Then, in between the shots, he spotted a very interesting one. It was of Elle and Alex holding the baby, and the photographer had inserted a band of some sort on the bottom which read: Me with my godparents.

Godparents. How interesting. So Alex had been roped into being a godfather, which meant he’d had to sign his name. Catholics were funny that way. They loved bureaucracy.

When he made it to the kitchen, he noticed a calendar on the fridge door full of notes and appointments. Busy chick.

There was this upcoming event circled in red with lots of exclamation marks and hearts.

He might not know yet who Alex was or his whereabouts, but he had a pretty good hunch where he was going to be.

He grabbed his cell and pulled up his boss’s details.

“You found her?” a voice greeted him.

“No, but I got something better.”





Chapter Sixteen


Jack turned into the service area and parked near James’s black pickup.

James stepped out of it, and so did Cole and Max. Shit, Jack knew where this was headed.

“Three of you to bring a duffel?” he asked as he approached.

James handed him the bag. “We’re going with you.”

“No, you are not.”

“Try stopping us,” Max answered with a deceptively easy smile.

He felt Elle behind him.

“Hi, guys.” She greeted each of them with a big hug.

“The part about you waiting in the truck?” Jack grumbled to her.

“Not changing in the back of your truck. And I need to see what a real chocolate bar tastes like.” She smiled at him, her hand out. “Money, sweetie? Or does a kidnappee have to pay her own way too? I wouldn’t mind if it wasn’t for the fact that I don’t have a penny with me. Next time you kidnap me make sure I have my purse.”

Smart-ass.

Jack gave her a bill and watched as she sauntered away after taking the bag from him.

“Sweetie?” James asked, lifting his eyebrows.

Jack did his best to ignore him. “The more of us, the more conspicuous we are. If someone is watching, we’ll be spotted.”

“We know how to blend. This isn’t our first rodeo,” Cole said.

Jack looked at the three men in front of him. Blend? Yeah, right.

“Besides,” Cole continued, “if someone is watching, you’re better off with us around.”

“Face it; you need eyes on her. You need backup. We are it,” James stated. “Deal with it.”

“This is too dangerous, for Elle and for you. You don’t have to get involved.”

The Bowens were an easy connection to Elle. And they were too visible. Anyone digging into her life would find them right away.

“We are already involved. How long do you think it will be until Maldonado figures out he can get to her through us? How long until he’ll think of using Tate and Christy and Annie and the kids for leverage? We need her safe, and she’s family.”

“We are going, regardless,” Cole added. “You know it’s better if we are all on the same page than running in disconnected teams.”

True. They would be more effective as a single unit.

“Where are the women?” Jack asked.

“They are at Annie’s grandmother having a sleepover,” James explained. “Kyra and Alexa joined them, which means Mike and Wata are there. They are as safe as it gets. So what’s the plan?”

“From the security point of view, this event is a nightmare, so we get through it as fast as possible. In and out.”