by Jamie Hill
It took about six minutes after seeing Jo again that first time to realize why. She was the one for him. No one else could compare. He’d wasted too much time already, stubbornly insisting his opinions were the only ones that mattered. He thought he’d known what he wanted out of life, but suddenly everything had changed.
He wanted Jordan. If having her meant having a rugrat or two along with, then maybe he’d have to learn to change diapers. The startling realization unfortunately came a few years too late, because he could never undo what’d happened in the past. But if Jordan could get past that, and if she wanted him as much as he did her, he’d do whatever was necessary to be with her.
Nick pictured Jordan’s face and smiled. I love you. He’d said the words before, but they were platitudes. Casual and flat, almost meaningless words uttered at convenient and appropriate times. The next time he said them they’d be anything but casual. They’d be the most important words he’d ever spoken.
Evan joined him in the kitchen. “Just got a call from the district attorney’s office. They want to meet with you and me to discuss some new evidence. Woods is on his way here to replace Todd, who’s going to drive us to the meeting.”
Nick nodded. “New evidence. Wonder what that means?”
“No idea. I guess we’ll find out in about thirty minutes.”
“I’ll be ready.” Nick sipped his coffee.
Doug came in and went straight for the coffee. “Ready for what?”
Evan held out a cup and allowed Doug to pour for him. “Nick and I are meeting with the DA this morning. Something about new evidence. It must involve Jordan since they asked to see us.”
Doug froze. “If it’s about Jordan, I’d like to go along.”
Evan made a face. “Eh, I’m not sure about that. These guys are cautious with the need to know list.”
Doug set the coffee pot down. “I get that, but sitting around here will drive me nutty. I hate waiting.”
Nick smiled over the rim of his cup.
The chief said, “It’s part of our job, which is to protect the witness, by the way. We need to keep as many people here with Charlie as we can. He is definitely not safe.”
“I’m aware of that, but I didn’t fly all this way to protect the witness. I’m still on leave, if you recall. I’m here for Jordan. I came to look for her, and bring her home.”
Evan tugged his ear, looking uncomfortable. “Doug, I—”
Nick interrupted, “Let him come with us.”
Both men stared at him.
Nick took another swig of coffee then set the cup down. “He’s right. He’s here for Jordan, and the more people we have working her case the better. Charlie will be fine with Ben and Woods. I say, let him come along.”
With a look of surprise on his face, Doug nodded. “Thank you.”
Nick cocked his head, but didn’t reply. His motives were entirely selfish. He meant what he said about the more people trying to find Jo the better.
“Okay, but let me do the talking,” Evan agreed. “Be ready to go when Woods gets here.”
“Of course.” Doug took his coffee to the other room.
Nick smiled again. Sitting down together would have been too much to expect, but Doug was coming around.
Woods arrived and spoke with Todd for a few minutes before they left. Todd in turn spoke to Evan before the chief, Doug and Nick piled into Evan’s rented SUV. They followed Todd on the twenty minute trip to the office of the DA. It would have been a ten minute trip, Nick noted, but they made many detours to ensure they weren’t being followed. No one mentioned it, they were all used to it by now. Such is the life of a US Marshal.
He mulled that over for a moment when he realized that if he and Jordan were going to be together, he’d have to find a new job. The Topeka Witsec office didn’t have any openings and he wasn’t sure a committed couple should work together, anyway. That might have been part of their problem the first time. But where would he find another job?
That’s a question for another day. Today all he could think about was Jordan. She’d been gone for three days. In some ways, it felt like a lifetime.
Woods pulled up in front of a large office building and showed Evan where to park. He rolled his window down. “Give Maria at the front desk your name. They’re expecting you. Use your GPS to get back to the house when you’re done here.”
“Thanks,” Evan said and headed up the sidewalk, Doug in tow.
Nick paused and looked at Todd. “Is there anything they’re not telling us?”
The other marshal shook his head. “I don’t think so, man. Far as I know, it’s a mystery what happened to your partner. They’re offering these guys reduced sentences to come clean and so far, no one has. I’m sure the DA will tell you about it. He’s a stand-up guy.”
“Thanks.” Nick nodded and followed the chief.
“See you later.” Todd drove off.
I hope not. Nick liked the marshal, but he wanted this to be over with. Get the girl, and go home. It probably wouldn’t happen that way since Charlie’s trial was upcoming, but maybe after what Jordan had been through… He inhaled and blew the breath out. He just wanted to get her home.
They were ushered into the DA’s office and only had to wait a few minutes before two men entered, both wearing dark suits. The taller of the two extended his hand and shook with each of them.
“I’m Alfred Canady,” the man told them. “This is Detective Ryan with the LAPD.”
“I’m Chief Rhodes with the US Marshal’s Service,” Evan replied. “These are Marshals Pierce and Jackson.”
Canady took the seat behind his desk and the cop sat in a chair next to him. The lawyer nodded. “Good to meet you. One of you is Marshal Burke’s partner?”
Nick and Doug each raised a finger. They glanced at each other and shrugged. Nick said, “We both are. It’s complicated.”
“Okay, well, I wish I had better news for you.” Canady shuffled through some papers on his desk. “We’ve been talking with LeRoy VanDyke and offered him a deal to reduce his sentence in exchange for information about her whereabouts. He refused to comply. And as you know, when we raided his home and found a large stash of cocaine, the lieutenant in charge suggested reduced charges to his son, Tracy, for the same information. That also yielded nothing. Yesterday, we had a minor breakthrough.”
“Information?” Nick asked excitedly.
“Not exactly. Not what you’re after, anyway. VanDyke’s lawyer Oliver Bean grew disenchanted with the man’s actions and agreed to tell us what he knew.”
Evan raised an eyebrow. “What happened to attorney-client privilege?”
Canady answered, “It can be waived in order to prevent the commission of a crime, which is exactly what Mr. Bean was afraid of. LeRoy VanDyke bribed a guard to terrorize Pete Rossi in prison. Now that the guard’s been relieved of his duties, VanDyke has made threats against his life. He’s also been searching for Charlie Allen.”
Evan nodded. “Pretty much what we knew, or could have expected.”
“He also told Bean…” The DA’s gaze went from Evan to Nick then Doug and back again. “That the marshal is gone. Her whereabouts are no longer an issue because she’s been taken care of.”
Nick’s heart thudded in his chest then seemed to drop into his gut.
Doug shook his head. “What do you mean, ‘taken care of’?”
“His exact words to Bean were, ‘Sleeping with the fishes, in the deep end of the ocean’.”
* * *
Los Angeles, California
Jordan hadn’t seen Gabe for hours. She wasn’t drinking much and didn’t really need to pee, but her arms had gone numb from being cuffed over her head for so long. She wanted to stretch and move. “Hey!” she called at the top of her lungs. “Can you hear me?”
She listened for footsteps but there were none.
“Hey!” she yelled again. “I need to pee!”
Nothing.
She hollered until her vo
ice was hoarse and she realized she needed to stop, and remain calm. As much as she despised her captors, she suddenly felt nervous being alone in the strange place. Handcuffed and vulnerable, anything could happen and there was nothing she could do to prevent it.
The door opened and she heard footsteps on the stairs. Lighter than Gabe’s, she held her breath to see who was coming.
A boy of maybe seventeen peered around the corner.
“Hey!” She looked at him. “Can you get me out of here?”
He didn’t reply, just stared.
She knew she must look a sight, but there wasn’t time to worry about that now. “Please. Listen, I need to get out of here. I have friends. I can pay you, if you just let me go.”
He finally stepped into the room and folded his arms across his chest. “Gabe pays me. He told me not to uncuff you for any reason.”
“That’s ridiculous. I have to use the bathroom. Gabe lets me do that. I can’t go all day.”
“He didn’t say anything about that.”
“Where is he?” She didn’t care if he’d died and gone to hell, but she wondered how long she had before he returned.
“He’s out,” the kid sneered.
He’s more like twenty-two, she decided. A certain cockiness came over guys in their twenties, and he definitely oozed it. “So can you please uncuff me long enough to use the bathroom? It’ll just take a couple of minutes.”
He blinked. “I don’t have the key.”
She could tell he was lying. Jordan could also tell that unless he had a weapon she couldn’t see, she could probably take the guy in a fight. Provided her arms worked once the blood circulated. “Look, I won’t try anything. I’m being serious. Gabe lets me use the bathroom every couple of hours and it’s way past that. I bet if you looked, you could find a key upstairs.”
Hesitation flooded his face. “Well…”
“Thank you!” Jordan smiled for the first time in three days. “I really appreciate it.”
Still seeming unsure, he turned to walk back upstairs.
She spotted a handgun tucked into the back of his jeans.
An idea hatched.
She’d have to be very careful, and very fast. If her rubber arms didn’t cooperate she might be making the worst mistake of her life. But knowing that the Spanish-speaking man would be returning to get her provided the impetus to break free. I have to try.
The man returned. She couldn’t see if the gun was still there, but she had to assume it was. If it wasn’t, ‘Plan B’ might involve fingernails in his eye sockets. She’d much rather have the gun.
He uncuffed one wrist which allowed her to lower both arms. He didn’t immediately cuff her hands together as Gabe always did, which was an added benefit and key to her plan.
“Thank you, thank you, thank you!” Jordan shook her arms to encourage blood flow and determined they were working. It’s now or never. She grabbed his shoulders and planted a kiss on his lips.
He seemed surprised, but didn’t move away. Grabbing her butt, he drew her body close to his.
Jordan ran her hands over his shoulders and slipped them under his arms seductively. While she caressed his back she lowered them and her heart soared when she hit cold steel. Grabbing the gun, she shoved him away and cold-cocked him with the butt of the revolver.
The man stumbled backward and she whacked him again in the same spot. Blood gushed from his head as he fell to the floor.
He’d dropped the handcuff keys and she hurried to pick them up. Unlocking the cuff from her wrist, she snapped it around his and secured it. She fastened the other cuff to metal grate on the wall.
Panting, her heart racing, she stepped back and looked at him. He was bleeding, but he wouldn’t die. He also wouldn’t be able to chase her. She needed to leave now.
Jordan jogged up the stairs and glanced around the small kitchen for a phone. When she didn’t spot one quickly she decided it was safer to leave and find a store or business owner who would let her make a call, or dial nine-one-one for her. She couldn’t trust the neighbors here, in case they were friends of Gabe’s.
She hurried to the back door and flung it open. The man with the gold-capped tooth was walking up the steps to the house.
He glanced at her, surprised at first, then he smiled. He opened his jacket to expose a .357 Magnum tucked into his trousers. “Hola, chica. Going somewhere?”
* * *
The District Attorney was staring at them, but Nick couldn’t speak. He could barely breathe. He turned his face away, muttering, “Oh, God.”
Evan leaned forward. “Do we have any evidence to prove this slime ball is telling the truth? He’s a God damned murdering drug dealer, for Christ’s sake. Why should we believe him?”
Canady replied, “He had no reason to lie to his lawyer. At that time he still trusted the man. He sent instructions to his son through Bean. One involved ‘getting rid of the package’ and the last one was the threat against the guard.”
Doug spoke up, “But we’re still looking for Jordan, right? Until there’s real proof…” He didn’t finish the sentence.
Nick couldn’t even think it. He gripped the arm rests of his chair and gritted his teeth. “We are still looking for her.”
“We’re not ruling anything out,” Canaday assured them. “And yes, we’ll keep looking. I understand you’d like some closure in this matter.”
Nick snapped. “Fuck closure! We’d like our marshal back.”
“Pierce,” Evan said quietly.
Canady leaned back. “It’s okay. I get your frustration.”
Frowning, Nick said, “Get this. I refuse to believe anything has happened to her. So what I want to know is, what’s next? Where do we go from here?”
“We do have one last avenue to pursue.” He lifted some photos from his desk. “Which one of you was with Marshal Burke when she was abducted?”
Nick raised a finger.
“Look at the pictures. Do any of these men look like the guy with the mustache you saw?” He held the sheaf of papers out.
Nick leaned in and took the photos. He glanced through them, approximately a dozen shots of Hispanic men, most with mustaches. Near the end one photo jumped out at him and he paused. He looked closer, wanting to be sure before he accused someone incorrectly. “Here.” He handed the single picture back. “This is him, without a doubt.”
Canady glanced at the photo. “Excellent.” He passed it to the detective. “Ryan?”
“I’m on it.” The man snatched the picture and left the room.
Evan asked, “Are these employees of VanDyke?”
“Most of them,” the man nodded. “A few are known acquaintances. Ryan has intel on all of them, he should be right back.”
Nick drummed his fingers on his knees. He couldn’t believe this was happening. He stomach did somersaults the whole time the detective was gone.
When the cop returned, he was waving a piece of paper. “We’ve got something. The guy you fingered is Gabriel Monte, an employee of Tessa VanDyke if you can believe that.”
Canady looked at him. “The daughter in Bakersfield? Thought she was pure as the driven snow.”
“So she led everybody to believe. I’ve got a judge issuing search warrants as we speak. A team in Bakersfield will hit her house. We’ve got a local address on Monte. It’ll take SWAT fifteen minutes to be in place.” He turned to Evan. “You and your marshals can come along. Just keep to the back and let the SWAT team do their jobs.”
Evan rose. “You got it. We have gear in the car.”
Ryan nodded. “Get suited up. I’ll swing around the parking lot to grab you in a few.”
“Good luck,” Canady called after them.
Nick spotted a men’s room in the hall and told Evan, “I’m going to splash water on my face. I’ll be right out.”
“Sure.” He and Doug kept going out to the parking lot.
Nick entered the bathroom and glanced at his reflection. How can I look the same when
I feel all torn up inside? His gut churned and he thought for a moment he was going to be sick.
She can’t be gone. So much wasted time. If he hadn’t been such a fool, he could have spent the last six years with Jordan. It wouldn’t have made today any easier, but his life would have been so much different.
Tears welled in his eyes and he scrubbed water over his face to hide them.
The restroom door opened and he glanced at the mirror to see the man walking in. Fucking great.
Doug stepped up beside him. “You okay?”
“Fine.” He splashed more water on his face then tugged a couple paper towels out of the holder to dry off.
“I know you’re not fine. I’m not fine. We have to believe Jordan is fine, though. We have to. I refuse to think otherwise.”
“Yeah.” Nick wadded up the towels and tossed them in the trash. “We should go.”
Doug reached out a hand and touched Nick’s bicep. “Hang on. Jordan’s a strong woman. One of the strongest I know. I think you had a hand in making her that way.”
Nick shook his head. “I can’t take any more of your blame right now, man. I just can’t.”
The other man’s voice softened. “I don’t mean that in a bad way. I mean, Jordan took her hurt and channeled it into something that made her strong, a fighter. She’s one tough cookie. I wouldn’t want to be the person trying to control her.”
Nick inhaled and blew out a shuddering breath. The horrible thoughts and fears he’d been harboring came tumbling out. “What if she’s immobilized, and can’t fight back? All the things they could be doing—it makes me want to puke when I think about it. As bad as it sounds, and as much as I hate to say it, killing her might not be the worst thing they could do to her.”
Doug gripped Nick’s shoulders. “Listen. Whatever happens, Jordan has you to see her through this. And she has me, and Christi, and Avery, and Ethan, who all love her very much. Not to mention Rhodes, Ben, and Olivia. Jordan has one hell of a support team. Now let’s go out there and get her back. We’ll worry about the rest later.”