Worth the Risk (COBRA Securities Book 21)

by Velvet Vaughn

  He needed to go dark, so he destroyed both his personal cell phone and the one he used to communicate with his crew. Both could probably be traced. Fat lot of good the second one did anyway since his people were all getting themselves whacked. He’d need a Ouija board to communicate with them now. He thought about giving Swanny a heads up that he was absconding but decided he’d figure it out on his own. The guy was a detective. If he wanted to find Dodge, he could detect. He didn’t plan on letting Griff know since he’d run and tell the big boss. Besides, he was pretty sure Griff was the one trying to ice him.

  Loading the television in his truck, he opted to drop it off at the fire station as a parting gift to his fellow smoke eaters. He told them he was purchasing a new one instead of tipping them off that he wouldn’t be back. His next stop had been to sell his truck. Except for the new ding in the bumper, it was in excellent condition, and he pocketed a fair price.

  He’d have skedaddled last night, but he needed to clear out his checking and savings accounts. He wasn’t leaving that money for Uncle Sam to pilfer. He’d worked hard to earn that dough with blood and sweat, putting out fires and saving lives.

  It was torture waiting for the bank to open. He’d taken a taxi to a motel to spend the night, paying cash for both. When he flipped on the TV, Swanny’s ugly mug stared back at him. He stumbled backward and dropped to the bed as the reporter broke the news of Swanny’s death and Sherry Prichard’s arrest. Apparently, they tortured one of their fellow cops. What the hell, Swanny?

  He’d clicked the television off and tossed the remote to the dresser. His team was gone. First Reggie and then Buck, and now Swanny had gotten himself killed. That only left Griff, and Dodge didn’t trust him for a second. He hated Swanny’s bitch of a girlfriend. She thought she was better than the rest of them and constantly demanded more money for her time. All she did was slap color on the girls’ faces and curled their hair. She didn’t do any of the hard work. He’d have offed her a long time ago, but she’d proven reliable. Swanny kept her in line. Now she was sitting in jail. She’d flap her gums and nark him out to save her hide, but he might not have to worry about her. She was a cop, and they didn’t do well in prison.

  Time was running out for Dodge. If the big boss didn’t get him, the police would.

  #

  “I’ve got some great news.”

  Cayleigh ended a phone call and took a seat across from Vanessa. Kaiya had assumed breakfast duties, and she was in the process of making whole wheat pancakes. Vanessa liked hers of the buttermilk variety, but she was willing to try something new. She thanked Kaiya when she placed a plate in front of her and grabbed the maple syrup.

  “Todd Morris regained consciousness.”

  Syrup squirted in a thin arc. In her excitement, Vanessa squeezed the bottle too hard. Gage jerked back to avoid the sticky projectile. “Oh, my gosh, that is the best news!” It felt as if a huge weight had lifted from her shoulders.

  Cayleigh chuckled. “That wasn’t the news I was referring to, but I am glad he’s awake, too. I was talking about the fact that Todd conveyed to the police that it wasn’t you who attacked him but two men who broke into the clinic. Coupled with Sherry Prichard’s confession that Erik Swanson and Dean Lodge dug up Reggie Garner’s body and planted it, the police had enough to clear you as a suspect.”

  Vanessa’s entire body slumped forward in relief. If Quinn hadn’t snatched her plate away in the nick of time, she’d have taken a header into the pancakes. “Thank goodness.” She suddenly jerked upright. “The first thing I need to do is see Todd. Then I have to get to the clinic and do damage control.”

  “Vanessa, you aren’t going anywhere.”

  Her head snapped to Quinn. “What do you mean? You heard Cayleigh. I’m a free woman.”

  “Just because the police cleared you doesn’t mean you’re safe. At least two members of the trafficking ring are still out there, not to mention the person in charge. Until we bring them all down, you need to keep a low profile.”

  She knew he was right, but she was so tired of hiding. She couldn’t even get mad. These people were all there to help her. Quinn and Gage had spent hours at the police station giving statements after Detective Russo’s abduction and torture. They hadn’t even slept.

  Quinn’s phone trilled, and he excused himself to answer. Trying not to sulk, she tasted the pancakes. They were delicious and healthier than the ones she usually ate. She didn’t miss the buttermilk at all.

  Quinn returned and took his seat. “That was Tyler. Dean Lodge sold his truck last night. His phone is turned off and untraceable. He hasn’t purchased airline, bus or train tickets under his name.”

  “He could’ve bought another vehicle with cash and bounced,” Gage rationalized.

  Quinn rubbed his chin. “I’m thinking out loud here, but he’s got a fair chunk of change sitting in a bank account. It’s still there as of this morning, according to Tyler. What if he tries to empty it first?”

  “That makes sense,” Kaiya agreed. “I’d want to take it with me if I were skipping town.”

  “So we stake out his bank when it opens,” Cayleigh decided. “I’ll call my people and fill them in now. Human trafficking falls under the FBI’s jurisdiction.”

  “We need the top boss’s name from him first,” Quinn argued. “Once we have that, he’s all yours.”

  Vanessa finally saw the light at the end of the long, dark tunnel. Being cleared of attacking Todd and killing the deputy was a huge first step. Now they needed to round up the other members of the ring, put them behind bars, and she’d be free. She’d worry about Quinn leaving later.

  #

  Quinn tugged the baseball cap lower on his head and adjusted his sunglasses. He’d taken up a position leaning against the side of the building that housed the bank where he could monitor all the people who entered. It’d opened a few minutes ago. He was betting Lodge would want to arrive early.

  The branch was located in the middle of the block in the downtown area. Several people walked by on their way to work or shopping. Gage sprawled on a bench reading a newspaper while Cayleigh pretended to be engaged in an animated conversation on her cell phone. Kilo lounged inside the SUV with the windows cracked. Quinn was worried Lodge might recognize him.

  After the events at the warehouse, it’d been a long night repeatedly answering the same questions. Gage had been sequestered in one interrogation room and he another. Detectives took turns interviewing them, trying to trip up their stories. Quinn related the events from the time Vanessa was captured through Erik Swanson’s death too many times to count. The story was starting to feel like his—as if he’d been with her from the beginning. It seemed like days instead of hours until they’d been allowed to leave.

  “Anything?” he asked through the comms.

  “Not this direction,” Gage responded.

  “Here, either,” Cayleigh echoed.

  Quinn nodded to an older woman who entered the building through the rotating door. A young mother with an unruly toddler approached. She was juggling a diaper bag and bottle while holding on to a little boy’s hand. The tyke desperately wanted to visit the candy store next door and tried his best to rip his mom’s arm from the socket. “No, Tyler,” she scolded. “We’re going to the bank first.”

  Quinn opened the door for her, and she thanked him profusely. Tyler stuck out his tongue at him. Quinn chuckled. He could picture Tyler Redmond acting the same way at that age. Hyped up on sugar and bucking authority.

  A burly man carrying a green duffle bag approached. He also wore a baseball cap and sunglasses. Quinn glanced down at his feet as he pushed through the door. “It’s him,” he told the others. “He shaved his beard.”

  Quinn stashed his sunglasses in a pocket and cut off a man who started to enter the building. Coming up behind Lodge as he waited in line at the member services desk, he shoved his gun in his back. “Make one sound, and I’ll put a bullet in your spine. Lift your hands where I can see them,�
�� he ordered.

  Lodge paused as if he wanted to go for the gun in a holster under his left arm, but he reluctantly complied. “Good boy,” Quinn praised as he reached under his jacket and removed the weapon, handing it to Gage. He jerked one arm behind Lodge’s back and then the other before securing them together with plastic cuffs.

  He lifted his head to see several people staring at them with wide eyes. “Let’s take this outside.” He didn’t want anyone calling the police before they had a chance to question him. Lodge tried to kick back, but Quinn whipped his feet out from under him until he faceplanted to the ground, dislodging his hat and sunglasses.

  “Ouch, that had to hurt,” Gage winced with fake sympathy as he grabbed one of Lodge’s beefy arms. Quinn seized the other, and they hauled him to his feet.

  Lodge’s glower turned to shock. “You!”

  Quinn smiled cheekily. “Yeah, me.”

  “What the hell?” He scowled. “Should’ve known you were a cop when you kept turning up like a bad penny.”

  “Oh, I’m not a cop.”

  “Then you have no right to arrest me.” He raised his voice, alerting bank security to the situation. “This is kidnapping.”

  A guard cautiously approached with one hand on his weapon. “What’s going on here?”

  “This man is a suspect in a child trafficking ring,” Quinn informed him.

  “He’s lying,” Lodge claimed. “I’m a respected firefighter for this fine city. He has no authority to detain me.”

  “You’re correct. He doesn’t. But I do.” Cayleigh stepped in front of them, displaying her badge for all to see. “Agent Copeland, FBI. Dean Lodge, I need you to come with me to answer some questions.”

  “Ask away, Fed. I’ve nothing to hide.”

  “We’ll see about that,” Quinn whispered in his ear. “I have ways to make you sing like a red-headed canary.”

  “You and what army?” Lodge sneered.

  Quinn chuckled, meeting his gaze head-on. “Don’t worry, big guy. I don’t need an army. Just you and me, one on one. Oh, and by the way—the woman you were searching for was with me the entire time, both on the island and in the cabin.”

  “I knew it.”

  “No, you did not,” Quinn scoffed. “You had no idea.”

  Cayleigh rolled her eyes. “Are you done with the pissing contest? Let’s take him in for questioning.” Asserting her authority, she grabbed Lodge’s arm to lead him outside.

  Gage met up with Quinn. “Good job spotting him. He blew right past me. I was looking for a red beard.”

  “I would’ve let him walk by, too, if I hadn’t noticed his boots,” Quinn admitted. “With the cap covering his hair, he was practically impossible to recognize.”

  Taking out his Ray Ban’s, Quinn was just about to slip them on when he caught a flash of sunlight reflecting off something metal on a rooftop across the street. Cayleigh and Lodge were twenty feet ahead of them. “Sniper! Cayleigh, take cover,” he yelled, but it was too late as shots rang out. Blood sprayed as Lodge’s head whipped back before his big body crashed to the ground, taking Cayleigh with him. More blasts sounded. People were screaming and running for safety, but just as quickly as they started, the hail of bullets stopped.

  Gage took off across the street to locate the shooter while Quinn rushed to Cayleigh’s aid. She was flat on the ground with her eyes closed, surrounded by blood. Ah, damn. “Cayleigh, can you hear me? Are you hit?” He checked for bullet wounds.

  She groaned and opened her eyes. “I’m not hit, but my arm might be broken. He weighs a ton.”

  Quinn shoved Lodge’s dead weight aside so Cayleigh could tug her arm from beneath his bulk. Holding out a hand, he helped her stand. She shook out her injured limb.

  “Broken?”

  “No. Just sore. Did you get a look at the perp?”

  “Only the barrel of his rifle. Gage went after him.”

  Her hands clasped her hips as she inspected the area. “How did anyone know we were going to question Lodge today? I didn’t tell a soul.”

  “I don’t think they did know.”

  Her brows raised. “What do you mean?”

  “My guess is that they were looking for an opportunity to clean up loose ends.”

  She nodded slowly. “That makes sense. Dead men can’t talk.”

  “Exactly.”

  Chapter Twenty-Six

  Vanessa checked her email for the first time in days. She hadn’t wanted to log in while she was a suspect in case the police were monitoring it, waiting to track her down. Her knowledge of technology was rudimentary. She thought they might be able to trace her IP address or something. Since she didn’t know for sure, she erred on the side of caution.

  Her inbox was flooded with hundreds of messages. She recognized many names as clients, probably wondering if she was a murderous friend-beater. But the ones that stood out were the latest marked urgent from Derek Newman, the owner of the shelter she used as an underground railroad for the liberated dogs. She clicked on the latest one and scanned the text.

  Vanessa, I’m not sure if you got my other messages. I wanted to let you know that I never believed you were capable of the things the police accused you of, and I’m glad you were cleared. I also need to tell you about the last dog you brought to me, the chihuahua. I haven’t had a chance to move her yet, and now she’s deathly ill. I can’t take her to another vet because they would see the incision where her chip was removed. She’s been throwing up constantly and now won’t eat or get up from her bed. I’m afraid she doesn’t have much longer. Several of the other dogs are now presenting with the same symptoms. If you could stop by as soon as possible, I would sincerely appreciate it. I don’t know what else to do.

  She did. She had to save the dogs. After changing and tying the laces on a pair of tennis shoes she found in the closet, she headed downstairs to find Kaiya, who’d volunteered to stay with her again while Quinn and Gage hunted Lodge. They’d become good friends during their time together. Even when the current situation was over and she went back home, Vanessa knew they’d keep in touch.

  Vanessa found her sitting in one of the recliners working on her laptop. “Kaiya, I need to go to the Safe Haven Shelter immediately. Several of the dogs are seriously ill.”

  Kaiya shook her head and spoke without taking her eyes from her screen. “Until Quinn gives the all-clear, we’re not leaving the house.”

  “Please. The dogs are sick.”

  She finally looked up. “Can’t they call a different vet?”

  “The last dog I rescued before Rocky was chipped. Another vet would question why it was removed. I could be in serious trouble.”

  “I’m sorry, Van. Truly. But I have orders, and they’re to stay put.”

  Vanessa sighed. “Fine. If you don’t mind the deaths of helpless, innocent dogs on your conscience.”

  “Don’t try to shame me,” Kaiya warned. “I’m immune.”

  With an uttered curse, Vanessa spun around and marched to the kitchen. Despite their friendship, she wanted to throttle the other woman right now. There had to be a way for her to go. If she could talk Quinn into letting Kaiya accompany her, then problem solved. Using the landline, she called Quinn’s cell. It kicked over to voicemail. She tried Gage. She’d be able to sweet-talk him, she was sure. Sadly, his phone clicked to voicemail, too.

  She would not let those dogs die. She hadn’t risked her life to save them, just for them to be felled by a virus. Lifting the key to Gage and Kaiya’s rented SUV from a hook, she slipped it in her pocket. Reaching in the fridge, she grabbed a bottle of water and carried it to Kaiya. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.” Guilt assailed her for lying, but desperate times called for drastic measures.

  “Okay. Thanks for the water.”

  Vanessa pretended to head upstairs. Instead, she slipped out the door off the kitchen to the garage. What was the old saying? Something about it being better to ask for forgiveness than permission? The SUV started up with a
n almost silent purr. Good. Now she had to hope the garage door was equally quiet. Pushing the button, she winced as it started to lift. It wasn’t the sound that made her gasp, but the sight of Kaiya standing on the other side with her gun pointed at the windshield.

  “Get out, Vanessa.”

  Vanessa rolled down the window. “How did you get here that fast?”

  “I knew the minute you slipped the keys off the hook.”

  “You saw that?”

  “Yep.”

  Vanessa tried for an affable smile. “We’re friends. You won’t shoot me.”

  Kaiya cocked her head to the side. “You sure about that?”

  “You sure I won’t run you over?” She wouldn’t, but still…

  “Yes.”

  Shifting into drive, she inched forward. “I’m going with or without you, Kaiya. I’m not a prisoner, and you can’t hold me against my will.”

  “Pretty sure I can.”

  With a screech of frustration, she shifted into park and shut off the engine. Jumping out, she slammed the door and stalked towards the other woman. “Give me your phone so I can call Quinn. He’ll tell you it’s fine, and then you’ll feel foolish.”

  Kaiya handed it over. “Good luck with that. He’s a bigger hard-ass than I am.”

  “I’m sorry about this, Kaiya.” Using all the strength in her softball-pitching arm, she chucked the phone across the yard. She knew how essential the phones were to Kaiya and her coworkers.

  “Dammit, Vanessa,” Kaiya growled as she dashed after the cell.

  Vanessa darted back to the SUV and started the engine. She took off down the driveway, slowing as she came to the gate. She gasped when the passenger door whipped open, and Kaiya jumped inside as she was still moving. Man, she was Usain Bolt fast.