Her eyes darted toward the plane, just briefly, before looking Sean in the eye. "And ... nothing."

"So the whole story that they were robbed and at the American embassy was a big fat lie." Sean turned and started walking away.

"No!" Madison ran after him. She grabbed him and he shook her off. "Please, Sean, trust me."

That was it. "Trust you? You lied to me for thirteen years. I have a son. He doesn't even know who I am. You kept that from me. I will never forgive you. I will never trust you. And now you're lying to me again to protect your husband, putting my son in danger. Your son. You know what I think? I think your husband is laundering money, and if he's in Mexico, that means he's doing it for the cartels. And if he's laundering money for the cartels, you and Jesse already have a target on your backs."

She was shaking. "I-I talked to J-Jesse. He's f-fine."

"No matter how many fucking times you tell me Jesse is fine, he's not fine. I will bring him back. At this point, I don't give a fuck what happens to your husband. But Jesse is not going to be used as a pawn between Carson and the cartels or whoever the hell he's screwing around with. And there is nothing you can do or say to stop me."

Sean returned to his plane. He was shaking. Fear and anger. He started the plane again and rolled forward.

"Blocked number. Six-minute conversation."

"And?"

"Your program said it originated within fifty miles of Guadalajara."

"If he calls again, I'll run a program to trace it."

"We have a meeting with security in Acapulco."

Sean didn't say anything.

"We need intel."

"Four to five hours to Acapulco, and that's pushing it if we have to hop back on the plane for another three-hour leg to Guadalajara. We'll need to refuel someplace."

"We're covered. Sean, don't change the plan."

"We have no fucking plan because we don't know what the fuck is going on or where the fuck they are!"

Sean turned toward the runway. He glanced once back toward the tarmac. Madison was standing right where he'd left her.

Kane didn't say anything as Sean built up speed and lifted off. If this was any other day and any other trip, Sean would have appreciated the state-of-the-art plane. The comfort. The speed. But today ... now ... he just wanted to find his son.

His son.

Kane said, "Control your emotions."

"I am."

"Bullshit."

Sean spent more time than necessary playing with the gauges and controls. Kane knew what he was doing. Getting his shit together.

"We landed on somebody's radar," Sean said. "That's why Carson called her."

"I talked to one person who I trust. But he may have tripped something getting details on Spade. Who did you talk to?"

"No one except you and JT and Jaye." Sean paused. "I dug around in Carson's finances."

"Trip anything?"

"Doubtful, but I didn't have time to be extra cautious. The only way he would know I was digging was if he was watching real-time or had a program that knew exactly what to look for in a hack."

"How likely?"

"Well, I'd say highly unlikely unless he's working with top tech people. Or he had someone like me set it up for him. Or if he was suspicious. And if he's laundering money, he would be suspicious."

"We tipped our hand. One of us-you or me. Or Jaye. You have her running backgrounds and financials?"

"She's just as good as me when it comes to covering her tracks."

There was only so much they could do. If someone was monitoring finances live and they were smart, they might see something odd. If they were up to no good, they would be suspicious of anything out of the ordinary.

Kane continued. "My security guy in Acapulco is pulling feeds from the resort Spade was at. We'll know who, if anyone, he met with. What he did. What he fucking ate for breakfast and when he took a shit. We need that intel, otherwise we're going in blind. So stay on course, Sean." He paused. "Jesse is a Rogan, we're not going to leave him behind. I promise you that. But we're not going to be stupid about it, just like you weren't stupid when you rescued me outside Santiago."

Kane was right. Of course he was, he'd been doing these kind of rescues for twenty years. It was in his blood. Sean was just the driver-or pilot, as the case may be. He had to trust his brother.

"She lied. In part. I'm sure she talked to Spade and Jesse, but he told her something else. Something that freaked her out so much that she came to the airport and tried to stop us."

"The question is, did she tell Spade who she hired?"

Sean considered the conversation he'd just had with Madison. "My guess is no. She wouldn't want him to know she came to me when the going got tough. Carson must know I'm Jesse's real father. And Madison is trying to salvage her life right now."

"We'll go on that assumption, but you have to remember, Sean-the Rogan name is akin to God in some places, and Satan in others. We're certainly not in Kansas anymore."

Sean glanced at his brother with a half smile. "A joke. Really."

Kane smiled, closed his eyes, and went to sleep.

Sean flew. And thought about the lost years.

CHAPTER THIRTEEN.

Lucy, Noah, and Siobhan arrived in Laredo just after nine thirty Tuesday morning. Lucy had spent the two-hour drive reviewing notes from their analyst regarding the properties managed by Direct Property Holdings.

TO:.

SSA N. Armstrong FROM:.

Z. Charles, Analyst III RE:.

Case 16-T4022209-A CC:.

SA L. Kincaid The two properties in question are owned by different entities, but run by the same property management company out of San Antonio as I forwarded yesterday. Direct Property Holdings-DPH-has no identifiable employees, but I've sent a request to access tax records. DPH is owned by Direct Business Management registered in Reno, Nevada; I've requested the corporate filings from Nevada but based on what I've learned so far, I suspect that there will not be any individuals listed on those records.

I have, however, backtraced seven additional properties managed by DPH that are within a hundred-mile radius of the Freer property. There may be more, and I will continue to work this angle. The list is attached. I will trace these companies as far as I can, but I've seen this before and it's far out of my skill set. I would like to bring this to the attention of our White Collar Crimes Division who may have additional insight into how this is set up and how the operational tree is organized. However, because this is a highly sensitive issue I wanted your approval first, and if there was a specific person I should discuss this with.

I've begun the search of all individuals in the photographs you forwarded. It'll take some time. The brothel pays under the table, so I have no employment records. I'll forward positive identifications as I receive them. The first is attached: Leo Musgrove. He has a record and was easy to find.

Lucy looked at the list of addresses. Two were in the Laredo area. One was in Del Rio. It was familiar. She started flipping through her notes.

"It's the same place," Noah said.

"Excuse me?"

"You're looking at the list of addresses. I already confirmed that the Del Rio address is the brothel that Barrow investigated. There are three in the San Antonio area, and Nate and Kenzie are going to check them out today if they get a break in their current caseload; otherwise we'll check on them tomorrow. In the meantime I've asked Rick to smooth over some ruffled feathers."

Lucy couldn't imagine what she'd done that upset anyone.

Noah laughed. "It's not you. Jeez, Luce, do you always think you're the one making waves?"

"Lately," she said.

"This time, it's me, and I'm not going to apologize. I don't have to-I'm not going to be in San Antonio forever. You know Dean Hooper, right?"

"Heard of him, never met him."

"He's pretty tight with the Rogans and with Rick," he said. "He's also the former assistant director of White Collar Crimes at national headquarters. He took a demotion, of sorts, into an ASAC position in Sacramento after he got married, but still consults with DC because he's the foremost expert we have in financial crimes. He's sharp, and we need sharp on this." He hesitated. "You know how I feel about bringing in civilian consultants."

"I wouldn't ask. And Sean respects ASAC Hooper tremendously, from what he's told me."

"I already asked Rick if I could bring in Sean if needed. I'll talk to Sean tonight, because Dean already asked if he could use him locally. Our San Antonio office just isn't as advanced in white-collar issues as we are in the other divisions."

"Sean is out of town for the next two to three days."

"Business?"

"A friend asked him to find her husband and son, who disappeared while on a working vacation in Acapulco." She hesitated, then added, "Kane went with him."

"You sound worried."

"Sean wouldn't have left if it wasn't serious." He'd been worried about her last night; she'd sensed it the minute she walked in. She must have looked like death warmed over. She did her best to show him that she was all right. And she was ... she'd miss him, but she was a big girl. She needed to learn to decompress on her own. Lucy internalized her cases, and it sometimes got to her, resulting in little sleep and long nights. She found it both beneficial and terrifying that she often understood killers, that she could get inside their heads and emotionally dissect them. Sometimes, that was the only way to stop them.

But it took its toll. Insomnia, poor eating habits, lack of emotion-Lucy could psychoanalyze herself until the cows came home, she understood her defenses, but that didn't help when she found herself alone and thinking too much about her cases.

Her last partner, Barry Crawford, had told her she didn't know how to turn off the job. This was true. Sean could do it for her. He would take her hand, smile, and know exactly what to say or do to shut it down. Whether it was a quiet night at home, a dinner out at their favorite restaurant, or inviting friends over for a game of poker, Sean had this uncanny way of knowing exactly what she needed and when.

She was spoiled. She was going to miss him the next few days.

A phone rang in the backseat. Siobhan answered it. "No, that's not necessary. I'm serious-I'm with Lucy and another agent ... Don't. I'm fine ... I promise. One problem, I'll call ... I said I promise ... And you know what? Next time Kane wants to know how I'm doing, have him call me direct."

Siobhan pocketed her phone. "Impossible," she muttered.

Lucy exchanged a glance with Noah. "What's going on?" Lucy asked Siobhan.

"Kane told Ranger everything, and now Ranger's worried." To Noah she said, "Ranger works with Kane in hostage rescue. Ranger and his team are in Honduras escorting a medical unit through a dicey area. Far more dangerous and necessary than babysitting me. But Ranger said he'd drop everything if I needed help."

Lucy didn't quite know what to say. She'd seen the exchange between Kane and Siobhan that morning, before she and Sean gave them some privacy.

She was about to comment when Siobhan continued. "It's the principle of the thing. Yes, I appreciate his help, but it's Kane being dictatorial. Thinking I'm going to get in trouble. I lived and worked in Mexico for years. I know how to take care of myself. And he called Andie. Again."

"Andie-your sister."

"Now she's worried. I mean, I know, I'm not a cop, I'm not a soldier, I don't even like guns all that much-but I can hit the target when I have to. Andie made sure of that. But I'm not a child, and I resent being coddled and scolded like one."

"They care about you," Lucy said. "I am a cop, and I like guns, and my family still worries about me."

Siobhan rubbed her eyes. "You're right. I just ... I'm stuck. I don't know where else to look."

"You don't look anywhere," Noah said firmly. "That's why Lucy and I are here. You're involved because you know these girls and you have contacts in the community, but you are not to go out on your own. Do you understand?"

"You're a cop and military, aren't you?"

"Air Force, ten years."

"One of the nice guys."

"Excuse me?"

"Air Force guys were always the nicest. There was one Airborne unit, after the mudslide in Mari and Ana's village, who came in with extra medical supplies and water. And they brought me-there was no getting in and out of the village on foot because the bridge was taken out. It was risky-Vala Vida is remote and pristine and the cartels and rebels leave them alone, but to get there we have to go through some dangerous areas. There's only one way in and out. Anyway, a unit raised the money on their own to bring in the supplies. It wasn't the first time the Air Force came through for one of the sisters."

"Okay, I'll take being a nice guy."

Lucy laughed.

Noah mocked indignation. "I am."

"You are," she agreed, glad for a little levity.

Noah pulled in front of the address of the hotel that Sean had reserved for Siobhan.

"No way," Siobhan said. "This place costs a fortune."

"The security is good," Lucy said. "And Sean paid for it. You'll hurt his feelings if you don't stay here. Not to mention he'll find out, tell Kane, and Kane will probably send Ranger up here. I know how they think."

Noah parked in ten-minute parking and got out, opened the door for Siobhan. "I agree with Lucy. You stirred the hornets' nest, and whoever was running the house in Freer knows you're still looking for Marisol and Ana."

"It's just-it's too much." She looked pained.