Undercover Read Free Page A

Then you will be flown to meet your new boss.”
    “ Sí, jefe. ”
    Alvarez grinned. “Ah, Nikolos, I think you and I are going to get along just fine.”
    Yeah, you go ahead and think that, asshole. I’m going to fucking ruin you, then laugh while you cry.
    Two Years Later
    Andes Mountains, Peru
    “I have a surprise for you, Nikolos.”
    Niko’s fingers clenched on the phone’s handset.
    “You should be receiving a delivery any moment. How I wish I could be there to watch your expression in person, but watching the security feed will have to suffice.”
    Niko winced over the gloating tone in Alvarez’s voice, a sure sign that his loyalty was about to be severely tested.
    As if summoned by Alvarez’s words, a knock sounded on the door. “I think it’s here,” Niko said. Taking a risk, he hung up on his boss. Alvarez couldn’t watch him in real time—the connection between this remote mountain fortress and the fortress in Ixtapa, Mexico couldn’t handle live streaming—but Niko knew he had to keep his features schooled. Alvarez would definitely receive a copy of the security tape from the camera in this room.
    Striding over to the door, Niko yanked it open. One of the compound’s guards stood on the other side. Without a word, he handed Niko a small padded envelope, then turned and disappeared back down the hall. Niko’s stomach sank. The chunky outline of a videotape pushed through the envelope.
    For a moment he debated whether to take the tape to his quarters. That was the one place where Alvarez hadn’t installed surveillance devices. A surprising grant of privacy.
    But in the mind war going on between him and Alvarez, Niko had learned that the crime lord craved feedback. He tended to lash out harshly when denied seeing Niko’s reaction to unpleasant news or requests that pushed Niko dangerously close to his moral boundaries.
    So Niko walked over to the small television set with video player in the corner.
    Pulling his shoulders back and steeling his will, Niko hit PLAY.
    His hard earned self control fled as an image of his Aunt Madalena appeared on the screen. Niko glared at the security camera in the upper left corner of his office, before returning his attention to the screen.
    Aunt Madalena sat in the visitor’s chair in Alvarez’s office in Ixtapa. A bruise darkened the skin of her left cheek, but otherwise she appeared unharmed. Her long, black hair cascaded over her shoulders, instead of being pulled back in her typical bun. She wore a loose, white peasant blouse and a skirt made from the special fabric Alvarez provided to all of his mistresses.
    No!
    “Niko,” his aunt began, speaking in Spanish, “I have been told by Jaime Alvarez to give you the story of how I became his mistress.” Her shoulders shook as she inhaled. Niko kept his face expressionless, tamping down his horror and fear.
    “You will be aware that Señor Alvarez has captured my husband, Anastasio Andros.”
    Niko nodded. He’d received word last month that one of Alvarez’s teams had set a trap and Uncle Tasi had been caught. Another case of the DEA failing to protect one of their own. It made Niko question the reliability of his own contact. But so far, the man had lived up to his promises, passing on messages to Niko from his father during their once-a-year check in.
    Niko had been trying to find a way to free Uncle Tasi, but Alvarez kept his uncle at the Ixtapa compound, while Niko had been assigned to work out of the Peru location for the past few months.
    “I—” His aunt licked her lips. “I vowed to rescue my Tasi. In my vengeful pride, I made a deal with Alvarez. If I spent one night in his bed, Alvarez would free Tasi.”
    Ah, Aunt Madalena. How could you have been so naïve?
    “As perhaps you have guessed, Alvarez has not honored his end of the bargain.” Her dark eyes looked pleadingly into the camera. “Nikolos, if there is any honor left in you, I am begging you. Please set your uncle free.