Wheels of Justice (Fortress Security Book 4)

by Rebecca Deel

  Claire slipped on the lens cover, ignoring the snide comment. “I’m glad to help, Lilah. Give me your email address. I’ll send you the proofs when I have them ready. It might be a couple weeks, though. I’ll have to work on them between other jobs I already have scheduled.”

  “Oh, no problem. Wes and I will be in Hawaii for two weeks anyway.” After rattling off her email address for Claire to save in her phone, she and the rest of the bridal party headed for the buffet.

  Claire gathered her gear and condensed it into two bags, one of which she handed to Zane. “Congratulations on Lilah’s wedding, Mr. Collins. It was beautiful.”

  “What’s your hurry, Ms. Walker? Stay. Enjoy the meal.”

  She closed her bag. “We appreciate the invitation, but we’ll be in the way now. This is a time for family and friends. Besides, Zane and I have dinner reservations with Remy and Lily. We don’t want to be late.” Claire stood and hitched the equipment bag strap over her shoulder.

  Tension built in Zane’s body as he studied the hard lines of Collins’ face. Oh, man. This wasn’t good. He needed Claire out of here, now.

  “Zane,” Josh whispered. “Adam’s clear. We’re on our way back to help.”

  “I’d rather you stay,” Collins said, a cold smile forming on his lips. “In fact, I insist.” He motioned to his remaining bodyguard who shut the doors to the ballroom, then pointed a Sig at Zane. “If you draw attention to yourself in anyway, Ms. Walker, the first bullet will kill your boyfriend. The second will kill you.”

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SIX

  Claire froze. The bruiser bodyguard closed in on Zane, an ugly black gun clenched in his meaty fist. What could she do? She weighed her options, realized she had none. She had no weapons and zero training in close quarters combat. Any wrong move on her part could hinder a plan Zane had for this eventuality. And, yes, she knew he had a plan. A SEAL wouldn’t be caught without one.

  She couldn’t stand with her back to the evil man behind her. Claire would rather face him head on. She also preferred to be closer to Zane than Collins or his henchmen.

  Zane extended his hand. “Come here, sweetheart.”

  With a sidelong glance at Collins, she walked to her boyfriend on shaky legs.

  “Mr. Murphy, I’m disappointed. I thought you would tell her to run and sacrifice yourself for her instead of hiding behind her proverbial skirt.”

  “And watch you shoot her in the back? I don’t think so. What do you want, Collins?”

  “You cost me a very valuable asset. You will take his place.”

  Wait. What? Zane cost Collins an asset? Adam? He must be talking about her brother. Claire fought hard to keep expression blank and stay on her feet. Her legs wanted to give way with relief. The Fortress operatives must have found Adam and rescued him.

  She wrapped her hand around Zane’s, squeezed. Hers trembled. His was rock steady. It appeared that Claire Walker, in-demand photographer, would never be a Fortress operative. That discovery rankled a bit.

  “You have me. Let Claire go. She’s of no use to you.”

  No! An invisible band constricted her heart with icy fingers. Claire refused to let him sacrifice himself for her, and that made her realize she loved Zane Murphy, the kind of love that lasted forever. She didn’t want to lose him when she’d just found him.

  “On the contrary, she’s very useful to me.” Another smile from Collins, this one creepier than the last. “You’ll do exactly as I say to spare your girlfriend’s life.”

  Oh, man. This was the scenario Zane had wanted to avoid, why he planned to leave her in the states. Special Forces personnel were trained to withstand interrogation and torture. She wasn’t. Claire was Zane’s weakness. She hoped he and the other Fortress operatives prepared multiple contingencies because she knew Collins wouldn’t let her or Zane live. Once he learned what he needed from Zane, the heroin king would kill them.

  “What do you want?” Zane demanded.

  Collins’ evil smile widened. “Information. My sources say you know everything in Fortress.”

  A snort from the man at her side. “Your sources are misinformed because I’ve been fired, and Remy and Lily quit. We’re shut out of the loop. Maddox changed all the passwords the minute we were escorted off the Fortress property. I’m locked out.” His voice projected anger and bitterness.

  “Ah, but you haven’t been separated from Fortress long, Mr. Murphy. Unless you want Ms. Walker to suffer, you’ll tell me everything you know about Maddox’s operations, his people, and his methods of operation.” Collins pulled a gun and grabbed Claire’s upper arm. “Come with me. Now.”

  She was thrilled she’d chosen a three-quarter length sleeve. At least Collins wasn’t touching her skin. She glanced at Zane who gave a slight nod, his jaw rock-hard.

  To her surprise, instead of turning toward the lobby, the kingpin took them to the far corner at the front of the room. Collins pressed one of the wood panels which slid open to reveal an elevator call button. She gasped. “You have an elevator in the ballroom? There’s no hint of doors.” In less than a minute, a large wood panel slid open.

  “Good craftsmen were paid a king’s ransom so no one saw the elevator entrance.” Collins waved Zane and his bodyguard into the car, then forced Claire inside, gun pressed tight to her side. If she lived through this night, she’d have a good-sized bruise on her side to match the two she’d covered with makeup.

  “You won’t get away with this,” she said. “People saw us at the wedding and law enforcement will ask questions about our disappearance.”

  “I own the law here, Ms. Walker. They’ll accept a simple explanation. You came, took pictures, then left with your friends. What happens after you leave my estate isn’t my concern.”

  “Where are you taking us?” Zane asked.

  “The basement, of course. It’s perfect for our chat.”

  She frowned, wishing Collins would stop talking. Every word he uttered heightened her terror, no doubt the reaction he wanted. She refused to make this harder for her boyfriend. If there was any way to help Zane, she had to be ready.

  A warm hand clasped hers. Claire glanced at Zane. Unspoken messages were in his eyes. Claire wished she had the ability to read minds. That gift would come in handy.

  He raised her hand to his lips, kissed her knuckles. “I’m sorry, baby. This is on me. I thought you were safe away from home.”

  Hmm. Not a true statement. The Navy SEAL had warned her strongly against coming, insisting she’d be safer at home. Zane wouldn’t spill his guts in an elevator with two criminals listening to every word. She went with her instincts.

  Claire jerked her arm from Collins’ grasp. She leaned down, wrapping her arms around his neck. “None of this is your fault.” Is this what he wanted?

  One of his arms circled her waist. Zane drew her close, urging her head down to his. Her hair swung down and concealed his face from the other men. His free hand hidden by her body, he slid something small and hard into her pants pocket. Zane kissed her gently, then trailed soft kisses across her cheek to her ear. “Stun gun,” he whispered with a breath of sound.

  A chime announced the elevator’s arrival at the basement level. Collins shoved his gun against Claire’s back. “Out.”

  She unwound her arms and followed Collins from the car. In the corridor, he shoved her in front of him.

  “Second door on the right.”

  Claire walked as slow as she dared. She prayed Josh and the others were hearing all this over Zane’s ear piece. She wasn’t a fan of pain, nor did she want Zane to compromise his principles by betraying his boss and the company he loved.

  Another shove from Collins and she stumbled into a room out of her worst nightmares, one in which the scent of blood permeated the concrete walls. The concrete floor had a drain in the center. Chains hung in various places from the ceiling and walls. One cabinet occupied the far corner. She didn’t want to know what was kept in there. No windows in the walls or door. Guess Collins
couldn’t allow his daughter or guests to see this den of horrors.

  “Stop there, Mr. Murphy.”

  Claire turned to see Zane stop his wheelchair inches from the drain. Her gaze locked on his. While positive she projected utter terror to him, her boyfriend sent her a look filled with confidence and something else, something she was afraid to examine too deeply. She wanted Zane to love her as much as she loved him, wanted those emotions to be the something extra in his gaze, but feared she projected her own feelings onto him. His confidence, though, told her he believed in her ability to use that stun gun. She let her gaze drift to the linebacker currently holding a gun on Zane. Her boyfriend would want Carl, leaving her with Collins. Fine with Claire. This was the man who hurt her brother.

  The drug kingpin turned to Zane. “Let’s talk, Mr. Murphy.”

  “About what? I’m out of Fortress. As soon as I left the building, Maddox told the tech geeks to scrub my access to everything.”

  Before Claire could prepare, Collins balled his fist and punched her in the stomach. Breath exploded from her lungs. Hot tears blurred her vision as she dropped to the floor. Liquid tricked down her side. Oh, no. She had a feeling some of the stitches in her side had torn loose.

  Zane had endured this and much, much worse in his years in the military? She couldn’t begin to imagine what he’d suffered mission after mission. Adam, too.

  “Keep your hands off her!” Zane roared. His hands dropped to the chair’s wheels as if preparing to race to her defense.

  Linebacker moved two steps closer to him, ready to intervene or pull the trigger at Collins’ word.

  “Contrary to what you might think, I don’t like hurting women, Mr. Murphy. That was on you.”

  “You want to hurt someone, come after me.”

  “Yes, you would like me to do that, wouldn’t you? You’ve been trained to resist interrogation. No, the way to force you to talk is by using your girlfriend. I watched you with her. You care about Ms. Walker. I think you’ll do anything to prevent her pain.”

  Though Claire tried to blink back the tears, a few spilled down her cheeks anyway. She wiped them away with angry swipes of her hands. Collins enjoyed hurting people. She didn’t want to give him satisfaction in her reaction.

  “Yeah, I care about Claire. What do you want to know? I have plans for her tonight that don’t include you.”

  As if Collins planned to leave them alive. How long would they carry on this game?

  The kingpin’s eyes narrowed. “Capitulating this soon? Would you be trying to trick me, Mr. Murphy? I must warn you that the consequences will be dire for your woman.”

  “Why bother with deception? Maddox fired me. I don’t have any loyalty to Fortress. If it comes down to Claire or Fortress, I’ll choose her every time.”

  Did he mean that? Claire’s heart rate zoomed.

  Collins was silent a moment, then said, “Tell me about the drug shipments your co-workers are contracted to guard.”

  Zane stiffened. “You’re talking about the government shipment?” He sneered. “Too late, Collins. Unless Maddox changed everything, the shipment of germs and viruses was scheduled for tonight.”

  Collins jerked Claire to her feet. “I know about that one. In fact, my men should be reporting a successful mission any moment. No, Mr. Murphy, I’m referring to the DEA shipment of seized drugs.” He stroked the back of one finger down Claire’s bruised cheek.

  Zane scowled, never taking his eyes from the kingpin’s actions. “What do you want to know?”

  “The number of operatives guarding the shipment and the route they’ll take.”

  “Your moles couldn’t tell you that?”

  Collins caught hold of Claire’s hair and twisted. Though it hurt like the devil, she refused to make a sound. He twisted harder. Claire gritted her teeth to lock the sound inside. She welcomed the pain since it brought Collins within reach. Now she waited for Zane’s signal to act. She’d be happy to bring down the snake hurting her.

  “Let her go.”

  “The information about the DEA shipment was under your control. Talk, Mr. Murphy, or I will not be so kind to your woman.”

  Kind? Claire hated to see what he did when he wasn’t being kind. “Zane.” She purposely dragged his name out into a whine, something she would never do. She’d rather eat slugs from her garden.

  His gaze skated to hers. Zane’s lips twitched, then he sobered and gave her a slight nod. Man, she hoped that was her signal. She didn’t want to know what was in Collins’ arsenal of torture.

  “All right,” Zane snapped. His right hand dropped to the frame of his chair. “The last I heard, the drugs were scheduled to be incinerated in Nashville. Two teams are assigned to guard the shipment.”

  “Two teams. How many operatives, Mr. Murphy?” Another yank of Claire’s hair. “Stalling will lead to further injury to the lovely Ms. Walker. Of course, by the time I finish with her, she won’t look this beautiful.”

  Nausea swirled in Claire’s stomach. Don’t barf, she reminded herself. Couldn’t give criminals the satisfaction of scaring her into barfing.

  “I don’t know.” Zane sounded frustrated. “The teams are at the discretion of the leaders. Could be five, could be ten members each. They won’t want to draw attention to themselves by having a huge entourage to escort the drugs.”

  “Why Nashville? That’s a long way from Memphis.”

  “The incinerator in Memphis is down and the DEA wants those drugs off their hands. They said something about needing the room in their vault for a huge drug bust in the next two weeks.”

  “The route?”

  A snort from Zane. “There’s only one fast way to get to Nashville. Down Interstate 40.”

  “Tell me about the next government shipment of viruses. When is it scheduled?”

  The Navy SEAL hesitated. “What do you plan to do with it?”

  “That’s not your concern, Mr. Murphy.” Collins forced Claire across the floor to stand underneath a pair of manacles hanging from the ceiling.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-SEVEN

  Zane’s heart raced. Oh, man. Not good. If Claire was unable to use her hands, she couldn’t use the stun gun on Collins, significantly lowering their chances of escape unscathed. “No, wait!” His gut churned at the ugly possibilities filling his brain. Collins could do a great deal of damage to Claire during the short time Zane dealt with Carl.

  “Two minutes, Z,” Josh whispered urgently over the ear piece. “Hold on.”

  Right. The Fortress operatives had been delayed three times by different sets of security guards. His teammates had been forced into hand-to-hand combat to prevent stray bullets from hitting innocent civilians celebrating Lilah’s marriage. Zane’s priority was Claire and she didn’t have two minutes. He wouldn’t allow Collins to hurt her any more than he already had. Watching that had almost gutted him. He’d rather take the punches any day than sit on the sidelines while the woman he loved was mistreated.

  “I’m waiting, Mr. Murphy.”

  He let his shoulders slump and sank further into his wheelchair, as if defeated, his right hand gripping the edge of a retractable baton. “Middle of July.”

  “There now. That wasn’t so hard.”

  He scowled. “You think I find it easy to betray my country? I swore an oath in the military to defend the United States.”

  “You’re no longer in the military.”

  “Maybe not. I am, however, a U.S. citizen. Whatever you’re planning to do with this government shipment will affect me, Claire, and everyone else we care about.”

  “Never expected melodrama from you, Mr. Murphy. You and your girlfriend won’t have to worry about it.” Collins glanced at the linebacker watching Zane. “Carl, keep a close eye on our friend. If Ms. Walker doesn’t cooperate, shoot Murphy.” He turned to Claire. “Lift your hands toward the ceiling.”

  “You said you wouldn’t hurt her.” What was keeping Josh and the rest? Zane had stalled as long as he could.

/>   Collins smirked. “You shouldn’t believe everything you hear.” With the hand clenching the Smith and Wesson, Collins motioned for Claire to do as he ordered.

  “Now!” Zane whipped out the baton which extended to 26 inches with a flick of his wrist and slammed the weapon against the outside of Carl’s knee. The thug bellowed as he dropped to the ground, clutching his leg. A shot echoed against the bare walls. Claire! Had Collins shot her? Another swing, this time at Carl’s head, and the man was out.

  Zane spun his chair toward Claire and Collins, ready to help her only to find the kingpin on the ground. His gaze raked over her fallen form. “Claire, are you hurt?” He didn’t see blood. Had the shot missed her?

  Though his muscles should have been locked in place by the electric charge, Collins was inching his hand toward his fallen weapon.

  “Move, baby.”

  Claire scrambled back from Collins.

  Zane retracted the baton and grabbed his Sig. “Don’t do it, Collins. Lilah doesn’t deserve to have her wedding day marred by her father’s death.”

  Collins’ hand moved another inch closer to the weapon.

  “You know I won’t miss at this range.”

  The other man finally subsided. He stared at Zane with hatred burning in his gaze. Didn’t bother the SEAL if Collins hated him. The only thing he cared about was Claire’s safety. No doubt in his mind Collins would come after them both for revenge. He had a solution to the problem, but one he preferred not to utilize with his girlfriend as a witness. Zane was a warrior at heart. Though he hated taking another life, death was a necessity of war. He didn’t know if Claire could handle this side of his life. He would monitor Collins and make a return trip to Belize. Even if he lost her, Claire’s safety came first. “You okay, sweetheart?” he asked.

  “Peachy. When can we leave this horrible place?”

  He grinned at the cross answer from his girl. “Right now. Can you walk on your own?” Zane wished he could carry her out of here in his arms.