In the Blink of An Eye by Jerry Baggett (ebook reader for surface pro TXT) 📕

we cleared to enter to start the necessary repairs? I need to investigate the house and property again. The trustee wants a report on the overall condition. It has to be updated and refurbished. I’m anxious to check that off my list and start the ball rolling.”

“Drug Enforcement has completed their work. All restrictions have been lifted. Some damage may have taken place in certain areas. Over nine million dollars in illegal drugs were discovered in an underground excavation, with entrance through the basement. Four million in cash was bound and packaged for shipment to Mexico. I’d be careful breathing the air where all those drugs, such as fentanyl, were stored.”

“Where’s Angel now?” Samantha asked. “I can’t get my arms around her involvement.”

Hunt didn’t seem to want that question answered. “Angel’s a very sophisticated business woman,” he said. “Interpol’s been asked to place her on a watchlist. She’s traveled extensively throughout the Caribbean, Mexico and Europe. At this time, she’s in the wind, so to speak.” He held eye contact with Samantha for several long moments. “You may wish for this to play out favorably for Angel. That’s not likely, Samantha. She turned out to be a major player in the Mexican cartel. I feel it may take some time to locate her. There’s a big wide world out there for someone like Angel to play in.”

Chapter 46

Tape over her mouth made breathing difficult. She fought hard in her attempt to prevent the sack being pulled over her head. She suspicioned who her abductors might be and feared for her life, knowing further resistance would be futile.

She had seen the two men rush out from behind a van and knew what was going to happen. She ran hard, hoping to get inside her car and lock the doors before they reached her. It didn’t happen. She fought them like a man would. She kicked one in the crotch, slammed an elbow into the eye of the other. She pressed the alarm on her key, then used it as a weapon to slash one assailant across the face. She had screamed. Her car alarm had blared. The men ignored everything.

Angel woke, face down, on the floor of the van. She spit out a mouthful of blood from a blow to her face. Her head throbbed. She felt swelling on the right side and realized she’d been knocked unconscious.

She had spotted the man at the airport in Miami. He’d been waiting in the corridor, talking on the telephone. She saw him again, still on the phone, outside baggage pickup. She hadn’t seen him again so she relaxed. How could I have been so stupid.

She heard the doors to the van open. She was dragged roughly across a concrete floor. She heard another door open before being dumped onto a smelly mattress. Shortly afterward, she heard someone speak. “Take the sack off her head and tape her to the chair.” She recognized that voice. Angel looked around. She was in a small, dingy room. “You know who we are, don’t you? I’m Ahellio Mendez. You know me as Hilo.”

She looked up at him. “Yes, I know your voice, of course. Why are you doing this to me?”

“Don’t play stupid, Angel. Just answer all my questions and you may live to enjoy all those millions you’ve squirrelled away. Where’s the money, Angel?”

“You know I wouldn’t touch company money, ever. I don’t need to. You’ve made me rich. I’m returning home from a trip to find out what’s going on before calling you. I haven’t been able to reach Marino by phone. First Marino and then Doctor Peyton. I called Hans yesterday and told him to find out what’s up and be prepared to contact you. I know something’s going bad. Believe me, I’m puzzled. You have so much at risk. I would never doubt you’d do whatever’s necessary to protect your interest. Now, after everything else, Hans is not answering his phone either. That’s never happened before.”

He said, “Stop for a minute. You were in the Bahamas, why?”

“I have my own account there. It’s everything I have. Now I’m worried.”

Hilo said, “I’ve just been informed that the ranch and our money there has been taken over by the Feds.”

“Oh, my God. I was on my way there, before going back to California.” I have to lie to him. “That means I can’t go back there or to my home in California. Everything’s fucked.”

“We closed the Bahama accounts and moved the money,” Hilo said. “If you’d called in time, we could have saved the money at the ranch. That was a heavy blow. The company’s holding you responsible, Angel.”

The man standing behind Angel said. “Boss, I’d like to kick the shit out of her. My nuts hurt.”

“Not yet, Tiegs. We’re not ready for that. Lock her in the room here and let her think about things for a while. You may get a shot at her later.”

Angel yelled, “I’ve been damn loyal to you, Mr. Hilo, and you treat me like an enemy! At least move my hands to the front so I can go to the bathroom. I spotted your man at the airport and rushed out to my car before I could go pee. But I didn’t expect this.”

Hilo laughed. “Move her hands to the front and let her go to the toilet. There’s a commode in the room, isn’t there? Just lock her in that room while I do some more checking.”

Angel waited for the men to leave before standing up and looking around. She looked at the rat-infested mattress and moved to the cubicle with a commode and small wash basin. She held her breath and pushed down on the flush handle. A small stream of water ran into the toilet. She flushed a second time, hoping for improvement. To hell with it. There’s no toilet paper