Jeannie nodded but remained quiet as she helped Maggie get ready for bed. Later, standing at the window again, she looked out over the winery lit by the full moon, filled with a dreaded feeling that secrets lay all around.
“Watch them,” Alonzo said, lighting his cigar, standing behind the massive desk in his study. The women had retired for the evening and the men had moved to his private quarters. “When they get back to your place… keep them under surveillance.”
“Yes, Uncle,” Juan said, puffing out his chest. “You can count on me.”
Vincent smiled indulgently at his son before nodding to Alonzo. “Make sure Cheryl knows nothing.”
Juan nodded, but before he had a chance to speak, Alonzo cut in.
“And leave the nurse alone. Chasing her skirt just gets you unwanted attention. There are plenty of other servants to go after.”
Tight-lipped now, Juan just nodded.
A knock on the door sounded, and Maria stuck her head in, her quick gaze darting around the room. “Am I interrupting?”
Alonzo chuckled as he waved her in, knowing his niece worked diligently with all their business. He suspected that she worked harder than Juan. But it was a man’s world. Always had been, and that wasn’t likely to change, no matter how smart or industrious Maria was.
Once she had entered, she accepted the glass of wine from her father, offering him a genuine smile. The conversation moved to their family businesses before they all retired for the night.
As Alonzo and Vincent walked up the stairs to the bedrooms, Vincent clapped his brother on the shoulder. “We are lucky men. Our beautiful wives await us. Our business thrives. My children will take over one day. And our wealth grows.”
Alonzo nodded his agreement but couldn’t shake the feeling that had settled on him during dinner. Unable to define the feeling, it grew when he thought about the nurse sitting at his table as though she could have the power to harm as well as heal.
4
“Okay, next on the agenda. Garza winery surveillance. Mission was successful while the two Garza families were at their vacation home. DEA will be working with us and all information we have will be forwarded to them. Our liaison is Dave Rodriguez. Knew him when we were in the Army. Good guy. Strong agent. DEA is convinced the Garza brothers are running drugs along with their wine business, but so far, they’ve been unsuccessful in proving that.” Carson turned toward Jeb. “We’ve had eyes on both wineries for the past week. Anything new?”
“The families returned three days ago to Alonzo’s estate from their vacation on the coast of Mexico. Vincent and his family spent the night with Alonzo, then flew by private plane back to their winery here in Santa Maria two days ago. That party did not include the two women in the guesthouse. I checked into them.”
As soon as those words left Jeb’s mouth, Carson’s attention uncharacteristically wandered. He’d spent the last week thinking about the woman in the nursing scrubs, going so far as to investigate her without letting his team know. Considering he’d originally given Jeb the duty of checking into the family members, he didn’t want his Keeper to think he didn’t trust him. But the reality was that Carson couldn’t get her off his mind and wouldn’t have been satisfied until he could find out more about her. And, much to his surprise, she was nothing like what he’d assumed. Thinking she was an employee of a drug cartel family, he’d thought she either didn’t know or care where her luxury accommodations came from.
Jeb’s voice startled him, and he returned his focus. “The older woman in the guesthouse is Margaret Collins. Goes by Maggie. American. Widow. Lives in a small condo since her husband died. Her niece, Cheryl, is the second wife of Vincent Garza. She was traveling with Cheryl, Vincent, and his two children by his first wife, Juan and Maria, to his brother’s winery in Mexico. She fell in the marketplace and was treated at a local hospital where she met a Red Cross nurse, Jeannie Carnes, also American. Jeannie was scheduled to come back to America after her volunteer contract but took a position as Maggie’s private nurse for a few weeks until they can return to the States together. She’s a former Army nurse and currently works as an ER nurse at Los Angeles General Hospital. Whether or not Maggie or Jeannie knows anything about the Garzas’ business with the cartels is unknown, but their conversations have never strayed to the business at all. Purely ordinary topics.”
Carson nodded, hiding the fact that he could have given the recitation himself—plus added more. Like she served in Germany before being stationed in a field hospital in Afghanistan; their tours crossed paths for about a month. He could have added that she worked in one of the busiest and, at times, most dangerous emergency rooms Los Angeles had to offer during the graveyard shift. Her social media is virtually empty. She lives alone in a small apartment north of Los Angeles, away from the smog and the crowds and the traffic. She is an enigma, a puzzle, full of contradictions.
And she’d filled his mind since he’d first laid eyes on her a week ago. All because she reminded him of someone from long ago. Someone fuzzy in my memory, and I never even knew her name.
While it seemed Jeannie had no connection with the Garza family before Maggie’s fall, only careful observation would give them more intel as to whether or not she was aware of their illegal dealings. Knowing she would soon be back in the States made him breathe easier. Why the sense of relief? He refused to give headspace to that question.
“Sounds good,” he said, offering a chin lift. “We’ll take shifts on this since we’ve got other missions. Leo, what’s going on with your case?”
“Rick and I set up security for Senator Portillo’s house. Jeb checked it, and we turned it over to his security team. Same for Donald Marks.”
“Whoa, you got the newest TV teen sensation? Where the fuck are his parents?” Dolby called out, rolling his eyes.
“Little shit turned eighteen last week and bought his own mansion. Tried to throw his inconsequential weight around as we oversaw the installation. Leo shut him down quick.” Rick grinned.
The laughter belted out, and Carson joined. “That’s why I got out of the bodyguarding business. Divas. Entitled pricks. Christ, it made me crazy.”
“We had a few good ones,” Leo reminded him. “Camilla Gannon, for one.”
“Yeah, she was good as gold, and yet, she’s no longer in the business.”
“She got out before it chewed her up and spit her out. Well, almost.” Leo shared a look with him, understanding passing between them. Camilla had left Hollywood after an accident on a set that left her scarred, and she now lived in the tiny Chesapeake town of Baytown, marrying her neighbor, the local police chief.
“If I’d had more clients like Camilla, I might not have been so eager to jump out of the business,” he admitted. “But now, I’m sure as fuck glad I did!”
Adam piped up. “What else is coming down the pike?”
“Got a security detail for a university professor traveling to the Philippines. Another one for a physicist traveling to Colombia. There are six more security installations covering the next month on the books.”
“Sounds like a good payday to me,” Hop called out, his grin wide.