Free Undercover by Vanessa Kier Page A

think you understand a man like Alvarez,” his father had continued, “but you are still young. Those punk kids who carried out the attacks against me are babies compared to the ruthless men who work for Alvarez. As I have said before, some day Alvarez will make a mistake and the DEA will get him. Or some other law enforcement agency. It is not your responsibility to try and take Alvarez down from inside.”
    Getting his emotions under control, Niko had finally looked back at his father. “I need to do this.” He smacked his own chest. “The need for vengeance burns inside me. I won’t be able to rest until Alvarez is punished.”
    “You could join the Drug Enforcement Agency. Work through legal means.”
    “Leaving Alvarez free to attack you again? What if he goes after Mamá next? Or Maria?” Niko shook his head. So far, Alvarez hadn’t done much to threaten his mother and had left his sister alone. But Niko understood that the crime lord had some long-term plan for revenge going on and didn’t want to risk anyone in his family.
    “Niko, the DEA does have success. We—”
    “No. It’s not good enough.” Joining the DEA like his father had once been his life’s goal. He’d looked forward to the day he could fight to make the world a safer place.
    But with Alvarez unpunished for the shooting and the other attacks, Niko had lost faith in the DEA and other authorities to dish out the kind of punishment Alvarez deserved. Niko wanted Alvarez to suffer the way Niko and his family had suffered after his father was shot.
    Since the shooting, Niko had devoured every piece of information he could find about Jaime Alvarez. When his mother refused to go into detail about her cousin many times removed, Niko had questioned his father’s father. Grandpop hated that his son had married a woman with distant family ties to such a criminal and had been more than willing to tell Niko what he knew about the DEA raid that had united his parents and killed Alvarez’s older brother.
    The fact that he was a distant relation to such a cold-hearted bastard only made Niko more determined than ever to be the one to bring Alvarez to justice.
    “I’ve heard you and Uncle Tasi fighting,” Niko had told his father. “I know he wants to go after Alvarez, but it would mean the end of his career. What do I have to risk?”
    “Your entire life! Don’t you see? Taking you away from us is exactly the type of psychological game Alvarez loves. He knows how much it will hurt your mother and me to see you under his control.”
    “But I won’t be. Not really. I’ll always be your son. And there is no way Alvarez will ever make me give up my thirst for vengeance.”
    Even though Pop hadn’t wanted Niko putting himself in danger, he’d agreed to abide by Niko’s decision. Tears in his eyes, his father had bowed his head and given his blessing, saying a prayer for Niko’s soul.
    As he walked toward the end of the street, Niko shoved his misgivings aside. He could do this. Yeah, he was scared. Just as scared as he’d been when he’d accepted the DEA’s help.
    “We’ll make it seem as if, instead of deciding to work for Alvarez, you’ve decided to turn criminal on your own in order to become powerful enough to take him on,” the DEA agent had said. “As your reputation builds, we’ll frame you for murder. Get you sent to prison. We know Alvarez’s got contacts and can arrange for your early release. From everything we know about Alvarez, he’ll enjoy forcing you over to his side and then twisting you until you belong to him, body and soul.” The agent’s voice had rung with a fervor that made Niko realize that someone close to the man must have given in to the corruption of Alvarez’s power.
    “When Alvarez does contact you again with another job offer, we want you to accept it grudgingly. He’ll be suspicious if Leander Andros’s son slips too easily into his hands.”
    “So, I’ll be an undercover agent?”
    “No.