She stepped aside. “Absolutely.”
I removed two protective Tyvek booties and slipped them over my shoes. Pratt did the same.
“That isn’t necessary.” She gestured toward the living room. “Come in.”
We followed her inside the expansive home. Other than furnishings, it appeared no differently than it did in the photos from the home’s previous real estate listing we’d reviewed thirty minutes prior.
The open floorplan allowed the rear of the home to be viewed from where we stood. A group of scantily clad women—one of which I recognized as Weinberg’s daughter—were poolside, drinking margaritas and lounging in the sun.
Mica being surrounded by women who were giggling at each other’s stories was far different than being pumped full of drugs by a sex-crazed member of the Sinaloa Cartel. Luring her away from the pool party without raising eyebrows wasn’t going to be a simple task.
Before I did anything, I needed to find out where the true homeowner was, and what his ties to Mica were.
“We have a few documents that will need to be signed after completing the survey,” I explained. “The system is registered to Samuel Santos. If it won’t be too much trouble, we’d like to get him to sign the work order once we’re finished.”
“Sam’s my brother,” she replied. “He’s upstairs.”
Pratt tapped his index finger against the clipboard. “Let’s get him to sign this while Jake is checking the main panel.”
“Sure,” Sophia said. She turned toward the staircase. “Follow me.”
The last place Pratt needed to be was upstairs with the braless Brazilian beauty. While they laughed and joked their way up the stairs, I turned toward the garage. “I’ll check the serial number on the panel.”
Getting Mica away from the pool without someone recording the incident on their phone would be a challenge. I walked toward the garage, surveying each room for security cameras as I passed. Upon reaching the panel, I opened the cover and mulled over potential scenarios to lure Mica into the home.
Two minutes later, Sophia’s screams caused my sphincter to pucker.
“Jake!” Pratt bellowed. “Get up here!”
If I learned one thing in my thirty years in the Marine Corps, it was to expect the unexpected. Even so, when I reached the room where Pratt was located, I stared in disbelief.
Sophia and Samuel were seated on the floor between the desk and where I stood. Their wrists and ankles were bound with tie straps, and their mouths were covered with tape.
Samuel, a lean man with olive-colored skin, was wearing dark gray slacks and a pressed white shirt that was splattered with fresh blood stains. The source appeared to be a two-inch gash beneath his left eye, on the upper portion of his cheek.
I scanned the room. Obviously used as an office or study, there were matching bookshelves on two opposing walls. Each were filled with hardbound books from top to bottom. Situated in front of a picturesque window, a large wooden desk was free of clutter. In one corner, there was a two-inch stack of neatly situated paperwork. In the center, a cell phone. Those two items were all that littered the surface.
I looked at Pratt. Clutching his pistol in his right hand, he shook his head in clear disbelief of the situation.
I shifted my gaze from Pratt to the bound siblings. “What the fuck happened, Jared?”
He holstered his pistol. “I told dumbfuck that we were going to be taking Mica. He didn’t seem to give a fuck. His sister, on the other hand, started screaming like I was pulling off her fingernails with a pair of pliers. She wouldn’t shut up, so I smacked her in the throat. He got all pissed off because I hit her. Fucker charged at me like a raging bull. I had to bust him in the face before he spider monkeyed me.”
Our option pool was shallow when we arrived. It seemed all but non-existent now. Having Samuel lure Mica in from the pool party was the only scenario that originally came to mind. If she saw him with a two-inch gash on his cheek, it would only be a matter of minutes before everyone at the pool had their cell phones out, filming the event as it unfolded. In Samuel’s absence, getting Mica away from the pool without arching the eyebrows of her scantily clad poolside friends would be difficult, if even possible.
Frustrated, I shot Pratt a glare. “What’s your plan for getting her away from the pool?”
Like a scolded dog, his gaze fell to the floor. He scratched the sides of his head for a moment before looking up. “Not sure.”
Regardless of the manner in which we coerced Mica away from the pool, Samuel needed to be made aware that her departure would be permanent. I stepped in front of him and crossed my arms over my chest.
“We’re taking Mica Weinberg with us,” I said in a stern tone. “Under no circumstances will she be permitted to return to this residence. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, if she’s allowed into this home at any time in the future, my friend Jared will come back. If you speak to the police about our visit, he’ll come back. If he comes back, neither of you will live to tell the story of what happened. Is that understood?”
His eyes darted to his sister. Mine followed. After the two of them shared an awkward look, she met my gaze. Her brown eyes were filled with worry.
She nodded.
Somewhat confused as to why she was acknowledging my request instead of her brother, I alternated glances between Samuel and Sophia. They both returned worried looks. Sophia’s won the award for the most theatrical presentation.
I shifted my eyes from her to Pratt. “What the fuck’s going on here?”
He chuckled. “Looks like Sophia and Mica are bumping uglies.”
I glanced at Sophia and raised my brows. “Are you intimate with Mica?”
Her eyes shot to her brother.
“Don’t look at him,” I said in a demanding tone. “I asked you a question.”
With some hesitation, she nodded.
I didn’t care which one of them was in a relationship with Mica. All that mattered was that they understood the repercussions associated with continuing the relationship.
“In the future, if she calls, you won’t answer,” I explained. “If she sends you a text, don’t respond. In fact, blocking her number would be in your best interest.”
Repeating myself was a pet peeve. Nevertheless, making sure Sophia fully understood the severity of the punishment for any continued relationship involving Mica was critical. “Just to make sure you fully understand, I’ll repeat what I’ve already told your brother. We’re taking Mica with us. Under no circumstances will she be permitted to return. Regardless of the reasoning behind it, if you let her in this home, Jared will come back here. If you talk to the cops about our visit, he’ll come back. If he comes back, he’ll likely kill you, your brother, and anyone else that’s here. Is that understood?”
She nodded again.
I was taught to never raise my hand to a woman. After seeing the damage first-hand that a woman was willing to inflict on a US Marine, I realized in matters of my work that both sexes must receive equal treatment. Ghosts of my past often prevented me from physically coercing women to comply with our desires. Through the course of completing a mission, Pratt had no qualms treating a woman no differently than a man.
I fixed my eyes on Sophia and sharpened my gaze. “I’m going to take the tape off your mouth. If you do anything other than speak softly, you’ll regret it,” I warned. “Understood?”