“I’m a detective. It’s what I do.”
“But I purposefully didn’t give you our last names. How did you figure out where I work?”
“I’m just that good.”
“I’m two seconds away from hanging up.”
“No sense of humor, huh? Okay. One of the cops in my precinct wanted to start a canine division last year. She asked around and found out your training program was the best. She showed me the website. I thought you looked familiar. I pulled it up again and, lo and behold, there you were.”
Damn, that was good detective work. “Did I provide a dog?” He didn’t recall sending one to Minnesota last year.
“Unfortunately, no. The department wouldn’t approve the expense. Anyway, you took off before we could question you last night. Got something to hide, Mr. Billings?”
As a matter of fact, he did. “I need to put you on hold for a minute.” He punched the button, silencing Russo’s protest and returned to the living room. “Detective Russo tracked us down,” he told Gage.
Gage’s eyes widened. “You’re kidding.”
He shook his head. “Nope. He’s on hold right now.”
“Luca Russo?” Cayleigh asked.
Quinn turned to her. “Yes. You know him?”
“I do. He’s a good cop. I’ve worked with him before, and I can attest to the fact that he’s fair and honest.”
Quinn didn’t pull any punches. “Vanessa’s life is at stake. We can’t afford to put our faith in the wrong person.”
“I wouldn’t stick up for him if I didn’t have complete confidence in his integrity and honor. I trust him. Unequivocally.”
Quinn debated on whether to rely on her instincts. Sawyer did, so that was good enough for him. “I’m going to put him on speaker.” He punched the button. “Russo?”
“I’m losing my patience,” the detective growled.
“I’ve got you on speaker. Two agents from COBRA Securities are with me, including Gage, whom you met last night. Also here is FBI Agent Cayleigh Copeland from the Minneapolis Field Office.” He left out Vanessa for now. “Agent Copeland vouched for you and said we could trust you.”
“You can. What’s going on?”
“I’ll explain it to you, but I need it to be off the record, and you need to keep it to yourself for now.”
“I’m a cop. I don’t know that I can make that promise.”
“I did,” Cayleigh informed him. “I’m off the books.”
There was a beat of silence, then Russo said, “I trust you, too, Agent Copeland, so if you’re on board, I am, too.”
“I was just about to brief her on the situation. If you can meet us right now, I’ll fill you both in at the same time.”
“Give me the location, and I’ll be on my way. Alone,” he added before Quinn could remind him. Quinn rattled off the address.
“I’ll be there in ten.”
Chapter Twenty
Vanessa’s nerves wouldn’t let her sit still. Quinn, Kaiya and Gage trusted the FBI agent, and she seemed nice enough, but there was a small part of Vanessa’s brain that screamed not to trust anyone with a badge. She was accused of killing a deputy. Everyone in law enforcement wanted revenge, and they were out for blood. Hers. Now a detective from the local police department would arrive any minute. What if he was in on the conspiracy? They were banking on the word of a woman none of them knew.
Rocky pawed her leg. She looked down to see him staring up at her adoringly. She smiled at his sweet face. He was slowly gaining weight. Dropping down beside him, she stroked his patchy fur. He rewarded her by crawling into her lap. He was an instant stress reliever.
As they often did, her eyes drifted to Quinn. She barely remembered the ride home from the hospital or him undressing her. It felt like she crashed into a brick wall, and she slept hard. Waking up in his arms had been fantastic. Her cheeks heated. She couldn’t believe she’d been so bold with him, sliding her hand around him until he woke up. The darkness gave her confidence.
She knew he was trying to keep what was happing between them away from Gage and Kaiya. Was it a relationship? She hoped so, but she wasn’t sure how he felt. When the other two agents were around, he was reserved and respectful with her. When they were alone, he was passionate and insatiable.
He glanced over at her and smiled. Vanessa’s breath caught. It felt like all the air had been sucked from the room. There was no doubt left in her mind. She loved him with all her heart.
She barely heard the intercom trill with the ringing in her ears. She was afraid it was from imaginary wedding bells conjured from a fantasy scenario. Rocky licked her face, snapping her from her daydream. “You’re right, Rock. Way too early to be having those kinds of thoughts.”
Quinn returned—she hadn’t even realized he’d left—with a man she assumed was Detective Luca Russo. He was the epitome of tall, dark and handsome, with black hair, light brown eyes, solid jawline and thick lashes she couldn’t achieve with two layers of fake ones. Despite his blatant attractiveness, he exuded authority, and there was a seriousness in his attitude. Could they trust him? At this point, they had no choice. He literally held her life in his hands.
Quinn made introductions, and when they came to her, Russo’s eyes widened in shock. “Now I understand the secrecy. People are searching high and low for you, Ms. Lacroix.”
“I’m innocent,” she insisted.
He studied her with amber eyes that gave nothing away. She couldn’t read him at all. Mental note to never play poker with him. “I’ll reserve judgment. Let’s hear the story.”
They retreated to the living room. Quinn sat beside her on the loveseat while Gage and Kaiya took the couch, leaving the two recliners for Agent Copeland and Detective Russo.
“I’ll have Vanessa start,” Quinn announced. “I’ll pick the story up when I caught up with her, and then Gage will fill you in on what transpired last night.”
Butterflies fluttered in her stomach. She wasn’t afraid of speaking in front of people. She’d given several lectures on veterinary medicine and had been valedictorian of her high school. The reason for the jitters was because she needed these people to believe her. They had the authority to arrest her if not.
Everyone watched her expectantly, so she put on her big girl panties and began. “I, uh, came across a cabin in the woods.” No sense in admitting she was there to commit a crime.
“What were you doing out there? Hiking?” Russo pierced her with his probing gaze. Dang. She was pretty sure it was frowned upon to lie to an officer of the law. “Not exactly.” She glanced at Quinn. He gave her a nod of encouragement. “I’m a veterinarian, and I can’t stand to see animals suffering. I received an anonymous tip about an abused dog on the verge of death. I was there to find him.” And liberate him, she didn’t add.
“I take it Rocky was the neglected dog?” Agent Copeland asked.
“Yes. The tipster didn’t give exact coordinates but rather a general area. When I came across a cabin, I saw an emaciated animal lying in the dirt. He was attached to a very short chain, and it looked like he’d given up. There was no food and barely water in a bowl filled with leaves and grass. I wanted to go to him immediately, but it was broad daylight. Instead, I found a spot to hunker down where I could keep an eye out to see if anyone was around. A short time later, a van arrived with four men. I decided to record them with my phone in case they further abused the dog. I thought I could use it as leverage if they caught me. One of the men crouched down, and I didn’t know what he was doing until he opened a hidden door. All the men disappeared underground without even checking on him.”
As if he knew she was talking about him, Rocky tried to jump onto the loveseat. After the second unsuccessful try, Quinn reached down and lifted him. He settled between them with a gusty sigh.
She picked up where she left off. “I didn’t want the men to see me, so I waited for the cloak of darkness. A few hours later, a sports car pulled up beside the van. The men came o
ut to greet the newcomer, and then they retreated into the bunker. When they came back, they were arguing. The newcomer was furious.”
“Could you tell what they were arguing about?” Detective Russo questioned.
“No, I was too far away. But the man from the sports car took out a gun and shot one of the others in the head.” She swallowed, remembering the horror she felt watching it happen in real time.
Detective Russo lifted a brow. “You recorded all of this?”
“Yes.”
“Where’s the video?”
“I’m getting to that.”
He held up a hand. “Sorry to interrupt.”
She nodded and paused to inhale. “The shooter left in the sports car. The remaining three dug a hole not far from the cabin and buried the dead man. Once they covered him, they went back inside until another van arrived. I started recording again. The three came storming out and shot the driver.”
“You’re saying you witnessed two murders?” Copeland looked astonished. At her nod, the agent said, “Why didn’t you immediately go to the police?”
“She’s getting to that,” Quinn replied for her.
Sheesh, law enforcement types were an impatient bunch.
“Sorry, I’ll shut up,” Copeland remarked.
“What happened next?” Russo prompted.
“They put the dead man in the back of his van, and then two went to the underground bunker. They returned with something stuffed inside a black bag. They tossed it in with the body, and then one of the men drove that van away. Soon after, the other two left in their vehicle. I thought it was safe. I hadn’t seen anyone else around. I hurried to the dog to fre…uh, feed him,” she covered. “As I unhooked the chain from around his neck, I was suddenly blinded by a flashlight.”
“Someone was in the underground bunker,” Russo guessed.
“Yes. He tied me up and took me inside the cabin. He found my cell phone and held a gun to my head until I recited the code to unlock it. He found the videos.”
“You’re lucky he didn’t shoot you on the spot,” Copeland noted, quite unnecessarily thank you very much. Vanessa was well aware of the fact.
“He wanted to, but he told me that he had another use for me. Then he carried me to the bunker. As he toted me down a hallway, I heard voices inside one room we passed. Then he deposited me on a threadbare mattress and chained my ankle to the wall. There were girls in that room, too—all young. I spoke with an eight-year-old named Carla. She didn’t know how long she’d been there, but they fixed her hair, applied makeup and made her stand nude in front of video cameras.” She didn’t realize she was crying until she felt Quinn’s arm around her. He’d picked Rocky up and settled him on his lap so he could move closer and calm her.
“Damn, they’re selling the girls online,” Russo realized.
“We’ve heard rumblings about that around here for a while now,” Copeland informed them. “There was never anything concrete, nor any evidence to go on.”
“Before I could ask Carla more questions, the man returned and injected me with a drug. I was out instantly.”
“This is where I pick up the story,” Quinn said. “First, I’ll give you a quick rundown on why I’m here. Vanessa’s father was my commanding officer in the Army. Vanessa’s assistant called him and told him that she was planning on rescuing the dog and wouldn’t listen to him about the dangers in that part of the woods.”
“Yeah, it’s unsafe with anti-government groups setting up shop around here,” Russo agreed. “Meth labs continually pop up, too. We shut them down, but they just keep coming back like a nasty weed.”
“We came across a couple,” Quinn acknowledged. “Anyway, Vanessa’s father called and asked me to find her, so I brought my dog to track her. Kilo followed her trail to the cabin. I found her backpack, so I knew she’d been there at some point. I spotted security cameras on the front of the cabin, but not the back, so I headed that way. After a thorough examination, I was sure the place was empty, so I climbed in a window to look around. Someone had left a hidden panel on a wall partially open. Behind was an elaborate security system with several monitors. One of the cameras panned to the room where Vanessa was being held. I rewound enough to find the location since I was sure it wasn’t inside the cabin. I was able to zoom in and get the code to the lock. Except for Vanessa, the bunker was empty. I grabbed her and carried her outside.”
“All the girls were gone?” Agent Copeland’s voice faltered.
“Yes.”
They all understood what that meant for the children. It was hard to stomach. Quinn cleared his throat. “Vanessa woke up, and as we were gathering our backpacks to leave, the men returned and spotted us. Rocky caught up with us as we ran through the woods. We came to a lake and found a boat. We used it to escape, but it had a hole in the hull, and we barely made it to a small island before it sank. I brought a tent with me, so we set it up. Early the next morning, three men came looking for Vanessa, though they didn’t admit they were after her. They insisted on checking out my tent, but Kilo wouldn’t let them inside. After walking the island, they gave up and left, but they circled two more times during the time we were stranded there.”
“You said they took your phone, Vanessa, but why didn’t you call for help, Quinn?” Copeland questioned.
“That was my fault.” Vanessa grimaced. “I dropped it in the lake trying to call nine-one-one.”
“If it’s the island I think it is, it’s a popular party spot for high school and college kids,” Detective Russo said. “How did you get off without a boat?”
“I built a raft, paddled to the shore and found another boat.”
“It’s been raining for the last week. It had to be miserable,” Russo sympathized.
“It was,” Quinn agreed. “We borrowed an unoccupied fishing cabin. The men came looking for Vanessa there, too. We left that one and found another with a television. That’s when we discovered Vanessa was wanted for the deputy’s murder, and her assistant had been attacked. Yesterday, we finally came across a bait shop. The owner drove us to our vehicles, where we met up with Gage and Kaiya. They’d come to check on me because I’d been out of touch for so long.”
“My car had been towed,” Vanessa reported.
“Yeah, it’s at our impound lot,” Russo confirmed.
“Vanessa was worried about her assistant,” Quinn continued. “She couldn’t go to the hospital to check on him since she’s wanted, and I couldn’t go since I’d interacted with her pursuers twice. Gage and Kaiya went instead. I’ll let Gage pick the story up from here.”
“He was in bad shape,” Gage began. “The nurse didn’t think he’d make it through the night. We knew Vanessa would want to see him, so Kaiya bought a wig for her to wear, and we brought her to the ICU. As we were leaving, I noticed an orderly who looked out of place.”
“What made you think that?” Agent Copeland queried.
“The way he looked around, all intense and shifty. Then I noticed his mud-caked boots and the bulge beneath his jacket hiding a weapon. Kaiya took Vanessa to the SUV while I returned to Todd’s room. The man was trying to smother him. I stopped him, and security came.” He looked at Russo. “You know the rest.”
The detective nodded.
“Wait, I don’t,” Copeland complained.
“The suspect was restrained in cuffs,” Russo said, “but he managed to grab one of the security guard’s guns and started shooting. We shot back.”
“Suicide by cop,” Copeland surmised.
Russo focused on Vanessa again. “This is quite a story. I’m not saying I don’t believe you, but it would help if we had the videos.”
“I’m well aware of that,” she responded.
“Wait, we left something out,” Kaiya realized. All eyes turned to her. “We think the body found at Vanessa’s clinic is the first murder she witnessed.”
“You’re saying you think Reggie Garner was part of the ring selling the girls?” Detective Russo’s
brows furrowed before he slowly nodded. “I don’t know him well, but it wouldn’t surprise me.”
“It makes sense,” Quinn claimed. “The man was shot in the head, as was Garner. They didn’t find that bullet, but they did the ones in his chest. Why would that slug be missing?”
Detective Russo turned his penetrating glare on Quinn. “How do you know that? We didn’t release that to the press.”
Quinn shrugged unrepentantly. “We have our sources.”
Vanessa didn’t want him or anyone from his company getting in trouble, so she said, “I can tell you for sure if it’s the same man. Do you have a picture of Reggie Garner?”
“Yeah.” Russo punched buttons on his phone and then stood and carried it to her.
She took it from his hand. “That’s him.”
Russo retrieved his phone and scrolled to another picture. “Do you recognize him?”
She peered at the screen, her eyes widening. “Yes. He’s the one who abducted me.”
“That’s Buck Stanley. He’s the man we shot last night. He was a corrections officer at the penitentiary.”
“Two people in law enforcement,” Agent Copeland noted. “That’s interesting. We need to see if we can connect them to each other.”
“Before we do anything else, we need to check out the cabin,” Russo decided.
“I agree,” Copeland echoed.
“I’ll take you there, but only you two,” Quinn insisted. “No one else is involved until we clear Vanessa’s name.”
Chapter Twenty-One
Detective Russo left to change into clothes more suitable for hiking while Agent Copeland retreated to her car to grab the bag she packed when she left her house. She was currently changing in the bathroom.
Gage dropped into a chair beside Quinn as he tied the laces on his boots. “I feel like they believe us.”
Quinn nodded. At one time, he’d have said he was good at reading people. That was before one of his employees helped attack the compound, and his confidence took a major hit. Still, he liked both Cayleigh and Luca, and he agreed with Gage’s assessment. “Showing them the cabin and bunker will help, too.” The sooner they made that happen, the sooner Vanessa would be cleared, but she wouldn’t be safe until they took down the entire ring. Whoever was in charge would be gunning for her since she was the force behind destroying their operations. Quinn’s jaw clenched. He wouldn’t let anyone harm her.
Worth the Risk (COBRA Securities Book 21) Page 16