Confessed (Vargas Cartel #3) by Lisa Cardiff Read Free Book Online Page A

contacts as a freelance assassin was the hard part of the job. Most people stayed in the same area unless their cover was blown.
    “I’m here doing some research that relates to my work in the Middle East. I figured I’d pick up some jobs while I’m here. I’m going back at the end of the year. Maybe sooner. I haven’t decided.”
    My eyes narrowed. I knew what he was talking about. There’d been a lot of speculation lately about connections between drug cartels and Muslim extremists. As far as I knew, Ignacio hadn’t allied with one, but at the end of the day, cartels were interested in making money, and with the seizure of oilfields in Iraq, Muslim extremists had a lot of it these days. “You look familiar.”
    “Yeah,” he said with a practiced smile. “We met in passing, but you were Ryker Fallon, and I had a different name at that time too—Nazar Fayed.”
    I pursed my lips. “Right.” I’d run into Nazar Fayed about three years ago. He was working undercover in some Muslim organization with alleged ties to terrorist groups. Unfortunately, he had ties to the US government. Something I didn’t want for this mission. “So you’re still working for the US government?”
    He scoffed. “They’ve hired me a few times, but they’d never claim me. Consider me an equal opportunity consultant without moral hang-ups. I follow the money wherever it leads me. Sometimes that’s the US government. Sometimes it’s a drug cartel in Mexico. Other times, it’s a Russian arms dealer or a fundamentalist organization.”
    “So you’re a liability. If the Alvarez Cartel gave you more money, you’d flip sides mid-mission?”
    “No,” he spat. “I never quit mid-job. Once I’m in, I’m all in.”
    “Ah,” I mocked, raising one eyebrow. “So you do have some morals.”
    “No, just a healthy sense of self-preservation. If I develop a reputation for flipping sides, I’d never get another job and I’d have an exponentially shortened life span.”
    My eyes narrowed into slits.
    “He’s telling the truth,” Emanuel interjected, folding his arms across his chest. “We’ve hired all three of these men before. We’ve never had any problems, and their references check out. Ignacio investigated each one of them himself. I have the files if you want to review them at length.”
    I nodded. I believed him. Ignacio never did anything without meticulous planning and due diligence. Noah’s situation was similar to mine when I worked as a fixer. I’d taken whatever job paid the most. Sometimes, I had worked indirectly for the US government or other governments, but I was never entrenched with one entity or person. While the steady work one government could provide was nice, it made a consultant beholden and dependent. Two things I never wanted to be.
    I cringed inwardly. Somehow I’d ended up indebted and tied to the Vargas Cartel for the rest of my life. Just that fleeting reminder made me want to dive into another bottle of tequila. If Hattie were safe, I’d do exactly that. Alcohol had the benefit of blurring unpleasant truths.
    I gestured to the other two men. “What about you two?”
    “I’m Rick,” the blond haired man seated in the middle said. “I did two tours in Afghanistan. I’ve been freelancing in Mexico for the last three years.”
    “Me too,” the last man said. “Rick and I were in the military together. We’ve worked together a few times, but most of the time, we do our own thing. I’m Eric, by the way.”
    I walked the length of the room with my arms folded across my chest. These three men weren’t the only ex-military, muscle-for-hire, in Mexico with adequate qualifications. With US unemployment at a high, particularly for military veterans, tons of ex-military personnel floated in and out of Mexico looking to make a quick buck. I could spend weeks interviewing potential candidates, but I didn’t have weeks. Hattie could be dead in a matter of days. As a rule, I didn’t trust anyone