Gabby knew he was right, and she knew that the CIA operated on a different wavelength. They could break laws in other countries, but not U.S. laws. She just wanted to get the steam out of her head, otherwise she’d explode later. “Come on, Kelso, let’s hear what these spooks have to say.” She didn’t look at Declan. Needless to say, she was fuming at every male in the house except her partner.
Gabby sat on the couch, motioning Kelso to sit beside her.
She could feel Declan’s glower in her direction, but she continued to ignore him, so he moved to stand beside Garrison. Bristow, who’d been standing by the door all this time, moved to join the CIA team.
“Ortega never had cancer,” Garrison said. “He spread that rumor to make him appear weak and flush out the people conniving to bring him down. This is what we’ve gleaned so far from his CDC tests and his actions of the past few months.”
“Do we know who broke him out?” Declan asked.
“At first we thought Andrade had a plant inside the CDC but a source of mine indicated that he was completely in the dark about the Z-91,” the CIA officer continued. “Heads are apparently rolling in his organization, but the damage is done. The virus is out.”
“Ortega escaped with the Z-91 pearls?” Gabby demanded.
“No. Those have been safely transported to Atlanta, but Ortega himself has become the carrier. It’s still too soon to say, but there are indications within the CDC audit trail that a Z-92 has been synthesized using its equipment and research files.”
“We cannot discount that Andrade is still behind this,” Migs said. “He has the means for misdirection.”
“Agreed.”
“And the cartel?” Kelso asked. “How do they fit into all this?”
“They’re waiting to grab power,” Ariana said. “It’s gotten my brother so paranoid. I … I still can’t wrap my mind around how he faked his cancer.”
“I know how we can flush Ortega out,” Gabby said. She stared at the other woman, trying to remain objective and hoping that in no way was Ariana complicit in her brother’s actions that killed Peter. “There’s one person Raul Ortega loves.”
“No,” Migs growled.
Gabby raised a brow. “I haven’t said anything yet.”
“You don’t have to,” he snapped. “You’re going to suggest using her as bait.”
“Gabby has a point,” Garrison said, looking at Ariana and ignoring the fuming biker beside her. “At this point, we’re banking on Ortega to be desperate to find out what happened to you. We’ve tracked numerous calls made to the numbers you use. We nearly captured someone who’s been staking out your business in Beverly Hills.
“Unfortunately, Andrade wants Ariana, too. That’s the real reason why we put Migs undercover,” Garrison said, turning back to the room. “And why we needed her to stay hidden. See who makes the first move. Ortega did. We haven’t picked up any movement from Andrade’s end … but like Migs said he has a vast network to cover his tracks.”
Gabby’s own division had been looking for Ariana but she seemed to disappear off the face of the earth, and now she knew how. This was fucked up on so many levels, Gabby couldn’t even comprehend going rogue on this.
That is, if Theo and Emma’s lives weren’t on the line.
The surveillance footage showed the teenagers being intercepted by two men dressed in scrubs. It was at a distance from the camera and their abductors appeared to know how to avoid having their faces seen.
They needed to act quickly before the kidnapping reached the mainstream media. It would be harder to execute a rescue under the scrutiny of the public. Nick had not called her yet, but she expected a frantic call when Theo and Emma failed to show up for shooting. There was also the LAPD to consider.
“Neither of them will get to you,” Migs told Ariana fiercely. “That I promise.”
“Raul won’t stop until he sees me. He wouldn’t hurt me.”
“Don’t forget,” Gabby seethed. “Your brother killed my father. He ordered a hit on me and Theo—a seventeen-year-old boy. He’s a sociopath!”
“I know that!” Ariana cried. “No matter how much he tries to protect me, a part of me knows what he is. That’s what got our other brother killed. But he’s still my brother.” She ended on a whisper.
“Ari,” Migs said. “If the family dog becomes rabid, it’s kinder to put him down.”
Ariana didn’t seem to take offense to Migs comparing her brother to a dog. It appeared they’d had