Page 24 of No Mistake

“I think it was a snake. But it was dark, so I’m not sure.”

“Good. That’s good. If we get you a sketch artist, do you think you’d be able to describe him?”

“Yes. He had a face you don’t forget.”

ADAMS LEFT THE ROOM to get the artist.

“You did great. They have a lead now.” Ryan gave her an encouraging smile, trying to hide his anger at this Ricardo creep feeling up Chloe, and daring to look at Sophie and make her uncomfortable. The thought of any other man looking at Sophie made him sick.

“God, I hope so. Who do you think he is?”

Probably a local drug dealer, or worse, a trafficker. But he wasn’t going to share those thoughts right now.

“I don’t know. But I’m sure Agent Adams will find out soon enough.”

Sophie looked exhausted, the stress taking its toll. He wanted to get her out of here, to a hotel to try and get some sleep. Once she met with the sketch artist, he would insist they take a break.

Lopez returned, introducing the sketch artist.

“Dr. Summers, it’s usually better if you sit with the artist alone, so you’re completely focused.”

Ryan snapped his head toward Lopez. That was bullshit, but the look on Lopez’s face told him they wanted him out of the room. That meant they’d found something they didn’t want to share with Sophie, so he’d play along.

“He’s right, Sophie. I’ll be back in a little while.”

She nodded, the fear on her face killing him. “It’ll be alright.” He squeezed her shoulder reassuringly.

As soon as the door closed behind him, Ryan turned to Lopez. “What’s going on?”

“Come with me. We found something you should see.”

Ryan followed Lopez down the hall to another room, the knot in his stomach tightening with every step. He entered, shocked to see Sanchez standing next to Adams. Another man was sitting down, tapping on a laptop.

“Ryan. Good to see you.” Sanchez held out his hand, Ryan shook it.

“I appreciate this, Dale.”

“Well, it started as a favor for Sam, but it looks like your kidnapped girl might have just got caught up in one of our investigations and is now in the middle of some pretty big shit.”

Ryan tensed. “How big?”

“I just called Sam. He and Dawson should be joining us on screen any minute.”

The hairs on the back of his neck stood on end. If Sanchez was here and calling in Sam and Dex, this wasn’t good.

“We don’t actually need the artist sketch, we’ve already identified him,” Sanchez added. “Oh, this is Ray, one of our intel team.” Sanchez motioned to the guy on the laptop.

Ryan nodded at him, getting impatient. Finally, Sam and Dex appeared on screen.

“We’ll forgo the pleasantries in the interest of time. Agent Adams, bring everyone up to speed.”

Sanchez stepped back, folding his arms across his chest. Sanchez was in his fifties, an ex-Delta leader. The guy commanded a room just by walking into it. A bit like Sam, he was a legend and highly respected. He was the type of man you always wanted in your corner.

Adams nodded at Ray as an image came up on the large screen behind her.

“The man in the club is Ricardo Perez. We pulled footage from the club and got a picture. The snake tattoo Sophie mentioned, that’s the trademark of the Vitelli Cartel. One of the biggest cartels in Mexico.”

Holy Shit. Ryan looked at Sam and Dex, saw the shock on their faces, too. The Vitelli Cartel were an established, well-funded, organized crime family. Known for funding terrorism. Providing weapons to the highest bidder.

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