“Who did the interrogation?”
“Zach Logan.”
“That makes sense.” While Luke hadn’t had the pleasure of butting heads with Zach Logan, nearly every one of his Dallas associates had come up against the detective at one time or another. And most of them had done some serious jail time as a result. Logan was good, so Mikey’s betrayal came as no surprise.
An inconvenience maybe, but Luke certainly wasn’t caught off guard by it.
“Where’s Mikey now?”
“In custody in Dallas.”
“Can you take care of it, or do I need to call someone over there?”
Lieutenant Beckham shrugged. “I’ve got a few people on the inside. I’ll handle it if you want me to.”
“For an extra fee, right?”
“Consider it a special favor.” While Beckham had forged an alliance with Luke based on financial need, he’d obviously learned the score when it came to business.
It was all about respect. About playing the game by the rules. Greed had its place, but it didn’t override the order of things.
“Do it now,” Luke told the man.
“Consider it done, though it’s a little late. He gave a signed confession.”
“His last one.”
“True, but I still wish we had gotten word when they first picked him up. The timing on this sucks.”
“What’s done is done.” Luke hadn’t worked his way up the mob hierarchy by worrying over the past. He dealt with the present and made the best of every situation. “We just deal with things as they stand.”
“What are you going to do? Thanks to Mikey, a warrant’s going through right now for your arrest. I can try to delay it an hour or so, but that’s all I can do.”
“That’s plenty of time. I’ve got business to take care of at home. The few hours will give me the window I need to tie up some loose ends, then I’ll hop a plane. I’ve been meaning to pay our Brazilian friends a visit. This seems like the ideal time.”
“Why not just leave now? There might be a warrant delay, but that doesn’t mean the Feds won’t get overly anxious and bust in early. They’ve been known to violate procedure before.”
“They won’t if they want this to stick.” And Luke had no doubt that’s what they wanted. He’d been the subject of every federal agent’s wet dream for the past six years since he’d taken his place as J.B.’s right hand. While the authorities knew what he was into, they’d never had any proof. They wanted him bad.
He had no doubt they would wait for the warrant, and by that time his business would be completed.
“What is it at home that’s so urgent?”
“Sebastian Cooper. We’ve got a few matters to discuss.”
“Should I be looking for a body tomorrow?”
“You can look,” Luke said, a grin curling his lips. “But you won’t find one.” His gaze went to the window. He stared out at the front of the Omni Riverwalk. Inside, the fund-raiser for St. Anne’s was in full swing. Luke pulled an envelope from his pocket. “See that Dr. Milner gets this. Give him my blessing.”
“He’ll be very appreciative.”
“Tell him he’ll likely get his chance to show just how much.” Luke had had need of medical attention on more than one occasion from a stray bullet. Of course, that had been in the old days, when he’d had to take the blasted thing out himself.
No more. This was the big time and he made sure to keep a physician on the payroll for just such occasions.
“Logan’s in town,” Beckham told him. “He’s helping the Feds on this.”
While it wasn’t good news, it wasn’t particularly disastrous, either. Luke had long ago stopped fearing the authorities. He stayed above reproach, covering his tracks, playing by the rules like always. And caution was right up there with respect.
“You’ve got maybe two hours,” Beckham told him as he got out of the limo.
“Then I’d better hurry.” Luke rolled the window down and told the driver to head home. “It’s cleanup time.”
* * *
“SILVA KNOWS ABOUT the warrant.”
Dylan glanced up at the young federal agent who’d just walked into the field house where the surveillance headquarters had been set up. The house sat at the apex of The Dominion’s golf course, approximately fifty feet from the fence marking Silva’s property line. While the field house itself didn’t have a good view of Silva’s estate—thanks to the massive fence and large trees—the video cameras that had been set up around the perimeter, complete with infrared to cut through the growing darkness, compensated for the location. A wall of TV screens stared back at Dylan, each depicting a different view of Silva’s home. There were also audio monitors relaying the information picked up from the various bugs planted throughout the house.
“How do you know?” Zach Logan asked as he left the group of Feds he’d been talking to in the far corner and walked over to the agent who’d made the announcement.
“Mikey’s dead,” the agent told him. “Apparently, it was an inside job. Silva’s got connections. One of our people saw him make a quick exit from the St. Anne’s charity thing that’s going on downtown. Word has it, he’s headed here.”
“Exactly where we want him.”
Dylan’s attention shifted to the headset he’d been wearing. He slipped the device on and listened to Sebastian barking orders over the phone to one of his men.
“I’m taking a few days off, but I want a detailed report of all business transactions faxed daily,” he muttered into the phone. “I’ll have Hank pick them up each afternoon so I can keep abreast of what’s going on.” Sebastian had to worry not only about his criminal dealings, but his legitimate ones, as well. The business consulting firm that he headed didn’t seem to be getting along too well in his absence.
Dylan took little pleasure in the knowledge. He was too wired. Too damned worried. He’d been watching the house for the past few hours since he’d walked off the plane with Julie and Zach.
His gaze shifted to the woman who sat several feet away in a folding chair, a cup of black coffee in her hands. She looked so lonely and lost as she stared past him at the video monitor he’d been eyeing just a moment ago, her eyes filled with a worry that he couldn’t begin to understand.
Her child was inside the house with a murderer.
Dylan’s heart flinched at the thought of Sebastian touching Thomas. Then again, maybe he could understand. His feelings for the child, though not his own, ran so deep. Thomas was a part of Julie, one of the best parts, and he loved everything about her.
He barely resisted the urge to walk across the room, pull her into his arms and tell her just that. But this was hardly the time or place.
He wondered yet again if there would ever be a right time and place to pour out his feelings and, when he did, if she would reciprocate. He knew she felt the real thing for him. He’d seen it in her eyes.
But feeling it and acting on it were two different things. She’d made some grave mistakes in her past and he feared her own guilt about that would keep them from their chance at happiness.
Dylan watched as the sleek black limousine pulled up to the security gate. Headlights blazed, flashing once, twice. Slowly, the wrought-iron gate swung open and the car eased past.
“Heads up, people,” one of the other agents monitoring the screen announced. “He’s here.”
“Everybody get ready,” the agent in charge said. “Somebody get on the horn and find out the status of that warrant.”
“We’re still waiting, sir,” a voice announced.
“Waiting? It should have been here hours ago. Tell them we can’t wait. We need it now.”
“What’s going on?” Dylan asked Zach.
Dylan motioned to the screen where Luke exited the car. He whistled a tune as he walked into the house, two beefy bruisers bringing up the rear. “You think he knows the warrant’s been stalled?”
“I’d bet an entire month’s pay,” Zach snapped. “Damn
it. Somebody somewhere needs to speed up.”
“Any time now,” one of the agents announced. “Linda says she’s got the judge’s office on the phone right now. They’re getting it.”
“They should have already got it,” the head agent announced. He leaned down toward a speaker and flipped a button that would send his words to every agent in on the surveillance through a tiny earpiece. “This is command. Put everyone on standby. We’re nearly a go.”
“Come on,” Zach said, tapping the countertop and eyeing the phone where the go-ahead would come through.
“What’s going on?” Julie asked Dylan as she walked up to him. “What’s everybody doing?” She eyed the group of men who were shrugging out of shirts and strapping on black, bulletproof vests.
“We’re getting ready to go in,” one of the men closest to them said.
“Go in?”
“It’s a bust,” Dylan told her.
“Silva is an accessory to kidnapping,” Zach piped in, “not to mention an accessory to murder. Up until this point, we’ve been doing surveillance, trying to gather evidence against him. We’ve got zilch—until now. The charges will be tough to press considering Silva’s got one of the best lawyers in the country, but we can go ahead and pick him up.”
“What about Sebastian and Thomas?”
“They’re not a part of this operation.”
“These are Feds,” Dylan told her. “Zach called them in because of Silva’s involvement, but kidnapping is strictly under local jurisdiction since Sebastian hasn’t crossed state lines with Thomas.”
“But he did. He took him from me in Louisiana.”
“But you live here and so does he. If you lived in Louisiana and he’d nabbed him and brought him here, it would be a different situation.”
“So they’re going in after Silva and Sebastian?”
“No, the Feds are just interested in Silva,” Dylan told her. “The local authorities will follow them in and handle Sebastian once Silva is in custody.”
“All we need now is the warrant,” Zach said.
Julie still seemed stuck on the word bust. “Let me get this straight. They’re going to break in there? Just push their way in?”
“Exactly,” Zach announced. “It’s called a tactical maneuver. The more sudden the bust, the more chaotic it seems, the better. It throws the subject into a sense of panic and he’s unable to think clearly. To react fast enough before we nab him.”
As much as Julie wanted Thomas back in her arms, Zach’s news wasn’t the least bit welcome. The armed men around her weren’t concerned with her child. They were after their own prey. Luke Silva.
“But what if Silva pulls a gun? What if someone fires?”
“We’ll return fire.”
“Not with my son in the house. What if he gets caught in the cross fire?”
“He won’t,” Zach assured her.
“Can you guarantee that?”
“I can guarantee that we’ll be fully aware of his whereabouts when they go in. They’ll make sure he’s in a different room from where the apprehension is made.”
“And how can they do such a thing? What if Silva runs right to Thomas?” A vision of Sebastian holding Thomas as a shield in front of him rushed to her mind. “What if Sebastian uses him?”
“The apprehension will be too quick.”
“You don’t know that for sure. You can’t know it for sure. You don’t even have anyone on the inside. That housekeeper, the female agent—she left over a half hour ago. I saw her. There’s no one inside but Sebastian. And now Silva and his men.”
While Julie hadn’t been paying attention to the other activity in the house, she’d been watching her son. Praying for him. Willing him to be safe and stay strong. While the housekeeper had been there, she’d felt a small degree of comfort. But now...
Her gaze shot to the screen and she watched as Sebastian ducked his head in and looked at Thomas, who’d started to cry. He barked a vicious “Shut up!” before returning to his phone call.
She shook her head. “This cannot happen.”
“We’re trained for this exact situation,” the agent in charge told her as he walked up. He fastened his vest, attaching the Velcro straps one at a time. “We know what we’re doing, ma’am. There’s a low casualty rate in this sort of situation.”
“A low casualty rate?”
“Less than five percent.”
“I don’t care if it’s less than one percent. That’s too much!”
“Now calm down, miss, and step aside,” the head agent told her. “We’ve got work to do.”
“I won’t—” Her words stumbled to a halt as Dylan touched her shoulder, his fingers tightening.
“Calm down,” he said, pulling her off to the side.
“I can’t. A five percent chance,” Julie told him. “That’s too much. What if he gets hurt? What if he gets...” Her voice faded as the possibility echoed through her. Killed.
As if Dylan read her thoughts, he shook his head. “Put that notion completely out of your mind.”
“Why? It’s a possibility. You heard them. They have a five percent casualty rate. My baby has a five percent chance of being a casualty.” She knew she sounded hysterical, but she couldn’t help herself. She’d reached her limit and the tears she’d been holding back spilled over, trailing hot, scalding paths down her cheeks.
“Settle down,” Dylan told her again. “Take a deep breath and try to get a grip.”
“I’ve lost my grip. I’ve lost everything to that man.” She pointed to Sebastian. “He’s taken everything and I let him. He ripped Thomas out of my arms and I couldn’t stop him, and now we’re here and Thomas is in danger and—”
“You’re getting carried away. Listen to me.”
She shook her head. “Don’t tell me they’re trained for this. I don’t care if they’ve done this time and time again. Five percent is too high. What if Thomas is part of that five percent. What if—”
“I’m going in.”
“What?”
“I’m going in first. I’ll sneak in, find Thomas and get him out of the way.”
“But you can’t...” She shook her head. “Absolutely not. You almost got killed a few hours ago, and you were wounded before that.” She touched his bandaged shoulder. “You can’t do this. I won’t let you. It’s too dangerous.”
“It is dangerous,” he murmured, his voice low. People milled about the room, seemingly oblivious to their conversation. Thankfully. “But we don’t have any other choice.”
“Yes, we do. We can talk to him, try to negotiate. He wants me.” The idea stuck in her head and suddenly the answer seemed crystal clear. “We’ll trade. Me for Thomas. Me. I’m the one he wants, not the baby. We’ll trade.”
Disbelief flashed across Dylan’s face, followed by a deep-seated anger that turned his eyes a cobalt blue. “And have him kill you both? It’s not happening.”
“I can’t stand by and let you risk your life for me again. No. Absolutely not. You’ve done so much already. More than anyone would have done.”
“I’m doing this.”
She shook her head again. “I won’t let you.” She swallowed, delivering her final threat. “Zach won’t let you and neither will all of these men.”
“They won’t know.”
“Oh, yes they will.” She turned on her heel to go in search of the detective, but Dylan was much quicker.
One hand snaked around her arm while the other covered her mouth. He pulled her back flush against his chest and whispered in her ear.
“Think about this, Julie. We’re talking about Thomas’s life. This isn’t a game. Something bad is going to happen tonight. I feel it in my gut and I’ve yet to be wrong. I don’t know what it is, but I won’t take the chance that it involves Thomas. I’m getting him out of there. You can try to stop me, but you’ll only be hurting your son. Please. Trust me on this. I’ll get in and out without anyone being the wiser and he’ll be okay. The Feds tapped
into Silva’s alarm system and powered it off. There’s nothing to stop me.”
“Except Sebastian.”
“Maybe. But if I’m quick enough, he won’t know. He’s too self-involved to pay that much attention. Please.”
She nodded. She’d never been one to trust her own instinct, always fearful of being wrong as she had been in the past. But Dylan was different. While she’d ignored her gut feelings, he’d made a living relying on his, and they’d rarely steered him wrong. When she turned and stared into his eyes, saw the worry and the fear, she knew he was right.
Something bad was going to happen, and they had to get Thomas out of there before it did.
“Okay,” she breathed.
He smiled then, a slow tilt to his sensuous mouth, and for a fleeting moment, Julie had the distinct feeling that everything would be all right.
But she’d been distrusting her own instincts far too long to start now, and so the feeling faded as soon as Dylan turned.
“I’ll be back. Just sit tight and keep quiet.”
“Wait—” she began, but he’d already disappeared into the crowd of agents clustered inside the small field house.
Within the next few seconds, she caught sight of him on one of the video monitors as he sprinted toward the fence, careful to keep a low profile.
Not that anyone would have noticed. Julie was the only one watching the very last camera. The others had their attention fixed on the monitor depicting Silva and his men as they progressed through the foyer of the massive house.
They bypassed the library, the front sitting room, a large den, moving closer to Sebastian. To Thomas.
With each step, Julie’s resolve turned to panic and her stomach lurched. They were too close and Dylan wasn’t there. He’d just scaled the wall and started around the back of the house.
Where watching his progress had given her some measure of comfort a few seconds ago, now it filled her with a sense of dread. Dylan was too far away and Silva was too close—
The screens went blank and chaos seemed to erupt as the roomful of agents fixed their attention on the now blank screens.
“What the hell happened?”
Dylan's Destiny Page 13