Read Online A Touch of Greed by Gary Ponzo - Free Book Online

Nick could hear him breathing hard as he maneuvered around a lawnmower and got to his knees. First he examined the dead gunman, then shoved his corpse aside. He bent over Julie. Silent. Nothing. Nick’s knees were giving out. He leaned against the desk for support.
    Parker placed a hand on Julie’s back. It was dark and hard to see, but there seemed to be some subtle movement.
    “Are you okay?” Parker said.
    Then Nick saw the most glorious sight he’d ever seen. Parker leaned back and held his thumb up to the satellite image.
    “They’re fine,” Parker said into the headset.
    Nick gripped Stevie’s shoulders, while Stevie clapped his hands in celebration. Nick had to wipe his eyes while he caught his breath.
    The door to the office opened and Matt walked in carrying a cardboard container with three coffees as Nick and Stevie finished off a high five.
    “What’d I miss?” Matt asked, with an innocent grin on his face.

Chapter 9
     
    Garza rubbed Julio’s back while the boy lay in bed next to him taking deep, meaningful breaths. He lowered his head and gave his son a gentle kiss on the back of the boy’s neck.
    “Sleep tight, Niño,” Garza said, lifting off the bed and softly backing out of the room.
    Once in the kitchen, Garza found Victor sitting at the wooden table looking over his laptop computer.
    “Any word?” Garza said, grabbing a bowl from the cabinet and opening the freezer.
    “Not yet,” Victor said. He nodded to a brown paper bag sitting on the counter next to the refrigerator. “Emelio has paid us for the month.”
    “Good,” Garza said, scooping some vanilla ice cream from a container into his bowl. “What about Hector?”
    “He paid last week. He is frightened of being late.”
    Garza grinned. He appreciated the power of his reputation. He sat down across from Victor and enjoyed his ice cream. A nightly ritual.
    Victor’s phone quietly chirped. He picked it up from the table and read from the screen. On his face was a mixture of displeasure and approval.
    “Our American contact,” Victor said. “The female FBI agent is dead.”
    Garza liked the way it started.
    “But Bracco’s wife and child survived.”
    Garza dropped his spoon. He leaned back in his chair and folded his arms across his chest. “And Juan?”
    Victor finished reading the text message, then looked up. “Juan is in custody. The others are dead.”
    Garza rubbed the back of his neck and sighed. From all the books he’d read on warfare, he knew how important it was to keep on the offensive. Even though he was virtually untouchable in his lair below the border, he wanted to conduct his business with the least amount of interference from the US government.
    Garza stood and placed his bowl in the sink. He grabbed the brown package from the counter and looked inside. It seemed to be the correct amount of money. He gestured for Victor to follow him and the two men walked down a hallway to the front door. When he reached his office door, he held up a finger for Victor to wait as he went in and opened the safe behind his desk, grabbed a satchel, then returned to the hallway.
    As they exited the building, a black Cadillac Escalade idled in the driveway. Garza motioned Victor to get in the back seat with him as they had done a hundred times before. Victor would play with his phone and find information for Garza while they drove to town or to pick up a payment. This time, however, as they reached the bottom of the driveway, instead of turning right toward the airstrip where ultra lights would make drops from above, or left toward town, they drove straight. Victor looked up from his phone when the SUV didn’t turn.
    “Where are we headed, Jefe?” Victor asked.
    “You will see,” was all Garza said, staring out into the night sky, the satchel between his legs.
    Victor appeared apprehensive, suddenly studying their surroundings rather than his cell phone. The two men in the front seat remained suspiciously quiet. The dirt