by Sheila Kell
“I’m all ears.”
She took a deep breath and slowly released it. Just the facts Trent had told her. Get it over with so it’s out of your mind. Surely telling it the third time would ease the turmoil within her.
“I received a tip about a meeting with a boss in Magic Shop. I arrived early and found a good hiding place. There were three of them, but they met too far away for me to hear what was being discussed. Not long into the meeting, the one I suspect was the boss shot the other two men in the chest. One of the guys shot him. I think he’ll need an emergency room. He was bleeding pretty badly.”
“You went to this, this meeting and didn’t call us first. Didn’t take your bodyguard? Did you not listen to what we told you before? You could’ve been killed.” The harsh tone in Detective Phillips’s voice surprised her. He’d always been polite with her.
He was right though. She could’ve been killed. If the boss hadn’t been shot, he might’ve come for her. No, he hadn’t known she’d been there.
“And their pictures are on here? Video of this occurring?” Detective Cooper held up the storage device.
“Yes, but I’m not done with my story.” Surely they heard her thundering heart battering her ribcage. If the loudness of it in her ears was any indication, officers on the next desks over had to hear it.
She relayed her experience with AJ. They appeared very interested in him. Of course they’d be interested. They had another witness. Their frowns deepened when she informed them that he’d held her hostage. She wished they’d ignore that part of her interaction with him. He hadn’t hurt her. That didn’t diminish their interest. Since she doubted he’d come in voluntarily, the detectives would have to work to find him.
They made her walk through the story again, this time more thoroughly and with the video. They froze frames from time to time. One of them let a name slip. Damian Powell was Magic Shop’s chief enforcer.
Detective Cooper gestured to the photo of AJ. “He just let you go?” Disbelief was written all over his face.
She slowly nodded. “He had me drop him off at a corner.” A sudden stab of guilt pressed in her chest.
“Did he say why he let you go?”
She shook her head. “No. He told me to keep quiet about what I saw though.”
The detectives looked at each other again. She and Kevin had that same type of silent communication. Her eyes misted thinking about it.
If Damian wasn’t her brother’s killer he’d probably ordered it since he was more senior than the enforcers. It was a good start to finishing this.
“What else do you need me to do to bring this killer to justice?”
“First, we’ll locate him,” Detective Cooper said.
“Once you have, what will I need to do?” She forced down the remainder of the terrible coffee and looked around for a garbage can.
He held out his hand and took her cup, tossing it into a gray plastic garbage can under his desk. “We’ll go through your statement again so the DA can build the case and bring charges. We have to make sure we have all of our ducks in a row. We wouldn’t want to screw this one up. We need the man who survived, AJ you said his name was, to make this case stronger. Two witnesses are better than one, and he obviously knew what had been discussed at the meeting.”
“Okay, that sounds easy enough. You have my statement and the photos. What about for trial? Will I need to testify?”
Detective Phillips cleared his throat. “We need you to testify but that worries us.”
“I know they’re dangerous, but it needs to be done. Wanton murders have to stop.”
A hand soothingly touched her shoulder and she looked back. Trent had returned with a pinched look on his face.
“It’s your safety we’re worried about. The last people scheduled to testify against someone in Magic Shop disappeared.”
“I’d hate for him to get away. I’ll testify, even if it’s risky.”
He gave a tight, little nod. “Ms. Rogers, are you planning to publish this?”
“Yes. I’ve already submitted my article. It’ll be in the morning edition. It’s too late to pull back. It just won’t have Damian’s name since I didn’t know it at the time.”
Detective Cooper looked at her. “Ms. Rogers, we need to hide you. When you print that article announcing to the world that you’re a witness to this crime, your life will be in serious danger, especially if you printed the killer’s photo. By the look on your face, I’m guessing that you did just that.” He sighed heavily. “Ms. Rogers, you know this group isn’t shy about eliminating threats to them. And now, you are a threat.”
Trent’s hand tightened on her shoulder, but he remained silent allowing her to decide.
“I already have a bodyguard. Isn’t that enough?” Her stomach clenched. She could no longer believe things would work out. They might, but not to her advantage.
“They would get around bodyguards. They wouldn’t care if they took them out to get to you.”
Trent cleared his throat. “We can protect her. She’ll leave for a safe house today.”
She looked up at him. Safe house? Was he out of his dang mind? He’d said he’d hire extra help before. That’s what she’d hold him to.
“While we set things in motion, you’re at risk on the street.” Detective Phillips looked up from his notes, motioning to someone.
“I’ll be safe. I’ll report it to the FBI after I leave here.” She watched them exchange another glance. According to what she’d learned, they’d worked this case for years. The FBI taking over wouldn’t settle well. It wouldn’t with her if another reporter was suddenly assigned to a story she’d worked on that long.
“Ms. Rogers, we’ll take care of that for you. They’re better equipped to protect you for the long term, but since you’re already working with us, we’ll get you set up first. A couple of days in a hotel, then a safe house once we have everything ready.”
Her thoughts raced. They truly thought it serious enough for protective custody. That Trent wouldn’t be enough. In the back of her mind she’d known the truth. She just hadn’t wanted to see it. She hadn’t wanted it to be true. Once they found out what she’d witnessed, her life would be in danger.
“Megan, we can hide you just as well as they can, if not better,” Trent said. “In fact, I’d prefer it.”
“Look here. This is now a police matter, and she needs to go into protective custody,” Detective Cooper countered.
She didn’t need them fighting it out. She couldn’t afford Trent until a trial came and went. It could take months. Her pocketbook wasn’t that deep.
She sagged in defeat. Once she finished with this boss, she’d return and tie things up. She wanted Kevin’s killer, not just the man who’d ordered it.
“What does protective custody entail?”
Detective Phillips explained it to her while his partner excused himself.
“How would I work?” No contact with the outside world was unacceptable. She’d seen it on TV but thought they’d exaggerated things like Hollywood tended to do.
“Ms. Rogers, to keep you safe, no one is to know where you are except those charged with safeguarding you. The FBI will more than likely change your location when they take over so then only the FBI agents assigned to protect you would know where you’re located.”
“I don’t have to tell them where I am. I can do it via phone and email.” She could write without talking with the office. Kristen could set that up. Megan had plenty of small stories that didn’t require her to be out and about.
“I’m sorry but that can’t happen.”
“How long will I stay there?”
“At least until after the trial.”
While not what she preferred, her choice was made. She couldn’t risk it. Protective custody it was. She couldn’t seek her vengeance if she winded up dead. T
hey needed to bring Damian to trial fast before his boss hid his tracks deeper than they already were.
“Thank you for helping me. I’ll go home and get everything squared away.”
Detective Cooper returned. “No. You stay here until we start things in motion with your protection detail to take you to the hotel.”
She shook her head. “My article hasn’t published yet. They don’t know I witnessed it. I’m safe until tomorrow morning.”
After arguing with her for ten minutes they compromised and agreed to give her a few hours to pack and do whatever else she needed before she was whisked away to a safe house as long as policemen accompanied her until then.
“We’ll pick you up in two hours. We won’t push it back any later than that, Ms. Rogers. That’s already longer than we think is safe,” Detective Phillips stated.
“It’s the only way I’ll do it.” No one knew she’d been at the meeting except her co-workers and AJ. She had some time to prepare and tell her parents. Her mother wouldn’t be able to handle it if she up and disappeared like Kevin had.
After they’d reviewed with her what to expect, she trudged home, listening to Trent attempt to talk her out of it.
He disapproved of her trusting the police to protect her. Like AJ, Trent stated there were many dirty cops. It only took one to find out her location and she’d be dead. He pushed for her to come with him. He’d protect her. He mentioned reaching out to a group called H.I.S. for help.
She explained the finances, and he offered to do it for free. She wouldn’t allow him to do that. This could take a long time and he needed to eat.
He refused to leave her side until she left in police custody and stated he wouldn’t give up trying to convince her to stay with him.
Her life was about to change. This was not the way it was supposed to happen. She’d planned to shut down their business and expose the leaders. Instead, they had her hiding from them. Her pulse sped up. They wouldn’t get away with this.
* * * * *
AJ ensured Megan was out of sight before he walked to the apartment he rented. Entering, he yanked off his jacket, turtleneck and body armor. Red-hot pain radiated through his chest as he lifted his arms above his head. It had already colored black and blue. He didn’t believe any ribs were fractured. Even if they were, he couldn’t walk up to the ER. They’d be waiting for him.
He’d never experienced this level of pain, the pressure on his chest and the inability to breathe deeply were taking a toll on him. He couldn’t imagine the pain of actually being shot. His brother Matt knew, but he refused to talk about it.
Now wasn’t the time to think of his brothers. They’d come together and started Hamilton Investigation and Security, Inc. simply called H.I.S. That’s how his oldest brother Jesse met his wife, Kate, AJ’s old FBI partner. Some maniac had attempted to kill her to get back at his brother. Little did the idiot know they didn’t matter to each other. Well, at that time. They did later.
AJ had never seen a couple so much in love with each other. And Jesse’s daughter, Reagan, proudly showed off her new momma.
With the exception of Jesse, the H.I.S. group was out of the country. He and Kate had recently adopted a child she’d fallen in love with. Jason had no idea what he was in for when all of his new uncles returned. It wouldn’t be just the Hamilton brothers. It’d also be the ten men on the team. Maybe it was more than ten now. Jesse had talked about increasing staffing. As usual, he’d tried to recruit AJ. At that time he’d been happy as an FBI agent.
He’d fucked that up.
His brother and sister-in-law sought him out about a month ago. They’d been worried about him. He’d had to lie. It couldn’t be helped. Things had changed from what they had known when they’d found him.
Not locating Jake was destroying him. He’d lost sight of himself which nudged him into a world that ate and sucked at his soul. He was no longer the same man. The happy go lucky AJ, as Kate used to call him, had vanished, and he didn’t know if that man would return.
No matter what the family thought of him, he knew they’d aid him. He just wouldn’t do it. He wouldn’t let them get involved in the mess he’d made of his life. He had to show them he could take care of himself.
If he planned to do that, he’d needed to get moving in order to stay alive. And he definitely wanted to stay alive.
AJ would leave town until things cooled down. He still had some contacts that would assist him. Then he’d return for those fuckers. The Magician was toast. He’d find that bastard if it was the last thing he did. It could be. They’d tried to kill him once already.
Shit. Tensing his muscles in anger only increased the pain across his chest.
Fucking Denzel. All that work to break him out, and he fucked it up. AJ didn’t get why they blamed him and Hank. The least likely people. Sure they’d been the only newbies, but they’d said goodbye at the airport and driven off in different directions.
AJ pulled a bullet from his Kevlar vest. Best decision he’d ever made wearing it today. Devon had been right about it being a life saver.
AJ grabbed his ‘go bag’. A bag already packed to depart quickly such as in cases like this.
His stomach grumbled. He hadn’t eaten since breakfast and needed fuel until he could settle down tonight. He reached for the smoked turkey breast and ate it straight from the package. He wouldn’t be stupid enough to be caught at a drive thru. Magic Shop worked many of them. They sold a ‘heroin in a Kids’ Meal’ special.
He added the remainder of the turkey breast in his bag. It would keep for a while. He fit a few pieces of fruit in it, picked up a banana, peeled it and took a bite.
Leaning his back against the counter, his feet crossed, he ran through everything in his mind. He cringed. No matter what he wanted, he’d have to ask for help. He didn’t have a choice. Magic Shop was too large. They’d turn over every stone to find him.
He’d be living a life on the run until he could rid the world of this scum. He’d stay on the move and live in any seedy hotel he needed to, until the time was right to come back. That would be when he was face-to-face with the man.
Before closing up the bag he added extra clips and boxes of ammo to the bulging black duffel bag. He checked the clip on both his primary and backup weapons. Two handy weapons, well, three counting Hank’s. He might need them all.
At the nightstand, he picked up the forest green lamp and thrust it against the side table. Shards of ceramic covered the carpet. Mixed in was what he needed. He picked up his stash. Five thousand dollars should hold him for a while.
Two phones had already been removed from under a floorboard in the back of the room and were in his pockets. He placed his current cell phone on the kitchen table. Let them track it all they want.
Time to move.
Damn Megan. What could he do about her?
No matter what she’d said, she wouldn’t pass up the story. There was no doubt in his mind they would try to kill her. The crime boss would not sit there while one of his lieutenants was accused of murder.
There was no help for it, he had to go by her house and warn her again. He hoped she remembered what he’d told her of corrupt police officers. She’d foolishly believe they’d want to help her.
Part of his worry vanished. Trent was there. He’d move her to a safe house and protect her.
AJ pulled an encrypted cell phone from his pocket and dialed the familiar number. When it was answered, he said, “I may need your help. They tried to kill me.”
CHAPTER TWELVE
Jeremy met Megan and Trent at the door. After being cleared, she stepped into her home and strode into the living room. She had quite a bit to do. No time for dallying. Phone calls first.
She called Kristen while Trent spoke softly into his phone. Megan updated her on what had happened. Her boss offered to help her close up her home and collect
any other story information she had. The problem was that while her boss believed protective custody was the way to go, Megan didn’t want to lose contact with her.
Kristen assured her the story would be put in a drawer and Victoria would be pulled back just in case. It didn’t matter. Megan wasn’t giving any of it up.
Janet had to forgive her for not contacting the FBI personally. The detectives would take care of it. Megan hoped they didn’t take the case away, but she expected it to happen.
Detective Cooper had assured her that as few people as possible would know where she would located. Knowing he led her protection, she didn’t worry.
They’d recommended she share with her parents and anyone who might report her missing that she’d be gone for a while. She wasn’t to disclose any details. Like her mother would let her get away with just saying, “Hi, Mom. I’m going away for, I don’t know, a long time. I won’t be able to chat but don’t you worry.” Huh.
She checked her watch and thought of Kevin. I’m doing this for you, big brother. Damian will be the first to pay.
She hit speed dial with a heavy heart, wishing she didn’t have to make this phone call.
“Hi, Mom.” She mustered as much happiness in her voice as she could at the moment.
“Hi, honey. What’s going on?”
She wasn’t ready to answer that question. They’d get to it soon enough. “What’ve you been doing?”
“I’m crocheting your sister a scarf. The one she wears is getting ratty.”
That ratty scarf meant something special to her sister. It was the first gift from her husband. She doubted Leann would change it out, even if the new one was from their mother.
“How’s Dad? What’s he been involved in lately?” Megan placed the phone between her ear and shoulder and applied lip balm. It had become a habit with the harsh winds. It had also been something she found calmed her somewhat.
“Oh, your father worked with the police department fingerprinting kids last weekend.” Her dad was active in every organization possible. He worked as the Director of Security at a casino. Most of his buddies were police officers. She’d always wondered why he’d ended up in security instead of becoming a police officer, but had never asked.