I couldn’t hear what he was saying to Ethan, but evidently Ethan shared my opinion because he kicked out with his bound feet. Fisk laughed, stepped back, and delivered a solid kick to his injured leg. The pain in Ethan’s lanced through my heart as I struggled against my own bonds.
“Hey Price, it sounds like your girlfriend is ready to get it on. I’ll be back after a bit.”
With that, he turned and walked toward me, and I realized just how wrong I was.
Major Carl Nesbitt tilted his hat back and leaned in close enough that his breath, rancid with cigarette smoke, old food, and whiskey made me nauseous.
“Well, hello there, Miss Martin, it’s a pleasure to see you again. That was the best meeting I’ve ever been stuck in.”
He ran a nicotine-stained finger down my throat and between my breasts before tugging at a belt loop on my shorts. Tears flooded my eyes as panic raced through me.
“Such a pleasure.” His voice was smooth as sewage.
I closed my eyes, waiting to be pummeled by his filthy hands. To my surprise and relief, he backed away.
“I have to say, in thirty-some-odd years of law enforcement for the great state of Texas, you two have caused me as much trouble as professional criminals. This was supposed to be straightforward. Get the fucking money. Okay, those monkeys at Justice had no idea that I was going to step in once she’d given it up, but still, get the fucking money. Am I right, Price?”
What’s he talking about?
Ethan wouldn’t meet my eyes.
A cellphone beep interrupted Nesbitt. Rockhound signaled to him. “Carl, that other situation is ready for us to address. I think we should let our guests enjoy it with us.”
“I agree, just in case they were holding out any foolish hopes.”
The double doors at the far end of the room opened and Bobby and his brother half-carried, half-dragged someone across the gleaming wood floor. As they got closer, I saw that it was Mike. His face swelled from a beating and his prosthetic leg was gone. After giving me a searing up-and-down look, they dropped him at Nesbitt’s feet.
Rockhound came out from behind the round table and stood next to Nesbitt. He wasn’t as tall or imposing, but his impeccable clothes and hair made the Ranger look like a hick. The one thing they shared was a cold, hungry stare and a flush of color across their cheeks. They were enjoying this.
Nesbitt grabbed Mike by his hair and tilted his head back. “That was a stupid fucking move on your part.”
Mike smiled and spit blood on the Ranger’s boots. Rockhound burst into laughter, but Nesbitt kicked Mike under the chin.
“I do believe we just saved a shit-ton of cash. Pick him up, boys,” said Nesbitt.
Bobby and his brother each grabbed an arm and hoisted Mike into a kneeling position. Nesbitt unholstered his Colt and pressed the barrel to Mike’s forehead. Mike turned his head slightly and our eyes met. He gave me a small, almost wistful, smile before the back of his skull blew out. The custom acoustics of the room amplified the gunshot into a deafening crack that rang in my ears.
“Seems the boys caught Mike looking up numbers for law enforcement on his phone. Don’t worry, though, Miss Martin, he didn’t get any calls made. What did you promise him?”
I shook my head.
“That’s bullshit, but it doesn’t matter. He’s done and so are you.”
The ice in his voice and eyes scared me more than his pistol.
“Bobby, clean this up. It smells,” said Rockhound.
“I don’t think so.” Nesbitt wheeled around and shot both Bobby and his brother in the chest. Their bodies crumpled next to Mike. Then he leaned over each one and added a bullet to the head.
“Carl, what in the holy hell are you doing?” Even Rockhound looked spooked at this violence.
“I’m tying up the loose ends. Those two boys drove up with this pair. Who knows what she promised them. If Mike turned, well, those two idiots didn’t have half as many brains between them. Flash one tit and she’d own them.”
“Who’s going to clean this up?”
“Fuck if I know or care. Ask her who cleaned up Bemba’s busted operation. We can’t find any trace of it. She must have better crews than you do.”
Rockhound started to speak, but was cut off.
“Don’t start prattling about the videos and all the dirt you’ve got on me. Five years ago that worked. Hell, two years ago it worked. I’ve protected you because of it. Yes, you made it worth my while, and damn we had us some fun, but it’s done. Once she gives it up and they’re in their hole, I’ve got other things to do. Clean your own damn floors.”
Nesbitt turned back to me. I had my breathing back under control, but my fear-driven heart pounded in my ears.
“Oh, girlfriend got some fire back in her eyes. Damn, you are sexy when you’re worked up. I actually had some envy when we sent the blue-eyed boy wonder out on this operation.”
Again with the allusions. I couldn’t ask him to explain himself and Ethan still refused to look at me.
“You seem puzzled. You mean Price didn’t break down and confess to you? God knows, I heard enough of the rest of his crap through the parabolic mics. We figured he’d have told you everything by now.”
Both Ethan and I snapped our heads up at that. I locked eyes with Ethan and saw fear and shame mixed with his anger.
“What? Did you two think we were going to let you out of our control? First, my people followed you to her place and set up across the hall. I expected to hear some serious good solid fucking. Instead we got a bunch boo-hoo shit about his kid and a big fight. Damn Fisk and that stupid phone call. Price, you are one limp-dick son of a bitch for letting her stick you on the couch.”
I reddened at the thought.
“I could go on and on, but I’m feeling a little frisky. Price, watch and learn something about handling a woman like this one.”
Nesbitt put both hands flat on the wall on either side of me and leaned in. I closed my eyes and waited in dread, but he pushed off again. Cracking my eyes, terror jacked through me. His right hand was unstrapping a knife sheath on his belt.
Ethan saw it too and started thrashing against his bonds. A long crack erupted up the mirror from the rocking of the bracket holding the barre to the wall.
Rockhound sat transfixed with his tongue running along his lower lip.
Don’t cut me. Do anything but cut me. I’ll do whatever you want. Don’t cut me.
I tried to form the words, but all I got was the taste of the tape on my lips and tongue.
Nesbitt smiled as he ran the flat edge of the blade along my arm and across my breasts. Tears streamed down my face and my nose started to clog. I concentrated on breathing. Slow.
Don’t watch the knife. Breathe.
The blade was like ice, raising gooseflesh up and down my arms.
Breathe.
On the next circuit he slid it under the strap of my tank top and in one swift motion sliced through the straps of my top and bra. The elastic fabric snapped and sagged, partially exposing my breast.
Nesbitt’s head whipped around at the sound of breaking glass.
CHAPTER 74
“Price, what in the flying hell are you doing?”
While Nesbitt and Rockhound had been fixated on me, Ethan had worked one of the barre brackets out of the wall. He’d scooted down to the next one and was working on it when a section of the mirror shattered.
Nesbitt stormed over to Ethan and I braced myself for the blow. Instead, he ripped the tape off Ethan’s mouth.
“Price, here’s the rule. I’m going to tell her everything. If you move, I cut her. If you talk, I cut her. You got it?”
Ethan opened his mouth and Nesbitt raised the knife. Instead, Ethan slowly nodded.
“Okay, on with the story. I apologize for getting sidetracked there, but, damn, you are a piece of woman. Fisk told us about how you opened the door half naked. Miss Martin, you should know that he has an excellent memory. I almost brought him
in on the true mission. When he talks about you, it gets heated in all sorts of ways, but, I decided to keep this a small party so I don’t have to share as much. I can’t wait to get a look at all that art you’re wearing when it’s all you’re wearing.”
Despite my attempts at calm, tears flowed, and my nose continued to stop up and block my breathing.
Slow. Concentrate.
“Now we have this pussy taskforce chasing your chickenshit father. I even arranged for some drug charges on the grandson of one of your clerks. She rolled to save the little shit. Then the Feds tripped onto my friend here and this dumbass op got thrown together. Let me tell you, it was hard to sit at that table in Cochinelle and not bust out laughing at the way you worked them. I will admit, though, it was a handy-dandy way to deal with that twat stripper washing up in the ditch. I hate incompetence. Know that your holes are going to be wide and deep. I’ll see to it myself.”
He went over to the table and sloshed whiskey into a glass. Drinking deep, he continued.
“The master plan was to snatch up your dad and see if anybody freaked out. The second part was more basic. Price’s mission was to get your panties off so you’d tell him how to get to at the money.”
My gaze whipped from Nesbitt to Ethan.
“Yup. Agent Price had one assignment. The profilers picked him off the roster as the man most likely to get you all hot and bothered and talking.”
One look at Ethan confirmed that this was the truth. Hatred mixed with shame on his face.
I brought a skill set they thought they needed.
Stupid. How could I be so stupid?
I banged my head against the brick wall over and over. Maybe I could knock myself out or split my head open and let the images of the last few days spill all over the floor.
Nesbitt watched me with amusement and a sadistic purr crept into his voice. “Yes, Miss Martin, Price was a handpicked dick-for-hire and he jumped at the job when we told him about you. We were all looking forward to listening in, but all we got was two nights of fights and feelings.”
More whiskey.
“Price, all you had to do was knock her over, grease her up, and use those baby blues to get the information. Instead, you two were too stupid to fuck. No wonder your wife went to your brother to get knocked up. You’re pathetic. Well, maybe you’ll learn a thing or two tonight.”
“You sick bastard. Leave her alone,” Ethan screamed.
Nesbitt shook his head. “Price, yet one more order you couldn’t follow. You seemed so promising, but, everybody was right. You just can’t seem to live up to your potential, and, as usual, someone else has to pay for your fuckups.”
Horror spread across Ethan’s face as Nesbitt turned on his heel and walked back to me, brandishing his knife.
Panic is a flowering vine. It starts as a tight bud deep in the gut and as it opens, the rush of adrenaline bathes every cell before it finally blooms in oldest part of the brain. The desire, no the need, to run, clashed with the knowledge that I was bound and helpless. Tears meant nothing, but I couldn’t hold them back as Nesbitt cut the remaining straps holding up my top. The elastic fabric was now the only thing keeping me covered and it slid lower with my every hitching breath.
Relief swamped me.
He cut my clothes. All he did was cut my clothes. There’s hope. I need to think.
The flash of white-hot agony pulled the breath from me. The downswing slashed me from the knob of my right shoulder diagonally across my breastbone. No hesitation, the razor honed blade parted my skin with no resistance at all. The careful balance I’d maintained on my toes was lost and now the blinding pain in my shoulder added itself to the fire on my skin as I sagged to one side. My head fell forward and I lost my breath.
As my body fought to bring air through my clogged nose, my mouth filled with thick mucus. Choking, I thrashed from side to side and the blood-soaked tatters of my shirt and bra slipped to my waist.
Breathe.
Another failed attempt by my lungs caused the choking goo in my mouth to ooze down my throat. The pain faded as my vision grayed. Even the throbbing in my shoulder dulled as I went limp and gratefully slipped toward a dark pool.
I’m dying.
A new pain, this one sharp and raw, flared as the tape was ripped from my mouth. My brain sent the signal and I gulped air. As it revived me, the agony in my body freshened as each racking cough sent blood spilling from my wound.
Nesbitt caught me under the chin. “Same rules, counselor. If you talk without permission, you’ll get more of the same. I only took off the tape because I want you breathing. First, you haven’t told me what I need to know and, second, you got a long way to go before you earn your hole. Do you understand?”
Terrified and still bleary, I nodded.
It was over. Dad betrayed me. My own damn ego betrayed me. Ethan betrayed me. There was nothing left but enduring what was to come and hoping it was as short as possible. Nesbitt and Rockhound had won.
Ethan.
I looked over at him. Tears streamed from his horrified eyes, but he’d been busy. He’d inched his way down the broken sagging barre, and there was only one more bracket holding it in place.
Don’t move. He’ll cut me. Don’t move. It’s over. Don’t hurt me anymore.
Nesbitt followed my gaze.
“Dammit, Price. Now, I should take this out of your girlfriend’s hide, but I’m not sure she could handle another one so quick. So, you and me will settle up this time.”
Nesbitt’s pointed cowboy boots hit home on Ethan’s ribs, ripping a gulping breath from him. Another kick and another and the breaths morphed to gasps and then to grunts of pain. An errant kick caught him in the face, splitting his lip, and Nesbitt still kept it up. With his hands and feet bound, Ethan couldn’t deflect the vicious blows. Finally, Nesbitt caught him square under the chin. Ethan’s head snapped back and he lost consciousness.
He hadn’t said a word, probably thinking he was protecting me. Alone now, the last tatters of my heart sundered.
CHAPTER 75
Nesbitt wiped blood from the toes of his boots with a large handkerchief.
“Oh, don’t go all mopey on me. Your boyfriend is still alive. I’ve been kicking the snot out of punks like him for as long as you’ve been alive. I know where to hit them so they don’t break. It just feels like they did. He’ll be around for the second act. Meanwhile, we need to talk. You know what I want.”
Pride is a funny thing. I’d told Ethan that my dad would laugh while they were jamming the needle in his arm, knowing he’d take the information with him. Out of the knowledge that I wasn’t walking away from this came a tiny spark.
I didn’t say anything.
Nesbitt hit me with the back of his hand. Now my nose added to the blood already covering me.
I didn’t say anything.
He raised his hand again. A lazy drawl came from the table. “Carl, you didn’t give her permission to speak.”
A smile curled, showing stained teeth.
“You’re right, my friend. I think we got this one broke in. Maybe it’s time to cut her down and give her a road test.”
Rockhound chuckled. “You know you don’t have to ask me twice. I’ve wanted a slice of that for years.”
“This shouldn’t take but a minute and then we can get to it. All right, sweetie, you can talk if you keep a civil tongue in your head. If I don’t like your attitude”—he gestured to the knife—”well, you’re a smart girl.”
“Thank you.” I kept my eyes down. The longer they thought I was docile, the better.
“How do we access the money?”
A professional search wouldn’t miss the floor vault back in Cochinelle, but the notebook could only be read by someone with the security encryption key. There were three. One was installed in a USB port on my laptop. Another was in Dad’s stuff, masquerading as a flash drive. The last one was in Gerald’s safe, secured by the wall of privilege. The software was early-gen CIA and wo
uld be tough to crack. The one thing I could do was deprive these two of it by taking the knowledge with me.
The lie came easier than I expected. “I don’t know.”
Another slap. An ornate ring added another cut.
“Are you sure you don’t want to change your answer?”
Time to sell it and grind it in. “I’m sorry, there’s no other answer. I can’t get to Dad’s money. Most of it was a myth, a Ponzi scheme. He’s been huckstering clients for years. If you let me go, I should be able to get you a couple of million, but that’s it.”
I risked a look into Nesbitt’s eyes and the shadow of doubt I saw there gave me a flicker of strength. It died when he clamped his huge hand between my legs and said, “I’ve already got my million, so I think I’ll keep your fine ass instead. When your daddy is a dead man walking, I’m going to whisper in his ear what I did to his little girl and that she died screaming. Your old man may not have killed that stripper, but he sure as hell killed you.” Nesbitt licked my cheek.
“Carl, don’t get carried away until I start the cameras.”
“Get on it then. It’s time to get this rodeo started.”
Rockhound was tapping the screen when he looked up.
“What the hell?”
The French doors leading to the patio burst inward in a wave of blue and khaki.
“Stand down, Major!”
The room whirred with color, noise, and motion. There was an officer kneeling by Ethan, two with weapons pointed at Rockhound, others at the bodies, and one wearing a white Stetson coming toward me, a shotgun at his shoulder.
“Major Nesbitt, I am not fucking kidding. Stand down and drop the knife.”
A corner of Nesbitt’s mouth went up. He took his hand from me, turned sideways, and raised the knife to shoulder level.
“We finally got her where she deserves to be, Daryl. You want a bite?”
Fisk kept the shotgun leveled and his voice calm. “Major, this is your last warning. Back away from her and do it now.”
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