Page 22 of For The Days We Can't Forget

“You bet. Things here have been a mess since you left. Aaron and I aren’t enough to handle all the shit that’s been coming down.”

Ethan Cross worked at the DEA, along with Aaron Scott. I worked under Mia for a few years, right when we made huge arrests against theAlacráns,and with other investigations, including Pablo “El Segador” Salazar, the right hand to the head of the cartel. The whole time we were there, Aaron was our closest friend and mentor.

When Mia was fired and I stayed behind, Aaron managed to bring Ethan Cross to take her place. The man was good, sharp, a bit of a geek, and awesome to work with. I lamented that he and Mia had never had a chance to work together. That was a duo I wanted to see in action.

“Well, you can always leave the agency and work with us. We could use someone like you on our team.” It wasn’t the first time Ben tried to poach him from the DEA.

“I’m not saying no to that. Maybe just ‘not right now.’ Things are kind of hectic.”

“Which brings me to the question: why are you calling? It’s normally us seeking you,” Ben’s words were true.

We heard Ethan’s heavy sigh. “I’ve been working with a new confidential informant. Aaron hooked me up with this guy, and I’ve got to say, he’s good.”

“Who is he?” I asked.

“Sorry, I can’t tell you that. But I bet my paycheck this new CI has some sort of military background. I’m not sure which branch yet. Anyway, I’ve been working with him and going undercover near Holy Water. From what he told me, and what I could gather, I think I’m closing in on someone who might be involved with the Alacráns.”

“Have you seen the guy?” My spine was rigid, and I wished Mia was around. Maybe they could brainstorm something new. If there was anyone who knew the cartel, it was her.

“I have reasons to believe it’s a woman.”

My insides froze. “Do you think it could be...?”

“No, I don’t think it’s Andrea. To be honest, I have more questions than answers. We need to figure out the identity of two women. One of them is being hunted by the cartel, and the other one might be in cahoots with them. I believe I’m getting closer to the latter.”

“Our friends mentioned something about them looking for a woman, but we also don’t know who she is.”

Mia and Izzie had informed us about that. When they were attacked at the company, Michael and the other men were looking for that mysterious woman.

“Another thing.” His sigh was deeper than before. “Aaron has forwarded me the investigation on the Alacráns you sent him, Danny. It’s in tune with what I’ve been working on. I think you’re right. They’re deep in human trafficking, along with drugs. And they’re closer to us than I’m comfortable with.”

“Fuck,” Ben and I said in unison.

I leaned my elbows on the desk and placed my forehead on my hands. “We knew this was a strong possibility, but I kind of hoped it wasn’t true.”

“You and me both.” He sounded tired, and I could only picture him as stretched as we were, especially going undercover. “I might come down to Holy Water soon.”

“That’s great, man. We could even work together, maybe it’ll help all of us.” Ben was right. Having extra brains might prove beneficial for all parties involved. And if we could place Ethan and Mia together, they might get to the breakthrough we needed.

“That’d be awesome. If I’m being honest, I have more than one reason to visit you guys. Besides the investigation, I’m not sure if I’d mentioned it already, but I have family there. My grandparents were Holy Waterers, they moved out for a while, but my grandpa is living there again.”

“No way! I had no idea. This place is so small, we might even know him,” Ben wondered.

“That’s quite probable. I hate being away from him for so long, but this new assignment has been kicking my ass.”He exhaled a heavy breath. “I need a vacation.”

“Well, whenever you decide to come, we’ll be waiting,” I guaranteed. “With a place to stay and a job offer.”

Ethan laughed. “I’ve no doubts about that. I appreciate it. I’ve got to go. I just wanted to let you know. I might be unreachable again for a while, but I’ll talk to you again as soon as I can.”

“Thank you, man. Good luck,” I wished.

“To all of us.”

He disconnected the call, and Ben and I were left wondering who the hell those women could’ve been. We could only hope he planned on coming down soon to Holy Water. Not only did Ethan deserve his family time, but we could also use his brain at the company.

We were musing about his conversation, our previous talk on hold, when Mia arrived.

“Why is your face like that?”

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