Covertly Strong (The Strong Series Book 1) (38 page)

Sloan’s brow rises in surprise, the question taking her off guard. “I’m not really sure. Probably in the next week or two,” she says, skirting around the truth. “Why do you ask? Is there something I can help you with?”

“I need to leave,” Alejandra responds in a small voice. “I really need to leave.”

“You need to leave? I don’t quite understand what you’re asking me.”

Before Alejandra can respond, the lobby door is shoved open with brute force. Both women look in the direction of the intimidating presence striding towards them—Nico Delgado.

Alejandra’s eyes go wide in visible fear.

“
Alejandra
,” he spits with venomous force. He scans both women’s faces with an edgy expression filling his eyes. “What the fuck is going on?” he asks, unleashing his dark gaze onto Sloan.

Sloan’s guard is immediately up as she takes in the fearful demeanor of Alejandra. The woman stares into her eyes with a pleading expression. Sloan is more than concerned for this woman’s well-being, nearly certain that this is the horrible man whose hands have left marks all over Alejandra’s body.

“Hi. I’m Dr. Felicia Santora.” She knows exactly who Nico is, but they’ve never been formally introduced. “And you are?” she asks with a straight face—revealing nothing.

“I’m her fiancé, Nico,” he voices with a stern tone as he hand grasps the back of his fiancée’s neck in a controlling hold.

Alejandra winces from his tight grip.

“Oh, it’s very nice to meet you, Nico. I had the pleasure of meeting your beautiful fiancée yesterday. We had a lovely conversation about the importance of yearly checkups in regards to a woman’s health. I tend to be a little insistent when it comes to ensuring that all women see not only their primary physician, but also their gynecologist,” she informs him. Her voice lowers in a secretive way. “Yearly breast exams and Pap smears are very important, and being the nosy physician that I am, I all but demanded that Alejandra visit me today at the hospital so we could make sure she was up to date on her yearly physicals.” Sloan unleashes full physician mode on him, refusing to play into his obvious suspicions.

“I just wanted to make sure everything was okay…” Alejandra adds to the conversation as relief fills her eyes. “I know you want to start trying to have babies as soon as we get married,” she whispers towards Nico.

“Sometimes, it can be a little embarrassing for women to talk about their reproductive health,” Sloan states in a joking way, trying to relieve the visible tension that is radiating off Nico. “Most men don’t want to hear about those kinds of things,” she adds to bring her fake point home.

Sloan watches as the grip on Alejandra’s neck slackens, Nico’s demeanor changing ever so slightly.

“Shall I take you back to an exam room?” she asks in the woman’s direction. “I promise I won’t keep her too long,” she voices towards Nico.

His grip on Alejandra’s neck tightens again. “She doesn’t have time for that today. We have somewhere to be,” he insists. “Get in the car,” Nico demands as he turns her body in the direction of the lobby doors.

Alejandra glances one last time in Sloan’s direction. “Thank you, Dr. Santora.” Her voice is quiet as her brown eyes appear downcast, staring intently at the ground.

He stops mid-step, glancing back towards Sloan. “I suggest you make time out of your busy schedule for Hector. He doesn’t take too kindly when his generous offers are declined.”

Sloan plasters a phony smile across her face. “Please tell Mr. Arturo that I’ll be in touch very soon. I should have some time freed up in the next few days,” she responds in a friendly tone despite the rush of adrenaline that’s causing her heart to pound inside her ears.

And with that, Nico hurries his fiancée out of the hospital doors, all but shoving her inside the SUV that waits outside for them.

Fear and dread fill every cell inside of Sloan’s body. She is more than worried for Alejandra. The woman was visibly scared and trying to convey something to her. It’s almost like she is trying to find a way out of Guadalajara—to a place far, far away from her tyrannical brother and violently controlling fiancé.

Nico’s timing couldn’t have been any worse. He all but threw her over his shoulder and carried her out of the hospital. It’s apparent that he makes it very difficult for Alejandra to go anywhere without him…

If La Famlia Arturo are watching Alejandra that closely
,
who else are they watching?

Sloan watches the SUV pull away from the hospital and desperately wishes she could do something—
anything
—to help Alejandra. She is torn for her, mentally racking her brain to find a way to help this scared woman out, but she knows deep down that she isn’t the right person for the job. Her connections with the CIA would only put Alejandra at risk.

Sloan’s instincts scream that Hector’s sister isn’t the only person the La Familia Arturo are watching closely.

Are they watching me too?

AS SHE GETS INSIDE THE town car after a long day of surgery, her Blackberry pings with a text message notification. She’s been waiting all day for a response from Chief Dubois.

Chief: I haven’t heard from him. And I did NOT approve that meeting over coffee.

Sloan’s heart starts pounding furiously in her chest. Chief is referring to Agent Sims and their impromptu meeting over coffee at El Gato a few weeks ago. He inferred that their superior had okayed that meeting, and now, it’s extremely disconcerting to find out that the approval never occurred. Fear clenches her gut as she begins to recount the past few weeks—the way everything fell into place so easily.

It’s all felt too easy…almost too good to be true.

The entire mission feels as if it was handed to her on a silver platter. It never works like that.
Ever.
And after the surprise run-in with Alejandra and Nico today, she is more than concerned for her safety in Guadalajara.

Chief updates her that Sims hasn’t been checking in with him over the past few days and he’s unsure of what additional intel has been gained on La Familia Arturo.

That information is the final straw for her.

Agent L-55: I want out of here by morning.

Sloan is convinced that she has to get the hell out of Guadalajara as fast as physically possible. She finishes her text conversation with Dubois, informing him that she refuses to stay in Mexico any longer. She’s packing. She’s going to get on the first flight out of Guadalajara and she doesn’t give a shit about his take on the matter. Deep down, she fears that, somewhere along the line, she’s been set up. The only saving grace of the mission is that almost no one knows about the microchip implants—
especially not Agent Sims
.

The goal of the mission has been accomplished, and now, it’s time to go.

To: [email protected]

From: [email protected]

Subject: Come Home

Any news on when you’re leaving?

I need you and all of that sass home safe.

Come home, sweetheart.

X

“WHAT IN THE FUCK DO you mean she’s not there?” Dubois shouts into the phone. The answer he receives on the other line is not what he wants to hear.

Not at fucking all.

He quickly texts Agent L-55 to figure out what in the hell is going on down there in Mexico.

Chief: Where are you? Matthews just called from the San Diego airport and said you weren’t on the red-eye from Guadalajara. I FedEx’d a package to you with all of the information for your departure twenty-four hours ago. You demanded that flight. I made it happen. So what the fuck happened?