The Smuggler

by Leslie Georgeson

  The man hung his head, his misery palpable.

  I actually felt sympathetic toward the guy. He’d done a stupid thing, and now he would lose his kid for a while. If he was smart, he would take Grace’s advice and take care of things so he could come back and raise his daughter the right way.

  By the time Grace and I left an hour later—the man heading off to jail and the little girl leaving with a social worker—I was thoroughly convinced that Grace was my soulmate. The only woman for me. I loved her. I needed her. I wanted her for the rest of my life.

  And as soon as I could figure out how to make my mouth say the words, I would tell her that. All of it.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-TWO

  Grace

  Tracker and Jacob showed up three days later.

  I liked Tracker and Jacob as much as I liked the others. Both were tall and muscular and handsome like the other dregs. These seemed to be common traits for all of them. Tracker apparently lived with his girlfriend, Jessica, and her younger sister, Eliza, while Jacob lived with his fiancé, Anna, and his five-year-old daughter, Hazel. They had apparently moved to Idaho to get away from the violence here. I had never been to Idaho, but Noah showed me some pictures on his phone, and I was impressed. It looked like a beautiful place.

  Everyone gathered around, and Tracker used a printout that Noah had pulled up off the internet of Darcy to find her. I watched, fascinated, while Tracker centered himself and closed his eyes.

  He jerked them open abruptly and stepped back. “She’s close.” He met each of our gazes. “Somewhere in Eatonton, I’d say.” Then he looked at me. “I feel your presence there. Do you have an apartment in Eatonton?”

  A chill crept down my spine. Had Darcy moved into my apartment? Hiding in plain sight? That bitch was a hell of a lot smarter than any of us had given her credit for.

  I let out an unladylike growl. “Yes. I abandoned it temporarily to hide out here. If that’s where you think she is, then let’s go get that feckin bitch. She’s not getting away with this.”

  Everyone exchanged glances. For the next half hour, the dregs discussed strategy and who would do what in the upcoming mission. I found the whole thing fascinating and listened with rapt attention. They all knew their strengths and weaknesses and planned accordingly.

  Finally, everyone disbursed, heading back to their apartments.

  The plan was to leave at nightfall.

  Darcy wasn’t getting away with this. I would make sure of it.

  I went with Tony to his apartment to get a few hours rest before we headed out. We undressed and snuggled under the covers like a regular couple. He drew me against his side and began kissing along the back of my neck. I moaned softly and turned in his arms, pressing my body against his and kissing him back. Tony was definitely getting better at touching. He was even initiating touch between us now.

  We came together hungrily, eagerly, kissing, touching, loving.

  Afterwards, we snuggled together. Cuddling. I lifted my hand and ran my fingers gently through his hair as I stared into his eyes.

  “I love you, my sexy stud muffin,” I whispered.

  His chest rumbled as he chuckled. Then he grew serious. “Grace, I…” he trailed off, his arms tightening around me. He squeezed his eyes shut, then swallowed hard.

  He wasn’t ready yet. That was fine. I would wait for him to be ready. I wouldn’t push.

  “It’s all right,” I murmured. “You can tell me when you’re ready.”

  His gaze filled with gratitude. “Thank you,” he murmured. He lowered his gaze, looking embarrassed.

  We dozed off after that.

  And when we woke, it was time to go.

  The dregs all went to their “weapons room” which was quite impressive. Guns of every kind. Ammunition. Grenades. Even a missile launcher, which Noah informed me they hadn’t used yet. They each selected a few weapons and let me choose one for myself. I chose a simple handgun. When I asked where they had obtained all these weapons, Nate told me it was best that I didn’t know. Which meant they had probably obtained them illegally. But my lips were sealed. I had discovered over the past few weeks that Alissa was right. The dregs were good guys. Heroes. They’d simply gotten a bad rap.

  “Let’s head out,” Nate said, and everyone filed down the corridor, heading into the maze. I found myself walking beside Tony, with Jacob and Tracker trailing behind us.

  “How you do you guys juggle personal life with the dreg life?” I asked, directing the question at both Tracker and Jacob. They lived far away with their families, yet they had hurried back here to help out when they were needed. Tony cocked a brow at my question, but he didn’t say anything. He just listened as Tracker spoke.

  “Moving away from here has helped to some extent because I can live a quiet life with Jessica away from it all. I only come back here when I’m needed. Jessica understands that. She accepts it. If she had her way, she’d be going with me on missions, but she also knows it’s not safe and she needs to stay home to look after her sister. Family life does take some adjusting to,” he went on quietly. “I’m still trying to get used to it. But I wouldn’t trade it for the world.”

  Jacob nodded, his expression serious as he glanced at me. “I agree with everything Tracker said. I try to keep the violence away from Anna and Hazel, and it’s easier living far away. Like Tracker, I only come back here when I’m needed.”

  I was quiet a moment, absorbing their words. Then I glanced at Tony. His gaze locked on mine. I reached over and squeezed his hand. “So if Tony chooses to leave here, he can have a normal life.”

  Tony startled, a question in his eyes.

  “Certainly,” Tracker responded, “though as a dreg, I don’t know if his life will ever be normal. But with you, he can at least have a chance at normalcy.”

  Color crept into Tony’s face. He lowered his gaze, considering.

  Luke glanced back at us from where he was walking beside Ryan in front of the group. “You all are a bunch of pussy-whipped fools.”

  Ryan smacked his arm and glanced apologetically at me. “Don’t mind him. He’d just a jaded asshole.”

  “Why is that?” I asked Luke. “Did you get your heart broken once?”

  He snorted. “Nope. I don’t believe in love. Love is for fools. Women are only good for one thing in my opinion. No offense,” he added quickly.

  Tony jerked his head up, scowling at Luke. I tightened my hand around Tony’s, letting him know I wasn’t offended.

  Luke really was jaded. Which was so sad.

  “Well, I, for one, am jealous of you all,” Logan said. He and Noah were taking up the rear, walking behind Tracker and Jacob. “If I could find a girl who loved me unconditionally, I’d be a happy man.”

  Noah let out a chuckle. “I second that. You guys are lucky.”

  Tony relaxed his hand in mine.

  Everyone grew silent after that, each lost in their own thoughts. It seemed each of the dregs had their own views on love. But for the most part, they were all human, and each yearned for their own happiness. Even Luke, though I sensed he would never admit it.

  We traveled the rest of the way through the maze in silence, then reached the surface.

  I felt another presence nearby as we headed across the forest toward the garage at the back of the mansion. Was it one of the ghosts Tony spoke to?

  “Is that one of your ghost friends?” I whispered to him.

  He whispered back, “Yes. It’s Josephine. She’s a nuisance. But I like her, anyway.” The ghost disappeared as soon as we reached the garage.

  Tony and I rode with Nate and Alissa in Nate’s Escalade. The other dregs took separate vehicles. Tony and I sat in the backseat, while Nate and Alissa were up front. If Tony was uncomfortable being in the back, rather than up front with Nate, he didn’t show it.

  We were all silent on the drive into Eatonton.

  A half hour later, we approached my apartment complex. The dregs parked a few blocks down the road, pulling ov
er at the edge of the woods. Then they all gathered together while Tracker did his “thing” again. I watched, fascinated, while he closed his eyes and centered himself. After a moment, he opened his eyes and glanced at everyone.

  “She’s not here right now, but she was recently.”

  “I say we wait a bit, and watch for her to come back,” Logan suggested.

  The others nodded. Then they all moved off, blending into the night, quickly disappearing.

  Nate, Alissa, Tony, and I found a good location at the edge of the parking lot where we hunkered down beneath a large tree and watched, waiting for Darcy to return. It might be a long wait.

  A car pulled into the lot and two young women emerged, giggling and talking as they stumbled toward the building on the end. Ryan suddenly appeared on scene, silently approaching the women. Within a few seconds, both women were plastered against him, stuck like glue.

  I stared in amazement and felt my eyebrows shoot up. “What the feck?” I whispered. “I’ll admit the guy’s good-looking, but he’s not that good-looking.”

  Alissa giggled beside me. “That’s why he’s called The Extractor. He gives off a sexual pheromone that makes women crazy with lust and they can’t resist him. While they are in a sexual haze, he extracts information from them.”

  “You’re kidding.” I snorted softly. I was impressed. But also slightly repulsed.

  Tony scowled. I reached over and squeezed his arm reassuringly. “He’s not nearly as good-looking as you, stud muffin.”

  Nate chortled, exchanging a glance with Alissa, who grinned back at him.

  About that same time, a man came out of the building on the opposite end and headed down the sidewalk toward the parking lot. Luke suddenly appeared, calling out to the guy. The man paused, and while we watched, they conversed for several minutes.

  “What’s Luke doing?” I asked.

  “He’s interrogating the man,” Tony informed me. “He’s using mind-control to get answers from him and to determine whether or not the guy is telling the truth. He’s probably asking if the man has seen Darcy.”

  Wow. Interesting.

  Finally, Luke and the stranger parted ways, Luke disappearing into the shrubs lining the front of building, and the man getting into his car and driving away.

  I glanced back at Ryan and the two girls, who were now separating. Ryan waved at them, then slipped back into the bushes near the place Luke had gone.

  “What did you guys find out?” Nate asked into his mic. He paused a moment and listened to their responses. He and Tony exchanged a glance, before Nate said, “Darcy has been here recently. They’ve seen her. The man Luke talked to said he saw her leaving a little earlier with a couple of Asian men.”

  So Darcy had indeed been here.

  “I’m moving closer,” Tony announced. He glanced at me. “Stay here where it’s safe. I’ll let you know if I need your help.”

  Before I could respond, before I could protest, he disappeared.

  Arsehole! He wasn’t telling me what to do.

  Nate grabbed my arm as I was starting to rise. “Stay,” he ordered, his tone brooking no argument. “Tony knows what he’s doing. You’re safer waiting right here.”

  I hesitated, then lowered myself back to the ground next to Alissa. Fine. I would wait. But I didn’t like it.

  Another fifteen minutes passed with no activity.

  Then my phone vibrated in my pocket, startling me. I fished it out, swiping the screen.

  Got your foster boy, the text said. If you want him back, meet me at your apartment. Half an hour. Bring Tony. Or the kid dies.

  Terror wrapped around my heart, squeezing tight. How had Darcy known about Antonio? Then anger swept in. Feck that bitch! She wasn’t hurting little Antonio. I wouldn’t let her.

  I showed Nate and Alissa the text. Nate spoke in his mic to the other dregs, alerting them.

  We waited tensely for the next half hour. Then the black truck—the same one Darcy had stepped out of a few weeks ago—pulled into the parking lot. I tensed, grabbing Alissa’s arm. “That’s them.”

  “Heads up,” Nate said into the mic.

  The truck parked near the back of the lot, then Darcy emerged with two Black Dragons gangsters. She stepped out of the truck, then turned back to help little Antonio out. My chest squeezed. The boy’s eyes were wide with fright as he glanced around, and who could blame him?

  Nate spoke into the mic, warning the other dregs that Darcy indeed had taken Antonio hostage.

  Another vehicle pulled into the lot, a muscle car turned gangster mobile with low-profile tires, tinted windows, and a stereo that thumped loudly until they shut it off. The doors opened and six more Black Dragons emerged, wearing black jackets with a dragon insignia on the black, and bandannas around their heads. A bunch of punks up to no good.

  Darcy waved them over, handing Antonio to them. I couldn’t hear what she said at this distance, but they took Antonio and ushered the boy toward the center building and my apartment. My apartment. Arse wipes. Did they think they could use my home to do their dirty deeds? Not gonna happen. It was time to put a stop to this.

  I wasn’t waiting here any longer. I was going in to help Tony take Darcy down.

  And no one was going to stop me.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-THREE

  Tony

  Darcy had taken Antonio hostage. She must have either had someone following Grace, or she’d tapped Grace’s phone. How else would she even know about Antonio?

  Darcy was going down. Tonight.

  I remained hidden in the bushes as Darcy and her entourage approached down the sidewalk.

  “I’ll free the kid,” I said into my mic, telling the other dregs my plan. “You guys take care of any interference.”

  “Roger that,” came responses from each of them.

  Darcy and her entourage came closer. Closer.

  I made myself invisible, then launched forward, tackling the kid, keeping him safe against me as I flipped us through the air and rolled across the ground with him. The moment I scooped Antonio up, my invisibility transferred into him like it had with Grace, and he disappeared with me.

  The Black Dragons all turned and flung knives and other throwing weapons at us, a few of them firing off guns, bullets pinging and clanging all around, knives and stars whipping past, lodging into the side of the building. A throwing star stuck into my arm just above my elbow, but I managed to keep the kid from getting hit.

  Luke and Ryan rose from their hiding positions in the bushes and fired at the gangsters, while Darcy let out a scream of rage and raced for the front of Grace’s apartment building.

  Run, bitch, run. I’m coming for you next.

  I leapt to my feet, and tossed the boy over my shoulder as I raced around the side of the building. After confirming we were safe, the threats all on the other side of the building, I paused and set the kid on his feet.

  I made myself visible again, and the kid reappeared along with me.

  “Estas bien, chico?”

  You okay, kid?

  He stared up at me, wide-eyed. Then he nodded, a grin splitting across his young face. “Eso estuva genial! Cómo hiciste eso?”

  That was cool! How did you do that?

  “Soy un mago. Recuerda?”

  I’m a magician. Remember?

  Antonio nodded vigorously, his eyes bright with excitement. Knowing I now had his trust, I switched to English. “I know you speak English, kid. I overheard Grace talking to the social worker about you.”

  He hesitated, then nodded sheepishly. “Yeah. I like to pretend sometimes.”

  I put my hands on his shoulders and looked him in the eye. He reminded me of myself at that age, what I could remember of it, anyway. Hiding. Pretending. Being scared. “That’s all right,” I assured him. “I do, too. But right now, I need to get you to a safe place, okay? I’m going to hand you over to my friend, and he’ll keep you safe.”

  Antonio’s eyes got even bigger. “What about you?�
��

  “I’ll be fine,” I promised. “I’m going back to take down the bad guys.” I tossed him over my shoulder again and we disappeared.

  I reached the place where Nate and Alissa had been hiding with Grace, only to discover Grace was gone, and Nate and Alissa were alone. My heart slammed into my ribs. Damn that woman! Where the hell was she? Couldn’t she for once just do as I asked?

  I handed Antonio to Nate. “Keep him safe.”

  “Will do.” Nate held my gaze. “Where you going?”

  I glanced back over to where Luke and Ryan had been battling it out with the Black Dragons. The battle was over, the gangsters either dead or dying. Noah and Logan had come out and helped, and the four of them were now pulling the bodies off the sidewalk and into the bushes. There was no sign of Tracker or Jacob, but I imagined they were hiding close by, watching and waiting.

  Darcy had vanished.

  So had Grace.

  Which meant Grace had gone after Darcy on her own.

  Damn her. Was she trying to get herself killed?

  The last time Grace had run into Darcy, Darcy had shot three holes into her.

  A screech of tires behind us had me jerking around in time to see three more vehicles careening into the parking lot and sliding to a halt. Nate snatched Antonio up and raced for his Escalade with Alissa at his heels. I waited until they were all safely inside before turning back to the new arrivals.

  More Black Dragons.

  They piled out of the vehicles like a swarm of army ants.

  Ten of them.

  Fifteen.

  Twenty.

  Shit.

  Noah, Logan, Ryan, and Luke had all slipped away, disappearing into the night.

  Where the hell was Grace?

  She had to be in her apartment.

  With Darcy, most likely.

  “I’m going in after Darcy,” I said into my mic.

  I had to get to Grace before the Black Dragons did.

  Or I had no doubt I would never see her alive again.

  CHAPTER FIFTY-FOUR