Page 62 of North (The Moral Compass 2)

“Are you North McGarry?” a female voice asks.

“Who wants to know?” I tap on the kitchen window to get South’s attention.

“I have some information that you need, but I want to give it to you in person.”

“That’s not what I asked. I asked who you are.”

South appears at the door looking confused, so I put the phone on speaker and signal for him to be quiet.

“That doesn’t matter. What matters is that I have vital information. But if you don’t want it…”

“Why are you calling me? I don’t need any information. My life is nice and quiet at the moment. What do you know that would surely pique my interest?”

“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe what is going down on that little beach of yours in Mexico?” South and I look at each other in shock.

“What the hell do you know about Mexico? Who the fuck are you?”

“Well, I can be either your worst nightmare or the woman of your dreams. It’s your choice, but don’t wait, lover. I’ll text you an address. Be there in an hour. Oh, and come alone.” The phone clicks off.

“Shit! What the hell is happening?” South asks as my phone vibrates with a text.

“You’ve got to be fucking kidding me.” I grumble.

“What? What’s the address?”

“My hotel suite above the Majestic.” I was half expecting some abandoned warehouse.

“I’m coming with you,” he demands.

“No, you can’t. I have to go alone. What the hell am I going to tell Kara? If I don’t tell her, she will have my balls, but if I do, she is going to demand she comes. Ah, fuck, South. What do I do?”

“Me, I’d lie, but Kara is different, North, if you explain what’s happened and that she can come with me, and we can wait for you nearby, she might be okay.”

“No! She has to stay here, and so do you. You need to make sure they are both safe. This could be a trap.”

I turn to go back into the house only to see Kara standing in the doorway with her hands on her hips and her face like a raging storm.

“Going somewhere, are you?” She growls.

“I was coming to find you to tell you about the phone call I have just had. I have no idea what is going on or who it was, but I need to find out. We need to get West and Zed on the phone and get a plan together quickly. And please, Kara, don’t argue with me right now. There are lives at stake, and I only have a small window in which to get a plan enacted.”

She dips her chin, turns, and walks back inside followed by South and then me. East is on her laptop in the kitchen with her earbuds in, so she has no idea of what’s just happened. I tap her on her shoulder.

“West, Zed, and I need to get a call set up. And I need you to trace the call that’s just come in on my phone.” I hand my phone over to East. She looks up at me, confused.

“Just do it, East. I don’t have time for questions.” Leaving my phone on the countertop, I go to my room to change. I don’t know who I’m meeting, but jeans and an old Eagles T-shirt aren’t going to cut it tonight. I pull out my blackest suit, whitest shirt, and my black dress shoes. I hate dressing like a fucking penguin, but I need to demonstrate who is in charge when I enter that room. I’m not being held over a barrel by anyone. I know they say they have information, but what do they want in return? It won’t be a simple meeting. I’m not a stupid man.

“You look really handsome,” a quiet voice comes from the bedroom doorway. I look over to see her face, less angry than before, more solemn.

“Thanks. Believe me, I am not happy about wearing this kit.”

“I think you look fucking hot. Too hot to be going anywhere without me.”

“Stop! Just stop, Kara. This is not about you or me. I have a job to do, and I’m going to do it. I will be back as soon as I have whatever it is they want to give me.”

I open a hidden drawer at the back of the wardrobe, put my gun in my inside pocket, and then take the small tracking device and pin it to the inside of the waistband of my boxers. I glance at her. She looks scared.

Fuck.

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