Lone Star Jack by Diane Capri

Author:Diane Capri
Language: eng
Format: epub
Tags: Lee Child;Jack Reacher;Kim Otto;vigilante justice;conspiracy thriller series;financial military thriller;FBI police procedural;serial killer
Publisher: AugustBooks
Published: 2022-09-21T15:26:19+00:00

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Chapter 32

Monday, May 30

Ojinaga, Mexico

Cesar Baez never put his life on hold for anything. The world he’d created revolved around him. His schedule, his plans, his whims.

He accepted calls when and if it suited him. Usually during a two-hour window in the morning, mid-week.

Otherwise, he decided to whom he would speak and under what circumstances. Which certainly didn’t include calls during social events with more than two hundred wealthy, entitled people in attendance.

Baez allowed only one exception.

José could reach him for exigent matters only.

Baez carried an encrypted cell phone in his pocket at all times expressly for this purpose.

The phone had never been used.

Baez was attending a fundraising gala for his wife’s favorite charity. When the phone vibrated in his pocket during the last tango of the evening, Baez didn’t realize what it was. In truth, he didn’t even feel it.

The orchestra’s intense tango music filled the ballroom, excluding all else. Enchanted by his wife’s extraordinary beauty, the sensual dance held his breathless attention.

He stared into Gabriella’s eyes and moved with the music, totally absorbed. They danced as if they were alone in bed.

Dancers paused and spectators stared, embarrassed, perhaps, by the scandalous spectacle. Baez was unaware of everything except his wife and the tango.

When the music stopped, spectators applauded and cheered.

The noise jarred Baez and Gabriella, jerking them back to the present from their trance.

They smiled and bowed to the crowd, as if the incident had been a planned part of the evening’s entertainment.

When they left the dance floor, Gabriella still breathless, her face flushed with embarrassment, Baez finally noticed the vibrating phone in his pocket, jerking him fully back to reality.

“I need to take this call,” he said to Gabriella.

Her eyes widened and she uttered a breathless, “Oh!”

Simultaneously, they moved apart.

Baez watched as the gossip developed in real time. It amused him to consider how the disapproval would travel through the society of his wealthy peers.

Gabriella walked unsteadily toward the ladies’ room, weaving slightly as she crossed the ballroom while spectators tittered behind their hands.

His gaze lingered for a moment longer before he reached into his pocket for a cigar and his lighter. Women smiled and men slapped him on the back as he moved through the crowd and out to the verandah.

Baez had no idea how long the phone had been ringing when he was finally settled away from the partiers and deep into the shadows.

He lit the cigar and reached into his pocket to drop the lighter and picked up the call. “Yes.”

The response was slightly delayed, only a beat, as if the caller was shocked speechless because Baez answered.

José said, “We have a problem.”

“Which is?” Baez replied, aware that his side of the conversation could be easily overheard.

“The target was eliminated.”

“Fine.”

“Something went wrong. The site is a disaster. The story is breaking news on every channel here.”

“I see,” Baez said angrily while clenching the cigar in his teeth. Sensing there was more bad news coming, he said, “What else?”

“Our asset is lost.”

“Lost? That was the goal, wasn’t it?”

“No.

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