Page 54 of The Perfect Stranger

Chapter Eighteen

Two Years Later

Music rolled over the mountains. The excited squeals and playful yelps of women as they were thrown into the pool or groped by overzealous drunk men pulsed through the valley surrounding the mansion. Alcohol flowed over the rims of cups, which were emptied in record time, only to repeat the motion.

“Hunter, my man,” Gabriel approached flanked by two women wearing only bikini bottoms. Their breasts bounced as they followed like excited puppies. After hunting down Frederico and taking on many shoot-to-kill cases since, Gabriel had taken to calling me by something he considered more fitting.

Hunter.

I loathed it.

This wasn’t the man I wanted to be. The people I took out were killers and rapists, who didn’t deserve the air they breathed. I wasn’t anyone’s Muppet.

“You should be enjoying this more than anyone.” He gestured around the pool area alive with partygoers.

“I was enjoying it until you blocked my sun, asshole, so move.”

He laughed and clapped me on the shoulder before heading inside the mansion.

It had been two years of successful smuggling. Not one cargo container, truck passing through the border or crop field damage incident to speak of. Gabriel and Luis Santos were in their prime. Los Santos cartel had risen to the top and was South America’s leading drug manufacturer. They basked in their glory. Celebrated each deal and partied frequently. Except Luis was still nowhere to be seen. I had heard his voice through speaker phone on a few occasions, but the conversations were hushed and cryptic. When Jase and I took La Balsa, I had no idea I would still be tangled in their web two years on. Whenever I stumbled on a lead of Luis’s whereabouts, it turned cold almost instantly. The man was untouchable. He was a prime target for many, and he never let his guard down.

The party continued until the sun was setting behind the hills. Gabriel finally returned to the pool, sans the topless women from earlier. He sat on the chair opposite me, fingers steepled under his chin.

“Now what?” I asked, my frown mirroring his.

“Do you remember the man Andrews, who was my spy for the Mexican Baja Californian cartel?”

How could I forget? He had been my first hit for Gabriel. I remembered every name, every face.

I nodded, and he continued, “Talk is… Baja are going for a fortune that belongs to Santos.” Holding out the bottle, he asked, “Another?”

“What type of fortune?” He was referring to the Florez cartel fortune. I knew the story. Everyone did, but I played along.

“A whole lot of happiness and a great deal of US dollars.”

“How much in total?”

“A hundred million.”

These men would stop at nothing to get their hands on such a fortune, and I predicted a bloody war ahead.

“How do you know they’re on a trail for it?”

“They’ve caught the scent. Plus, they’ve known about it from the very beginning. The Baja needed our help in intercepting a trade bound for Cuba. The Florez cartel found out and killed my cousin, Xavier, who had infiltrated the group. The drugs never made it to shore, and Hector Florez inherited back his own drug haul, plus the money. A hundred mil to be exact. That money was ours.” He beat his chest with a closed fist. “The fucker, Florez, put the money in an offshore account knowing he had made enemies with two cartels ready to go to war over it.”

“Where is this leading?”

“Hector and his cartel is long since dead, but his money still makes interest sitting in a bank account somewhere. I hear the FBI Fraud Division has frozen the monies preventing any hackers from entertaining the thought. Baja is after someone in the FBI who can break through security. If we don’t act now, in a matter of days, the fortune will be sitting pretty in a Baja account. You can appreciate how we simply cannot allow that to happen.”

“That’s a lot of money to just ignore.”

“My uncle is determined to beat them to it. To him, it’s personal. We agreed all those years ago to help Baja. They were small, with little to no army. We were to get a cut. Now? Now, they want it all for themselves. They want all the money, when it was Luis who lost his only son for their war.”

This was the best news I had heard for two years.

“So will Luis be handling this?”

“After you find our new target, he will be making a special trip to personally ensure the money is transferred.”

---