Stolen Vengeance: Slye Temp book 6

by Dianna Love

  “Got it.” She pulled out the reproduction scroll as she stepped forward, and tossed the roll at him.

  He grabbed for it.

  She attacked him and made a well-placed kick that knocked the gun flying, but she wished for her boots. He caught his balance and came at her, but she was ready and pummeled him with Krav Maga strikes, adrenaline super-charging her hits.

  She spun and kicked him backwards into a big wall cabinet. The hit stunned him and he slid to the ground, shaking his head.

  She’d taken note of the room on her way in and lunged to grab a bucket of paint. Two steps and she whacked him across the head with it, turning out his lights. She grabbed the fake scroll and turned to find her way out.

  The crowd outside was applauding someone.

  Construction material blocked Valene’s way to the front of the building, so she ran back up the stairs, out the side door. When she reached the street, she slowed to catch her breath and straighten her wig.

  She’d almost lost the scroll. Looking around, she saw the perfect place to hide the real one and eased her way over to a detached gutter downspout. She fished the cylinder out of the false bottom in her purse along with the roll of paper she’d planned to use as a clean surface to roll the scroll out on.

  Everyone was so focused on whatever was making news that Valene managed to wad up the paper and shove the lightweight cylinder up inside the broken gutter, then push wadded paper in behind it as a blocker.

  Then she wormed her way through the crowd, ignoring the ugly looks and grumbles. Everyone she’d passed was wearing a cross.

  She didn’t want to go to the corner on this side after what had happened.

  Instead, she’d watch for Smith from here. If he was so smart and knew her every move then he’d have to come look for her, right?

  When she’d pushed her way near the front of the crowd, she could see Perdido stepping away from the microphone so the pope could talk behind a protective clear shield that had to be bulletproof.

  Whatever Navarro had planned wasn’t going to happen right now. Not with that shield up.

  The crowd was still shouting and clapping for the pope.

  Eva Perdido had just sat down when she said something to the pope.

  He looked her way.

  Eva stood and took a step, then the pope cupped his hand to his ear and leaned past the shield just as the crowd noise subsided.

  Just remind your man not to miss when I lean in.

  Valene realized what was happening and screamed, “Gun! Get the pope down!”

  Security jumped in front of the pope as Perdido jerked up, then back, with red blooming on her shoulder.

  Pandemonium broke loose.

  Police were everywhere.

  Valene saw scaffolding on the opposite side of the crowd. She jostled and pushed her way there then climbed up to get a look at the crowd.

  Where was Rikker?

  She didn’t see him, but she did see Dingo running up the street toward a sea of bodies between them. When he gave her a sign he saw her, she knew he’d want her to stand still. She climbed down and stepped back to wait.

  Steel fingers locked on her arm.

  Not again.

  Smith said, “Move it or I’ll drop Paddock right here in front of you.”

  She started walking as he dragged her down the street away from the crowd.

  Sirens were shrieking.

  LAPD, the FBI, everyone in the area would be here any minute.

  But Smith turned a corner and had her half a block further away by the time the sirens cut off when the police vehicles stopped at the street with the action.

  “You better have that scroll with you,” Smith said.

  She wished she’d never heard of this scroll. “I do. Stop and I’ll give it to you.”

  He didn’t answer. She asked, “How did Charlie really find me?”

  “I gave him your name and address.”

  “So he’s working with you.”

  “Past tense. Charlie had the same flaw you have.”

  Charlie was dead. Valene didn’t want to end up the same way so she asked, “What flaw?”

  “He talked too much.” Smith stepped up to the front entrance of the building Navarro had held her in before.

  The door was snatched open by one of two men inside who were armed with automatic rifles. They nodded, which Valene took to mean they worked for Smith and not Navarro.

  He dragged her to the stairs and started up.

  Dingo would come for her, but he’d end up dying here.

  She said, “Let me give you the scroll then you let me go. I know you’re not going to pay me.”

  “You’re right about not getting paid, but the scroll isn’t all I need you for.”

  Chapter 44

  Dingo plowed through people.

  Someone in a uniform grabbed his arm and Dingo had to keep himself from snarling. He affected a high voice and grabbed the cop, whining, “Where is Jean Pierre? He was here. Tell me he did not get shot.”

  That got him shrugged off and Dingo kept bulldozing his way through the mangle of bodies until he burst through the side of the crowd where Valene ... was gone.

  Navarro had her.

  Dingo ran all out toward the next street.

  He would have thought the police activity around Navarro’s building after the gang attack and now this event would have cleared him out, but maybe not.

  Criminals continually surprised Dingo when they did stupid things. Good thing. It helped law enforcement thin the herd.

  He made it to the turn as more police rolled in, and waited behind garbage piled in and around a large can as the cars emptied out and officers raced toward the shooting.

  Had to be fucking Rikker, but Dingo had given Josh everything he could. Sabrina and Josh would have to take down Rikker without Dingo.

  He had something more important than vengeance.

  Valene.

  By the time he reached the building, he had his Sig out and rammed the door open, dropping two guards whose shots went wide.

  There’d be more upstairs.

  He lifted one guard’s rifle, plus the two extra mags he found on the guy, and started up.

  Shots came from the top of the stairs.

  He didn’t have time to play hide and seek with Valene up there. He raised his Sig and the rifle, opening fire with both, going at the shooters with a determination that would make Rambo proud.

  A bullet caught him in the arm. The wound burned, but apparently no bone was hit because he could still use that arm. With adrenaline rushing through him he gritted his teeth and lunged forward, shooting everything that moved.

  His pistol ran out of ammo first.

  He sucked back against the wall, ejected the mag on the rifle and reloaded, prepared to continue, but it was quiet above him. Had he really gotten them all or was someone waiting to snipe him the minute he reached the top floor?

  He heard a distinctive whomp, whomp, whomp.

  A helo.

  Shit.

  Chapter 45

  Valene struggled against Smith’s hold as he dragged her past men guarding the building, but it was just the two of them heading to the stairwell she and Dingo had used to escape.

  She tried again to stop him. “Why won’t you let me go? You can have the scroll.”

  “Because I’m not stupid enough to risk flying this scroll to China without knowing for sure I have the right one.”

  China? Did that mean he meant to take her, too? She said in a hurry, “I told you I’ve never seen that scroll before, but I have it on good authority that it’s genuine. I have nothing more to offer.”

  “Then it won’t be a problem when our specialists test the paper and compare the scroll with the photos, since the only way there could be a reproduction was if you used the original to make one.”

  Her mouth dried up. Not a drop of spit. She didn’t have the original scroll. She’d tucked it away where nothing could get to it but rats
.

  Could a rat chew through that cylinder?

  She’d run out of things to ask. That might be a flaw, but Smith wasn’t going to kill her before the scroll was tested, so anything she said now might slow him down.

  “What does someone in China want with the scroll?”

  “That’s not your concern.” He started up the stairwell to the roof.

  Shooting erupted in the building.

  Boom. Boom. Boom.

  Sounded like cannons were going off inside.

  Smith paused to listen.

  Shooting was blasting back and forth, a rapid fire of bullets pinging hard surfaces and glass breaking.

  At this point, she’d welcome a gang attack. She’d have a better chance of surviving that.

  Then silence. Smith smiled. “Let’s go.”

  That’s when she heard a helicopter approaching. They stepped onto the roof into sunshine and wind. The helicopter was coming down.

  Smith walked her halfway to where the helicopter would land.

  “Let her go, Rikker!” yelled over all that noise.

  Smith was Rikker? She’d never been so happy to hear Dingo’s voice and turned to see him pointing a rifle like the guards had been holding. Dingo repeated, “Let her go and I’ll let you walk.”

  Wind buffeted her with the helicopter blades spinning closer.

  Rikker yelled back, “Not without the scroll.”

  “Give him the scroll, Valene. The real one.”

  She stared at Dingo openmouthed. Then she shouted, “Seriously? You know who he is, right?”

  “I know,” Dingo assured her. “If he leaves without harming you, he can have it.”

  Rikker called out, “I like dealing with reasonable people.”

  She reached into her purse and pulled out a scroll in a clear plastic holder. The parchment looked as old as time. “Careful, it’s fragile.”

  Rikker took it and started backing toward the helicopter, but he still had his hand on her arm.

  She had to give Dingo a shot at him. Valene stumbled and let her dead weight fall forward, pulling Rikker.

  He must have realized what she was doing and shoved her forward, then leaped up into the helicopter.

  Dingo ran forward, shooting at the helicopter, but Rikker was firing back. Dingo yelled, “Run for the stairs, Valene.” He kept ripping off rounds as the helicopter engine powered up. She ran to where four walls surrounded the stairwell access and dove behind one, turning as one of Dingo’s shots killed the helicopter pilot.

  Rikker hung out the side, shooting back, but Dingo was darting right and left, backing up to her.

  She turned to run down the stairs and saw a body enter the stairwell. She turned back to grab Dingo when he reached her. “Someone’s coming up the stairs.

  The helo wobbled two feet off the roof, tilted and the blades slashed into the stairwell access that stuck up from the top of the building. Metal screeched.

  Dingo grabbed Valene’s arm, pulling her away from the stairwell and the helicopter that was chewing up the top floor of the building.

  That left them one corner before a four-story drop.

  One of the rotor blades caught and stuck into the roof, making a loud grinding noise. The whole helicopter body twisted and burst into flames.

  “Is it going to explode?” Valene yelled.

  “If it does, we have nowhere to go but down ... ah, shit.”

  “What?”

  Dingo shoved her down to the rooftop and fell on top of her.

  When the blades got jammed, the motor kept turning and sent the tail section flying around. The rear rotor was coming straight for them like a buzz saw turned sideways.

  She screamed and Dingo covered her with his body.

  Then everything went deathly still.

  She peeked out from under his arm.

  The blade had stopped inches from her face. Dingo’s heart was beating hard enough for both bodies. He grabbed her to him and kissed her. Nothing would ever get her to let go of him again.

  “FBI. Put your hands up. You’re under arrest.”

  She dropped her head to his and turned. The moment was over.

  Chapter 46

  Dingo hunkered on the ground, handcuffed. His arm hurt like a bitch, and he’d lost at least a pint of blood, but the bullet had gone through without hitting anything important. The paramedics had bandaged him up after the FBI cuffed him. He’d have been dragged off to a hospital if Sabrina hadn’t interceded after determining he was stable.

  That meant she didn’t trust anyone to take Dingo out of her sight.

  Sabrina stood twenty yards away speaking to the FBI SAC, Special Agent in Charge, who looked over at Dingo then nodded his head. She strode over to where Dingo had been placed, near the stage where the pope had almost been killed.

  Sabrina’s voice vibrated. “What the hell did you think you were doing coming into this mess and with no backup?”

  “Protecting Valene.”

  “You could have died.”

  “She could have too.”

  Irritation lit Sabrina’s eyes. “Does everything come back to her?”

  He thought on it and nodded. “Yeah, it does. She’s the one thing in this world that makes life worth living. She’s the only woman I’ll ever want.”

  “Really?” That took the fuel out of Sabrina’s rage. She sat down next to him.

  “Yeah, but I’ve screwed that with this.” He raised his wrists that jangled. “Valene was only trying to keep her dad alive and they targeted her because she helped us with that last mission.”

  Sabrina stared down at the ground then nodded. “Nick told me everything and I had planned to discuss it with you.” She gave him a severe look. “If I could have found you.”

  “Staying away from you and Josh was the best thing I could do for you two. Staying with Valene was my only hope of keeping her alive.”

  “I’ve been thinking on things and I wasn’t being objective either. I saw Valene as the reason I could have lost you and she was a convenient target the minute I saw the picture of her with Rikker. I’m sorry we didn’t shield her. We will from now on.”

  Dingo believed her. That was as close as Sabrina ever came to admitting feelings. He said, “I’m going to hold you to that commitment to protect Valene if I end up in prison.”

  “I’m not letting anyone take you away.”

  If only it were that easy, but he wouldn’t argue with her when this might be the last chance they had to talk.

  Nick walked up, silent and listening.

  Dingo said, “I know Rikker did a fine job framing me for the gang killing down here. I was here. My fingerprints are in the building. Going to be hard to get me out of that.”

  Nick crossed his arms. “You want the scoop?”

  Sabrina cocked her head. “How can you have information already?”

  “Friends in low places, and three hours is not that quick.” Nick grinned. “It so happens that they found the head of Satan’s Garden Club, Maxx Navarro, unconscious in the building next to where the shindig was going on. Valene told the Feds she knocked him out and said she heard a conversation between Perdido and Navarro.”

  Dingo leaned over to look at where Valene was being interrogated by the feds. She saw him and held his gaze for a long moment before the FBI agent snapped something at her.

  She gave him her can-we-move-this-along cocked eyebrow.

  Dingo smiled. That was his girl. His. He’d found the one woman for him and ... better not to think any harder on that. Live in the moment. That was going to be his future from now on because it would probably be spent inside a ten-foot square space.

  Nick kept talking. “Valene also said from what she heard around Navarro that FEP might mean For Eva Perdido and, when the feds hit Navarro with that, he started spilling his guts on Perdido and Smith, aka Rikker. P.G.C. originally stood for Perdido’s Gubernatorial Challenger, but that changed today to Pope Goffredo of Castiglione.”

  Dingo
said, “Valene was right. She called it and said the third one was the pope.”

  “But the pope’s hit wasn’t ordered until today, based on what Navarro said,” Nick clarified. “Perdido owed Smith for not delivering the scroll. I’ll get to that in a minute. Smith gave her Navarro’s number and said she had to work out her debt with Navarro, who was calling for blood after his assassin was killed. Everyone believes now that Rikker killed him. Navarro told Perdido that he had to make the hit on the pope look like an accident and that if she did her part to get close so that when the pope was shot everyone would think it was another hit on her life, he’d kill her opponent for a discount.”

  Sabrina said, “Are you sure? Perdido was behind all this?”

  “Yes, but not entirely. From everything that Valene has shared, Dingo has said, that we found out, and that Perdido and Navarro have said, it sounds like Smith, aka Rikker, was coordinating everything. If Valene hadn’t been grabbed by Navarro who was trying to snake the scroll from Rikker, the pope would have died today.”

  “That’s why Valene yelled when Perdido moved toward the Pope.”

  Dingo hadn’t been close enough to see all that. “What did Valene yell?”

  “Gun. Get the pope down,” Sabrina explained. “Perdido got hit in the shoulder.”

  Nick picked up the thread. “Perdido was screaming ‘he missed, oh my God, he missed, he hit me, the son of a bitch swore he wouldn’t miss,’ which coincides with what Valene has told authorities. Detectives are at the hospital now talking to Perdido.”

  “Why would they kill the pope?” Dingo asked.

  Nick thought a moment then continued. “The minute Navarro heard that Perdido was fingering him, Navarro rolled big time. Navarro said the killings were all for Perdido. He was to make Fontana look like an accident. The FBI had actually been working with Fontana, who came to them with evidence that Perdido was accepting illegal funds from outside the country.”

  Sabrina lifted her eyebrows. “She got him out of her way and picked up the sympathy vote.”

  “Right,” Nick said. “Perdido claims she was supposed to get to Daddy Warbucks during the charity event, to get help finding an artifact Smith wanted that was part of the payment for her two kills, but right after the attack, Tinker went into seclusion again. Perdido is claiming Smith set her up in all this. Rikker contracted with Navarro for the kills and qualified that he wouldn’t pay unless Navarro used Orion Hunter assassins.”