Wanting a nap, but knowing if I took one now I would be wiped out for the rest of the day, I retrieved my Kindle from my room and settled into my favorite spot on his porch swing. The dogs lay lazily at me feet while the swing swayed slightly back and forth, and I got lost in the steamy brotherhood of firefighters.
Camden found me out there after I’d made it through four or five chapters and was closing in on the ending. I had to force myself to click off the screen. I was desperate to find out if the two main characters were going to get their happy ending and if I was right about the heroine’s dirt bag ex. I was sure he was up to no good, but my fictional love life would have to wait a few hours until I could pick it up again. I had a handsome, romance novel worthy hero-type right in front of me.
“How do you feel about pizza?” Cam leaned against the porch railing, his back to the yard.
“I have very positive feelings towards pizza.”
“Good, because that’s about all I’m up to cooking tonight. Sorry if you were hoping for something more gourmet. There might be enough salad leftover from last night.”
“Works for me. I’m not hard to please.” I regretted the words almost as soon as they were out of my mouth when I saw Cam’s wide grin.
“Oh, I know exactly how to please you.”
“Yeah, yeah, you can take your ginormous ego and go get me a glass of lemonade.”
“But at least my ego isn’t the only thing that’s ginormous.”
I rolled my eyes and tried not to laugh. With a chuckle, he pushed off the rail and went inside. He returned a minute later with two glasses of lemonade.
With him outside now, the dogs grew restless. When Kota leapt off the porch and came back with an old tennis ball in her mouth that she laid at his feet, he took them out into the yard to play. He ran them hard now that the evening had cooled some.
They came back panting and headed straight for their water dish. Camden drained what was left in his glass and then dropped down beside me. He dragged me onto his lap and I stretched my legs across the seat and leaned into his chest while he rocked the swing.
The sun made its downward descent until it hung low in the sky. It was a perfect summer evening. The only thing missing was the smell of a grill and some classic rock playing in the background. The swing continued to sway back and forth, propelled by Camden’s legs. His heartbeat beneath my ear was my soundtrack.
I could have fallen asleep and almost did, but hunger won out for both of us. His stomach rumbled which triggered my own tummy growls. He dragged me up and we headed in to fix our gourmet meal of frozen pizza and leftover salad.
Twenty-Two
Camden
Emily and I were sprawled out on the couch watching a comedy when my phone off. I glanced at the screen on my phone and saw it was my brother. I reached for it and accepted the call.
“What’s up?”
“Something went wrong with the bust.”
“What?” I sat upright.
“I had Nikoli keeping tabs on the whole thing. They busted the cartel with drugs, but the Russians weren’t there, and there were no girls.”
“What the hell do you mean the Russians weren’t there?” Another call interrupted. I pulled my phone away to look at the screen. “Hold on Spence, my captain is calling.”
I put my brother on hold as I took the call. “What’s going on Cap? Just heard that you didn’t get Alexei.”
“I guess I shouldn’t be surprised you already know. Kuznetsov and his boys never showed, but we had to move on the cartel. We busted them outside the club with over a mil in product, and we raided the warehouse as well. Guns and drugs, but no girls. Either the Russians got spooked . . .”
“Or it was a set-up all along.” I muttered a curse.
“At this point, we’re leaning toward the latter and assuming they were onto the investigation and used it to their advantage to take out the competition. They baited us with girls, used that to string us along long enough for them to set the cartel up.”
“Fuck. Do we know where they are now? And what about the girls in those photos?” That’s what Alexei had showed Ortega last night. Pictures of a handful of girls. “Bait or not, those girls were very real. Do we have any information on them?”
“The Russians appear to be lying low. They haven’t just got us to deal with now. They’ve essentially declared war with the cartel. We find them, we’ve got more than enough to bring them up on the other charges. It’s just rounding those slippery bastards up, and we don’t know anything about the girls yet.
“Could be that they’re nothing but part of the setup, or working girls, or that they were taken somewhere else. We don’t know much and we probably won’t until we can bring Kuznetsov and his boys in. My main concern though, is that they knew they had a cop in their midst. They’re going to be gunning for you, son.”
“You’ve got to get that fucker Lenkov off the streets. He won’t just come after me.”
“I know, Shaw. We’re on it, and that’s exactly why you’re getting this call. You should let us move you to a safe house until we’ve got them all.”
I glanced at Emily and thought about accepting the offer for a moment. “We’re as safe here as anywhere else Cap. Just keep me posted.”
“Will do. Watch your back, son.”
“Will do.” I switched the call back over to my brother. “Looks like it was a setup. My cover must have been blown. The Russians used us to take out the cartel. Even with the audio they got from the meet, Alexei was too careful with his words to even try and nail them with anything related to trafficking girls. The worst part is, they could be moving girls another way. We seriously got played, and now innocent people could be paying for it.”
“So then, you’ll get them on drugs and guns and take them out that way.”
“If we can round them up and bring them in, Captain Richards thinks we’ve got enough to put them all away. We’ll see what happens. We built a solid case, but it’ll be up to a jury how solid. We’ve seen in the past that it doesn’t always go our way, especially not with the intimidation tactics used by these guys, and even if we take down Kuznetsov and Lenkov and those boys, if we can’t get Yuri, then it doesn’t really matter.
“We’ve got to be able to cut off the snake’s head. And this whole thing with the cartel is going to get very ugly. I’m talking a war between the Russians and Mexicans. Not to mention that if I’m blown, both sides want me dead.”
“Nora and I are on our way back. Nikoli is following.”
“Good.” My brother wasn’t taking any chances. “See you when you get here and we’ll figure out what we’re going to do.”
Emily had muted the movie and was watching me intently. I could see the worry pinching her brow. I reached out and took her hand as I hung up with Spencer. “Everything’s fine,” I reassured her first thing.
“That didn’t sound like everything is fine.”
“The bust didn’t go as planned, but we’ve got nothing to worry about.”
“You said it was a setup, that your cover was blown. How is that not something to worry about?”
“It’s going to be fine. Spencer is on his way here with Nikoli. As scary as Alexei and his crew are, Nikoli Markov is an equally scary Russian badass. You’re going to be in a house full of armed badasses,” I joked, hoping it would lighten the mood and ease a bit of her fear. It didn’t work.
Her frown deepened. “It’s not me I’m worried about.”
“Look, this happens sometimes, but it’s going to be okay. The bad guys are still going to jail.”
“Yeah, I heard you. If the cops find them before they find you.”
“They will,” I sighed and pulled her into my chest. “We’re going to be fine.” I placed a kiss on top of her head and willed her to believe me. I wouldn’t let anything happen to her.
I grabbed the remote and unmuted the TV. “Relax and watch the rest of this movie with me.” She let me pull her back against my chest as
I stretched out, but I don’t think either one of us was relaxed. I questioned whether I made a mistake turning down the safe house.
I had no reason to believe we were at risk all the way up here, no reason to believe my home was compromised, but in my arms, I had a lot to lose if I was wrong.
Before I even heard the tires on the gravel, the dogs were at the door barking. They were better than any alarm system. I went to the window. “Spencer and Nikoli,” I reassured Emily, who was tensed on the couch. She relaxed a bit, and when the other three came inside, Nora joined her on the couch while I took my brother and Markov to the kitchen.
“What are you thinking?” Spencer wasted no time before diving in.
“I’m thinking I fucked up big,” I sighed. “I didn’t want to admit I was blown. I got your wedding shot up, almost got Mom killed–”
“Can’t waste time beating yourself up, man. We’ve all been there,” Nikoli sympathized. “It’s the nature of the job. Sometimes shit goes wrong and there’s not a damn thing you could have done to stop it.”
“This isn’t your fault. You did your job, but the job’s not over. James is back and Leon is still in town. They’re out trying to get eyes on Kuznetsov and Lenkov with Ray backing them up from Houston. We’ll get them or your guys will, but unfortunately, I’ve got more bad news, brother.”
I hung my head, gripping the edge of the counter tightly. I wasn’t sure how much more I could handle tonight. I drew in a deep breath and met my brother’s troubled gaze. “What is it?”
“Billy died tonight.”
“What? I thought he was stable?”
“He was, but I guess he took a turn for the worse.”
I bent, pressing my head to the counter, my knuckles white at this point. “Fuuuuck.” I pushed off, slamming my fist down on the counter.
The girls appeared in the doorway. “Is everything okay?” Nora asked.
“I just told him about Billy,” Spence sighed, raking a hand through his hair. This was tearing him up as well, he’d just always been better at holding it together than I was.
“Does Dad know?” I managed to get out.
“Not sure. I haven’t talked to him yet. Almost immediately after I got the news, everything else started happening. I imagine if he hasn’t already heard, he will soon. I should probably call him. He needs to know about everything.”
I nodded and Spence slipped from the room to go make the call.
Emily came to my side and wrapped her arms around my middle. “You alright?” she murmured softly.
“Yeah,” I breathed out, squeezing her to me. “It’s just hard. Grew up with Billy. His dad was on the force too, partnered with my dad for a while. He didn’t deserve this, didn’t deserve to go out like that. He was a good guy, a good cop. Lost both his parents in a house fire last year. Hit him hard and he threw himself into work, and then to go out on the job.” I shook my head. It was so damn senseless.
Maybe my getting out was good timing. Wasn’t sure how much more of me this job could take before I turned into another one of the guys who spent every night at the bar, with a bottle instead of their families.
That was never Dad, but he had Mom to go home to at the end of each shift. I looked down at Emily in my arms. Maybe it wouldn’t ever be me either. Took a strong woman to love a man on the force, to understand the darkness that he sees and walks in day in and out, and to take it from him. To help shoulder that weight he carries. Like Mom, I could see that strength in Emily even if she didn’t see it in herself. Right now, she was doing it, holding me up when I wanted to crumble, and she didn’t even realize it.
Spencer returned to the kitchen, having spoken to Dad, and filled him in. I could imagine how hard he and Mom were taking Billy’s death as well.
“They coming back?”
“Dad says they’ll give it a couple days, but they want to be back for the service. We need to wrap this up before then.” He didn’t have to tell me that.
I nodded grimly and opened my mouth to ask if he’d checked in with his guys, but was cut short by my cell phone going off. The screen showed the caller as unknown.
“Hello.”
“You don’t know how much I hoped it wasn’t you,” a familiar, low voice spit though a heavy Russian accent.
“Alexei.” Everyone in the kitchen’s eyes shot to me.
His reply came in a string of Russian profanities. “Oleg warned me. I didn’t want to believe we had a rat. I considered you a friend, trusted you even, and you turned out to be nothing but a filthy pig.”
“Careful Lex, you’ll hurt my feelings.”
“I’m going to do more than that,” he snarled. “Watch your back, Detective Shaw, and your pretty blonde friend’s. I’ll let Oleg take everyone you love before I come for you.”
I stiffened. “I’ll give you one final piece of advice Kuznetsov, run and hide.”
A dark chuckle came through the line. “I could say the same to you.” Then the call ended.
“Well, it’s safe to say the Russians know who I am,” I set the phone down. “Called my personal number and the asshole referred to me as Detective Shaw.”
“I’m guessing it wasn’t a friendly call.”
“Just the usual I’m going to kill you and everyone you love,” I answered my brother, regretting it when I saw Emily’s face pale. Dammit. Trying to make light of the situation was a dumbass thing to do. Dropping the humor, I asked seriously, “Who wants first watch tonight?”
Twenty-Three
Camden
The night passed in three-hour shifts, and when the sun came up on my watch, there hadn’t been a single sign of trouble. Instead of relief at the uneventful night, there was still a sense of dread building in the pit of my stomach.
What if I couldn’t keep Emily safe? What if I let something happen to her, or someone else I cared about? I fucked up so whatever happened, it was on me.
I had hoped when Spencer woke and put a call in to his guys, he’d have better news for me than he did. So far, James and Leon had struck out. A call to my Captain proved to be just as disappointing. They’d rounded up some low-level dirtbags who weren’t talking or giving anything up. He wouldn’t tell me much else, and again suggested I let them move us to a safer location.
Maybe I should have agreed this time, or at least had the girls taken somewhere else, but I didn’t. I couldn’t entrust their safety to anyone but the three of us, and I suspected they would fight it even if we tried. Spencer and Nikoli were on the same page when I consulted them.
Neither of the girls looked well rested when they came down. I’d left Emily in bed, my bed, shortly after four this morning, but her sleep had been restless all night.
Without a word, she came to me, wrapping her arms around my middle and pressing her head to my chest. I held her for a minute, letting her comfort me as much as I was trying to comfort her.
“Everything’s going to be fine.”
“It doesn’t feel that way,” she murmured.
“I promise it will be.” Now I just had to hope it was a promise I could keep.
The girls whipped up omelets while we made calls and continued to check on information. None of what we found was encouraging. Oleg and Alexei had become ghosts along with Yuri and a few others at the top.
“Maybe they took your advice and are running and hiding,” Nikoli commented after breakfast when we’d still turned up nothing. I knew he didn’t believe that any more than I did.
“They’re not smart enough for that.”
Spencer interrupted, looking up from a message on his phone. “James is on his way.”
“My brother is on his way here?” Emily walked over to the table, her hands wrapped around a large mug of coffee.
“Yeah. To check in and to check on you, I imagine.” Spencer glanced at me, almost in warning.
I wouldn’t have a problem with James so long as he didn’t have a problem with me doing all sorts of wicked things to his little sister . . . oka
y, we were more than likely going to have problems. I caught Emily’s eyes on me as well. Geez, was everyone worried about it?
I pushed up from the table. “I’m going to take the dogs out and run down the road to the mailbox.”
It was just over a quarter mile down the drive to the main road where the mailbox sat in a row along with the few neighbors’ I had. I grabbed the small stack. I had most of my mail sent to a P.O. box, but a few important things came to the house, along with the occasional piece of junk. Mail in hand, I started the trek back to the house. I rifled through a few envelopes while I walked, pulling out the ones that were obviously garbage – addressed to current resident. I tossed them in the recycling bin near the garage when I got back to the house and set the remaining stack on the porch steps while I retrieved a ball and tossed it for Cash and Kota a few times.
When I grabbed the mail again to head inside, my eyes caught on an enveloped they’d glossed over before. It was thin, manila and had no return address or postage, which meant someone had dropped it in the box themselves. Occasionally, one of my neighbors dropped something in; that’s what I was expecting when I broke the seal. Instead, a handful of five by seven photographs slid from the package into my hand. I froze on the last step as I realized what they were of.
“Sonuvabitch,” I cursed, flipping through them. “Fuck!” Alexei and Oleg were dead men. I was going to see to it myself. I shoved the images back inside the envelope and stormed in the house, my blood near boiling. I went straight to the kitchen, mentally scrambling for a way to tell Em and the others about this.
Four sets of eyes found me when I stepped into the kitchen. “I want to know where Alexei and Oleg are. Now.”
“What’s going on?” Spence read me easily, straightening as worry lines creased his forehead.
“One of those fuckers left a present in my mailbox.” I held up the envelope. “Full of pictures, a clear threat.”
“Pictures?” Spence asked carefully.
I glanced at Emily, hating that I’d dragged her into this. “Pictures of the two of us, with crosshairs drawn on them,” I informed my brother without taking my eyes off of Em, watching to see how she would react. “From yesterday, down at the river. Someone was watching us.”
Tears of Blue (Shades of Death Book 2) Page 19