by Mandy Baxter
Tabitha couldn’t help her disbelieving laughter. “Jesus Christ, Joey. That’s so far from what actually happened, it’s not even funny!”
“What’s funny is that you’d say that, Tabs, because according to Tony, you helped Damien jack him.”
Her jaw dropped. That asshole! That lying son of a bitch! “Considering the arrangement we have, why in God’s name would I do that?” How do you deal with someone who’s blackmailing you? Simple. Rob him blind. Tabitha snorted. Joey was such a fool.
“Since you’ve been chasing after Damien like a fucking bitch in heat, I doubt it was too hard for him to talk you into helping him.”
Anger built inside of her like roiling storm clouds, so intense she tasted it on the back of her tongue. How did he even know she’d been seeing Damien? Tony obviously hadn’t wasted any time in spreading the juicy gossip. “Get. Out.” Tabitha stood from her chair and leveled her gaze on Joey. “Get out of my office right now.”
Joey’s hand struck out like a viper, catching her around the throat. “Don’t get lippy with me, you little cunt. Because of your bullshit, Lightfoot is coming down and he’ll be here tonight. Do you know how much of his shit went missing last night? Half of an entire goddamned delivery. And you can bet your uptight little ass it isn’t going to be me that pays for the fuck-up.”
He released his grip and Tabitha stumbled backward, gasping for air as she rubbed at her abused throat. “You’re through,” Joey spat as he headed for the door. “Your brother is fucking through. And so is that piece of shit boyfriend of yours.”
The door slammed behind him with enough force to rattle Tabitha’s teeth. Limbs shaking, she collapsed into her chair, her breaths coming in desperate gasps that made her see stars. She fumbled with her cell, dropping it three times before she could steady the stupid thing in her hands. She accessed the recent-calls screen and selected Damien’s number from the list.
When his voice mail picked up, Tabitha cursed under her breath. Whether or not opening up to him had been a mistake, they were in this together now. She might not have been scared of Joey before, but he’d rattled her today. And if Gerald was on his way into town, they were all as good as dead.
“Damien, it’s Tabitha.” She tried to manage the panic in her voice, but that was easier said than done. “Tony told Joey that we beat him up and stole half a delivery’s worth of drugs from him last night. Joey is pissed. He said Gerald Lightfoot is headed to town to sort it all out.” A sob rose in her throat and she swallowed it down. “He said he’s not going to take the fall for it and I know he’s going to throw us all under the bus. Including Seth. I don’t know what to do. Can you please call me?”
She disconnected the call and dialed Seth. He needed to get out of town. Now. Voice mail answered and Tabitha swore. Goddamn it, didn’t anyone answer their phone anymore? “Seth, call me as soon as you get this message.” She ended the call and stared at the far wall, tears springing to her eyes.
What she wouldn’t give for a normal life. One that didn’t involve being nearly choked to death twice in twenty-four hours.
“We need to get you to a hospital, Evans. Those stitches cannot be sanitary.”
Despite the pain radiating from his thigh, Damien continued to pace the confines of his hotel room, his gut churning like the ocean at high tide. When he heard Tabitha’s message, he’d been prepared to jump to action, but Chief Deputy Callihan insisted that they handle this by the book from here on out.
“I’m fine.”
“The hell you are. What were you thinking, not reporting that shooting last night? John Rader is up my ass over this. He thinks we cut him out of the loop, and Nampa PD has had extra resources on this since last night. Would a phone call have killed you? ‘Hey, Chief, just wanted to let you know I shot up a couple of gangbangers and took a bullet to the leg.’ You know, just to give us a jumping-off point.”
Neither his sarcasm nor his aggravation was lost on Damien. This case had been out of control since day one. Way to instill confidence, dickhead. “I didn’t want to compromise my cover.”
“No,” Callihan snarked. “Of course not. Because fraternizing with a suspect didn’t compromise you at all.”
He had a point. “Tabitha Martin isn’t a suspect. She’s an asset. Her brother, too. They’re the key to getting to Lightfoot.”
The chief deputy snorted. “They’ll be lucky if the U.S. attorneys’ office doesn’t file racketeering and conspiracy charges against both of them. You heard Martin’s voice mail. She said Cavello thinks you stole from him. Lightfoot is on his way to put his business in order. We don’t need Martin or his sister to get to Lightfoot now.”
“We do,” Damien asserted. There was no way in hell he was going to let Tabitha take the fall for any of this. “Lightfoot isn’t an idiot; if he were, we would have made an arrest years ago. Since he’s been on the run, he’s been careful not to directly connect himself with any of his deals. He uses middlemen for everything. If we want an airtight case against him, we need both Tabitha and her brother’s testimony. They have years of history with the man. Seth Martin was Lightfoot’s mule for a long time. They might be the only two people who have personal knowledge of his involvement.”
“Not true,” Callihan argued. “We’ve got Cavello.”
“Please.” Damien needed to gain some ground and prove his case, now. “Do you really think Lightfoot is that stupid? If he’s headed into town, like Cavello says, there is no way he’s going to be stupid enough to initiate face-to-face contact.”
“How else is he going to take care of business?”
“Simple,” Damien replied. “He’ll use the one person he thinks he can trust. The only person in the area who’s had face-to-face dealings with him.”
“Seth Martin?”
“I’d be willing to bet my pension that if Lightfoot hasn’t already contacted Seth, he will soon.”
“Okay,” Callihan said. “I’ll bite. What do you want to do from here?”
“Bring Seth and Tabitha in. We’ll make a deal—Seth helps us to make an arrest and we’ll exonerate him of any wrongdoing.”
Callihan gave Damien a pointed look. “How does Tabitha fit into the equation? As far as I can see, she brings nothing to the table.”
“She flips on Cavello, Boise PD gets to make their arrests, and the state agrees not to press charges for her cooperation.”
Callihan nodded. “This could mean WITSEC for both of them. Would they be willing to enter the program? You know it’s a tough sell for people like them.”
Damien gnashed his teeth and swallowed the sharp retort that sat on the tip of his tongue. People like them, meaning lower-class, white trash, dirty, uneducated . . . the list went on and on. He knew for a fact Tabitha had been trying to escape that stigma all of her life. The fact that people like Callihan insisted on making jackassed assumptions was why she found it so hard to find a life outside of her past.
“We’ll deal with that issue when we come to it.” Damien wasn’t going to sit by and watch Tabitha disappear into the abyss of WITSEC anyway. Not if he could do anything about it. “But first we need to get them into custody before Lightfoot or Cavello gets their hands on them.”
“All right. We’ll play this your way. First I’m going to have to get the U.S. attorney to sign off on any deals we make. Then, I’ll get Gates and a couple of Boise PD guys to bring them in. Get cleaned up. Because you’re going to be brokering this little deal.”
Damien swallowed down the anxiety that pooled in his gut. That nightmare he’d been worried about last night? It was just getting started.
Chapter Twenty-Two
“Where’s Seth?” Tabitha’s voice had reached supersonic proportions about fifteen minutes ago. She walked into the Boise police station flanked by the deputy U.S. marshal she’d met in the parking lot the other day and two cops. Wow. They must have thought she was dangerous. If she wasn’t so scared out of her mind, she would have laughed. But if someone didn’t t
ell her where Seth was soon, she’d show them dangerous and then some. “Where is my brother?”
Her entourage remained annoyingly stoic as they led her into a conference room. Seth was seated at the far end of a long table, a frown marring his face as he slouched in his chair. Sweet relief cascaded over her, and Tabitha let out a sob as she rushed into the room to give Seth a hug. “Oh my God,” she sighed against his shoulder. “I’ve been worried sick.”
Seth gave her a look that said Take it easy, Mom, but she didn’t care. When the marshal had showed up at the hotel and not-so-politely requested that she come with him, Tabitha lost her shit. Every worst-case scenario in the book had raced through her mind. Number one on the list, that Joey had gotten his hands on Seth and her brother was dead. Arrested was way better than dead as far as she was concerned. Seth might not see it that way, but she didn’t care.
“Have a seat, Miss Martin.”
She stood up straight and squared her shoulders. “Not until you tell me what’s going on.”
Deputy Gates gave her a deadpan smile, one she suspected was reserved for smart-mouth detainees like herself. His tone was ice-cold, forceful. “Have a seat, Miss Martin.”
Tabitha fell into the chair next to Seth’s. The suspense was killing her and if something didn’t give soon, she was going to throw up. Her stomach churned like an angry sea, her heart beating with so much force, she was afraid it was going to break right out of her chest like one of those creatures in the Alien movies. Should she have an attorney present? Could she even afford an attorney? How did one go about contacting a lawyer on a Sunday afternoon?
The door to the conference room swung open and Tabitha’s brain froze as it tried to reconcile what her eyes were seeing. Behind an older man dressed in business casual was a towering mountain of a man, his height and bulk the most impressive form in the room. His light brown locks were still purposely mussed, but he looked out of place in a pair of formfitting slacks and a white button-down. Around his neck, a gold badge hung on a lanyard, the five-pointed star glinting in the artificial light.
Tabitha opened her mouth to speak. Closed it. Opened it again, but words refused to come. What in the hell was going on?
“Miss Martin, I’m Chief Deputy U.S. Marshal Dennis Callihan. This is Deputy Parker Evans. I think it’s time we had a chat with you and your brother.”
Parker Evans? Tabitha’s brain cranked into high gear, along with an indignant fire that burned from the pit of her stomach all the way up her throat. What were the odds that Damien had an equally sexy twin brother who happened to work on the opposite side of the law? All signs pointed to not a freaking chance.
Seth began to run off at the mouth, a string of smart-ass remarks that Tabitha couldn’t make a lick of sense of. The words were nothing more than gibberish, a cacophony of sound that amounted to white noise in the back of her mind. Her eyes met Damien’s, and the look of regret that flashed across his handsome visage squeezed every ounce of blood from her heart and the last breath of oxygen from her lungs.
“You son of a bitch!”
Tabitha found her voice and it exploded from her in a shout that left her throat raw and aching. Angry tears stung her eyes, and she willed not a single one to pass over her lids. The thought that Damien—or was it Parker?—had used her, betrayed her trust, made her think that he felt anything for her, was like acid burning through her veins. Oh God. She’d thrown herself at him like some sort of sex-starved nympho. And he’d let her! Encouraged her! Played his little games of domination, making her think that she’d finally found a man who could give her what she needed. Had all of it been an act? Just a part he played to gain her trust so he could make an arrest?
The humiliation was almost more than she could bear.
“Come on, Seth. We’re out of here.” Her brother gave a superior snort, a secret fist-bump to encourage Tabitha’s defiance. She pushed out her chair with so much force that it crashed against the opposite wall. Childish? Maybe. But it was either that or she was going to put her fist into Damien’s not-too-soft gut. If she assaulted a United States marshal, she doubted anyone would think twice before slapping cuffs on her.
“Both of you need to sit back down.” The older guy—Callihan—seemed to be running the show. Likewise, he didn’t come off as the type of guy who took shit off of anyone. “Your brother might not know the kind of trouble you’re both in, but you do, Tabitha. I don’t think you want to take your chances out there.”
Despair permeated every pore of her body, tightening Tabitha’s skin to the point that she felt suffocated. Seth gave her the side-eye, and she knew that if she didn’t play along, they were both screwed.
“Tabs, what’s going on?” Seth’s smart-ass tone evaporated into something altogether more concerned. It was the most adult he’d ever sounded, and if not for their abysmal circumstances, she would have been thrilled to see that for once, he was taking something seriously.
“Thanks to that lying son of a bitch over there”—she jerked her chin toward Damien—“Joey thinks I helped to steal a half shipment of whatever it is he’s selling. Gerald is coming down to clean house.”
Seth collapsed back down into his chair. “Holy shit, Tabs. This is bad.”
“This has nothing to do with either of you.” Damien approached the table and took up a place directly across from where Tabitha stood. She refused to demur and looked right into the bastard’s eyes, hoping he could see the pain in hers. He deserved nothing less than to suffer for his deception.
“If it doesn’t have anything to do with us, then why are we here?”
Damien gave Tabitha a look as though to say it was beneath her to play coy. Yeah, right. “We want Lightfoot. Period.”
Jesus. She would have been less hurt to know it was Joey they’d been after. The admission speared her straight through the heart and twisted painfully. Had Damien known about her history all along? Weaseled into her life—her heart—in an effort to find a way to Gerald Lightfoot? God, she’d bared her soul to him, told him things she’d never told anyone else, and for all she knew, he’d already been up to speed on every sordid detail of her life!
“I can’t get you any closer to Gerald than you already are,” Tabitha replied. “You know that.” Damien’s gaze slid to Seth, and Tabitha’s temper boiled. “It’s not enough that you used me? Now you want to use him, too?”
Damien’s shoulders slumped. It was a low blow, but Tabitha didn’t care.
“The U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force has been after Gerald Lightfoot for years, Miss Martin,” Chief Deputy Callihan chimed in. “Arresting him is our top priority. If you and your brother help us to make an arrest, we can guarantee your safety. We can take care of some of the dark marks on Seth’s record and give you both a fresh start.”
Tabitha snorted. “Sounds a lot like blackmail to me.”
“Call it whatever you want. We can let you both walk out of here right now, but what’s that going to accomplish? You’re facing racketeering and conspiracy charges, Tabitha. Your brother, too. Why take your chances out there when we can give you a sure thing right here?”
Yep, exactly like blackmail.
“Tabitha.” Damien’s voice was like a slow caress, lingering on her name with so much affection that it broke her heart all over again. “We’re trying to help you. Both of you. We know that you were coerced into helping Joey by setting him up at the hotel. And as far as Seth’s involvement goes, I know you don’t want to see him pay the price for a few stupid mistakes. You said he’s been straight and I believe you. Let me help you get a clean start. Let us protect you. Both of you.”
Tabitha thought back to Damien’s whispered words in the darkness of her bedroom. His emphatic proclamation that he’d protect her. That he’d never let anyone hurt her. She’d told him not to make promises he couldn’t keep. He’d cut her more deeply than anyone in her entire screwed-up life. He’d gutted her. Hollowed her out and filled the empty space with his tender affection. And no
w, there was nothing left but a void.
“Let’s say we do help you.” Seth took Tabitha’s hand and gave it a reassuring squeeze. “What do you want from us and what do we get if you arrest Lightfoot?”
An armor-piercing round to the chest wouldn’t have hurt more than the pained look of betrayal marring Tabitha’s delicate features. He’d wanted to explain things to her, come clean in private, away from the law enforcement setting. But this bullshit with Tony and the missing drugs had bumped up their time line. Damien had been too concerned for Tabitha’s safety to risk not bringing her and Seth in immediately.
He’d never blurred the lines between his personal and professional lives before. Probably because he didn’t have a personal life to speak of. This was a cluster fuck of epic proportions, and it was a wonder he was still allowed to wear his badge. Of course, once Crawford got wind of the situation, he might be turning it in after all.
“Right now, all Lightfoot knows is that half of his latest shipment is missing. That’s almost a half-million-dollar loss for him and not something he’s going to let slide. According to Joey Cavello, your sister and I stole those drugs and beat up one of his guys last night. I’d imagine that Joey is going to do whatever he can to avoid Lightfoot when he gets to town. It won’t matter who stole what, only that it’s gone. Joey is going to be held responsible. And if Lightfoot can’t get his hands on Joey, he’ll go to the guy who initially set him up with Joey in the first place. You.”
“Damn, Tabs,” Seth said to his sister. “You got into some shit last night.”
Tabitha’s face flushed with embarrassment and she sunk down into her previously discarded seat. As hard as she’d tried to separate herself from the life she’d grown up in, Damien knew that this situation had to be humiliating for her. He hated that she was involved at all. There was so much he wanted to say to her. But it didn’t look like he’d get a second alone with her for a while.
“You’re probably right,” Seth said with a shrug. “We’re sort of like family to him. He’ll call me if he can’t find Joey. So, what do you want me to do? For the record, I’m not wearing a wire.”