Page 59 of Echoes and Oaths
Luis’s head snapped back before his body sagged against the ropes. Silence swallowed the courtyard.
Jinx lowered the pistol and turned back to Simón, handing it over with a clean, steady grip.
Simón grinned, sharp and approving. “Bien hecho,” he said. "Well done."
The others murmured agreement, some nodding. Jinx met Simón’s eyes and smiled.
A cold, feral thing. Simón clapped him on the back. “Welcome home, hermano.”
The others closed in now, looser, friendlier. They were no longer guards but his comrades, his family. Jinx let them believe that, at least for now.
Back at the SUVs, Simón offered a cigarette. Jinx declined. “You’re in, Mateo. No more questions.” Simón leaned in slightly. “The bosses are going to want to meet soon. Big things are coming.”
Jinx just nodded as he calculated Tomás’s next moves. Esteban was the wild card. He needed intel on the man, and he knew how to get it. He’d establish his old connections and give Tomás every reason to trust him. He needed access. He needed to dismantle the organization, both organizations, from the inside. All he had to do was be Mateo for just a little longer.
Simón opened the door for him like an old friend, and Jinx slid in without a word. The convoy rolled out, engines growling, leaving behind thebody, the blood, and the hollow shell of a forgotten estate.
He was deposited back at the farm, and the SUVs departed in the same fashion they’d arrived. In a cloud of dust. He spoke into the air. “Is the farm clear?”
“Yeah, mate. The one guy who was here left in that truck.”
Berserker’s words put a smile on his face. “Z, glad you’re here.”
“Do what you need. I have eyes on the place,” Z said. “I take it you passed whatever test they had for you.”
“Always.” Z knew exactly what he’d just done. Z had been in the position once or twice, too.
“Need anything?”
“I have to make a call. Come up to the house after dark.”
“You know it. Hope you can cook. My stomach thinks my damn throat has been cut.”
“Simple food, but it’ll fill you up.”
“That’ll work,” Z said. “See you then.”
“Brando, does Dr. Wheeler have access to Esteban’s file?”
“I can make it happen.”
“Do it and tell him I need a call as soon as he’s digested it.”
“Roger that.”
Jinx wasoutside sorting the eggs he’d collected. Eira’s family would depend on any payments they could get before the cartel exploded. He wouldn’t disappoint them by not doing the chores Eira had done daily.
“I have Dr. Wheeler on comms for you.”
Jinx tapped his ear. “Go.”
“Dr. Wheeler, Jinx is on the line. I’m clear,” Brando said. Jinx turned around and leaned against the table he’d been working at.
“Jinx, do you have five minutes?”
“Yes, sir. And if I didn’t, I’d make the time.” Esteban was too much of a question mark not to get as much information about the man as possible.
“I just finished your psychological briefing on Esteban Ortega. I can send the file through when we get done.”
