Dangerous Victor: (Soldiering On #3)

by Aislinn Kearns

  “But think what a reward you’ll get if he wants to go ahead.”

  The room was silent for a long moment. Then, Diego leaned forward and grabbed her arm. His fingers dug in roughly as he dragged her off the bed and to her feet. She shivered as her bare legs were exposed to the cool air and hot gazes of the men. All she wore was a t-shirt she’d stolen from Zack’s duffel and her panties.

  “Hey!” Zack said, his weapon tracking Diego’s slow steps back across the room.

  Diego aimed his gun in Zack’s direction and pulled Radha in front of him. He locked his arm around her neck, keeping her in front of him as a shield.

  “Don’t try it, or I’ll kill you both without blinking an eye.”

  Zack hesitated for a long moment, his jaw working to contain the fury she could see in his gaze. She pleaded without words for him to lower his weapon, to let her go. It was the only way she could protect him, and herself.

  She’d have to hope either her plan succeeded, or Zack would save her in time. Hopefully he would try. It wasn’t part of his job description—not by a long shot. And, besides, he seemed to hate her now if his reaction earlier was anything to go by. And why would he not? She’d proven herself to be a pervert and a criminal.

  All the words she wanted to say to him were trapped in her throat—sorry; forgive me; I care about you. Tears blurred her vision as Diego’s arm tightened about her throat.

  The last image she had of Zack was him sitting on the bed, the gun limp in his grip, a stricken look on his face.

  Fuck. Fuck.

  Zack scrambled off the bed and to the door of the hotel room. He wrenched the door open and peeked around the corner. A bullet slammed into the wooden frame right next to his face and he ducked back into the room. The stinging on his cheek told him it had been close—he’d caught some of the shrapnel.

  He had managed to sneak a glimpse of the corridor. One of Diego’s lackeys guarded the only exit, no doubt giving his boss enough time to escape with Radha. Zack didn’t want to risk going that way. He’d probably win the shootout, but he might get hurt in the process. If he was going to save Radha—with no backup from the rest of the Soldiering On crew—he’d have to be in top shape.

  Instead, he ran to the window, scooping up his duffel on the way. It was only a one-story drop, though he’d be landing on concrete. He had to try.

  He slid the window open, forcing it when one side stuck. Then, he tucked the gun in the waistband of his boxers and threw his leg over the windowsill. He dangled from the ledge with his left hand, not sure his right could support the weight, particularly since it held the duffel. He pushed off the wall and let go, landing with a jarring thump on the hard concrete.

  He didn’t stop, just pulled out his gun and raced between the building and the high mesh fence to get around the front where Diego would have parked. He wouldn’t be too late. He couldn’t.

  Nearly there.

  He rounded the building, dropping the duffel to give himself freer movement. A black van waited near the entrance, the engine running. A lackey tried to shove Radha through the side door as she squirmed, trying to evade his wandering hands on her bare legs. Zack started towards them, a red haze obscuring his vision.

  His gun came up, and Zack aimed at the man as he stepped into the light from the lobby. No one had noticed him yet. They were too focused on getting Radha into the van.

  Zack steadied his hands, took a breath—

  And froze as the muzzle of a gun pressed into his skull.

  “I wouldn’t,” said the voice of the clerk from the front desk.

  “Are you fucking kidding me?” Zack asked, as he slowly held his hands up in the universal ‘don’t shoot’ gesture. The clerk reached from behind Zack and plucked the gun from his hand.

  “I gotta pay my bills, too.”

  “By ratting people out?” Zack had no doubt this clerk was responsible for him and Radha being found so quickly.

  The clerk behind him might have shrugged but Zack couldn’t see it.

  His muscles were tense with thwarted violence. All he could is watch as the van doors slammed shut and the vehicle pulled away. The clerk behind him shifted, the gun moving away from the back of his head. In a last-ditch effort to rescue Radha, he drove his elbow backwards into what he hoped was the clerk’s nose, even as he twisted out of the way. His elbow connected with something, but Zack couldn’t be sure what.

  The gun went off, but the bullet went wide. Zack spun to face the clerk, hands up and ready.

  He pushed the man’s gun hand to the side and twisted his wrist. The weapon clattered to the ground. Zack didn’t go after it, just kept twisting the clerk’s arm until the guy was doubled over, trying to escape the pain in his shoulder.

  “Mercy!” he cried. “Just take the fucking guns.”

  “Do I have to knock you out, first?”

  “I don’t get paid enough for this shit. Let me go, and I won’t put up a fight.” The man sounded world-weary and sincere.

  Conscious of the van behind him pulling out into traffic, Zack took the chance that the guy told the truth and let go of his wrist. It wasn’t like he couldn’t disable him again, but he didn’t want to take the time if he didn’t have to.

  Thankfully, the guy just stood up, massaging his shoulder and shooting daggers in Zack’s direction. Metaphorical daggers Zack could handle.

  Zack took his own gun back from the man’s waistband and trained it on the clerk as he bent to pick up the man’s gun.

  That done, he turned back to the guy.

  “Get back inside. Keep out of trouble.”

  Grumbling, the clerk turned and traipsed back into the lobby. Zack watched him go, then turned to grab his duffel before heading to his car. The van had already disappeared, but Zack had work to do.

  He had to find Radha—and soon—before Victor Garrera got his hands on her.

  Because chances were she wouldn’t survive the encounter.

  Chapter 16

  Radha sat hunched in the back of the van. The orange glow of the streetlights pulsed through the cabin of the vehicle as they passed. Diego sat in front of her, blocking her path to the door in case she got any ideas. And she had plenty.

  Offering up herself and Jeri’s casino to Victor Garrera was the most reckless thing she’d ever done. Nervous tension pinged through her body like a pinball machine, warning lights going off every second.

  What had she done?

  Diego glanced over his shoulder at her. “Nervous?” he asked smugly.

  “Wouldn’t you be?” she retorted.

  “I’ve seen enough of Victor that he doesn’t scare me anymore.”

  She scoffed. “Sure. And that’s why you’re still doing his bidding?”

  Diego hesitated, then shuffled around so his legs were in the aisle, his torso turned more towards her. His expression was dark, haunted.

  “You know as well as I do that once you’re in, it’s impossible to get out.” His words were heavy with regret. “This is my life now. It has been for a long time. I’m not the same kid you knew.”

  Maybe not, but Radha had the sense he wished he still was. “When did you get out of prison?” she asked.

  “I served five years.” Which means he’d only been out for five, too.

  “I’m sorry it came to that.” Strangely, she felt an urge to reach out and comfort him, like she used to. She had to stop her nostalgia and regret for what might have been cloud her judgement now. She was in a dangerous situation, and Diego’s loyalty now lay with the enemy.

  She’d do well to remember that.

  “Victor looked after me,” he said. “When I was in.”

  Radha swallowed, and nodded to show she understood. Victor had provided protection—possibly some comforts—in exchange for Diego’s continued loyalty.

  “He’s not a good man, Diego,” she whispered under her breath so the other occupants of the van wouldn’t hear her.

  “He was good to me,” he told her sadly. “B
esides, neither am I. Not anymore.”

  Radha gave him a long look, knowing he wouldn’t budge. He wouldn’t betray Victor to protect her. She understood his loyalty, on some level. Victor had given him the means for survival, as Jeri had done for her.

  “How did you get on?” Diego asked her. “After you got out, I mean.”

  She sighed. “It took a while for my parents to talk to me again. They were ashamed of me, and unbearably smug about the situation. They’d always told me you were trouble.” She gave him a half-hearted smile.

  “They were right,” he replied with a slight shrug.

  “It took me a long time to find work, and with no support from my parents, it was…tough. Thankfully, Jeri—the casino owner—gave me a chance when I begged her for a job as a croupier. I can’t imagine many casino owners letting known criminals into an area with so much money, but she did. Said she liked my vibe. She saved my life. Eventually, I managed to rebuild some of what I’d had with my parents. We’re okay now.”

  Diego was silent for a long moment. “And now you’re going to betray her? The woman that gave you a chance when no one else would?” he asked, his derision and disbelief clear.

  Radha leaned forward, anger lancing through her. “Yes. Because I don’t want to die. I don’t want Zack to die.”

  “I don’t believe you,” he told her.

  She lowered her voice even further, practically hissing. “You didn’t want to kill me as much as I didn’t want to die. I’m giving you an out, an excuse.”

  “You’re delaying the inevitable,” he told her in an equally low voice. “He won’t believe you any more than I do.”

  Radha stared him down. “Then we’ll both have to be very convincing, won’t we?”

  Diego reared back. “What do you mean?”

  “I mean that you’re the one bringing someone you believe will betray him into his stronghold. You’re the one who didn’t kill me. You’re the one that still hasn’t killed me. So you’re going to have to help me convince Victor that I can be trusted, and that this is an excellent deal. Otherwise we both might end up dead.”

  She breathed hard, fierce and righteous. He pondered her words for an endless moment. His silence chilled her righteousness into fear. She needed his support, or she’d be dead before she got two words out in Victor’s presence.

  “Diego?” she asked, hating how small her voice sounded.

  “We’ll see,” was all he said.

  Radha swallowed her sudden terror.

  After five minutes of driving, Zack couldn’t pick up a trail of the van, so decided to change his tactics. He pulled in at a gas station, hiding the car as much in the shadows as possible. He didn’t know if this Diego guy—or Victor—would send someone after him to finish the job, and didn’t want to take the chance.

  He pulled on some jeans from his duffel, with the Henley he’d been wearing as a pajama top, he looked as respectable as he was able to. He tucked one of the guns in the back waistband of the jeans and flicked his top over to cover it. The other gun he hid beneath the duffel.

  He wandered inside, trying to look inconspicuous, but knowing he would stand out wherever he went. He drew a few curious stares from the few eclectic patrons that were milling about the worn out station.

  He swallowed and powered through, finding the clerk at the back of the store, disinterestedly chewing gum and flicking through a magazine.

  Zack cleared his throat, and the kid looked up. His eyes widened when he caught sight of Zack’s face, but he quickly recovered.

  “What can I do ya for?” he asked, then chewed a few more times on his gum.

  “Got a payphone?” Zack asked.

  “What do you think this is, nineteen eighty-four?”

  “Uh…”

  The kid broke into a grin. “Nah, I’m kidding. There’s one out back.”

  He directed Zack where to go, then returned to his magazine. Zack sighed in relief and found his way to the payphone. He inserted the requisite coins and dialled a number he was lucky he knew by heart.

  “Hello?” Destiny answered groggily. Zack checked the time. Not even six in the morning. Shit.

  “Sorry Destiny, I didn’t mean to wake you.”

  A woman’s sleepy voice sounded in the background. “Who is it?”

  Destiny told her to go back to sleep, and then Zack heard the rustle of bed linens as she moved out of the room.

  “I didn’t know you had company, I’m sorry.”

  “It’s fine,” she said on a yawn. “What’s up?”

  “Radha’s been kidnapped. Kind of,” he blurted out.

  Destiny sucked in a breath. “What happened?” she asked, sounding more awake.

  Zack explained about the clerk, and Diego, and Radha’s offer. At the end of his speech, Destiny was silent for a long moment.

  “She’s very brave,” she said eventually.

  “Yeah,” Zack muttered, swallowing past the lump in his throat. He had to get her back. He had to. Even though she’d gone with that Diego guy so fast, he had to believe it was for good reason, and not for the soft nostalgia and love he’d seen on her face when she’d first mentioned him earlier that evening.

  “So what do you need from me?” Destiny asked quietly.

  “Can you gather a team? Help me get her out? If the cops raided the place…”

  “No,” Destiny cut him off. “I don’t think I can.”

  “Why not?”

  “First, she went willingly. Technically. Second, I think some of the guys in my department might be pocketing some of Victor’s money. As soon as I put the watch on Radha’s parents, it got rescinded.”

  “Shit. Does that mean Victor is going after them?” he asked. He glanced over his shoulder to make sure no one listened in.

  “It’s fine, some friends are watching them as a favour, but it’s unofficial.” She paused as Zack exhaled in relief. “The detectives that were investigating Louis’s murder wrapped that one up quick. Too quick.”

  “I did wonder if that guy was a patsy.”

  “I think he was. I think Victor volunteered him to take the fall.”

  They were silent for a moment.

  Zack cleared his throat. “So, even if you reported Radha’s disappearance, whoever is working with Victor would tip him off. He’d know we were coming for them, and might kill Radha before we get there.”

  “Sounds about right.”

  “Shit,” he said again.

  “Can you call Duncan? Break the radio silence?”

  Zack thunked his forehead against the phone as he considered it. “I can’t,” he said eventually. “I can’t risk everyone at Soldiering On for this. Not just tonight, but further down the track, too.”

  “Oh, Zack,” she sighed. “I’m working from lunchtime, but if I took the day off I could—“

  “No, don’t. They’ll be suspicious after you put the protection notice out on the Iyers.”

  “What are you going to do?” she asked.

  Zack sighed. “I’ll go in alone. It might be better, anyway. This way I can get in stealthily and get Radha out without too much fuss.”

  He didn’t know who he was trying to convince more: her or himself.

  “Zack, you can’t. It’s too dangerous.”

  “What I can’t do is leave her.”

  Destiny made a noise of protest, then fell silent.

  “I’ll need you to give me Victor’s known strongholds, in order of likelihood. I need to find her, Destiny.” His last words were a plea.

  “Yeah, I have them in my notepad somewhere. Give me a second.”

  He heard her scrabbling around, and then she rattled off five addresses. “First one is most likely,” she told him. “I’m not sure after that.”

  “Okay, thanks Destiny.” He went to hang up.

  “Wait!” she said, then hesitated. “Just, don’t die okay?”

  Zack swallowed. “I’ll try not to.”

  And then she hung up, and Zack was left
alone to pull off the most important mission of his life.

  Chapter 17

  Victor’s compound was huge, like something out of Scarface. The mansion and yard were surrounded by a ten-foot wall topped with barbed wire. The house itself was all white, with fake columns built into the walls to give it a palatial feel, and terracotta tiles gracing the roof. Large men in black tank tops with cigarettes dangling from their mouths and guns in their hands stood in strategic positions around the yard.

  It was designed to intimidate—and it worked.

  Radha tried to note the security around the compound as they drove through, but she couldn’t move her eyes fast enough. She was sure Zack would’ve had no trouble with his training, and wished fiercely he was there beside her. Two guards that checked the van on the way through the gate were the only people that stopped them before they pulled into a large garage. Six cars were lined up precisely in the space—two luxury sports cars, three black SUVs, and a sleek limo at the back.

  Diego grabbed her arm and dragged her toward the door at the far end of the garage. His grip was like a vice.

  “Hey, I’m here voluntarily, remember?” she hissed.

  He leaned towards her, breath brushing her ear as he spoke. “Doesn’t mean you won’t try to run.”

  She glared at him, but he faced forward without an inch of regret on his face. She couldn’t see much of the boy she’d loved so much. He’d changed in all the wrong ways. But there was still a hint of something—whether her own memory of past times was superimposing onto the new Diego, or whether he was still in there, she didn’t know.

  But she couldn’t think like that, couldn’t let her past distract her from the present. He was the enemy now, and she couldn’t let herself forget it.

  Everyone they passed stared at her—and her legs—as the group made their way deeper into the house. They eventually reached a room somewhere in the compound, though Radha had got so turned around she couldn’t tell where in the building they were. It was a disused office by the looks of things, with a desk and a chair and little else. A single window built high into the wall was the only source of light.