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When the new photo popped onto the screen, Jackson’s eyes narrowed. “Zoom in on the couple.” The perspective shifted to bring the couple into focus. “Same girl. Different clothes.”
Rafe growled. “No convenient window reflection this time.”
“If the girl is the same, chances are good this is photoshopped as well. I bet Nichols is the photographer for this picture, too.”
“Too bad he’s not in the States. We could send someone from Fortress to question him.”
“Still can.” Jon looked at Cal. “Our operatives cross the globe all the time. Maddox could dispatch a team to do a grab-and-go.”
Cal considered it, then shook his head. “Not yet. Nichols is well guarded and I don’t want to risk a team if we can unearth the information by other means.”
“Jon, zoom in on the lower right-hand corner.” Rafe studied the design on the wall of the building in the background. He frowned. “That’s Rosita’s, a bar and grill in Antigua.”
“You’ve been to Antigua?” Eli asked.
“Once with the FBI.” A muscle in his jaw twitched. “Rosita’s is a known meat market.”
Rachelle stared. “Meat market?”
“Girls and women auctioned off to the highest bidder for as long as you want them. You pay a higher price for longer entertainment. Returning them alive is preferred, but not required.”
“You couldn’t shut it down?” Cal demanded.
“The mayor and chief of police are clients at Rosita’s. What do you think?”
“You should have torched the place,” Jackson said.
“Wasted effort. Nichols and his cronies would have set up somewhere else in town. Besides, the feds take a dim view of agents who go off the reservation. The US would like to maintain good relations with Mexico. Burning down a building wouldn’t be conducive to good public relations.”
“Nichols is a human trafficker.” Rachelle looked at Cal. “Would the Shadow unit know him?”
“I’d be surprised if they didn’t.” Most of Shadow unit’s missions involved taking down human traffickers. “I’ll see if Nico is available to talk.” Cal grabbed his phone and sent a text to Nico Rivera, Shadow unit’s leader.
His phone rang a minute later. Cal put the call on speaker. “It’s Cal. You’re on speaker with Wolf Pack and Rachelle Carter.”
“Hello, Rachelle. I hear you had some excitement on your vacation.”
“That’s the understatement of the century.”
“I’m glad you escaped without injury. So, Wolf Pack, huh?” Nico laughed. “Has to be Eli’s choice.”
“Hey, it’s a good name,” Eli protested.
“It has a ring to it,” Nico agreed. “What do you need?”
“Anything you have on Clint Nichols.”
A growl came over the speaker. “He’s a thorn in our side although we haven’t crossed paths with him yet. If we had, we would’ve taken care of him. That man is pure evil.”
“How so?” Jon asked.
“He’s connected to the movers and shakers in Mexico. His sister married a heavy hitter in Mexican politics and that gave Nichols his introduction into the halls of power. He’s made bank on the connections. Doesn’t hurt that he’s a slick charmer who fools people into believing he’s a decent human being until his true colors show.”
“Blackmail?”
“That’s part of it. He’s an all-purpose sleaze, but Nichols’ main source of income is special requests.”
Cal’s gut clenched. “Special requests?”
