Tully stepped forward and gestured toward Chad and Vicky. “The arms dealer and his co-conspirator.”
Not wanting to draw attention to herself, Dawn scurried back to Leland and the quiet side of the pool.
“Reinforcements have arrived,” she said. “Maybe they can shut Vicky up.”
“Or take her away.”
When Leland lifted his hand from the wound, Dawn grimaced at the bright red blood staining his palm before he scrubbed it off on his soggy jeans. Folding one of the towels, she handed it to him. “I’m going to let you hold it because I don’t want to hurt you by applying too much pressure.”
“Sit by me,” he said, his tone pleading. “I need to have you where I can see you.”
She understood because she felt the same way. “Let me just give you this to keep you warm.” She draped a towel around his shoulders while she worried about how much blood he had lost.
She forced back the tears that held all her fear before sliding onto the chair next to him, her wet clothes squelching against the cushions. Her body was beginning to tremble in reaction to the adrenaline overload, so she wrapped a towel around her own shoulders.
Glancing across the pool, she saw FBI agents swarming around Chad and Vicky. Tully stood to the side having an intense conversation with one of the agents. She couldn’t hear what they were saying, but when they both swiveled their heads to look across the pool toward where she and Leland sat, a shiver of nerves ran through her. She buried her face in the crook of Leland’s neck to block out everything but the feel of him alive and well beside her.
“You’re shaking,” he said, his voice a concerned rumble.
“I’m soggy and relieved to have the good guys in control of the situation.” She felt him shifting on the chair and lifted her head. “What are you doing? Do not take your hand off that towel!”
He gazed down at her with worry in his eyes. “I want to hold you.”
“Nope.” Although the temptation of having his strong arm wrapped around her was powerful. “I’m good. I just want to go home and change out of these wet clothes.” And burrow under the quilt on her bed snuggled up against Leland’s big, comforting body.
Instead, Tully and the FBI agent he’d been talking with walked up to them. “Dawn and Leland, meet Senior Special Agent Chris Wertz.” Tully held out Leland’s glasses. “I thought you might want these. We found them in the pool.”
Agent Wertz, a man with short iron-gray hair and a beak of a nose, nodded to them. “We appreciate your assistance with this case. You were instrumental in taking down the entire command structure of a major drug cartel.” He cut his gaze to the towel Leland held against his arm. “We regret your injury.”
Leland seated his glasses firmly on his nose before he stood up. “It’s just a scratch. I’d like to get Dawn home so she can change out of her wet clothes. She’s shivering.”
Tully shook his head. “Not yet. The EMTs are on their way in to treat your wound. You got shot, buddy.”
“As soon as they’re done, we’re leaving,” Leland said.
“Only if you don’t need to go to the hospital,” Dawn said, coming to her feet as well.
Leland scowled at her but his expression quickly shifted to dismay. “There’s blood all over your shirt.”
She glanced down to see a splotch of red on the turquoise fabric over her chest and shoulder. “Don’t worry. It’s all yours.”
Her Work It Out shirt reminded her of something she needed to know. She turned to Tully. “Is Ramón involved in the arms dealing?”
Tully shrugged. “It’s hard to get any sense out of Vicky right now, so I don’t know. She’s batshit crazy. Pardon my language.”
“We’ll find out when we question her,” Agent Wertz said, his voice hard and confident. “I’ll make sure to pass the information along to Mr. Gibson.”
“May I talk to her about Ramón before you take her away?” Dawn was afraid she would regret it but she couldn’t bear thinking the worst of her mentor.
The agent hesitated a moment before he nodded. “I think we owe you that.”
“No!” Leland snapped. “I don’t want you anywhere near those two.”
“They’re in handcuffs.” She laid her palm against his good arm. “I need to know for sure about Ramón.” Even if it broke her heart.
He held her gaze for a long moment before he pivoted toward Tully. “You go with her.”
“You got it, partner,” Tully agreed. “But I’ll be checking in with the EMTs before they leave. So you won’t be able to feed me any bullshit that you’re all right if you’re not.”
There was a flurry of movement by the door and two paramedics came striding into the pool area. Tully waved them over.
Dawn stretched up on her toes to kiss Leland on the cheek. “Don’t be stubborn. Let them do whatever they need to.” She pulled her soggy shirt away from her skin and tugged it down over her hips, like she was putting on armor for her encounter with Vicky. “Okay, let’s do this.”
“Mr. Gibson and I will be right beside you, ma’am,” the agent said, walking on one side of her while Tully took the other. “Just don’t expect a rational answer.”
“She might not tell me the truth but I need to ask.” With everything Ramón had done for her, maybe she could do something for him in return. If he was innocent.
If he wasn’t, then she would seriously question her judgment of people.
“What do you want, bitch?” Vicky snarled as Dawn walked up to where the woman stood handcuffed between two agents—one male, one female.
Dawn took a deep breath and gestured toward Chad. “Does Ramón know about any of this?”
“Ray? Oh, right, you’re his little pet,” Vicky sneered. “You don’t want your sugar daddy to be a bad guy.”
“He’s not my sugar daddy and you know it.” Dawn kept her voice steady even as fury roared through her.
Vicky flicked her glittering talons at Dawn dismissively. “You know how Ray feels about guns. What do you think?”
Hope flickered in Dawn’s belly. “He says he hates violence of all kinds, but he has a monogrammed gun safe in his desk drawer. And he stayed home sick today.” She needed a definitive answer.
“The gun safe was a joke between him and me. He uses it to keep excess cash,” Vicky said before a shadow crossed her face. “I feel bad about him being sick. I put some nasty stuff in his dinner last night to make sure he didn’t come to the gym today. I didn’t want him to catch Chad moving the merchandise. Kept poor Ray up all night vomiting.” Her face crumpled. “I love him. This is gonna kill him.”
“Why would you do this to him?” Dawn asked, her heart hurting for her boss over the truth of Vicky’s statement.
Vicky’s face went hard as nails. “It takes a shitload of money to keep this place going. We weren’t exactly getting rich. That Griselda woman forced Chad to bring his product to the New York metro area so she could inspect it. He offered me a cut of the sale if I’d let him store his inventory in the basement for a couple of weeks. It was a lot of money.” She shrugged. “I have nothing to do with Chad’s shit. First time I’ve seen him since high school.” She rounded on Chad, making the agents grab her arms. “You hear that, you asshole? I got nothing to do with you anymore.”
“Good luck convincing the cartel of that when they come looking for revenge,” Chad sneered, but he looked pale himself.
“I’ll just tell them it was this bitch and her fancy consultant boyfriend.”
“They’re not going to have a nice chat before they kill you, you moron,” Chad said, clearly goaded beyond all self-control.
“Okay, it’s time to get them to headquarters,” Agent Wertz snapped. “Take them out of here.”
Tully held up his index finger to signal he needed a minute before he said to Dawn, “Do you want to ask her anything else?”
Dawn shook her head. “I’ll go see how Leland’s doing. You do what you need to do.”
Tully gave the ok
ay to Agent Wertz, who hustled off to organize the prisoners’ exit.
She thought of what Chad had said and turned to Tully. “Should Leland and I be concerned about the cartel coming after us?”
Tully grimaced. “Wertz has promised to do everything in his power to keep your names out of this. He’s solid so I believe him. The FBI will be more than happy to claim credit for finding Griselda through their own work. It’s in the best interest of both Chad and Vicky to keep their mouths shut about the whole situation but, as you noticed, Vicky is not good at that. However, I’ll keep a close eye on the situation and make sure you’re protected.”
That wasn’t entirely reassuring but there was no point to worrying about it right now. She just hoped Leland hadn’t heard Chad’s outburst. He would feel even guiltier about involving her than he already did.
At least her faith in her own judgment had been restored. She had known in her gut that Ramón couldn’t be an arms dealer. However, her boss was going to be devastated to find out his wife was aiding and abetting one. Not to mention that she was headed for jail.
The EMTs were still working around Leland as she walked up to the chair where he sat. “What’s the prognosis?” she asked.
The woman packing instruments back into her bag looked a question at Leland.
“You can tell her,” he said, wincing slightly as the other paramedic tied off the gauze wrapped around his arm.
“He got lucky.” The EMT zipped the bag and straightened. “The bullet just grazed his arm—barely touched the muscle—so he won’t even have a divot after it heals. We cleaned it up and gave him antibiotics, but I don’t think infection will be a factor. Jumping in a pool helped clear the wound of any potential debris. He should try to ice it—twenty minutes per hour—for the next few hours and elevate it when possible to reduce swelling. Other than that, it’s just going to hurt like a sonofabitch.” She raised her eyebrows at Dawn. “We gave him something for that but I can tell he’s not the type who will take it.”
Dawn grimaced at how right the EMT was but a wave of relief rolled through her. “Thanks for taking care of him.”
The medics nodded and picked up their gear before they headed toward the exit.
She sat down beside Leland. “How badly does it hurt?”
“I can barely feel it.” The planes of his face softened as he asked, “Did you get an honest answer to your question?”
“Yeah, Ramón wasn’t involved. Vicky deliberately made him sick today so he wouldn’t catch Chad moving the guns out.”
“That’s pretty cold but I suppose she was protecting him in her own twisted way,” Leland said. “I’m glad for your sake.”
He lifted his hand to touch her cheek, his eyes scanning over her face like lasers. Then, with a low groan, he doubled over, his elbows on his knees.
“What is it?!” Dawn scooted off the chair and knelt in front of him so she could see his face. Terror ripped through her when she saw that his skin had gone pale and his eyes were squeezed closed. “Are you feeling light-headed? Are you going to pass out?” He could be going into shock from blood loss. She braced her hands on his shoulders. She didn’t want him falling forward onto his head. She looked frantically for the EMTs but they were nowhere in sight.
His eyes opened to meet hers. “I thought you were going to die. When I heard the gunshot and the glass shattered around you . . .” He pulled her in against him using both arms in a grip like a vise. He was shaking. “I thought Chad was going to kill you.”
“I think he was shooting at you, not me.” Dawn wrapped her arms around Leland’s rib cage, his body heat soaking through the clinging cotton of his shirt. He’d put himself between her and Chad’s gun every time he had the chance. He’d tried to draw Chad’s attention away from her in the pool. Her heart twisted in her chest. “You were doing a damn good job of protecting me.”
“It was my fault he pulled that gun. If I hadn’t walked into the gym, he would have let you leave without a confrontation. I set him off.” She didn’t think he could hold her any tighter but he did.
“You don’t know that. He was looking for me and he had a gun hidden behind his back. Who can tell what he intended?”
“I should have overruled Tully and his FBI connection. You should never have been here.” His shuddering grew stronger.
She wanted to shake him but he was already shivering, and she figured that might hurt his arm anyway. “Stop beating yourself up. I made the choice to come to work because I wanted to help catch the bad guys.” Maybe she’d had something to prove to herself too, since she’d let them get away back in college. “You couldn’t have stopped me. It was my decision, not yours.”
“It was a bad decision.” But he sounded less desolate and the trembling eased.
“Hey, they caught Chad and we’re both still alive.”
“Just barely.” He tipped her head up and kissed her as though he was never going to stop.
Chapter 20
Two hours later, Dawn sat on her sofa with her legs across Leland’s thighs, her head resting on his uninjured shoulder while his good arm circled her. Leland’s damaged arm was propped up on a pillow with a gel ice pack resting on it. The television was on but muted so they could catch any news flashes about the drug and arms busts. Leland had pounded on Tully again to keep their names out of it because he worried about the same thing Chad had mentioned: retaliation by the cartel. Dawn was pretty sure the DEA and FBI would be quick to take all the credit, but Leland was obsessed with her safety.
“Did I tell you how brilliant you were to jump in the pool?” Leland asked, his breath tickling through her hair.
“About five times, but go ahead and tell me again.”
He chuckled, the sound vibrating through her. “Even Tully was impressed.”
“Yeah, who knew I would ever need that particular piece of information, let alone remember it? And who knew little old Josh was the programmer behind the dark web node?” Vicky had given up Josh in about thirty seconds when the FBI questioned her. “No wonder Chad wanted the kid to have a good birthday.”
“If his claim that he had no idea what he was programming it for is true, would you mind if I hired him? He’s got real potential.”
“Go right ahead. You can be a good influence on him.”
Leland’s phone rang. “It’s Tully,” he said, swiping it onto speaker. “Hey, Gibson, Dawn’s listening too.”
“I’ve got some good news.” Tully sounded exhausted and elated at the same time. “Chad has cut a deal to give up all his arms-dealing contacts in return for going into witness protection. Turns out the ATF and a couple of other agencies are very interested in where he got his military-grade weapons. So he will disappear as though he never existed, taking your names with him to the grave.”
“What about Vicky?” Dawn asked. “She’s the crazy one.”
“She’ll likely go to jail as an accessory,” Tully said, “which means she needs to keep her mouth shut to survive. As wacko as she is, she’s figured that much out. With a few hints from her interrogators to scare her even more.”
Dawn thought of Vicky’s hard-nosed approach to the gym’s finances and decided that Tully could be right about her boss’s wife. Vicky was all about self-preservation.
“Truth is that the cartel is in major disarray,” Tully continued. “The DEA grabbed virtually all the top lieutenants when they scooped up Griselda Rodriguez. The rest of the scumbags will be scrambling to fill the power vacuum. They won’t have time to go looking for revenge.”
“Until the power vacuum gets filled,” Leland said, his arm tightening around Dawn.
“Hey, give me some credit. I kept Dawn’s name out of every piece of paperwork anyone filed, so she’s invisible. You’ve been turned into ‘an anonymous source.’ If your name is anywhere in the records, it’s buried under so many layers of confidentiality that even you wouldn’t be able to unearth it with all your hacking skills, partner.”
“I can unea
rth anything,” Leland said, “but in this case I will happily leave it buried. I owe you for today. Thank you.”
“For what? I just did cleanup.”
“You’re kidding, right? If you hadn’t ridden to the rescue, all Chad had to do was wait for us to come up for breath one more time.” Leland’s arm tightened around Dawn.
“Well, I did find your glasses for you,” Tully said, brushing off Leland’s gratitude. “I’ll accept your thanks for that.”
Leland called him an asshole in a tone of deep affection and disconnected before dropping his phone onto the coffee table.
“Natalie always said Vicky was smarter than I gave her credit for. I’m glad her brain finally got control of her mouth.” Her last worry laid to rest, Dawn yawned and nuzzled into Leland’s chest. “I feel too tired to move but too hyped-up to sleep.”
“I have an idea.” Leland skimmed his hand up to cup her breast, his thumb grazing her nipple through the fabric of her nice, dry, pink T-shirt.
She grabbed his wrist and moved his hand back down to its original position, even as a delicious sizzle streaked through her insides. “You’re hurt.”
“A mere flesh wound. The rest of me is in fine working order.”
She could feel his cock stirring to life under her thigh and smiled. “Oh, no, I’m not going to be responsible for making your gunshot wound bleed again. Besides, that’s just the effect of all the adrenaline in your system. You don’t actually want me.”
“The hell with the adrenaline!” Leland seemed to explode into motion, throwing off the ice pack and elbowing away the supporting pillow. He used his good arm to lever her fully onto his lap before he wrapped both arms around her. “You could have died today.”
“You could have too. You’re the one who kept acting like a human shield.” She kissed his cheek. “And I love you for it.” She tried not to jar his arm with her movement.
He went still. “Did you just say you love me?”
Shit! She had said that. “It’s a figure of speech. It means extreme gratitude.” But when she glanced up to see if her explanation had defused whatever discomfort he was feeling, she forgot to breathe. His face was lit with an emotion that looked like happiness. “Are you glad that I said ‘I love you for it’?” she asked.
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