Deadly Little Secrets

by Jeanne Adams

  “Perp’s married to one of the daughters.”

  “Uh-oh.” The heartfelt rejoinder was heavy with meaning. No one wanted to get involved with a crime family vendetta. Especially not one with a son-in-law.

  “Exactly.” Ana spoke for the first time. “He’s got four aliases, is also married to a Greek woman in Jersey, and has his fingers in some international crap too.”

  “Handle with extreme care, then,” the commander grunted. “Let me put that through.”

  “Hey.” Gates had slipped up from behind without anyone being the wiser, despite his injuries and how carefully he was moving. “Thanks for coming,” he said, grinning at how simple that made it sound.

  “Gates!” Ana gasped, throwing caution to the winds and hugging him. She was so relieved to see him, so glad he was unhurt. He woofed out a breath.

  “Obviously,” Pretzky drawled, when the SWAT commander and the trooper reacted, “he’s with us.” At her words, the rest of the SWAT members backed down, returning to their watch on the building.

  “Easy babe,” Gates murmured as Ana continued to hug him, but he returned the pressure with interest, before he spoke. “There’re at least two men in there with him, Commander,” he informed the SWAT team leader, his arm snuggled tightly around Ana’s shoulders, as if he wouldn’t ever let go. “I’ve been watching. Four in, one left in a panel truck, but it wasn’t our guy. That leaves three in.”

  “Got it.” The commander relayed the data, gave orders to move in. “Look sharp, people.”

  As delighted as she was to see Gates, to feel him living and breathing, Ana tuned in to that. She frowned.

  “We need to stay down,” Gates whispered, “shots may still fly. They’ll go for the kill if anyone pulls a weapon.”

  “Crap, you’re right,” she said, remembering the protocols. Everyone would be twitchy knowing the Gandolpho family was involved. They both tensed as the first of the team ducked inside the open roll-up door. The second set of three followed.

  The end was anticlimactic. Within minutes they’d sounded the all clear, and all five SWAT members came walking up the drive, three men in handcuffs between them.

  “Call the all-in, Williams,” the commander said, and his second opened a channel to do so. From the tree line, she saw two dark-clad men rise and move toward their position. Another two emerged from the parking lot to their left. Another rolled out from under a truck opposite the roll-up doors and followed the prisoners up the drive. “Where’s Elsa?” the commander muttered.

  “Hey, Williams,” he said. “Get the bullhorn. Elsa’s gear was shorting. I don’t want her up on that roof all day.”

  Williams frowned but ran back to the command truck as they all stood, watching the man she knew as Jack D’Onofrio make his way up the tarmac, along with two men wearing work gear bearing the Gold Ark logo.

  Just as D’Onofrio came into view, Williams ran back, bullhorn in hand, and a worried look on his face.

  “Boss,” he said. “Elsa’s off today. She’s in Queens with her mother.”

  “Then who—”

  “GUN!” one of the trailing SWAT team hollered, dropping as she watched, and rolling under a car.

  They all ducked down, the other SWAT covering the prisoners as four shots buried themselves in the commander’s vehicle.

  The sniper rose, firing again, and the windshield shattered. “Patterson!” the commander yelled. “Take her out!”

  “But, Deke!” the man shouted, in protest, obviously unwilling to fire on one of their own.

  “It’s not Elsa!” the commander roared back. Four rounds buried themselves in the warehouse wall around the sniper. Another two fired, and they saw the woman stagger. She lifted her weapon a final time, and the shot she got off whistled between Ana and Gates where they crouched behind the quarter panel.

  There was another spate of gunfire and a scream. A distant, muffled crash could be heard, then silence.

  Looking into her eyes, Gates said, “I think, my love, that it’s finally over.”

  Ignoring everyone else, ignoring Pretzky’s hissed call for a report, and the crackle of radios and the commander’s orders, Ana kissed him.

  “I thought I’d lost you,” she said, her heart filling and healing with his embrace. Knowing they still had to talk didn’t stop her from feeling the fullness of his embrace, the delight of his body pressed to hers.

  He kissed her back, covering her face with kisses before claiming her mouth in a long, soulful connection. “Oh, Ana,” he murmured. She heard love and relief in his voice, and pain.

  “Let’s get you checked out, Gates,” she said, helping him to rise.

  From the scene to the hospital, to the police barracks, they didn’t let go of one another.

  “We need to talk about this,” he said, leaning heavily on her as they got into Dav’s limo.

  “Yeah,” she said, pressing a kiss to his face and easing in beside him. “We do.”

  “Are you two going to neck or are you going to go explain all this to your colleagues?” Dav said with an indulgent smile.

  The conference room at the White Plains police department looked like a roundtable for all the law enforcement branches in the US. Four CIA agents; two FBI, who’d joined in because they’d had eyes on D’Onofrio as Bates, but hadn’t figured out that he was also Santini; and the SWAT team and the troopers.

  Evidently TJ was the only one who had put it all together.

  Then there were the local police, augmented by the state troopers, the local SWAT commander and several other interested parties including the New York attorney general. Pretzky started off by detailing the department’s involvement, who she was, and what was going on.

  “I’ll turn the floor over to Agent Burton, since she, of all of us, has the most complete picture of what’s been happening over the last few days.”

  So Ana walked them through it, starting with Rome, although she didn’t describe any of the situation there; she merely used it as a point of reference to explain how she knew TJ.

  “I transferred to the California division for a short sabbatical.” She nearly laughed at Pretzky’s smirk over her terminology. “And to make some decisions about my career.” She ignored the huge smile that crept over Gates’s face as she said that. She couldn’t imagine why he found it so amusing. “I was assigned a nine-year-old case of art fraud.” She outlined the same map that she, Gates, and Dav had created in the penthouse. “These clues tracked in parallel with the information my colleague, Agent Michaels, had provided me.”

  She went on to detail how they had uncovered the information on the paintings, traced the calls through the complex program, and all the steps that had led to their being in New York. “Another shipper was involved, one in California we believe, but whether that individual knew, or was duped, we are still investigating.”

  Pretzky had assured her that California police had headed out to pick up Drake Yountz and ascertain his involvement in the entire affair.

  “And I believe I can fill in the final blanks.” Gates moved into the center of the room. “The woman who stole your gear and impersonated your team member is a paid assassin. My family was murdered fourteen years ago. This woman was hired to kill them. She didn’t finish the job, leaving my sister and me alive. Since I served in the US Armed Forces, she was unable to get to me until I went to work in the private sector. My sister married and lives on a military base in Germany. Another difficult target.”

  He leaned on the wall, never letting on that he was tiring. “My current position has kept me travelling all over the world, and the authorities believe this particular assassin is either unwilling or unable to operate outside of the United States. We know that two shootings in San Francisco can be attributed to her. I believe she followed us to New York, but was stymied by the Waldorf security. They are used to high-profile clients, and the ways in which people try to sneak into their hotel to bother the rich and famous.” He studiously didn’t look at Dav, but t
he smile playing around his lips and his ironic tone said he was thinking about his boss.

  “We’ll be looking into that for you, Mr. Bromley. We’ll backtrack and make sure we’ve helped you clean that up.” The Bureau official gave him a look, and Ana saw him touch two fingers to his brow in salute.

  Gates returned it. “Thank you, sir. This sniper managed a hit in San Francisco. However, her infrequent attempts, going back a number of years, had all of the teams believing that the attempts were connected either to my colleague, Mr. Gianikopolis, or to this most recent development in the art fraud matter.” He took a bracing breath and pushed off the wall. “We think now that she was watching me in New York and when I left the hotel to come here, she followed. I’m glad to know that your teammate,” he referred to the missing Elsa, safe with her family in Queens, “isn’t another victim of her vendetta. Now, since I’m still recovering, I’m going to save my energy and sit down. Agent Burton?”

  The debriefing took another hour, and the call Ana made to McGuire took longer, since he had clearance and was able to ask questions and get answers the civilians weren’t privy to.

  “Well,” he growled. “I guess I can quit shooting at anyone walking on my porch then. Let the grandkids come back from Florida. If they want to, that is.”

  “I wouldn’t be so sure, Agent,” Ana replied, wishing more than anything that she could lie down and sleep. She had to get through it, so she could go to Gates. She brought her wandering mind back to the moment. “Hines is still out there. He’s a person of interest in his own right, but without you to testify against him, he’d be better off. I’d stay wary if I were you.”

  “Great,” McGuire snapped out at her in his irritation. He relented though, a moment later. “No matter what’s still out there, we’ll deal with that. Gotta say, young lady, I never expected anyone to close this. Congratulations.”

  “Thanks, but it’s serendipity, Agent McGuire,” Ana said. “I was in the right place at the right time, with the right knowledge at my disposal to make it all work.”

  “That, Agent Burton, is called promotion material,” he said, laughing. “Don’t knock it. Thanks for the follow-up.”

  They hung up, and Ana decided she’d rather be flogged than go through another case like this. Pretzky was talking shop with the DC agents and the SWAT commander, but stopped long enough to give Ana an update.

  “Just got a call from Pearson,” Pretzky said. “Yountz is in the wind. The wife reported him missing early this morning.”

  “Thanks,” Ana said, and when Pretzky turned back to her discussion, Ana headed into the corridor. Other members of the team were still chatting, hashing out points of the case.

  “Excuse me,” she asked the young trooper who’d taken the wild ride from White Plains to Port Chester with them. “Have you seen Mr. Bromley?”

  The trooper’s eyes shone. If she wasn’t mistaken, he had developed a serious case of hero worship for Gates. “Yes, Agent Burton, ma’am. He’s outside. He was seeing Mr. Gianikopolis off, then one of the Gand…uh…civilians involved asked to speak with him.”

  “Ah, thanks.” So, one of the Gandolpho family was in the parking lot and the score was about to be evened up.

  As she got to the doors, she saw Gates and Dav shaking hands. Dav’s smile looked like it would split his face, and he pumped Gates’s hand like a politician. What was that all about?

  Dav got in his limo and drove away. Gates watched the car for a moment, then turned to a younger man who was waiting for him. Several other cars lined the exit driveway, close enough to see everything, but not interfering with traffic or with Gates and his friend. They too shook hands and embraced. She let them have a moment before she walked over.

  “Gentlemen?”

  “Ana, I’d like you to meet Max Hopespring. He’s the grandson of Tomas Gandolpho. We served together in the Army.” She held out a hand, received a firm, no-nonsense shake.

  “Mr. Hopespring,” she said, “I’m pleased to meet you.”

  Max smiled at her and gently punched Gates on the shoulder. “So this is her? I’m impressed. Good job, dude. Remember, send me an invite.” He turned to Ana, took her shoulders in a light grip, and gave her a kiss on both cheeks. “Good to meet you, Ana. Take care of him, will ya?”

  The man turned and strolled away, across the grass to a waiting Hummer. She stood with Gates watching the entourage drive away.

  “So, debt paid?”

  “On my end. I never looked for a debt or payback in the first place, but Max, he says he’ll never stop owing me.” Gates was still watching the cars as they turned onto the main drag and disappeared. “He’s a loyal guy.”

  “Hmmm. I’ve heard that.”

  Gates shrugged. “It’s not really about Iraq,” he said. “It’s about family. I understand that. I’ve got a sister too.”

  Ana nodded. Although she didn’t have sisters or brothers, she had come to realize she had friends. Loyal ones. Ones who would do what needed to be done, and die doing it, if need be. As TJ had.

  “So, Anastasia Burton,” he drawled, still not looking at her. “What about us?”

  “What about us, Gates?” She leaned on the squad car behind her, closed her eyes. “You made your feelings clear about that,” Ana said, then added, “Then you asked me to pretend your outburst never happened.”

  She felt the heat of him and opened her eyes. His arms bracketed her body, trapping her where she was.

  “Yeah. Like I said, I was an idiot,” he said, smiling that sexy smile, despite how tired he must be. “I thought I made that perfectly clear as well.”

  “You acted like an idiot, yeah,” she agreed, crossing her arms over her chest so he wouldn’t see how much she still reacted to him, how her body responded to his warmth, his presence. “I don’t see how that’s changed.”

  He threw back his head and laughed. He laughed so hard, she got annoyed and poked a finger into his chest to get him to stop.

  “Ouch!” he protested, rubbing the spot. “Don’t make me suffer,” he said, but he meant far more than his tender chest.

  “Besides,” she said, tapping on his chest this time, instead of poking him. “You are the one who said we weren’t suited. You’re the one who pointed out that our lives are too divergent, too dissimilar for us even to date, much less anything else.”

  He grabbed her finger before she could drill it into his chest again. “I said ouch. I just got shot the other day, you know.” He lifted her hand to his lips, kissed her fingers. “I don’t know how many ways I can say I’m sorry, but I’m willing to say it all, in every language you know and I know, and any I need to learn.”

  “I forgive you,” she whispered, kissing his cheek.

  “Thank you,” he said, his voice reasonable and even. “But is that enough? Can you forget that I was cruel, in a stupid, misguided attempt to keep you safe?”

  “Gates,” she protested, feeling her knees weaken as he gently kissed her palm, nibbled along the edge of her thumb. “Stop that.”

  “What? This?” He continued to watch her as he kissed her hand. “Or loving you beyond reason? Will loving you more than I can imagine help you forget that I was an ass? Or do I need to tell you that I’ll follow you anywhere, be there for you?”

  “Wha-what?” Ana said, hearing his words but not getting what he was saying. “What do you mean?”

  Gates smiled. “I’ve handed in my resignation.”

  “You did what?” Shocked to her toes, she stood up, yanked her hand free to grab the front of his shirt. “But Dav was happy,” she protested. “He was smiling.”

  “He’s been trying to get me to do it for years.” Gates untangled her fingers, brought them to his mouth to kiss them some more.

  “He’s been trying to get you to resign?” Ana’s emotions were in such a welter, she couldn’t make that sentence compute. She couldn’t figure out the whys or hows, especially with Gates torturing her sense with his mouth.

  Gates was l
aughing now at her shock. “Yeah, I’ve got four or five patents going for search products; I’m a partner in four of his many businesses. I have this idea,” he said, boxing her in again, “for a security company. Complex stuff.” He kissed the side of her neck, then her cheek. “Really intricate. Really detailed.” He kissed the other side of her neck, her other cheek. “I’m not sure I can manage it all, but I’m going to try.” He kissed her forehead, the tip of her nose, then set his hot mouth to hers.

  For a moment all she could do was feel. She wanted to absorb the sheer deliciousness of his taste, the luxurious play of their lips fused together, the dance of tongues and the feel of his arms holding her tight. He loved her. He wanted to be with her. He was willing to do whatever it took.

  “So,” he said between kisses, “I was thinking I would talk to you about it. See what country you were heading for. Maybe tag along.”

  “Tag?” she repeated, through a haze of sensation. “Tag?” She didn’t understand, so she forced herself to stop, using both hands to push him back. “What do you mean, tag along?”

  He smiled. “Look, Anastasia,” he said, all persuasion and passion. “I’ll say it straight out. I love you. I want to be with you and do whatever I can to convince you that I’m going to be there for you. I’ll follow you wherever you want to go. I’ll set my business headquarters up wherever you are.” He swooped in for a brief kiss, then leaned back. “I’m used to travel.”

  “You’d go?” she spluttered, thinking of the stack of requests in that fat folder. “You’d really do that?”

  “For you? Yes. I would.” He ran a finger down her cheek, just as he had done in Dav’s office, weeks—it seemed like years—ago. “Bromley men don’t marry early. It takes us a long time to settle down, find the right one. It’s my time, Ana. It’s you. You’re the right one.”

  “Gates,” she said, feeling her heart melt within her, and joy begin to burst through. He was the one for her, too. Finally, she could let go the chains of the past, the agonies she’d kept in her heart since Rome, and since her parents had been killed. “What are you asking?”