Delta Force Rescue - Elle James Page 0,41
baby. Give her a home and the love she needs to flourish. Bella deserves a better life than the one she had with me.”
Swede called out. “They stopped in Monterrey, Mexico.”
Alejandra nodded. “They’ll fuel up there. There’s a ranch outside of Monterrey with an airstrip and jet fuel for men who don’t want to land their planes at public airports to refuel. El Chefe’s shipments stop there when they fly from El Salvador to the US and back. It won’t be long before they land, full stop, in El Salvador.”
“At this point, everything we know is conjecture,” Hank said. “We don’t really know what he plans to do with Briana.”
Tears glittered in her eyes, but she blinked them away. Her chin lifted. “I guarantee he will try to make a trade. He wants me. He thinks that all this information is in my head,” she said, tapping her temple, “and that if I get loose, I can tell whoever wants to know about all of his dealings. Leaking that information could bring a stop to his operations, or make his clients lose their trust in him and want him dead.” She held out her hand. “If you have a burner phone, one that can’t be traced, I’ll prove to you that this is his plan.”
Hank fished in his front pocket for and pulled out a cellphone. He handed it to her. “This is the burner phone I used to communicate with the men who’ve been guarding you. The number is taped to the back.”
Alejandra dialed the international number direct to El Chefe and waited. She switched the phone’s audio to speaker so that all could hear. Voicemail picked up on the other end. The message was in Spanish. She left a message, also in Spanish. Then, in English, she added, “Call this number.” She left the number for the burner phone.
Moments later, the phone buzzed. Alejandra answered using the speaker option.
A man speaking angry Spanish yelled into the speaker.
She spoke to him in a calm, resigned tone.
Rafe only picked up a few of the words she spoke in Spanish, but at one point, he heard her mention “Señorita Briana Hayes.” He wished he’d paid more attention in high school Spanish class. At the end of the conversation, he picked up the words, “Estaré ahí pronto.” I will be there soon.
Alejandra ended the call and looked across at Hank.
Hank turned to his man, Taz Davila.
Taz nodded. “It’s like she said. He wants to make a trade. He has Briana, and he’s not going to give her up until Alejandra shows up in El Salvador.”
Rafe turned to Hank. “So, what are we going to do? I know Briana wouldn’t want us to turn over Alejandra to the cartel.”
Alejandra shook her head. “It’s the only way. He will not let her go, until he has me. If I’m not there in a certain amount of time, he’ll start hurting her. Eventually, he’ll kill her.”
“She’s not in El Salvador yet,” Hank said. “Let me talk to some of my contacts and see what we can come up with.”
Rafe’s eyes narrowed. “Sounds like an extraction mission to me.”
Alejandra frowned. “What do you mean by contacts?”
“I have some friends in high places who might be able to help us,” Hank said.
She shook her head. “Some of the clients and partners on my list are high up on the political chain in the US. If you stir that hornet’s nest, I won’t be able to get to El Salvador to make the trade. They won’t let me live that long.”
Hank nodded. “Understood. I’ll present it as purely an extraction case of a US citizen. I won’t mention that it’s a trade.”
“El Chefe gave me twenty-four hours to get back with him on arrangements for my return to El Salvador. He will expect me there shortly afterward.”
“Good,” Hank said. “That gives me time to work my connections.”
Over the next twenty-four hours, Hank performed miracles. He organized a plane to transport his team of Brotherhood Protectors. He contacted his source in the Special Operations Command and arranged for an extraction mission using Rafe’s former Delta Force team out of Fort Hood, Texas. He also contacted the DEA, who had undercover boots on the ground in El Salvador. They would perform reconnaissance of the cartel’s stronghold.
Two DEA agents were mobilized quickly and were at the airport when the plane carrying Briana landed. They witnessed a dozen of the cartel’s men escorting Briana off the plane then departing in a convoy