ALEX POV
I didn't count on the woman appearing in my dreams. For the past several nights, she has played a starring role. Though each dream contained a different scenario, they were all a variation of the actual take-down. Only in my dreams I'd spoken to her, made her laugh. I'd calmed her worries, and eased that little line that creased her forehead. Then I'd leaned in close to inhale the scent of her hair, carried her to my SUV, and tucked her safely inside. I wake each morning cursing myself out. I don't get to keep her. But damn if my subconscious knows it, uncooperative prick that it was.
Now in the office, sitting at my desk with the sunlight streaming through the cheap blinds, dotting my computer screen with flecks of light, I scrubbed a hand across my stubbly jaw. The case that has consumed much of my time over the past month has come to an unsatisfying conclusion. Solano has been found dead in an out-building adjacent to the compound, of an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound. From the Bureau's standpoint, the case is all but closed. But I have spent the last several days milling through the mountains of files They have accumulated on Solano's Cartel, making sure everything is done correctly I keep finding myself stuck on details that might somehow relate to Camila. Then I gave up trying to be sly, and read every single note they have on her. She is nineteen and she joined the Solano Cartel with her mother when she was just seven years old. Her mother is believed to have been one of Solano's lovers, passed away when Camila was fifteen. Camila have been living with the Cartel in the compound just outside of Dallas ever since. That God damn Cartel was all she'd ever known.
I knew that all of the children, fourteen of them under the age of eighteen, have been taken into Child Protective Services. I have no idea what will become of those of legal age. I suppose once they were brought in for questioning and their statements taken, many of them will be free to go.
Gulping weak coffee from a paper cup, it took me a moment to realize my boss is standing in front of my desk.
"You look like shit, Alex."
I didn't bother explaining I haven't been sleeping well, preferring not to get in a conversation about exactly why the mysterious girl I'd rescued from the compound is still clouding my thoughts even in my sleep, knowing that excuse wouldn't go over well with Reece.
I rub a hand across the back of my neck. "Thanks," I mutter.
"You need a break, Alex. You've been working eighty-hour weeks nonstop the past few months. Now that this case is over, I'm not assigning you to another until you take some time off."
"What are you talking about, a leave of absence?" I have heard of other guys messing up and getting forced into a leave, if only to make an example of them. But as far as I know, I haven't fucked anything up, at least not lately, and I am in line for a promotion at my next review cycle.
"No, like a vacation." Reece's stern gaze meet my confused one. "You've heard of a vacation, right?"
I almost laughed, and would have, had I not been pissed at where this conversation is headed. It is the exact same conversation I'd have with my meddling older sister, Maria, just a few days before. When she'd stopped by last weekend and seen the dark circles under my eyes, she'd challenged me on when I'd last taken time off. The truth is I have never purposefully taken time off work. I wouldn't know what to do with myself. The one and only time I have taken some personal days was the standard bereavement leave when my parents were killed seven years ago.
Reece was still staring down at me expectantly. "I checked with HR, and they told me you've never taken a single vacation day in seven years with the Agency."
No shit. And for good reason. I will be bored as hell in two hours. "And what exactly do you expect me to do?"
"How the hell should I know? Do whatever it is people do when they have time off work."
"Thanks, but I'm actually good. Just give me another case, Reece."
"This is non-negotiable."
I am not averse to taking on Reece, but I am not stupid enough to argue with him especially when that vein in his forehead is throbbing.
I stood, knowing it will be pointless to press the issue, I scoop up the files from my desk and made up my mind that I will just work from home. Reece cracked a sideways grin and pull the files from my hands.
"No. No bringing work home. Get a massage, go to the fucking Bahamas; I don't care what you do, as long as you take a break. Don't come back until Monday. Next Monday," he clarify.
Fuck. A week off of work with nothing to do? I would totally go insane.
Unless…
No, I know I shouldn't check up on Camila, but once the idea had planted itself firmly in my mind, I know it will be damn near impossible to shake.
I spent the first two days of my vacation much like I spend every other weekend: catching up on sleep, hitting the gym, grabbing some takeout and parking it on the couch with a beer and flipping aimlessly through the TV channels.
But by the time Monday morning rolled around, I knew I was in over my head. There is no way I will survive another week of this shit. I am already bored out of my mind, and it is only day one of my Agency-enforced vacation. Damn Reece.
Thoughts of Camila continue to occupy my mind, and I find myself wondering where she is and if she is doing okay. After my third cup of coffee, I was jittery and pacing. Damn, I will be crawling the walls of my condo by noon if I don't get out and do something.
I made a snap decision, knowing I will not be able to let the thoughts of Camila go. Not until I know she is okay. It is simple curiosity, nothing more. Plus, it will give me something to do to occupy my time. A win all round. I will do a simple stakeout, no big deal. After a quick phone call to another agent that morning, I had a good idea where they'd taken her.
The safe house.
She was taken to the only nearby facility with an opening, a transitional housing development on the shady side of town. Something about it don't sit right with me. She is too innocent and good-looking to be somewhere like that.
I will stakeout the house, assuming she is still there. Since the file didn't mention any other family, I am betting she still is. Once I see her with my own eyes, and confirm she is safe and doing well, I will let it go.