Page 20 of Shadow Undercover

“Someone must have seen Hugo or Ruth. She’s too famous to be incognito.”

“Torres is former FBI and a SEAL. You planning to have him inquire in both camps?”

“He still has contacts in both worlds.”

“Talk to Adam’s wife, Veronica. She was DEA and knows people on the fringes of the criminal element in Mexico. If there’s a drug connection to Hugo, one of her informants would know.”

“Is their team on a mission?”

“They returned to Nashville two days ago. She and Adam should be available. Touch base with Nate Armstrong’s wife, Stella, in Otter Creek. She was a US Marshal and might have contacts who can help. Nico and Joe will be able to contact their Marine and Army units. That leaves the Air Force. I have a colonel who owes me a favor as well as some heavy hitters in the CIA. If there’s a crumb of information to be had, we’ll find it.”

“Thanks, boss.”

With a nod, Brent turned to Bridget. “Rest as much as you can. The hunt for Ruth will be dangerous and could be long. Depends on how well Hugo hid her. We won’t give up until we locate her.”

Her lips curved. “Wish I’d known you, Trace, and his friends before I went to Chile. I wouldn’t have these injuries to show for my misguided effort to locate Ruth.”

“You couldn’t know what you were up against. I don’t want to scare you more than you already are, but Hugo’s world is the worst place imaginable for innocents like you and your sister. We don’t have much time before the trail goes cold.”

If it already hadn’t gone cold. Trace drew in a slow breath. Time to set the wheels in motion. “I’ll start making phone calls.”

Brent patted Bridget’s hand. “I’ll stay in Bayside to help with watch shifts.”

“Thank you for whatever you can do to find Ruth.”

With a nod, he left the room, leaving Bridget and Trace alone.

“Do you think one of your friends will find her?” Hope filled her eyes.

He didn’t want to give her false promises. The truth was, though, Fortress was the best in the business. “If anybody can find her, we can.”

Trace grabbed his phone and called Rafe Torres.

After two rings, a deep voice growled, “Do you know what time it is, Young?”

“Sorry, man. This is important.”

“Yeah, yeah. Hang on a second while I splash cold water on my face. By the way, your Durango and Bravo buddies are brutal trainers. I thought BUD/S was tough. Josh Cahill and Trent St. Claire make the SEAL trainers seem like amateurs.”

Trace chuckled. “That’s saying something since St. Claire was a SEAL. Go drown your face. I’ll wait.”

Rafe set the phone on a table with a thud. He returned a moment later. “All right. I’m half-awake now. What do you need?”

“First, you’re on speaker with Bridget. Her sister is missing. She’s mixed up with Hugo Torino and is missing.”

“Oh, man. I’m Rafe, Bridget. Sorry to hear about your sister.”

“Thanks. Do you know people you trust who might have heard where Hugo is staying?”

“I’ll put out feelers, see what comes back. Trace, if I was closer to the end of my training, I’d ask Maddox to assign me to your team so I could help. I’m too many weeks out, buddy.”

“Shadow can handle it. We just need a place to start.”

“I’ll make a couple calls before class this morning.” He laughed. “Might as well wake up my friends and get them cracking. Who do I tell them to look for?”

“Ruth Monihan, better known as Roxanne.”

Silence, then, “The supermodel?”

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