Missing Justice (The Justice Team Book 7)

by Adrienne Giordano

  “There’s no direct link from him to Rosalind or anyone at the birthing center.” Matt tucked his phone away and dropped a kiss on her lips. “Sit tight. I’ll go feel him out.”

  Up ahead, under the soft, yellow glow of a streetlight, Glaw hopped out of his truck, reached back in to grab a bag of groceries, and then locked up the truck.

  Taylor’s body hummed with nerves and she put a hand on Matt’s arm to stop him. “He’s only using his right hand, Matt.”

  Glaw held his left arm close to his body, a definite hump showing under his jacket.

  “By golly, you might just be right, Agent Sinclair.”

  Matt reached under his seat, grabbed a .45 that was tucked into a holster and slipped it on his belt.

  “Be careful,” she said as he shut the door on her.

  The humming in her system ratcheted up a notch. She didn’t like sitting in the car. Hated it, in fact. This was no doubt the guy who’d attacked her. What if he had a gun under that jacket?

  Glaw was halfway up the stairs to his place when he stopped, set the bag down, and yanked out his cell phone. Matt was just hitting the sidewalk and slowed as the man checked the screen.

  Bag forgotten, Glaw turned and went hauling back down the stairs, pocketing his phone once more. Matt picked up his pace, hailing the man with a wave. “Dwayne Glaw?”

  Glaw glanced Matt’s way, startled, then jumped into his truck.

  Taylor threw her door open and started running as the taillights came to life and the truck took off.

  Matt gave chase for a second, managing to bang a hand on the tailgate, but there was no way to catch the truck.

  “Shoot the tires!” Taylor yelled, going for her personal backup weapon.

  Matt turned, giving her a pointed look as he sprinted back toward her and motioned wildly. “Get back in the car.”

  What? But this was his gig as much as hers, so she did. As they peeled away from the oak tree and started to follow, she asked, “Why didn’t you shoot the tires and stop him?”

  Her phone was buzzing. It was Grey.

  Matt skidded around the corner. “I’m not gonna shoot up this street, Taylor.”

  She had to hang onto the door handle,. “He’s a killer!”

  “Yeah, but I’m not a cop anymore and he didn’t threaten me. What reason do I have to open fire?”

  Another buzz and Taylor answered. “We’re in pursuit of Dwayne. What’s up?”

  His voice was tight. “Mitch and Caroline are in trouble.”

  “How do you know?”

  “They were wired. Their covers are blown. I need you and Matt to get to them asap.”

  Frustration screamed through Taylor. “But…but…” But nothing. Mitch and Caroline came first, even if it meant losing Glaw. “Yes, sir. We’ll divert and get to Rosalind’s right now.”

  “She told them to meet her at a different location. A new construction building outside of town where she supposedly leased office space last week. I’m texting you the address now. I’ll meet you there, but it will take me longer to get there than it will for you. You’re only a mile from the site. I’m all the way across town.”

  Matt was giving her a what the fuck look. She put Grey on speakerphone and held the phone between them so he could hear. “You think Mitch and Caroline are in danger?”

  The text with the address appeared on her screen and Taylor hit the link for Google Maps. Grey was right. They were only blocks away.

  “Would I be calling you if I didn’t?” Grey asked.

  She showed the pulsing red pinpoint on the screen to Matt and he nodded.

  “This is Mitch and Caroline,” Taylor said to Grey. “They know how to handle themselves. Is there something you’re not telling us?”

  Grey’s car roared to life in the background. “Rosalind knocked Mitch out and has a gun on Caroline. We’re code red at this point, people.”

  “Holy fuck,” Matt said.

  The funny thing was that the silver truck was still in front of them as they sped toward the address Grey had provided. Taylor squinted at the rear lights of the truck. “Did Rosalind, by any chance, call in backup?”

  “She may have. Why?”

  Taylor pointed at the truck and Matt gave her another knowing nod. Dwayne Glaw was going to the same address. “We’re almost there already, Grey. Don’t worry.”

  “Did you call the cops?” Matt asked.

  “Better,” Grey said. “I called the Justice Team. Brennan and Gerard will be there shortly.”

  Matt grinned like this was the best time he’d had in awhile. “Hot damn.”

  Taylor sank back and gripped the door tighter as Matt floored it.

  * * *

  Matt slowed to a crawl and watched the silver truck pull into a parking lot half a block ahead. Glaw thought he’d lost them. Hell, he almost had when they’d gotten stuck at a light with a funeral procession making its way through the intersection. Being familiar with the area from his homicide days, Matt cut down an alley, hooked a left on the next block, shot down two streets and made another left that brought them within a half block of the silver truck.

  He glanced at Taylor. “Are you thinking what I’m thinking?”

  “That Ros just summoned Glaw to help her? You know it. Why else would he be coming to this address after Grey has just told us Mitch and Caroline are blown?”

  He cruised by the front of the building, a spanking new single-story cement structure with large windows and warm beige paint. There were three cars in the lot. Caroline’s Toyota, Ros’s Escalade and the silver truck.

  Matt considered pulling in the lot, but what a way to announce oneself.

  “Let’s see if there’s a back entrance,” Taylor said.

  A woman after his own heart. “Exactly what I was thinking.”

  At the corner, Matt made a right and—bingo—directly behind the building was another entrance with vacant parking spaces and a dumpster that still contained construction debris.

  “Brand new building, I guess.”

  “Grey said something about that on the phone.”

  He bypassed the empty parking spaces and pulled behind the dumpster, out of sight from the building just in case someone happened to look out.

  “Um,” Taylor said. “Plan?”

  He grabbed his lock-picking tools from the glove compartment. “We’re going inside.”

  “That’s the plan? I think we’re missing a few key elements. Like, oh yeah, is anyone armed besides Roz, will we be seen walking in? Will we be shot doing so? I mean, for the love of God, we can’t just go in there blind.”

  “Watch me. However, we will be careful. When we pulled in, I noticed the blind on the side window wasn’t all the way down. You check that one. I’ll take those on this side. See if we notice anything.”

  “I’m on it.”

  He handed her an earbud and plugged one into his own ear. After syncing them, he watched her walk off, her tremendously fantastic ass swinging gently as she made her way toward the window. Jeez, he had no time for this now. He needed his brain to not be focused on the damned pheromones activating it.

  Later though, after they bailed Monroe out of this jackpot—he so owes me for this—they’d revisit the whole pheromone thing.

  At the edge of the building, he stopped and did what one of his SWAT buddies called the very complex quick peek. Pretty much, that’s all it was. A look around the edge of the building fast enough to get out of the way of a bullet.

  Side of the building clear.

  Excellent.

  He strode back to the door, listening for any hollering or voices that might drift from inside. Nothing. Maybe they were all at the front of the building?

  Taylor swung around the side, moving at a good clip as her heels stabbed into the dirt. She waggled her thumb over her shoulder.

  “I saw Glaw. That window is an office. One desk, two chairs. Filing cabinet in the corner to the right of the door. Glaw is in the hallway, leaning on the door
frame. It looked like he was talking to someone.”

  “Okay. So chances are, this door leads to the hallway.”

  “Which means if I open it, he’ll see us.”

  “Shit,” Matt said.

  “What now?”

  He blew air through his lips. With only two entrances and one of them out of the running, they had a decision to make. “Well, sweet cheeks. We have one option.”

  “Oh, my God. Don’t say it.”

  He shrugged. What did she want from him? It was what it was.

  “Matt, we are not breaking in via the front door. There’s a major street right there. Do you not think someone will see us?”

  “I’m guessing they will, but from the street they won’t see we don’t have a key. And the way the front door is positioned, I’m gonna go out on a limb and say they can’t see it from the hallway.”

  “Holy mother,” Taylor said even as she followed him around the side of the building. “I’m going to jail. I know it. Yesterday a rising star at the FBI and today a common low-life criminal. My mother will die of humiliation.”

  “She’ll forgive you. Now pipe down before someone hears you.”

  “You don’t know my mother.”

  “Not yet. But I hope to.”

  He marched up to the all-glass door—not a break to be had today—pulling Taylor alongside him. “Block the view from the street.”

  After sliding his lock-picking tools from his pocket, he went to work, his hands trembling more than he’d like to admit because—hell on earth—they were sitting ducks out here. Freaking glass door. If anyone walked into the reception area, they’d spot them and what a handy target the two of them made.

  He hit a snag in the lock. Shit. Lost the pins. He started over, but sensed the tension coming off Taylor like a grizzly on the prowl.

  “What’s wrong?” she whispered.

  “Nothing. Tricky lock. I lost the pins.”

  And then, have mercy, she got quiet and let him focus. Damn, he was crazy about this woman. Lunatic or not, she understood his moods, knew when to leave him be and not pepper him with five million questions.

  The lock clicked.

  Done.

  He shoved his tools in his back pocket and the two of them drew their weapons. Perfect sync. That was them.

  “What if there’s a chime on the door?”

  Now she thinks of that? “Then sweetheart, we’re fucked. Let’s do this.”

  Holding his breath, he eased the door open. No chime. Finally a break.

  Taylor slipped inside, ducking alongside the wall. He followed and the two of them took shelter behind a decorative half wall that separated reception from an open area with a table and chairs. To their left was the hallway that Matt assumed led to where Taylor had seen Glaw.

  Voices drifted from the rear of the building and Matt cocked his head.

  “Don’t do this,” a woman said, her voice calm but riding the edge of it.

  Shit. That was Caroline.

  “Caroline?” Taylor mouthed.

  Matt nodded.

  “Let me check on my husband.” Caroline again.

  “Pfft,” Ros said. “He’s not your husband.”

  “Actually, he is. We did the whole Vegas wedding thing, complete with Elvis. Please, I won’t try anything. Just let me check on him.”

  Silence. Seconds passed. Whatever was going on back there, they needed to get moving. Taylor, once again in perfect sync, pointed toward the hallway and Matt started moving.

  The two of them duck-walked along the half-wall until it connected with a full-sized one. At the mouth of the hallway, Matt held up his hand. Taylor had seen Glaw in that hallway. If they swung around the corner, they’d be the best goddamn targets a shooter had ever seen.

  Distraction.

  They needed one. Pronto. Matt held up one finger then hustled to the reception desk, a tall L shaped deal that looked like solid teak. Ros sure didn’t skimp on the accessories. The top of the desk held only a phone and three metal stacking trays. Below though was a set of drawers. He slid the top one open and his gaze zoomed to the stapler.

  He picked it up, tested its weight. Perfect. He glanced at Taylor, made a throwing motion and she nodded, immediately holding her weapon up, readying herself to charge into the hallway.

  Matt mouthed a countdown. “One, two, three.”

  Winding up, he hurled the stapler against the far wall hard enough to knock a chunk of drywall out of it. That would get some attention.

  “What was that?” Ros said. “Check it. I’ll watch her.”

  Staying behind the wall, Taylor pivoted, waiting for Glaw to step into the opening. Matt hustled back to where she stood and she snuck a glance at him. He saw it, that glint in her eye, the adrenalin overload that could send the mind to the worst possible places.

  “Relax,” he mouthed.

  She nodded, raised her weapon again and Glaw, idiot that he was, rushed into the opening, a giant .45 in his hands.

  “Freeze!” Taylor said.

  Glaw stopped, but still held the gun.

  Matt drew down on him. “Drop that weapon! Now!”

  But Glaw only smiled, a tiny smirk that told Matt all he needed to know about this asshole.

  Matt trained his nine-millimeter at center mass and for effect pressed the button on his laser. The red beam dropped a dot on Glaw’s chest. “Not to be trite,” he said, “but go ahead, make my day.”

  With two weapons pointed at him, Glaw made the smart move and lowered his. “Put it on the floor and kick it over here.”

  Glaw complied, putting his hands up as a bonus.

  “What’s going on?” Ros hollered from the back of the suite.

  Matt jerked his chin at Taylor. “I got him. Go.”

  Taylor angled around Glaw, giving him a slight push as she went by. My girl. He always did love a ballsy woman.

  “On the floor,” he said, grabbing a couple zip ties from his back pocket.

  “Stop!”

  Caroline’s voice.

  Shit.

  “Matt!” Taylor’s voice came through his earbud. “Get down here. Now!”

  Chapter Eighteen

  Taylor peeked around the doorframe again, hoping to catch Caroline’s eye. Mitch was lying on the floor, blood seeping from a wound at his temple, but Caroline had Rosalind’s full attention.

  By way of Ros’s gun pointed at her head.

  If Caroline had seen Taylor, she didn’t let on. “Shooting me isn’t going to make this go away,” Caroline said. “Your illegal adoption ring is done. If you cooperate and put down that gun, I can get you a deal with the prosecutor.”

  Ros chuckled. “Do you really think I’m dumb enough to believe that? You’re not a cop, so what are you? FBI?”

  “Not anymore,” Caroline said. “But I’m still going to kick your ass.”

  Matt sidled up next to Taylor. She put a finger to her lips and signaled him that Ros had a gun. He nodded and they listened, Taylor once more just barely peeking an eye around the edge of the frame.

  Rosalind laughed and sat on the edge of a swanky desk with several folders and her cell phone on it. “Is that so? Looks to me like you’re about to end up one more missing person for that stupid bitch, Sinclair, to try to find.”

  Stupid bitch? Seriously? Taylor clamped her jaw and felt Matt’s hand on her shoulder, a subtle way of keeping her from taking the woman’s head off.

  Except, Taylor knew there was no way this would end well. Ros was going to kill Caroline. Might have killed Mitch already.

  They couldn’t wait for Grey or the others. They had to stop this woman. Now.

  Without taking her eyes or her gun off Caroline, Ros called over her shoulder. “Dwayne? What’s going on out there?”

  Shrugging off Matt’s hand, Taylor swung around the doorframe, gun aimed at Ros. “He’s a little tied up right now, thanks to this stupid bitch and her partner.”

  As expected, Ros jumped up, swinging her gun in Taylo
r’s direction. Caroline, no stranger to hostage situations, took the opening to drop to the floor and sweep Ros’s feet out from under her.

  Ros’s gun went off as she fell, and Taylor suddenly found herself shoved against the opposite side of the frame by two very strong hands.

  Mad Dog. The bullet smacked into the wood where her head had been, and Matt rushed past her, yelling at Ros to drop her weapon.

  The woman obviously had problems following orders because she scrambled to her feet, waving the gun in the air. God help them if that thing went off again. Matt chased after her, but she leaped behind the desk. Another shot rang out and Matt ducked as Caroline dove on top of Mitch, covering him with her body.

  Take her down.

  Taylor launched herself across the space. The tackle was clean and she took the woman to the floor behind her desk, knocking the gun from her hand at the same time.

  Ros came up swinging, trying to buck Taylor off and Taylor decided she’d had enough of playing nice. Time to go Mad Dog style. She cocked her arm back and—pow—punched Ros in the jaw.

  The woman’s eyes widened, the shock settling in, just before they rolled back in her head. Beneath Taylor, Ros went limp, but she stayed put, waiting to see if the witch might be playing her.

  “Nice work,” a male voice said above her.

  She looked up to see three men staring down at her. Matt, Gerard, and a guy she assumed was Grey’s man, Brice Brennan.

  Grey rushed in on their heels. “Anyone hurt?”

  “Mitch,” Caroline said from the other side of the room, her voice carrying a tight anguish Taylor didn’t like. All the men’s faces disappeared.

  As Grey and the others administered to Mitch, Matt handed Taylor a set of zip ties and helped her sit Rosalind up. The woman blinked her eyes open and grimaced. “You broke my jaw.”

  “Shit happens,” Taylor replied with a shrug. “And if it was broken, you wouldn’t be able to talk. But you can, so you’re going to tell me about your fake birth certificates and where the Jarvis baby is.”

  Ros sniffed. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  “Really? You’re going to play dumb now? I should pop you again because you’re being a jerk. You know, that gal over there may not be FBI anymore, but I am, and I’m going to send you to prison for the rest of your life unless you start talking.”