Middleman by Jayne Rylon

Author:Jayne Rylon [Rylon, Jayne]
Language: eng
Format: epub
ISBN: 9781941785768
Publisher: Happy Endings Publishing
Published: 2017-05-31T18:30:00+00:00

18

Cortez

“Father, your time is up,” one of my “parishioners” whispers to me in Spanish where we hunker together in the shadowy confessional of my candlelit church.

“We’re not finished here.”

“You are. The war will never be over, though you’ve certainly won this battle by assassinating the cartel leader. It’s not going to take them much longer to realize you were the last man to see him alive. He trusted you. You betrayed him and so many of his plans that it’s becoming impossible to deny. If you don’t leave, you’ll end up shipped back home. Assuming we can find your body.”

I scrub my hands over my hair, trying to counteract some of the pressure in my skull.

“You’ve done more here than the prior three agents we had together. Two new assets have been embedded in the cartel ranks recently. One is likely to be promoted to second-in-command under the new regime. Go home, Father. Leave knowing how many lives you’ve saved and with the thanks of the countless people you’ve protected, even if they never realize it.” He puts his hand on my knee. “You’re done. You’re free. Collect your pension and find the boy you were rambling about when you were ill with that high fever last summer. See if he’s still as in love with you as you are with him.”

Doubtful. I’d made sure Kaden wouldn’t cling to hope that I’d do exactly that. For his own good.

I’ve lost track of the number of times I nearly lost my life in this tangled web of lies and sin. Half of the cartel’s own members don’t last three years. When there’s this much illicit cash involved, there’s an equal amount of backstabbing, greed, and immorality.

It’s a miracle I’m still alive.

“What’s the plan?” It’s not like I can stroll out of here and hop on a plane. That would draw attention. Every inch of this town is watched, including the airport. Father Cortez has no reason to travel, especially internationally. The flight would never make it off the ground.

“I’ll come back for you after dark. We’re going to drive into the mountains so you can perform last rites on my grandmother. While we’re there, a landslide will put an end to the good Father and explain why we can’t return your corpse. A chopper will fly you over the border to Panama, where you’ll catch a military flight back to the states.”

It seems surreal. The thought of a place far away from here and the mess I’ve been embroiled in for years. A simple place, where the toughest decisions I had to make were what movie to watch on Netflix and which guy to pick up at the bar on a Friday night.

Can I be that person again?

I’d like to try. “I’ll be ready.”

Hell, I think I’m ready now.

“Cortez. There’s something else.” It’s not like my handler to make small talk. Extending our conversation is unwise.

“What?”

“The guy you asked me to keep an eye on…”

“Kaden Finch? What’s wrong?” It’s like a wormhole to an alternate galaxy.

Download

Copyright Disclaimer:
This site does not store any files on its server. We only index and link to content provided by other sites. Please contact the content providers to delete copyright contents if any and email us, we'll remove relevant links or contents immediately.