Hot Ride

by Kelly Jamieson

  Ryan was surprised to see Josh, sitting in the driver’s seat, window rolled down. He gestured to Ryan with a stiff arm movement.

  “What?” Ryan strolled down the driveway toward the car, eyes sweeping the neighborhood for any signs of the DAs.

  “What the fuck was that?” Josh’s face was red and his hair stuck up all over the place. He slammed a hand on the steering wheel. “Have you lost your fucking mind?”

  Ryan ran his tongue over his teeth as he contemplated his response. “Yeah. Maybe.” He rubbed the back of his neck and looked up at the sky. Only a few stars twinkled in the darkness, the nearly full moon and city lights drowning out most of them. “Sorry.”

  “Sorry! Sorry, my ass! Jesus Christ, Thomas…”

  Ryan sucked in air. “One of the biker’s girlfriends died tonight. All hopped up on sugar. Her boyfriend told her she had a fat ass so she accidentally OD’d.”

  Josh stared at him. “Shit.”

  “Yeah.” Ryan nodded. “I’m going in now.” He turned and walked back toward Sera, standing there watching him. Her hair blew back from her face in the evening breeze, long and silky. In the moonlight her face was a pure, pale oval, her light eyes shining, her mouth full and soft. The helmet dangled from her fingers in front of her, her slender shape in black jeans and leather jacket outlined against the white stucco of the house.

  The ethereal, pure perfection of her beauty made his steps falter. He wanted to stand and look at her forever. He kept going, one foot in front of the other, until he stood in front of her, their bodies almost touching.

  He held her gaze, the glowing crystal blue of her eyes almost eerie in the darkness, emphasized by her sooty lashes. The sound of Josh’s vehicle faded away.

  He bent his head and kissed Sera. Her mouth moved against his, kissing him back. He wanted more. He needed more. He needed her and the comfort she could provide, the uplifting, energy-giving support she gave him without even trying or knowing.

  To hell with Forsythe and him riding his ass about past mistakes. This may be the biggest mistake he’d ever made, but there was no stopping the emotion that surged inside him. With a last lingering touch of his tongue on her lips, he lifted his head. “Come on.”

  He led the way in, Sera following, dropping helmets, keys, purse and leather jackets along the way to the bedroom. Tonight there was no question for either of them about where they were going to sleep.

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  As they waited for the others in the boardroom of the ATF offices, Sera looked at Ryan, seated next to her at the long table. She remembered the first time they’d sat in this room together, him across the table from her, glaring at her, refusing to allow her to participate in the operation.

  Now they were friends. More than friends. Lovers. He believed her. He was the first person in her life who had ever believed in her.

  She could not let that make a difference. Just because he believed in her did not mean he was any different than anyone else when it came to the long term. He wouldn’t be there for her. Once they were done working together she’d never see him again.

  He slanted her a smile that warmed her insides, and then Manny walked in, lazily chewing his gum. He slouched down into a seat. “Hey,” he said.

  Sera smiled back at him. “Hi, Manny.”

  Despite Ryan’s lack of success at getting a confession from Zocco about the murder, a sense of hopeful anticipation filled her. They were about to get permission to move forward on the most important part of her goal so far—getting into the lab. She was filled with confident expectation, the knowledge that she was so close swelling inside her. She’d waited so long for this!

  Ward Tanner from the DEA arrived and greeted her warmly. She’d been making progress and that made him happy despite the money she was spending. Josh arrived soon after, and then Darren Forsythe, and she felt Ryan’s hostility shimmering off him. Darren really pushed his buttons, for some reason. What was that about? Ryan had avoided the whole issue when she’d asked him before, but curiosity spiked inside her. She didn’t like Darren either—he was a self-serving, ass-kissing paper pusher—but she knew how to play him to get what she wanted. She felt confident she’d be able to do that today, as well.

  Everyone settled into their seats and she, Ryan, Manny and Josh updated their superiors on their progress and what their next steps were.

  She already knew Ryan and Manny’s. They had their sights set on guns and murder. Ryan just wanted that last piece—a murder conviction under RICO would allow them to charge the entire group of Death Angels. She knew why it was so important to him.

  And her goal was important too. Dominick Casas was running that lab, which she was sure was backed by Quintano, and she was going to shut that lab down and save countless lives by doing so.

  After that… She drew in a long breath. Quintano was a widespread organization. Maybe she’d move on to something else. It was what she was meant to do.

  She smiled as she lounged in her chair, listening to the others talk.

  Then it was her turn. She updated them on the buys she’d made, how she’d increased the amounts she was buying and “selling” to impress them that she could be a major player. And they’d bought it.

  Now what she had to do was get everyone in on planning the next big step. Because this was going to be huge. They’d move in on the lab, make their arrests and shut it down.

  When she outlined her plan, Darren and Ward exchanged glances.

  Silence fell as Darren leaned back in his chair, hands folded across his doughy belly. He didn’t look at anyone, just shook his head slowly from side to side.

  Sera glanced sideways at Ryan. What was Darren doing? Was he thinking? Ryan frowned.

  “No can do,” Darren finally said. “That’s way too much money, Sera. Not gonna happen.”

  Her eyes widened and she stared at him. “What do you mean? It has to happen!”

  She looked at Ward, trying to message him with her eyes, “Tell him! Tell him this is important!”

  But Ward said nothing.

  She nibbled her bottom lip until she realized the gesture spoke of uncertainty, and carefully composed her features into neutrality.

  “We’re pulling the plug,” Darren continued. “I know you all have more you want to do, but we think we have enough for a number of arrests, indictments, convictions even. This is costing us a fortune and it’s dragged on long enough. The liability risks are insane. We want it done.”

  Sera turned to Ryan and met his eyes. He had straightened in his chair, shoulders square and tight, his face a mask of indifference. But the fire in his eyes told her that he was far from indifferent.

  Ryan turned back to the others at the table.

  “You can’t do that,” he said slowly. “We’re so close to breaking through. They really trust us now, with all kinds of things. They want me to patch in with them!”

  Darren shook his head. Sera stared at him in stunned disbelief.

  “I know that would take a lot longer than we planned,” Ryan continued. “But maybe it’s worth it—”

  “No,” Darren said.

  “Sera heard that one of the DAs committed murder,” Ryan added. “She just didn’t have her recorder going at the time. I can get that.”

  “And I can get into that lab,” she added, leaning forward. “I know I can. It’ll be huge. It’ll be the biggest bust ever. No one has ever been able to infiltrate an illegal drug lab like this.” She looked from one man to the other at the table.

  Ward’s eyes spoke to her, trying to convey a message, and she understood that this wasn’t his decision, but he had to support it. She blew out a long breath and sank back in her chair.

  “We can’t justify spending that kind of money to get in there,” Darren said pompously.

  “You can’t do this,” she said. “Not when we’re so close. You know the Attorney General and the administration of the DEA in Washington are interested in this operation. Don’t you want to be
able to go to them and tell them we did this?”

  Darren and Ward exchanged a glance. Darren’s scowl deepened. He shifted in his chair.

  “Okay, listen,” Darren finally said. “It will take a couple of weeks for us to take this to a grand jury. We need to work on the operation plan for the final raids, and for your raid on the lab in Oakland. In those two weeks, you can continue gathering information, especially any known weapons and narcotics locations so we can write up warrants.”

  Two weeks? She blinked rapidly. Could she do what she wanted to do in two weeks? Could she get to the lab? That was going to be pretty damn rushed. “I don’t know if I can get to the lab in two weeks.”

  “That’s it. Two weeks.”

  She looked at Ryan. Two weeks wasn’t enough for him. It would take months to patch in. His face was drawn into tight lines of restraint. Manny’s hands, clenched in fists, rested on the table.

  But for her…two weeks might be enough. She closed her eyes, tried to control the urge to breathe fast and shallow, adrenaline tingling in her bloodstream.

  Was this the best they could get?

  She surveyed everyone in the room, the firm, implacable expressions on the faces of their superiors, and she knew—yes. This was it.

  Two weeks.

  “Thanks a fucking bunch.”

  Ryan’s harsh tone made Sera blink. Sitting with him and Manny in the restaurant on Figueroa near the ATF offices, she closed her hands around the warmth of the coffee cup she held. Was he talking to her?

  “What?” She eyed him warily.

  His eyes shot sparks at her. Yeah, apparently he was talking to her. “For getting the plug pulled on us. Jesus, Sera, you had to keep asking for money. Now look what’s happened.”

  “You’re blaming me for this?” Her eyes flew wide. “Hey, wait a minute—”

  Manny held up a hand. “We don’t need to blame each other. It’s done.”

  “But—” She stopped at the look on his face, then started again. “It’s not my fault! They were going to end this anyway!”

  Ryan shook his head, his mouth a straight line of grimness.

  “You pushed it,” he muttered, looking down.

  “Dude,” Manny said in a warning tone. “I know you’re frustrated. But they gave us two weeks to wrap up.”

  “Fuck.” Ryan stared down into his coffee while Sera seethed, anger simmering in her.

  He blamed her? She was just as angry and frustrated as he was. Maybe more. How was she supposed to get to the lab in two weeks? She kneaded the crease between her eyebrows.

  “We gotta make the best of it,” Manny said, looking from Sera to Ryan. “And you two have to get along. For two more weeks.”

  That thought sliced through her like a knife blade. Lord, she’d been thinking of the time frame in terms of the op, but the sudden realization that she and Ryan had two more weeks together left her sitting back in stunned silence. She picked up her coffee and sipped the hot brew, almost burning her mouth.

  Ryan glanced at her. Was he thinking the same thing? Probably not.

  And she shouldn’t be either. Hadn’t she already reminded herself that this was nothing? She had no room in her life for any kind of emotional entanglement, didn’t want anyone in her life, didn’t need anyone in her life.

  Right now she had to focus on the job at hand.

  She glanced at her watch. They had just enough time to eat, if their food arrived now, to get back to the one o’clock meeting where they were going to strategize about the plan to take the lab. That was what needed her attention. All her attention.

  The waitress arrived and slid plates onto the table in front of them. Sera picked up her fork and waited until Manny and Ryan had dumped ketchup all over their fries before stabbing a piece of her spinach salad.

  “You know, if you ate better, you wouldn’t have to pop those antacids all the time.” She eyed Ryan’s plate.

  He shot her a disgusted, mind-your-own-business look and picked up his burger. She shrugged.

  “I gather you have ideas for how you want this to go down,” he said after swallowing his first bite.

  “Of course.”

  She could see his skepticism. After all, she was a rookie at this. But she’d given it a lot of thought. Yeah, she needed advice from the experts, but it wasn’t rocket science. She’d been laying the groundwork for weeks now; that had been the most difficult part. She quickly outlined her thoughts about it.

  “I don’t know, Sera.” He lifted eyes full of doubt and apprehension. “Maybe you should just give up on this.”

  Fire flared in her gut. “No! I’m not giving up now! We’re so close…”

  “Timing will be critical. We have to raid the lab at the exact same time search warrants are executed in Clover City, and arrests made.”

  “If it goes wrong, she jeopardizes everything,” Manny said quietly.

  “That’s what I’m saying.”

  “Don’t talk about me like I’m not here,” she hissed out between clenched teeth. She shot Manny a not-you-too look. He lifted his brows.

  “I’m just saying. We need to be careful. We’re this close to being done—let’s not screw up. Remember, they won’t hesitate to kill any one of us if there’s any hint we’re not who they think we are.”

  She nodded slowly. “I know.” It was a good reminder though. She’d become so embedded in the lifestyle, she too was almost coming to think of the DAs as friends. She had to remind herself they were criminals, and despite their numerous displays of loyalty, their first loyalty was to themselves. Individual and gang. “I know.”

  “Sera.” She looked at Ryan, brows raised. “I’m sorry.” He held her gaze, gave her a wry smile. “I shouldn’t have blamed you for them pulling the plug on this.”

  Her insides melted into a thick liquid. She nodded. “Okay.”

  It was hard not to push Zocco. They had two weeks and no date from Casas on when they could see the lab. Sera had to curb her impatience and fight for subtle reminders. She worried that Zocco wasn’t following up, then she worried that he was and they were pushing too hard.

  In the meantime, other details took their attention. They needed to get back inside Vince and Carly’s house. They had to have seen the evidence within the last ten days to use it in a search warrant. It had been weeks since she’d been there drinking lemon drops by the pool, getting a tour of the house and filing information away.

  She’d finally convinced Carly to try to sell her jewelry at the Sunday flea market, so she offered to help by picking her up at home, helping pack up her creations, driving her to the park. She stayed with her for the afternoon, disturbingly pleased at Carly’s sales and the joy in Carly’s eyes at being so successful. At being something. Sera’s heart weighed heavy in her chest at the path Carly had to follow in life, even as she made careful mental notes about the house as she helped her.

  And then, success.

  Dominick wanted them to call him on his cell phone.

  “When can we come?” Ryan asked him, sitting in the kitchen with Sera and Manny.

  “Next weekend.”

  No good. The plan was to execute search warrants on Friday.

  “It has to be before the weekend,” Ryan said, holding Sera’s gaze. “We can do Friday.”

  A pause.

  He watched Sera’s face. She swallowed.

  “Okay,” Dominick said. “Call me when you get into town.”

  When they left the house Tuesday night, it was the last time they would ever be there. Sera almost felt sad as she carried her suitcase out to her car, packed with her belongings. Everyone thought she and Tommy were flying to Oakland for a few days, but the truth was they would never be back. She couldn’t say goodbye to anyone—not even Carly, still hurting over Jessie’s death, still so proud of her jewelry sales.

  Sera was just as sad about the fact that this was the end of her and Ryan living together. They had a couple more nights in a hotel in Oakland, but they’d never co
me back to this house.

  The operation plan had been drawn up. The warrants were being written. A crisis center in the downtown L.A. ATF offices had been set up, manned by representatives from both the ATF and DEA, as well as from the U.S. Attorney’s Office, Customs, and the Los Angeles County Sheriff’s Department. On Saturday, while she and Ryan were in Oakland, search warrants would be executed at over a dozen businesses and residences.

  They each returned to their own home and spent the night there. Sera had never felt so alone as she did sleeping in her bed by herself. The fact that she missed Ryan so much was not a good thing. She had to put that kind of emotional crap out of her head. She’d deal with it all later, when everything was done.

  Wednesday morning they flew to San Francisco from LAX and were met at the airport by Carlos Lopez, supervisor of the drug enforcement group they’d be working with. Ryan rented a car in Tommy Briscoe’s name, and they drove to Carlos’s office where he introduced them to his team. They spent the rest of the day reviewing their intelligence along with their own, and going over the plan for Friday. That night Carlos took them out for dinner, then they checked in at the Hilton near the Oakland airport, even though they hadn’t flown into Oakland. They spent most of Thursday again reviewing the operational plan in great detail.

  Thursday evening, back at the Hilton, Ryan called Casas. “We’re here,” he told him, eyes on Sera. He listened. “Tomorrow. Yeah. Jack London. Okay.” He listened again and his face tightened. She watched him, stomach tight with nerves. “Okay. Sure. Sounds good. See you tomorrow.” He snapped the phone shut. “We’re going to meet at two o’clock. There’s a bar in Jack London Square.”

  “What else?” She looked him in the eye.

  “He says he’ll take one of us to the lab.”

  “One of us.”

  “Yes.”

  She turned that over in her head. “Me.”

  “No.”

  “Yes.” She leaped to her feet and strode across the room toward him. She jabbed a finger into his chest. “Yes, Ryan. Me. This is my mission.”