Alec's Royal Assignment (Man on a Mission 3)

His father had carved that quotation in wood and hung it over the fireplace mantel at home before Alec was born. His parents had instilled that maxim in all their children even before they’d learned to read. Wasn’t that why every one of the Jones children had gone into the Marine Corps when they turned eighteen? And wasn’t that why all of them had gone into public service of some sort after they’d left the Corps? Shane into politics. Niall into something so secret he couldn’t even tell his family what he was doing. Alec and Liam into the DSS. Keira into the agency. Because even though they couldn’t do everything, they could do something. They couldn’t not do something—that was deeply ingrained in them all.

Well, he’d met her. Met the woman who understood what motivated him, because she was motivated by the same things. A woman who was just as tough as he was. Just as uncompromising. Just as strong inside, where it counted. And just as determined to make a difference.

So, yeah, now it was his turn to sacrifice something, because he wasn’t giving up Angelina. Now it was his turn to—

The phone on his desk rang suddenly, startling him. He picked it up. “Alec Jones.”

“It’s Keira,” his sister said, her excitement bubbling over in his ear. “You’re not going to believe this, but we’ve got her.”

Alec straightened in his chair. “Caterina Mateja?”

“You bet. ICE picked her up a week ago,” she explained, referring to Immigration and Customs Enforcement by their commonly used acronym. “The fake identification she gave the arresting officers says her name is Cate Jones, but...”

“Damn, you’re good.” The compliment slipped out. Alec didn’t make a habit of praising his sister to her face—although he was quick to brag about her to others—but he couldn’t help himself this time. “You sure it’s her?”

“They ran her fingerprints against IAFIS, but nothing popped.” The FBI’s Integrated Automatic Fingerprint Identification System, Alec translated in his mind as Keira continued. “The same for IDENT.” He wasn’t exactly sure what that acronym stood for, but he wasn’t about to interrupt his sister to ask. “That didn’t surprise me. If the US embassy in Zakhar was issuing fraudulent visas, it’s not likely they were submitting legit digital fingerprints to the FBI for the women involved. But that didn’t matter. The agency has face-recognition software—so good it’s classified—and I’ve been running random searches on every database I can access. The picture ICE took when they arrested her matches the picture on her expired work visa. She’s a lot older now, but it’s her. I know it’s her.”

“Where is she?”

“Would you believe that she’s here in Denver? ICE is holding her at the Denver Contract Detention Facility. It’s actually located in Aurora, but close enough.”

“Holy crap. You’re right, I don’t believe it.” He thought a moment. “Can you get her out of there? Not that I don’t trust ICE, but wherever they’re holding her won’t keep her safe from the hit Vishenko has out on her. If he or his men find out where she is, think how easy it would be for a fellow inmate to shank her. And if she’s been there a week...”

“Already in the works,” Keira assured him. “The request had to come from Baker Street, but I called him as soon as I knew it was her. Two steps ahead of you, Alec,” she told him with a tiny hint of superiority in her voice, and he laughed under his breath. Keira was so damned competitive, especially with her brothers. But he didn’t care this time. All he cared about was getting Caterina Mateja to a place of safety, and the fact that his baby sister had solved it first wasn’t important.

“So what’s your plan?” Keira asked him. “Assuming ICE surrenders custody of Caterina to the agency—and I don’t see why they wouldn’t, given D’Arcy’s clout—what’s your next step?”

“I’ve got to question her. Find out what she knows, what evidence she has.”

“D’Arcy will stash her in a safe house here in Denver, so interrogating her in private won’t be a problem. But ICE says she hasn’t said a word other than the name on her fake ID the whole time she’s been in custody. What if she asks for an attorney when you get here? She’d be perfectly within her rights to do so. Then where are you?”

“Not going to happen.” Alec was boldly confident.

“How can you be so sure?”

“Because I’ll have my other secret weapon with me,” he told her. “Angelina Mateja—Caterina’s cousin. They were like sisters growing up. If anyone can get Caterina to open up and tell us what she knows, it’ll be her cousin.”