by Tee O'Fallon
He and Andi had swung by his place for a change of clothes and to put Saxon up in his kennel. He’d showered, shaved, then grabbed a fresh pair of dark slacks and a navy-blue polo shirt with the state police emblem embroidered on the front.
“You ready?” he said to Andi.
“Not really.” She pushed open the passenger side door and stepped out of the SUV.
She hadn’t wanted to be there, preferring to remain at home to make sure Stray was comfortable, but he’d insisted. There was no way he’d leave her alone again. Short of handcuffing her to him, the only way he managed to get her out of the house was to arrange for Tess to check up on the dog while they were out. But he knew Stray wasn’t the only reason she didn’t want to be here.
Since Myer’s call earlier that morning, she’d begun distancing herself from him. Only once had he caught her eye in the last few hours, and at that moment, he’d understood. They’d made love, then he’d bolted like the chickenshit that he was.
He slammed his own door shut, and when he met her on the sidewalk, she quickly avoided his gaze. It was on the tip of his tongue to tell her how he really felt about her, but he couldn’t. Hell, even he didn’t exactly know. Or if part of him did, his brain still refused to acknowledge it. The sooner they could both get this investigation behind them, the better.
They walked in silence across the cobblestone courtyard to the main doors of the enormous U-shaped building, then through security and to the elevator. When the doors opened on the third floor, he touched the small of her back, intending to direct her to the reception area, but she flinched, and he dropped his hand.
I’m fucking this up. Royally.
“Andi, wait.” He stopped her outside the reception door. Her eyes were filled with uncertainty, and she clasped her arms around her waist as if she were trying to shore up the steadily growing wall between them. Christ, he couldn’t blame her for a second. For the last five years, he’d been doing the same goddamn thing between him and anyone who tried to get close. “After Myer turns himself in and the dust settles, we will talk.”
Her brows furrowed. “About what?” she asked in a flat tone.
“About—”
The reception door opened.
“There you are,” Cox said. “We’ve been waiting for you.”
Nick groaned aloud. Fuck.
When they walked in, a dozen male eyes cast appreciative looks at Andi, particularly the FBI special agent in charge. SAC Dan Wolinski made no attempt to hide his reaction, sweeping his gaze down, then up her body.
The conservative beige linen slacks she wore couldn’t hide the slim curves of her waist or the shapeliness of her legs. Her black sleeveless blouse was loose-fitting but somehow emphasized the gentle mounds of her breasts. With very little makeup and only tiny gold hoops at her ears, she was both beautiful and sexy in a casual, graceful way few women could achieve.
He understood the attraction other men had toward her, but as her lover, he wanted to wipe that sleazy look off the SAC’s face by slamming him headfirst into the nearest wall.
The only man she smiled at was Eric, who came up to them first. “You guys both look like I feel—like crap. Get any sleep last night?”
“Some,” Nick said, noting the flush on Andi’s cheeks.
Their conversation hadn’t gone unheard. Wolinski sent him a sly grin. Nick gritted his teeth. Stomping down the urge to kiss her then and there—branding her as his—was quickly becoming a habit. But this wasn’t the place or the time to start acting on his impulses.
Focus.
“The lab guys should get started on Matteo’s phone dump today,” Cox said. “I’ve asked for geocoding on that photo. If they can give us the date, time, and location where it was taken, it may help us figure out who wound up with it after it was stolen from Myer’s house. I’d like to nail down this guy’s identity before we bring Myer in.”
“Agreed.” Nick nodded. “Once we arrest him, the gangs will want to stay as far as possible from the center of this investigation.”
“Gentlemen.” AUSA Bennett held open one of the inner doors. “And lady.” He tipped his head to Andi. “We’re in Conference Room A. Conference Room B is empty, and Ms. Hardt can wait there.”
Nick escorted her to the other conference room, located in the far wing of the floor. Out of the corner of his eye, he caught SAC Wolinski and his ASAC watching them. Watching Andi, more likely.
Conference Room B was cavernous, with giant floor-to-ceiling concrete pillars in the center. Bookcases crammed with law books lined two walls, while a bank of windows overlooked the courtyard below.
“Want coffee?”
She shook her head, then turned her back to him, staring out the row of horizontal windows. “How long will you be?”
He came to stand behind her, gently rubbing her arms, but she stepped from his reach. “A couple hours.” Maybe more, but he hoped not. When she groaned, he handed her a remote sitting on the long table in between two of the columns. “You can watch TV.”
“Thanks,” she answered, staring at the remote in her hand.
He watched her, feeling totally helpless. Not for the first time in his life, he wished he could turn back the clock for a do-over because, minute by minute, she was shutting him out and it was killing him. What he needed was more time to explain to her all the shit that was cluttering up his mind. Today, there wasn’t a second to spare. Giving her space was the only thing he could do. “I’ll see you later.” Before she could skirt away, he dropped a quick kiss on the top of her head, then left.
Back in Conference Room A, he closed the door behind him and sat at the opposite end of the table from AUSA Bennett.
“Everyone, thank you for coming on such short notice.” Bennett pushed his wire-rimmed glasses higher on his nose then pulled a legal pad from a stack of papers in front of him. “Nick will fill everyone in on what’s happened.”
All sets of eyes turned to him.
“Early this morning,” he began, “Myer returned my call. He’s ready to turn himself in.”
A chorus of murmurs went around the table.
“What changed his mind?” Wolinski crossed his arms over his dark-gray suit jacket. “Last I heard, he was holed up with no indication of showing his face anytime soon.”
He met the older man’s eyes. “I let him know gang members tried to kidnap his ex-girlfriend, most likely at the direction of whoever he was laundering money for. I made it clear they were going to use her to get to him.”
“She’s a hot-looking woman.” Wolinski grinned sleazily again, leaving Nick wondering if the man had any other facial expressions. “If anyone could draw him out of hiding, she could. With a body and a face like hers, she could make a man do just about anything.” He chuckled, but no one laughed with him.
Nick clenched his jaw. Every second he spent in that arrogant little prick’s presence made him want to launch across the table and strangle the man.
Eric alternated between eyeing the FBI SAC with disgust and shooting Nick warning glances not to act on what he was thinking.
“Where is he now?” Bennett asked.
“Canada,” Nick replied.
“Canada?” Wolinski huffed. “How did he get across the border without us knowing? Didn’t anyone notify DHS?”
“We did.” With every word out of this prick’s mouth, Nick was getting more and more irritated. Didn’t this asshole read Cox’s reports? “Somehow he got through a border crossing without getting grabbed.”
“Stuff happens.” Bennett made a few notes on his pad. “We can whine about the holes in our borders all night, but it won’t do us any good today. Luckily, this time it’s irrelevant, since he’s turning himself in.”
“How’d you leave it with him?” Cox asked.
“That we’d call him today at eleven thirty with the logistics.” At that statement, every man looked either at his watch or at the round white clock on the wall over Bennett’s head.
“Nick? Rand
y?” Bennett’s gray brows rose as he looked from Nick to Cox. “How do you want to play this?”
Wolinski slammed his hand down on the table. “I say we get a convoy of marked units, go grab his ass at the border, then haul him to FBI headquarters for interrogation.”
Nick and Eric exchanged knowing looks. So, the FBI can take all the credit. Not that he gave a shit who got the credit. His only goals were to bring Myer in alive then squeeze him dry of every ounce of intel he had on the gunrunning ring and get him to vindicate Andi.
“We could take him directly to a safe house,” Cox supplied.
The SAC’s neck reddened as he glared across the table at Cox. Nick hoped the guy didn’t get demoted for going against his SAC.
“A safe house isn’t a bad idea,” Nick countered. “But we don’t have the luxury of time. We should bring him directly to the courthouse, so we can throw him in front of the grand jury and lock down his testimony before he changes his mind and lawyers up.”
“Or somebody else gets to him,” Eric added.
“I agree.” Bennett nodded. “Let’s not take any risks. I’ll reserve a room outside the grand jury for us to debrief Myer first. I want him to give us all the account numbers and passwords for the tainted bank accounts, along with all related wire transfers, emails…whatever we can use as evidence.”
Eric turned to Nick. “Did he say who he’s working for?”
“Brian Argyle.” He pulled out a folded piece of paper from his pants pocket—the notes he’d made earlier that morning when Myer had called. “Argyle’s company is Argyle Enterprises based in Scotland. That’s where Myer’s been wiring some of the money.”
Cox flipped open his laptop and began typing away. They all waited to see what he could pull up. The man was a whiz with the computer and had access to more government databases than Nick could remember acronyms for.
A few minutes later, he looked up from the laptop. “I can’t find anything on Brian Argyle or Argyle Enterprises.”
“So they’re phony names,” Nick said. “But someone had to open those accounts in person and provide the banks with a name and identification to do it.”
Special Agent Bill Douglas of the IRS jotted something down in his portfolio. “I’ll run these names through our databases. Just in case.”
“I’ll get started on an MLAT with Scotland.” Bennett made a note on his pad. “But that will take a while to work its way through DOJ and then across the pond to our Scottish colleagues.”
Too much time to bother with.
In theory, Mutual Legal Assistance Treaties were great for obtaining information in foreign government databases, but not if you wanted it ASAP. It would be months before the request worked its way through official channels.
Knowing Eric had a police contact in Scotland, he caught his friend’s eye. Eric nodded subtly, acknowledging the unspoken request.
While Bennett stepped out to make arrangements for grand jury time, Nick and the others brainstormed the logistical details of getting Myer in. Before they knew it, it was eleven thirty.
Bennett had returned to the conference room, and Nick punched in Myer’s cell number. He put the call on speaker and set it on the table so everyone else could hear the conversation. The phone rang three times.
“Hello.”
“Joseph Myer,” he began. “This is Sgt. Houston. With me is Assistant United States Attorney Ted Bennett, agents from the FBI, IRS, and ATF. We’re making arrangements to meet you at the border tomorrow and escort you to the federal courthouse in Springfield to testify before the grand jury.”
At first, Myer didn’t respond. He could hear him breathing, so he knew the guy hadn’t hung up. “You with me?”
“I’m with you.”
“Good.” If Myer reneged on the deal, he was fully prepared to cross the border and drag his ass back himself. “Before we go over logistics, we have a few questions about Brian Argyle. His name doesn’t show up in any database, so who is he?”
“I don’t know who he is, and we’ve never met.”
Bennett gave Nick a quizzical look.
“Then how were all the transactions handled?” Nick asked.
“By phone and by wire transfer.”
“What does he sound like over the phone?” Cox asked. “Young? Old? Does he have a Scottish accent?”
“I don’t know. I never spoke with Argyle.”
“Then who have you been dealing with?” Nick frowned at the phone.
“His secretary, Mary. And she does have a Scottish accent.” Myer paused, and Nick heard what sounded like boat horns in the background but couldn’t place them. “I have to go. I’m not sure, but someone might be following me.”
“Wait.” Nick grabbed the phone. “Why did you use Andi’s bank account to wire that hundred grand last month?”
A deep exhale came through the phone. “I never meant to involve her, I swear it. My bank’s system was down that day, and I was desperate. I had to send money out of the country in a hurry, so I copied down her bank information when she wasn’t looking, and my friend at her bank helped me out. She has nothing to do with this. Any of it.”
She’s innocent. Not that Nick doubted it at this point, but hearing it from Myer’s mouth made it more than just his gut impression. Now it was official.
Tomorrow, Myer would be in police custody, but Nick was reluctant to stop peppering him with questions. Something about this scenario sent up all kinds of red flags, not the least of which was that Argyle could be anyone, and they had abso-fucking-lutely nothing to go on to ID the man. But it sounded like Myer was jittery enough as it was. “Can you be at the Thousand Island Bridge border crossing in Alexandria Bay by ten o’clock tomorrow morning? We’ll meet you there.”
Myer hesitated a long moment before speaking. “I have my own terms.”
“What terms?” Even though Myer couldn’t see him, Nick narrowed his eyes.
“First, I’ll meet you at the courthouse. I’ll slip through the border the same way I got in.”
“Fine,” he bit out. He didn’t like that idea, but it wasn’t a deal breaker. They could easily remove the Red Notice and replace it with a border alert so they’d know the second Myer crossed out of Canada. “What else?”
“I’ll only turn myself in if Andi is there.”
“Not happening.” Nick shot to his feet and smacked his hands on either side of his cell phone. “Your actions nearly got her killed once already. I won’t let that happen again.”
“Those are my terms. Take it or leave it.”
“You’re not in a position to make demands,” he shouted. “I’ll put her on the phone with you, but that’s as close as you’ll get to her.” Ever again, if he had his way.
“Then the deal’s off. If I don’t see her in the doorway of that courthouse, I’ll turn around and disappear. Forever.”
“Nick.” Bennett’s face twisted with disapproval.
Struggling for control, Nick fisted his hands on the table. “Stand by,” he said to Myer, then muted the call.
He knew damned well what had crawled up Bennett’s ass. He wanted Nick to agree to Myer’s terms, regardless of the risk to Andi’s life. Selfish bastard. Like most prosecutors, Bennett only wanted the next notch on his belt of convictions, all in the pursuit of a ridiculously high-paying job offer from a prestigious private law firm one day.
“Dammit, Ted.” He shook his head adamantly. “I won’t let this sonofabitch dictate how this goes down, and I will not put Andi in harm’s way again. Even if it means we have to chase Myer down some other way.”
Because now that he’d found Andi, she was too important to him to risk losing.
“What’s your problem, Sergeant?” Wolinski sneered at him.
“My problem”—he gritted his teeth, again struggling not to do bodily harm to Cox’s boss—“is that no one but me seems to care about an innocent woman’s life. They already tried grabbing her as bait once, and if they’d succeeded you know as well as
I do, they’d have killed her the second Myer showed up. Now you want to put her in the line of fire again?”
“We can put more agents on the ground,” Cox offered. “You’ll be there. We’ll all be there to protect her.”
“Maybe,” Eric joined in, “Matt, Kade, Markus, Jaime, or Dayne can lend a hand. Their detail at the Expo started today, but their shifts vary. Some of them may be free tomorrow morning to assist.” Eric’s expression was one of understanding. He was the only man in the room who knew about Nick’s personal relationship with Andi. “We’ll control every aspect of the meet.”
Nick pressed his lips together, glaring at Eric. Not that he didn’t appreciate his friend’s input, but he’d seen plenty of controlled meets go bad. This one was so out of their control, it was a joke to call it that in the first place.
“I don’t have to remind you,” Bennett said in an implacable tone, “as long as you’re assigned to this federal task force, technically you report to me.”
“And to me.” Wolinski shot Nick a smug, cocky look.
“Let’s be clear here.” He flicked a steely gaze from Wolinski to Bennett. “Officially, I don’t work for either of you.” He let out a heavy breath, knowing he was backed into a corner he didn’t like. When the case was over, he was so done with this task force.
“Your concerns are duly noted.” Using his pen, Bennett pointed to Nick’s phone. “Get him here tomorrow.”
He unmuted the call. “Myer. When can you be at the courthouse tomorrow?”
“Noon. And Andi will be there?”
He held back a snarl. “Yes.” He recited the address for the Springfield federal courthouse on State Street.
“Sergeant.” Myer’s voice choked. “If something happens to me, tell Andi… Tell her I love her.”
Swallowing the first response that sprang to his mind—go fuck yourself—Nick reeled in his anger. “You can tell her that yourself.” You sonofabitch.
Even though Myer was looking at substantial jail time, there was no way on this earth Nick would allow him to start something again with Andi. No way he’d ever let Myer touch his woman.
Damn straight, she was his woman. Until that moment, he’d been too thick-headed to see it, but he fucking knew it now.