Rick growled, “You gotta trust Jon. He’s worked with the Feds on this and Krustas has to be handled just right or years of investigation could come crashing down.”
“I don’t give a fuck about some goddamn investigation!” both Jude and Bart yelled at the same time.
“We’re goin’ in,” Rick said, “but not guns blazing. We gotta go slow and careful or we’ll make this a lot worse…for Sabrina.”
At the mention of her name, Jude calmed slightly. At least they’re thinking of her as well. “Why?” he demanded.
“Old man Krustas turned some evidence over to the Feds, clearing his name in front of the public and keeping his legitimate businesses from being dragged down with his nephew’s illegal end of the business. He’s careful to funnel what he does through a lot of channels to keep his name out. The Feds want to catch him but treat him with kid gloves until they can get what they want on the nephew. He’s got no reason to hurt Sabrina right now, so we go in slow and easy.”
Sucking in a deep breath, he looked to the side at Bart, who was doing the same. Before either man could speak, Rick said, “We go in, but trust in Jon. Just like when you were a SEAL. Execute the mission. He knows what he’s talking about.”
Trust? With Sabrina’s life? Digging deep, he pulled upon all of his SEAL training and nodded. “I’m ready,” he acknowledged. “Let’s go.”
* * *
Sabrina continued to strain, attempting to listen to the conversation.
“The money you owe me is legitimate. I will not allow a little shit-stain like yourself to taint what I am trying to do here.”
“What you’re trying to do?” Cecil’s voice rose with each word. “You’re up to your eyeballs in extortion—umph.”
She heard the sound of flesh hitting flesh and could only imagine the next sound was Cecil crumpling to the floor. Clutching her stomach, she willed it not to revolt. She sucked in a deep breath in an attempt to keep from throwing up…or fainting.
“Get him out of here,” Mr. Krustas ordered. “Permanently.”
“No, no…” Cecil’s pleas carried through the listening glass she had pressed to her ear.
“What about the girl?” another man’s voice asked, presumably from the leaner man who had initially met them in the warehouse. Oh God, if they’re going to kill Cecil, why would they keep me alive? She could hear the sound of a chair scraping against the floor and imagined that Mr. Krustas was standing from behind his desk.
Flying across the carpet, she placed the glass back on the credenza with shaking hands, trying to remember its exact location so that no one would be the wiser. Skirting around the desk, she plopped back down into the chair that Frank had last seen her in.
Forcing her breathing to even, she clasped her hands together in an attempt to quell the shaking. The door opened, the parade of men filing into the room. Mr. Krustas, the lean man, and Frank. The other bruiser was not with them, presumedly to cart off Cecil.
She watched warily as Mr. Krustas glided across the carpet and settled into the elegant chair behind the desk. He sat, quietly observing her, saying nothing. Silence reigned for a moment before he spoke.
“You are unusually quiet and composed for a woman.”
Surprised, she cocked her head to the side, asking, “For a woman?”
He chuckled before explaining, “It is my observation that women often do not know when to keep their mouths shut and especially in a trying and confusing situation. I would have not been surprised to find you weeping and begging.”
Terrified, but equally irritated, she replied, “Then you are undoubtedly not associating with the right women.”
Throwing his head back, he roared with laughter as his hand slapped down on the desk. Finally agreeing, he said, “You may be right, Ms. Taggart.” As his mirth slowed, he said, “You have surmised that Mr. Nastelli owed money to me. It was a legitimate loan, I assure you. Nothing untoward, but he is unable to pay and, unfortunately, made an error in judgment that by bringing you to me, I would somehow become involved with his scheme.”
“And that scheme was…” she prompted.
“He was giving you to me and supposedly I was to ransom you back to your grandmother who would pay an exorbitant fee to have you back unharmed.”
Glancing at the unsmiling face of the lean man standing once more to Mr. Krustas’ left, she cocked her head to the side. “I may not know much about criminal activities, but that does not sound like a very viable plan.”
Chuckling again, Mr. Krustas looked up at the man next to him and repeated, “Not a viable plan. I like Ms. Taggart very much. Meeting her is the only thing out of this fucked up situation that has been worthwhile.”
“Glad I could amuse,” she said, anger overriding fear. “May I be so bold as to ask what you are going to do with me?”
He turned his steely gaze back to hers. “Now, my dear. We wait.”
Chapter 12
As soon as Jude reached the opening to the warehouse with Bart, Zane, and Rick, he stopped quickly, seeing a man waiting for them at the entrance. Jon Rudnick. The owner of GAPS and the boss of Rick and Zane. What’s he doing here?
Before he could ask, Jon nodded at the group and said, “Gentlemen. Follow me.”
Jude and Bart shared an incredulous look, before falling into step behind him with Rick and Zane bringing up the rear. Moving to their vehicle first, they quickly suited up. Jude pulled on the Kevlar vest, liking the feel of familiar weight. He and Bart had already armed themselves with what Bart had with him, but quickly added a Glock G41 to his arsenal. As the men readied themselves, they all turned to Jon for instructions, who with a nod led them forward.
Moving tactically, the group separated. Jon, Zane, and Bart circled around toward the left leaving Rick and Jude moving to the right. The warehouse appeared empty at first glance, but it did not take the group long to locate the few employees standing guard.
Creating a diversion, Zane drew the attention of the two men nearest the wooden crates on the side allowing Jon and Bart to subdue them. With the use of zip-ties, they quickly immobilized the men with their hands behind their backs and gags in their mouths.
Jude and Rick came to the guard at the bottom of the stairs, whose attention was diverted to the scuffle from the side of the warehouse. Throwing his arm around the beefy man’s neck, Jude immobilized him as well, tossing him to the ground. With a grin, Jude kneed him in the back, using his zip-ties to subdue him as well.
The five men met at the stairs, Jon nodding to Zane and Rick to stand guard, before jerking his head to Jude and Bart to follow him. Ascending a metal staircase on the side, they entered a modest office. Standing outside of a door across the room was a large man, arms across his chest. Nodding to Jon, he moved to the side after knocking once on the door before opening it.
Jon motioned for Jude to precede him and with a questioning glance, he walked into the next room, immediately noting its elegance compared to the room he just passed through. Then his eyes landed on the woman, sitting stiff-backed in the chair in front of the desk, a second before she threw herself at him.
“Jude!” she screamed, flying into his arms. He easily hoisted her up as she wrapped her body around his. He could feel her body quivering and tried to comfort her with one hand behind her head and the other holding her tightly against his chest.
“Ah, young love. How sweet.”
Jude heard the droll words coming from the man sitting behind the desk. “Someone better tell me what the fuck is going on,” he growled.
“Jon,” Mr. Krustas nodded toward him as he walked in.
“Ivan,” Jon responded in acknowledgment.
Jude turned quickly toward Jon, his eyes demanding an explanation.
Jon walked over as Jude gently set Sabrina on her feet, steadying her with his body. “You okay?”
She nodded before managing to say, “Yes, but—”
Bart stalked over, stopping next to Jude, placing his hand protectively on his
cousin’s shoulder. “Jon? What the fuck is going on?”
“As soon as I heard that Nastelli was bringing her here, I placed a call. Mr. Krustas has been…um…assisting my group and, in turn, the Feds in cleaning up some of his family’s nefarious activities. I simply informed him that a young woman was being brought to him and it would behoove him to make sure she was safe until we could come.”
“And I was more than glad to do so,” Mr. Krustas added.
Sabrina licked her lips nervously. “So…um, you…work for the…um…good guys?”
Jon chuckled as he shook his head. Mr. Krustas actually appeared embarrassed at her question.
“Ah, I wouldn’t exactly put it that way, Ms. Taggart. I admit that Mr. Nastelli did owe me quite a bit of money and I expected to be paid back. With interest,” he added, pinning her with a knowing gaze. Before she could reply, he continued. “But Mr. Rudnick is correct. I have worked with his group. I do not care for human trafficking and working for the…good guys, as you say…has not been a problem. And,” he spread his hands out wide, “if it keeps the authorities out of my business…well…all the better.”
“But…what about Mr. Nastelli? We need to turn him over to the police. He didn’t get my grandmother’s money, but he’s a crook! We need to—”
“He will not bother you anymore,” he assured.
“But, but—”
“He will not bother anyone anymore. His psychic days are over,” Mr. Krustas emphasized, lifting one eyebrow at her. His tone implied that no more questions would be acceptable.
Biting her lip she turned to look at Jude, but saw his hard expression. She then turned to look into Jon’s face, but a quick shake of his head had her quietly leaning back against Jude’s strong embrace.
As they began to file out of the room, she glanced back at Mr. Krustas who had risen from his desk and called out her name.
“It was a pleasure to meet you, Ms. Taggart. I doubt ourn paths will ever cross again, but if you should ever need something—”
“She’ll have me,” Jude interjected, pulling her gently into his embrace.
Nodding, the older man smiled. “As it should be,” he replied just before Frank closed the door.
* * *
Two hours later, the group sat in Arlene’s family room, the men sprawled on her comfortable sofas and chairs. Jude sat with Sabrina in his lap, not wanting to let her out of his arms. Bart fussed over his grandmother, but she insisted that she was fine and wanted to hear all about the events after Sabrina had been taken from her house.
Sabrina described the trip to the warehouse and her fears once they were there. She explained how she listened to the conversation on the other side of the door using the glass. Jon, Zane, and Rick laughed at her ingenuity while Bart, remembering their games as children, rolled his eyes and Jude squeezed her even tighter.
They all sobered as she described what she had heard near the end of the conversation with Cecil. “I don’t know what they planned, but Cecil kept intimating that Krustas would want me for some reason.”
Jon replied, “The other Krustas perhaps, but that was a major blunder of Nastelli. Krustas’ nephew, Sergio, dealt in human trafficking and Nastelli must have thought that if he could get you to them, then your value as a woman would cover his debt.”
“But what I don’t understand is why you didn’t call the police, Jon?” Sabrina prodded.
Taking a deep breath, he said, “There’re things that I can’t tell you, but here’s what I can. Last year, Ivan Krustas learned that one of his nephews was deeply involved in human trafficking and the Feds were looking to bust not only that enterprise, but anything else even closely related to the Krustas empire. Ivan stood to lose everything. He began working with the FBI and the agreement was that he would give up his nephew and all of that sordid affair for a certain amount of leniency as he worked his legitimate businesses.”
Sabrina nodded slowly, “Okay, I get that. But how did Cecil get involved?”
Zane took up the explanation, saying, “About ten years ago, he developed the mystical, psychic angle and used it on some unsuspecting wealthy widows from as far north as New York and all the way down to Florida. We even believe that he worked the mid-west in Chicago and Denver as well. Never staying in one place too long, he learned how to change his identity and cover his tracks.”
“I knew that goddamn fortune-telling, psychic, mumbo-jumbo asshole was a total phony. Christ, I can’t stand preying on innocents by using that voodoo shit,” Bart exclaimed. “If I can’t see it, touch it, feel it, then it’s not real!”
“And Nastelli’s involvement with Ivan?” Jude asked.
Rick said, “As best as we can tell, it simply came down to Nastelli’s luck running out. He got into the Hampton Roads area right after his investments took a hit and borrowed money to get started on his scams here. He figured he would make plenty to pay Ivan back and live a rich life until he needed to score more somewhere else.”
“He didn’t count on anything going wrong, did he?” Sabrina asked.
“Most scammers don’t think they’ll get caught.”
“Jon?” Sabrina said softly, an underlying current of fear running through her voice. “I heard…I mean…Cecil—”
“He’s fine, Sabrina.”
Wide-eyed, she asked, “He didn’t get whacked by Krustas? He’s not swimming with the fishes?” The others chuckled as she blushed. “Well, you know what I mean,” she said.
“No, what you heard was real. They let him think that he was going to get…whacked, as you say. In actuality, the FBI were downstairs and Krustas turned him over to them. It’s all part of Ivan’s attempt to appear legitimate.”
“Oh, thank God. I hated what he did, but…” her words drifted off as Jude gave her a reassuring hug.
Arlene gasped, saying, “And he would have gotten away with it if you all hadn’t been watching out for me.” Dropping her head, she shook her head sadly. “There’s no fool like an old fool.”
Sabrina jumped from Jude’s lap, rushing over to kneel in front of her grandmother. “No, Nonnie. You’re no fool. He was slick. He was smart. He knew what to say to make you hope.”
Arlene looked up, heaving first a sigh and then a deep cleansing breath. “You were right the other day, Sabrina. My John is dead. He can’t reveal anything else to us now, but he gave us a lifetime of lessons to learn from.”
Sabrina kissed her grandmother’s soft cheek before walking back into Jude’s strong embrace.
Jon looked over at Jude, saying, “You did a great job with this investigation. My offer still stands, you know. You want a job with me, you’ve got one.”
Jude noticed Bart’s gaze land on him, an intense expression on his face. Jude smiled as he replied, “Thanks, Jon. That means more to me than you can know, but…well, I’ve decided I need a change in scenery. One not so close to a Naval base. I’m taking Jack up on his offer to work with his company.”
Bart gave a whoop, leaning over to fist-bump Jude. “Welcome to the Saints, bro!”
Jon laughed and added, “Who knows? We may be working together sometime in the future.”
The group settled, each to their own thoughts for a minute before Jude spoke again. “You know, I’ve realized that Nastelli did reveal something to me through all of this.” He noticed the questioning gazes from everyone in the room but focused on the upturned face of the beautiful woman in his arms.
“What did he reveal?” she asked softly.
“That as long as a man has family and friends, then he has all he needs in life. And you, Sabrina,” he said, lifting his hand to cup her silken cheek, “have been my best friend. And now I want you to be my family.”
She gasped just before he placed a sweet kiss on her lips. As he leaned back she began to question him but he interrupted.
“Yeah, babe. I want you to be my wife. Will you marry me?”
With shouts coming from everyone in the room, including Arlene, the two lovers kis
sed. Jude poured his love into this kiss…one of friendship…one of love…one of forever.
Chapter 13
Epilogue
Three months later
Shoving the last box into the large U-haul, Jude looked up toward Sabrina’s apartment building to watch her walk down the steps carrying…another container? Turning to glance back into the packed trailer he said, “Babe, I don’t know where we’re gonna put that!”
Grinning, she replied, “Don’t worry. It’s for our helpers!”
That news sent several men heading her way. Zane and Rick immediately reached her side, the scent of chocolate chip cookies drifting from the plastic tub she held. “Guys, these are for you since you helped us so much getting everything loaded.”
The men dove into the goodies, moaning in gratitude. “Damn, these are good,” Zane enthused.
Jude strolled over, throwing a possessive arm around Sabrina kissing the top of her head. “You once said I was a lucky fuck to have this girl. Now you really know how lucky,” he joked.
The friends stood for a few minutes letting the afternoon breeze cool their bodies before the men checked the trailer once more and securing the back. Loaded with both Jude’s possessions and hers as well, they were ready to leave.
The men offered her cheek kisses and hugs goodbye before moving over to Jude and shaking his hand.
“You’ve got a great girl and a great new job, but don’t forget your old friends,” Zane said, pulling Jude into a man hug.
Rick moved over, offering the same advice. “We’re always here if you need us,” he added.
With goodbyes finally over, Jude assisted Sabrina into his SUV and they pulled out of the parking lot. Hearing her sigh, he glanced over. “You okay, babe? Is it leaving Arlene?”
“No, no. Nonnie was tearful but knew that this was a great opportunity for both of us. And she’ll be fine. It seems like after the Cecil fiasco, she has snapped back into the take-charge woman that we knew before granddad passed away.”
“I hate that for her, but sometimes the best life-lessons come from the hardest things to deal with.”
Hot SEALs: Revealing Love Page 10