Page 64 of Echoes and Oaths
Jinx watched him quietly, arms folded, giving away nothing.
Tomás leaned in, close enough that Jinx could smell the sharp bite of cheap whiskey on his breath. "El Fantasma," Tomás whispered like the name itself was cursed. "He’s the real power. The real threat. You kill him, and this empireismine. I’ll share it with you as a reward for your loyalty."
Jinx arched an eyebrow. "You want me to assassinate your ghost?"
Tomás laughed, a brittle, broken sound. "Notmine," he muttered. "He was never mine."
He didn’t explain further, waving Jinx off with a trembling hand. "Find him. Kill him. Before he finishes what he started."
“How can I know who he is? El Fantasma has been whispered about for years, but no one knows who he is or what he looks like.”
“You won’t do it?” Tomás froze and looked at him like a deer caught by a spotlight.
Jinx frowned and extended his arms. “I would killanyonefor the man who cared for my family. I just don’t know who the hell he is or how to get to him in that military compound he has at the base of the hills.”
“Right.” Tomás started pacing again.
Jinx gave him three or four minutes before he suggested, “If we could get him here, on our territory, we’d have the upper hand, and you’d witness me taking the man out.”
Tomás stopped and stared at the floor. He nodded. “I can get him here. He’s been here before.” Jinx said nothing, only inclining his head in a gesturethat could pass for an acknowledgment. Tomás had just handed him everything he needed.
CHAPTER 21
Jinx strolled through the compound. He poured himself a cup of coffee and stretched out in the courtyard. As Simón walked through the area, their eyes met. Jinx nodded to the man. Simón blinked, did a double-take, and then kept walking. He’d just given the man the notice he required. It might be more than a day before things came to a head, but at least Simón and his woman would be out of the area.
The day was long and heavy. Jinx loitered in the courtyard, catching the breeze the compound's interior areas didn’t have. Brando’s voice over his comms came about five hours after he’d given Simón notice to leave. “Z just reported Simón picked up his woman in the village, and they got the hell outof Dodge. Eira’s mother is safe, as well as the rest of her family. Her aunt is slowly getting better. Panther Team was rerouted and has landed in country. They will ensure the war doesn’t reach the village. Z is en route back to your location should you need the backup.”
Jinx made a small sound in his throat to let Brando know he’d heard the communication.
Not more than an hour later, Jinx was summoned to Tomás’s private office. He tapped his comms, activating them before he approached the little block building. It had heavy security posted outside this afternoon.
“Recording.” Brando’s voice was immediate and all business.
Jinx was let in immediately. “It’s time,” Tomás said after the door was closed. Jinx stood across the desk from the man, saying nothing. Tomás wiped the sweat from his palms onto his silk pants before he picked up the satellite phone. The signal buzzed faintly in his ear as he punched in the encrypted number, the one only a handful of men probably had.
Across the desk, Jinx stood silent, arms crossed, a stone monument of patience. Tomás shot him a quick, jittery glance. The look tried to be conspiratorialbut landed somewhere closer to pathetic and pleading. "He won't see it coming," Tomás whispered, almost to himself.
The line clicked, then rang. Once. Twice. Then it connected as the dead air hummed between them.
Tomás straightened his spine, forcing steadiness into his voice. "Esteban," he said, all greasy charm. "Brother. We need to talk. I understand someone from inside this compound is telling you lies. I deserve the right to clear them up."
There was a pause. The kind of pause that made your gut twist. And Jinx watched Tomás drop into his chair as if the wait were too much for him.
On the other end, Esteban’s voice slid through the speaker, smooth and cold as a mountain river stone. "What a surprise call," Esteban said. No warmth. Just a fact. “You think you deserve anything from me?” Esteban’s voice held what Jinx thought was actual confusion, and that, too, followed what Dr. Wheeler had said when they talked.Tomás was just a tool for Esteban.
Tomás laughed too loud, too fast. "You and me, we’ve too much between us. I’m being reasonable. Let me explain. Come to the compound. We’ll drink, talk. Set things right."
Jinx didn’t move or react, but inside, he wasalready cataloging the tremors in Tomás’s voice and how his eyes flicked to the door as if expecting ghosts to walk through it. Another pause. This one was at least twice as long as the last. Tomás leaned forward to say something, but Jinx lifted his hand and shook his head. Tomás snapped his mouth shut.
Then Esteban’s voice, low and amused, came across the connection. "Of course, hermano. I wouldn't miss your explanation for the world."
The line went dead. Tomás ensured the connection was severed by hanging up his line. Then the man exhaled a shaky breath and leaned back in his chair, forcing a grin at Jinx. "He’ll come," Tomás said. "Walk right into his grave."
Jinx doubted it. Tomás was just trying to convince himself. The man was cunning and didn’t tolerate people not following his demands. Tomás was unimpressive on so many fronts that Esteban had to be tired of the sniveling and whining.
“You’ll be here when he comes?” Tomás shot the question at him.
“Of course,” Jinx replied. “Let me know when he’s at the gate, and I’ll be by your side.”
