Stolen Redemption (Texas SWAT, #2)

by Bristol, Sidney

  “What can I help you with?” Lorenzo returned to his seat behind the desk.

  “Well, I’m thinking about upgrading to a newer house. Starting a family and all that.” Trevor clamped his mouth shut. Too many details was suspect. He knew that. This man didn’t have to know why he’d be fake shopping for a fake family.

  “Then you came to the right place. This area is booming with some great new developments and established neighbor hoods getting upgrades.

  “Where’s good to look right now?” Trevor didn’t know what else he needed to know now that he’d seen who was working.

  Lorenzo launched into a spiel about neighborhoods and all of the things located in the area to attract young families. It was a darn good pitch, except all the business bothered Trevor. He didn’t want to go home to some house on a busy neighborhood street. He didn’t want to listen to the buzz of traffic headed to the mall a block over. None of these were selling points to him.

  Did Dina miss living in the city? He hadn’t asked her exactly where she grew up, but he could guess the area based on the news articles he’d read while she slept. If all of this ended, would she want to go back there? Or had small town living changed her mind?

  Trevor didn’t know, but he wanted to find out.

  Lorenzo busted out a map and a tablet, taking his presentation up a notch. Trevor made the appropriate noises and answered a few questions the other man posed to him. Lorenzo didn’t need a lot of prompting to keep selling, but after about twenty minutes the pace began to slow. Pauses got longer. This guy obviously had access to enough property that Trevor couldn’t hope to locate Phillip or Little Tony by virtue of Lorenzo’s inventory. This guy had to be smart enough to keep his part in their hunt low key and away from customers.

  “That was a lot to think about. Thanks for your time.” Trevor offered Lorenzo his hand.

  “My pleasure. Here, take a business card and let me give you the name of a few lenders if you want to go ahead and get pre-qualified.” He handed over three cards. One of them had Lorenzo’s face plastered on it.

  “I really appreciate this.”

  Trevor pocketed the cards and stood. Disappointment weighed on him. He wasn’t entirely certain what he’d hoped to learn by visiting the office, but he hadn’t got it. There was no way for him to pose questions to Lorenzo while in a potential buyer role either. Maybe if Trevor got the guy to come in and answer questions on the record.

  Who was he kidding?

  The guy had lent known Cosa Nostra foot soldiers a car. He wasn’t going to roll over quite so easy.

  Lorenzo escorted Trevor all the way to the door before waving him off.

  There were still a few other places they could check out. Phillip and Little Tony had to be hiding somewhere while they tried to anticipate Dina’s next move. Trevor just had to out-think them.

  He strode across the lot to where the SUV idled. The locks disengaged, and he opened the door.

  “Christ, I was about to come in there.” Dina slumped in her seat.

  “Why?”

  “You were in there forever.”

  “We got to talking. Here.” He pulled out the business cards. “Recognize this guy?”

  She took Lorenzo’s business card and studied his face.

  “He could be anyone. I mean, he looks Italian. I see a resemblance to a few people, but I don’t know him.”

  “Okay.”

  “I’m sorry.”

  “For what?”

  “That I don’t know him?”

  “I didn’t expect you to.” He reached over and squeezed her hand. “We aren’t going to walk into any of these places and see those two guys sitting where with their evil plan laid out. We have to work the leads, figure out what they’re up to. This stuff takes time.”

  Something he needed to remember.

  “Okay.” She blew out a breath. “Next time I want to be able to see you. I didn’t like not knowing if you were in trouble.”

  “Say that again.” He leaned toward her.

  “Say what?” She frowned.

  “You were worried about me.”

  “Of course I was.”

  “You care about me.” He grinned.

  Dina’s mouth opened and closed. Her pinks tinged a bit pink.

  She wasn’t using him. This thing they had was real, honest. She just needed a little help that was all.

  “I thought that was obvious,” she finally said.

  “My ego likes to hear it. Say it again.”

  Her gaze raked over his face, down his chest then back to his eyes.

  His pulse kicked up, sending blood to his groin.

  She leaned her arm on the center console and ran a nail down his chest before whispering, “I care about what happens to you.”

  God, she was amazing. He wanted to fuck her right there, peal her clothes off and make her scream. But this wasn’t the time or place.

  Later.

  He’d have her all to himself then.

  DINA’S HEART WOULDN’T stop banging on her ribs. It was like the organ was trying to escape her body. If she closed her eyes for more than a moment, the memory of Trevor staring at her sprang to mind. She’d been worried being together would make all those warm moment disappear. The way he’d looked at her wasn’t full of sexual tension, he hadn’t looked at her body, he’d been staring at her eyes. But the warmth in them was what had her seriously thrown for a loop. Those warm fuzzies she’d been enamored with were threatening to suffocate her.

  Trevor’s hand stroked hers as he drove down the highway. Each touch made her insides feel as though they were strung tight and strummed by his fingers.

  Dina had been with enough men to feel the marked differences in how Trevor treated her. She hadn’t been lying hewn she told him she cared about him. Maybe that was silly, but there weren’t a lot of people she knew to give a damn about. He, on the other hand, hailed from a community that reminded her a lot of the Cheers TV show. Everyone knew his name. Everywhere he went he belonged.

  “This is our exit.” Trevor steered them onto the off-ramp.

  “Which place is this?”

  “The convenience store. Alex’s notes say there’s some on-line slot machines in the back that are legal. The guy who owns it is on their radar because he’s a small time loan shark.”

  “What connection do you think he has with Phillip and Tony?”

  “No clue, but he’s close, and it doesn’t hurt to swing by there.”

  His reasoning seemed sound. She didn’t have to like it. Going hunting for trouble was contrary to her nature. She’d survived by scurrying away. Running. Trying to turn the tables left her nervous and uneasy. But she wasn’t alone. Trevor was here with her.

  That was both comforting and another source for concern. He was there to help, but he could also be hurt. It didn’t matter that he was a cop, this was her mess. There were cops who’d died because of her, while keeping her safe, and their blood was on her hands.

  “Here we are.” Trevor pulled into a corner convenience store located on an average looking street corner. “I don’t see any blue cars, do you?”

  “No.”

  “Doesn’t mean they aren’t parked around back or in something else by now. Want a drink or anything? Snack?”

  “I thought we had that barbeque in a bit?”

  “You’re right. No snacks. Drink?”

  “Sure. Something with caffeine.”

  “As you wish.” Trevor tipped an invisible hat her way. “I’ll probably be a few minutes, okay? Hang tight.”

  She leaned against the arm rest and chewed on her thumb nail. He strode toward the front doors and ducked inside. The window advertisements blocked her view of almost everything.

  This going in by himself stuff was bad news. What if Lorenzo called around? What if these guys all knew each other? What if Trevor was walking into a trap?

  He was a cop. He’d been part of a tactical response team for six years. Or was it eight? And he was a
detective. Trevor no doubt had more skill at getting out of a sticky situation than she did. But this wasn’t his world. It was hers, and she’d grown up learning how to survive in it. He didn’t carry himself like a cop, but that didn’t mean he was without a tell.

  She stretched, trying to make herself tall enough to see deeper into the store. No one had gone in or exited since Trevor went through the doors.

  The minutes stretched on.

  This was harder with someone she cared about. When it was just her, she could make snap decisions. She didn’t have to care about another person or hurting them. Right now anything she did—or didn’t do—mattered. And Trevor was taking all the risk.

  It wasn’t right.

  If he was in there talking, or should things have gone bad, she couldn’t stay out here. He didn’t even know what he was looking for.

  She twisted and grabbed a Rangers baseball hat from the backseat. Sweat stains colored the brim, but it didn’t smell too bad. She pulled her hair through the back and pulled the brim low across her face.

  Keep my head down, don’t make eye contact, quick glance around and out.

  Dina turned the SUV off and pocketed the keys. She checked the mirrors, twisted around and scanned as far as she could see.

  No blue cars.

  No Phillip.

  No Little Tony.

  She got out of the vehicle and tucked her chin. There were cameras. There were always cameras. That’s why hats were useful.

  Dina opened the door to the store and slid inside. A wall of cold air hit her. She shivered and ducked to her left, toward the drink coolers.

  “You don’t say?” Trevor’s voice drifted toward her.

  Another man chuckled.

  The musical chime of a slot machine drowned out whatever Trevor was chatting about.

  She wandered toward the back. In the reflection on the glass she could make out four figures. Trevor and the gentleman behind the counter. Two at the machines. There was still the bathroom and whatever employee area only she couldn’t control. What mattered was that Trevor was safe.

  Dina opened a case and grabbed two bottles of Dr Pepper, then glanced over her shoulder.

  The men at the slot machines were a few decades too old to be her former friends.

  Two other pair of eyes were on her.

  Trevor.

  And the man behind the counter.

  Shit.

  She didn’t recognize him, but that didn’t mean anything.

  Dina took her two items to the register.

  “Hey, sweetheart, I said I’d be out in a minute.” Trevor sidled up to her and draped his arm around her shoulders.

  “Will that be it?” The man scanned both drinks.

  “I think so,” Trevor replied.

  He paid for the drinks, never once letting go of her. Despite the cool temperature she began to sweat where her thighs touched and under her arms.

  “Have a nice day, you two,” the man said.

  “Thanks.” Trevor steered her toward the doors. “Keys?”

  She dug them out of her pocket. He traded her the bag of drinks for the keys. She felt eyes on her all the way back to the SUV and even when she got inside.

  “What the hell were you thinking?” Trevor asked the moment the doors shut.

  “You were taking a long time.” She reached up and grasped the brim of the hat.

  “Leave that on. We need to get out of here.” Trevor shifted the vehicle into reverse then gassed it, merging onto the two lane road toward the highway.

  “What happened in there?” She frowned at Trevor. Why was he so upset?

  “I don’t know. Something wasn’t right.” He glanced over his shoulder. “Now that guy got a look at you, my truck and plates.”

  “What did he say?”

  “I asked about the machines, we were talking the upcoming game and then he started this...double talk.”

  “Double talk?”

  “Yeah, where what he said wasn’t what he meant.”

  “What did he say?”

  “Something about odds given the season record, except none of the stats were right. If this guy is some sort of loan shark, he’s going to know what the current stats are. I don’t like it.”

  “Do you want to go back?”

  “We aren’t going back there.”

  Something about the shop had Trevor spooked. Dina wasn’t entirely sorry she’d gone in there. Maybe he hadn’t realized he was in over his head?

  “Where are we going next?” she asked.

  “Home.” His words were harder, colder.

  “What? I thought you said—”

  “Dina, we might have just been blown.”

  “Because I went in there?” Was he blaming this on her?

  “We shouldn’t have gone to two of those places back to back. That was a mistake. We should have gotten someone to come with us. These guys know they’re being watched. Me showing up at both of them looks fishy. Fuck.” Trevor smacked the steering wheel.

  “I didn’t recognize him, but again—that doesn’t mean anything.”

  “He probably has us on camera now.”

  She could hear his unspoken complaint if she’d just stayed in the car...

  Well, Dina wasn’t used to sitting back and doing nothing. They were going to have to figure out a better way to do this together than him going into places blindly with no escape plan. She hadn’t survived this long by winging it.

  PHILLIP SLICED THROUGH the tomato, keeping his cuts even, the pieces uniform.

  He had to figure this shit out.

  Little Tony sat by the back door of Palagio, staring out at nothing. He’d always been a little strange, a bit of a loner, but they’d looked out for each other. Phillip had thought of Little Tony like a brother, but now he was wondering if he knew the guy at all.

  How were they going to figure this out?

  Their only lead on Dina was now a pile of scrap. The Dr. Computer guy might get something off it in days or a week. She’d be gone by then, on to a new life, new name, new everything. Phillip had seen her do this act enough to know that she performed it well.

  Hell, if she was still in the city he’d be surprised.

  They had to get a lead, a clue, something about where she’d gone.

  Tomorrow their first move would be to go back to that little town and ask around. They’d waited outside the house all night without her showing back up, which meant they’d blown it out of the gate. Which more than likely meant they’d spooked her in an unprepared state. If she was running with no preparation, she could be easier to find.

  Phillip might even leave Little Tony behind. He’d shoot her the moment he saw her, and Phillip wanted to get a few answers out of her before they sent her on to the next life.

  Why?

  What did we ever do to you?

  Didn’t you love us?

  “Phillip,” someone called out.

  “Yeah?” He sighed and laid the knife down.

  “Phone.” One of the prep chefs held the receiver for the kitchen phone.

  Who was calling him here?

  He wiped his hands on the apron he’d borrowed and crossed the busy kitchen.

  “Hello?” He crammed the phone between his ear and shoulder, then pulled his cell phone out just to make sure he hadn’t missed a call.

  “Hey, you’re one of those guys down from the city, right?” The raspy voice and cagey phrasing built the picture of an older man, careful, in the know.

  “Yeah,” Phillip said slowly.

  “This might be nothing, but I just had a guy in here. Kind of weird, talking about odds. I heard you’re looking for a girl? Someone’s runaway daughter?”

  “Yeah, that’s her.”

  “Well, a girl came in after the guy and they were together. I don’t have any clear surveillance pictures of her face, but I do have the guy.”

  “Can you text them to me? Email?”

  “I can.”

  Phillip gave the
guy his cell, then watched the screen. A few moments later a dozen images hit his inbox. He swiped through them.

  “I got them. Thanks.” He hung up with the old man and focused on the images.

  The woman could be anyone. He wanted to believe her hands and nose were familiar, but the truth was he hadn’t seen Dina in years. Even during that one close call he’d had with her, she’d been bagged by the FBI before he got a glimpse of her.

  The guy wasn’t familiar either. Tall, average looks, average haircut, jeans, T-shirt.

  Phillip squinted at the background. He could make out three digits on the license plate of the SUV. Did that read exempt? Could that be a clue? Was Dina hiding out with this guy somewhere?

  11.

  DINA HAD PACKED FOR running and hiding, not backyard barbeques. Thank goodness Trevor had stopped off at Target to pick up something to contribute to the evening’s fare. She’d grabbed a sundress with straps—with bonus pockets—and a pair of flip-flops. She was working uphill with these people. She needed to put her best foot forward.

  “Here we are,” Trevor announced.

  He came to a stop outside a single story brick house. The homes along this lane were each unique. Different. These weren’t cookie cutter productions. They had character.

  “My back twinges in remembered pain,” he said.

  “Why?”

  “They just moved into this place...four weeks ago?” He killed the engine. “Jenna was in a duplex, Alex rented a place in Keller. So they bought this place.”

  “How long have they been together?”

  “Oh...six months?”

  “What?” Dina’s head whipped around and she stared at Trevor.

  “Yeah. It’s taking some getting used to.”

  He got out of the SUV, leaving her starting.

  There was a story there. One Trevor wasn’t keen on telling her for some reason.

  He opened her door and offered her a hand.

  “They’ve been together six months, bought a house and are getting married next year. Do I have that right?” she asked.

  “Yup.”

  “You don’t want to talk about it, do you?” She took his hand and slid to her feet on the curb.

  “Jenna’s like my sister, and no one is ever going to be good enough for her.”