Almost.
Before I passed out completely, I found her phone in her pocket. I dialed 911, my jumbled thoughts hoping they’d have the technology to locate us before the blood dripping from… somewhere. It was really annoying, to be honest. It tickled where it was flowing down my ribs.
Darkness was beginning to swallow me whole when the plywood on the window in the other room came back to me. There was something about it, something about the way it was nailed to the window…shit, I knew where I was.
“Denver Street,” I muttered into the phone, hoping I was still coherent. “The old pawn shop on the corner.”
Then I was gone.
Again.
Chapter 25
Joss
I watched him walk out of the prison on the monitors Spencer had set up, my concern for Audra pushed to the backburner as I realized his face was familiar. That’s when I knew. That’s when I understood why Jack Mahoney wanted him out of jail.
“We’ve got to go back to Santa Monica.”
Spencer looked at me like I’d just lost my mind. “What are you talking about?”
“I know where he’s going. I know why he’s the one Jack Mahoney wanted.”
He tilted his head as he studied me. But then he nodded, gesturing to the other agents in the van with us. “Call for the car.”
We drove back in silence, neither of us trusting enough to share our thoughts. But he’d trusted me enough to get into this car and that had to mean something, right?
“Xavier’s mom?”
“Still nothing.”
I nodded, thinking about the poor man we’d left back in Santa Monica. He’d wanted to accompany us to Folsom, but we couldn’t allow it. He had to keep up the appearance, especially while they had Audra. But he needed to have something to do, something to keep him from going insane. I understood that.
“You recognized him?”
I nodded. “His name is James Conway. I never met him personally, but I saw his picture after his arrest. He’s not who everyone thinks he is.”
“Xavier said he ran The Red Door for his father.”
“I doubt it. He was working for Homeland Security when he was arrested.”
Spencer looked sharply at me. “What are you saying?”
“He was an agent for Homeland Security Mahoney had in his pocket. And I think Mahoney got him out because he knows Carrington.”
“Your husband?”
I’d never met Conway, but Carrington had. He told us afterward that Conway was the one who came to him here in Santa Monica, the one who showed him the photographs of illegal guns in cargo containers that had come off his ships. It was Conway who’d threatened to tell McKelty and Aidan, as well as Carrington’s staff that he’d cheated in our marriage. Conway was the reason Carrington had gone to Wyoming, why he’d lied to me, and why he’d been in charge of the men who’d kidnapped Ash for the purpose of destroying him before he destroyed Jack Mahoney.
“He knows Carrington, knows where we live, knows where he works. Jack Mahoney wanted Conway out of prison so that he could kill my husband before he testifies against Mahoney.”
Spencer stared at me for so long I was afraid he was going to run the car off the road. But then he focused on the road, his head slowly moving into a slight nod.
“It makes sense.”
“You know it does. You must have known some of this when you realized who he wanted out of prison.”
“I didn’t. I mean… we knew he was Homeland Security, but we assumed Jack Mahoney had chosen him because of his contacts in the world of terrorism. We thought he was going to arrange for some guy who’d escaped a prison before to come to the states and help plan Mahoney’s escape.”
I shook my head, my thoughts on my family. I leaned forward a little, willing the car to move faster.
“He’s after Carrington. I’d almost guarantee it.”
We were still an hour out when we got the call.
Audra was being rushed to the hospital with a gunshot wound to her chest. She’d made a 911 call from a building less than a block from The Red Door. And she wasn’t the only patient. There were two other women discovered in the same vicinity, one in critical condition.
Could this day get more insane?
Chapter 26
Xavier
We could hear the sirens in the office. I felt Selena stiffen as she bent close to me to watch the security footage on the computer screen. Mitchell had emailed the footage directly from his office at Folsom, the video of Conway collecting his personal belongings and signing out of the prison. The footage was time stamped more than two hours ago.
“He should be on his way to the airport by now,” I informed her.
“Lucky for you everything is going as planned.”
And then the sirens filled the room. Selena moved around the desk and paced to the door, stopping herself before she actually touched the knob. There was fear on her face as she realized the sirens must be close by. They cut off while they were still screaming around the room, somewhere very close.
“Would you like me to go see?”
She didn’t respond. She pulled her cellphone out of her pocket and made a call instead. But it clearly wasn’t answered if her frustrated jabbing at the screen told me anything.
They were close. I knew they were close. And clearly she was concerned those sirens had something to do with her schemes.
Feeling a little cockier than I should have, I got up and brushed past her, headed downstairs to see if I could figure out what was happening. She rushed after me, grabbing my arm as I reached the stairs.
“Go back to the office. You have to wait for his next set of orders.”
A scream sounded downstairs, coming to us from the storeroom behind the dressing rooms. I shook her off of me and went down to investigate. Rahul had one of the girls pinned against the wall, his hand in places it shouldn’t have been. Done being told what I was supposed to do, what I was supposed to ignore, and what should be allowed, I charged across the room. I grabbed that man by the collar and aimed a few satisfying punches to his nose and jaw. I felt his nose break, watched the blood flow as he fell to the ground.
I yanked the gun from his waistband and leaned over him.
“You touch another girl in my club and I’ll do more than break your nose, you fucking prick.”
He actually cowered, sliding away from me on the floor that was growing slick with blood and mucus. I shook my head, disgusted by the sight of him.
Ali came into the room then, the usual cheer gone from his eyes.
“You’d better get outside, Xavier,” he announced.
I turned, having forgotten momentarily about the sirens. Ali shot a glance at Selena and her face paled. I pushed past Ali and headed toward the front of the club. A couple of girls were standing in the doorway, whispering to themselves. They grew quiet as they saw me coming.
“What? What’s going on?”
One of the girls, Edith, gestured down the street. “Karen walks to work down this block. She says they’re pulling people out of a building down there. She recognized Brooke. And Audra.”
I forgot about Rahul. Forgot about Selena. I ran faster than I had done in a very long time, reaching the ambulance just as they closed the doors.
“Wait!”
A cop standing on the corner came over and blocked my view of the vehicle. “You need to let them do their job.”
“I know the woman in there. I need to see her!”
The cop was young, clearly hadn’t been on the job long. He looked me over, then glanced at the EMT. The men nodded to each other and the doors opened. I rushed over expecting to find Audra unconscious but safe on the gurney. Instead, it was my mother, her skin gaunt and clinging to her bones, her face pale and thinner than I’d ever seen it.
“Momma?”
She opened her eyes and, even though she was clearly having trouble focusing, she reached out for me.
“Xavier?”
I collapsed against the ambulance. “It’s me, Momma.” Tears flowed for the first time since I was a small child, flowed freely and unabashedly. She was alive and she was safe. My mother was safe.
It was over. This nightmare was finally over.
Chapter 27
Joss
It felt as though I was constantly standing on the outside, watching my family exist without me. I could see them through the windows, washing the dishes like it was a game rather than the family chore no one ever wanted to do. McKelty was even laughing.
Why didn’t she laugh when she was around me anymore?
“You have beautiful kids,” Spencer said.
“I do.”
We were outside in a surveillance van. I hadn’t wanted to frighten McKelty and Aidan, so I’d elected not to tell them. Spencer was confident we could catch Conway long before he reached the house and I chose to trust him, aware what was at stake if I was wrong. But I had to trust someone.
“How’s your operative?”
I sat back and studied the monitors that were displaying footage from cameras along the back of the house. “She’s out of surgery.”
“I heard Xavier was with her.”
I nodded. “They seem to have a pretty close relationship.”
Spencer handed me a piece of paper. I opened it, glancing at him. “What’s this? Another court order?”
“It’s the arrest warrant my agents served on Rahul Rush this afternoon. He and Case Michaels were taken into custody just three hours ago.”
“Then it’s over?”
“It’s over.”
“Did your men find Mercedes Rodrigues?”
Surprise filled his eyes. “I didn’t know she was lost.”
“She was supposed to have her daughter brought to the states next month, but she disappeared from the club just a few days ago.”
“Yes, because Xavier arranged for her and her daughter to move into a house in San Francisco. You didn’t know this?”
“No. Why would I?”
“It was part of the deal Xavier made with us. He helped us with Mahoney and we located his mother as well as allowed him to fulfill his promises to these girls who worked at the club.”
“What about the three girls found murdered this past year? The ones who worked for him?”
“That was Rahul. If you’ll look at those papers, you’ll see he’s being charged with their murders. It was those disappearance that spurred Xavier to help those women.”
I sighed, relieved. Maybe Audra had found herself a good man after all.
“There,” one of the agents suddenly cried out. “He’s there.”
I turned to look at the monitors. Sure enough, Conway was slipping through the bushes at the back of the house, a gun with a silencer attached in his hands. Spencer gave a signal and, as I watched, three men in dark clothing slipped out of those same bushes and rushed Conway. They had him in cuffs and were walking him out of the yard just as silently as they’d rushed him, my family none the wiser.
“Good call,” Spencer said, patting my shoulder.
I nodded. But I couldn’t help but wonder how long it would be before Mahoney sent someone else after Carrington.
Would this ever be over?
Chapter 28
Audra
I stood at the door and watched, feeling like I was intruding on something deeply personal. But then Xavier looked up and the light that filled his eyes upon seeing me drew me in and made me a part of this private moment.
“Momma, this is Audra.”
The woman in the bed looked up, her golden eyes filled with intelligence and pride, a deep affection making them soft and full in her still somewhat anemic face.
“Audra. It’s such a joy to meet you.”
I crossed the room and touched her hand, surprised to find it warm and filled with a strength her appearance wouldn’t suggest. “It’s nice to finally meet you.”
“Xavier talks of nothing more than how wonderful you are, what a hero you were in saving me that day. I believe I owe you a bottomless supply of gratitude.”
I grew warm, feeling awkward at the praise. “It wasn’t that big of a deal.”
“It was. You were shot trying to get us out of there.”
I touched my chest, the spot just below my shoulder wound that was still raw and healing. “It’s a minor wound.”
“She keeps saying that,” Xavier said to his mother. “I think she’d have to lose a limb to finally admit to being hurt.”
It wasn’t very funny, but I knew he hadn’t meant it to be funny. He was annoyed with me for brushing off the danger of what’d happened to me. That made my heart swell in my chest because it was just more evidence of his affection for me. I could live with that.
“I’m glad you’re okay, Mrs. Damico,” I said to Xavier’s mother. “I heard you’re due to be moved out of here in a few days.”
“They’re putting me in a rehab center where they’re going to teach me to walk again. Being stuck either in that chair or a bed for the past year did a number on my muscles. I don’t even remember most of that time. It didn’t even feel like a year has passed.”
I squeezed her hand lightly. “I’m sorry.”
She shrugged. “Xavier says it’s a good place, close to his house. We’ll see each other often.”
I asked him a while later when he walked me out to my car, “What do you plan to do now?”
He shrugged. “I’ve had a couple of offers on The Red Door. I think I might sell it.”
“And then?”
He slid his arm around my waist. “I thought I’d open a restaurant somewhere close to the beach. Maybe invest in some more real estate, maybe something else. I don’t know. I’ve got nothing but time on my hands now.”
I nodded, wondering what that meant for me. He’d been by my bed when I woke after surgery, but we’d only seen each other fleetingly since then. I was afraid the shooting had frightened him off. Did he not want to see me again? Did I only bring danger to him and his mother?
But then he drew me close to him and dropped a kiss on the top of my head.
“I was thinking about that little house you have out there on the beach. It’s so close to the facility where my mother’s going to be—”
“You mean, she was talking about my house just then?”
“It’s a nice place. Cozier than my condo.”
“Are you suggesting we move in together?”
He shrugged, turning me to face him. “Is it too soon? I mean, we haven’t known each other long, but what we’ve gone through over the last few weeks is more than enough for anyone’s lifetime.”
“True.”
“So you wouldn’t be averse to—”
I reached up and kissed him. “Sometimes that mouth of yours gets you into trouble, Mr. Damico.”
“Does it?”
“You should learn better ways of using it.”
“Oh, I think I can come up with a thing or two…”
SHAW
Prologue
Shaw
This wasn’t the way it was supposed to go. I didn’t know how I got myself here—actually, I did, but it shouldn’t have gone that way—but I was here and it was time to fix my mistakes.
I was an operative for Gray Wolf. That meant there was a certain standard I had to live up to. Joss Matthews set that standard years ago and I wasn’t going to be the first to fail.
I walked down the hall, my back to the wall and gun raised. The silence was eerie, playing tricks with my mind. I was sure one of these doors would open at any moment, men with firepower as impressive as my own flying out at me like zombies in a video game. But the doors remained closed.
Another scream could be heard behind one of the doors. I closed my eyes, forcing my breathing to slow. I knew that voice, knew what was happening behind that door. At least I knew she was still alive.
I pressed my ear to the door to verify and was satisfied when I heard her beg him not to hurt her anymore. I
was surprised to find the door unlocked; this seemed sloppy to me.
My target was on the bed, her body and face completely unrecognizable. But he couldn’t change that voice that had become so familiar to me over the past few weeks.
It was her.
She was sobbing, her body twisting as she tried to protect herself from him. But her hands were tied, one of her ankles shackled to the frame of the bed. He had her tied up like an animal, like she deserved nothing better than cattle at a slaughterhouse. He was looking down at her with glee in his eyes until my small movement alerted him to my presence. He looked up, crazy shining in his eyes.
“Who the fuck are you?”
“Let her go!”
He stared at me for a moment and then began to laugh. “Are you the bitch who was supposed to be protecting her back at that hotel?” He looked me over, his laughter growing. “My guys told me about you. Brave fucking bitch!”
Was it a compliment? Or just a reminder of how badly I’d failed the woman on the bed?
I aimed the gun at the center of his chest, knowing a fresh round of bullets were in the chamber. “Let her go!” I repeated firmly.
His expression turned serious for a moment, and then he suddenly charged at me, swerving around the bed so quickly that I froze for a second. If I’d fired just then, I might have hit him, might have slowed him down. But I hesitated and that gave him the time he needed to cross the room and come too close for the bullet I fired to touch him. It flew over his shoulder, shattering the window behind him. I fired again, but he grabbed the barrel of the gun and used it to shove me back into the wall.
He hit me, open handed, smacking my head back hard enough against the plaster that it broke under the sudden motion, raining dust and debris over my face. My gun useless on the floor, I gripped my hands around his throat, shoving him backward, but he was strong. He pushed back, slamming me against the wall hard enough to knock the air out of my lungs. I raised a knee, just missing his family jewels as he got his cold hands around my throat. We struggled there silently, both trying to choke the other, waiting to see who would be the first to lose consciousness. I tried lifting my knee again, but I was quickly growing weak.
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