Before Nightfall - Kat Martin Page 0,27

truck, hidden among a stack of fake parcels loaded with an assortment of bricks and papers.

All of them were armed to the teeth, a pair of semiautos, six-inch folding knives, and stun guns, but the goal was to complete the mission without being seen.

The sun still burned brightly when they realized they would need to move their original plan ahead. They had to get to Tim while he was upstairs with his teacher, before he left for another part of the house or went down to supper.

They were geared up and ready to go in when Colt’s cell phone vibrated. He pulled it out and saw it was Alex.

“We got trouble,” Alex said. “Diego just called. A member of the task force spotted us on the hill last night. They were planning to arrest us, but word just reached them that the cartel segundos were on the move, on their way to the meeting with El Puñal. Diego relayed a warning for us to back off and let them do their jobs or suffer the consequences.”

Colt’s glance went from Lissa to Zach. Time had just run out.

“Get ready to move the chopper into position,” he said to Alex. “We’re going in.”

“Copy that. See you at the LZ.” The line went dead.

Colt turned. “Cartel’s on its way. We’re out of time. If we’re going, we need to go now.”

Lissa nodded. Her chin firmed. “Let’s go.”

While Zach remained on the hill, Colt and Lissa made their way back into the trees, then hurried down the hill to the UPS truck. Lissa wore her tactical vest under a camo T-shirt, while Colt’s vest was hidden under the UPS uniform shirt left for him in the truck. He’d been deployed in South America so his Spanish was better than average. Good enough, he hoped, to get him into the compound.

They each checked their primary weapon, dropped the mag and shoved it back in, checked their backup pieces, a couple of Beretta M9s. The AR-15 and extra mags were hidden behind the driver’s seat. Lissa climbed in the back and took her place beneath a big empty cardboard box, and Colt fired up the engine. The truck pulled sluggishly onto the road and began to grind its way up the hill.

It didn’t take long to reach the dirt lane that circled around to the back of the house. Dust billowed around them, forcing Colt to slow down, and the road was rutted in places, making the ride bouncy as hell. A few minutes later, he spotted the gate up ahead.

“We’re here,” he said into the mic attached to the tiny earbud out of sight in his ear. Mexican music played on the radio in the dash, helping cover his American accent as he spoke to the guard. There were two of them now, he noticed. Extra men in preparation for the cartel members’ arrival.

Colt stepped on the brake as the guard on the driver’s side walked up to the truck.

“Buenos días,” the guard said, peering into the interior. Both men wore short-sleeved tan uniforms, and both of them were armed with semiautomatic pistols.

“Buenos días,” Colt replied, smiling. There were plenty of blond Mexicans so his fair skin and hair shouldn’t be a problem. The eye patch was conspicuous, but he was wearing a UPS ball cap pulled low across his forehead, which helped. And no one knew who he was, including Ray Spearman.

The other guard looked in through the passenger window, walked to the rear and opened the door, saw the stack of parcels ready for delivery, and slammed it shut.

The first guard waved him through the gate, and Colt drove into the compound. So far so good. The next part was tricky, pulling around to the west end of the U-shaped building, then backing up beneath the balcony. He was far enough away the guards didn’t seem to notice, or maybe they were used to trucks parking wherever they could find a place.

Colt walked around to the back and opened the door. He couldn’t see Lissa but he knew she was in there waiting for their plan to move forward. “Truck’s in position. I’m heading for the house now.”

Zach’s voice came through the earbud. “Everything’s a go on this end.” Meaning Timmy was still in his bedroom.

“Roger that,” Colt said. Reaching up, he adjusted his earbud to be sure it was out of sight.

Lissa lifted the box away and stood up facing him, her pretty brown eyes intense on his face. “Come back to