It could all be over in a matter of minutes.
Still, I couldn’t rush things. I was walking a fine line here.
Gerardo had to feel like he was in control, or at least that his boss was in charge, but not that they had too much of the upper hand. They could easily have discovered that I worked for the FBI, but even if they knew my occupation, they had to believe that I was acting alone, here for someone who meant something to me personally. If they thought I was here on behalf of the US government, or if they thought someone they were holding was important enough to send down a government agent, things would go south quick.
“You have the money?” His English was accented, but clear.
I nodded, my gaze taking in every detail as Gerardo stepped out of the shadows and into the dim light offered by the lone naked bulb fixed above the doorway I’d just entered. He wasn’t the man with the birthmark. That guy had answered the door when I’d originally gone to see the cartel, but he’d simply led me to Gerardo, who I assumed was the cartel’s normal point of access. The person who deals with things to give the higher-ups plausible deniability. He was tall and solid, with a scar under his right eye and meaty forearms covered with tattoos.
I didn’t really care about any of that. I wasn’t here to take down the cartel. I was here to rescue people.
“Put the bag down.”
I did, not taking my eyes off him despite the movement I saw out of the corners of my eyes. He hadn’t come alone, but that wasn’t exactly surprising.
“Any weapons?”
“No,” I answered honestly. I probably could have found a gun easily enough but carrying one into the meeting was more dangerous than coming without anything. I didn’t want to give them any reason to be aggressive.
“I will check.”
I held my arms out, hands loose. Gerardo was thorough, but not overly rough, as he patted down my arms, legs, then around my torso. I’d purposefully worn a t-shirt and shorts to make things easier.
If something went wrong, it wouldn’t be because I’d tried to make things difficult for them.
“I will check the money now.”
I gritted my teeth to keep from coming up with a smart-ass response. I needed to let them do their thing. It didn’t make it any easier to see Gerardo pick up the bag and start walking toward the back of the building. It wasn’t until I couldn’t see him any more that I finally protested.
“Count it but stay where I can see you.” I fought to keep my voice from being too aggressive. “This is an exchange, right? Money for people?”
Before the last word finished coming out of my mouth, two men stepped forward, guns already trained on me. One of the men held the gun sideways with one hand, like he’d learned how to shoot by watching some stereotypical gangster movie, but the other one had a two-hand grip on his gun and a serious expression on his face.
Shit.
“We have money. We give you people.” The wanna-be thug sneered at me, light glinting off a silver front tooth.
Another man walked backwards toward me, dragging something behind him.
Two somethings.
Someones.
My throat closed, and my heart thudded painfully as my brain processed the scene in a series of snapshots.
Zip-tied hands.
Khaki shorts and plain t-shirts.
Scraped knees.
Black hoods covered both of their heads, blocking not only their faces but their hair as well.
One was female, the other male, but I couldn’t see anything distinguishing about either one.
I took a step forward, but one of the gunmen made a noise that I took to mean stay the fuck where you are. I could only hope and pray that Tess would stay where she was until I prepared her for the two bodies.
“You pay for these,” thug man said, gesturing at the bodies with his gun. “Boss says you want more, you pay more. Double if you want them alive.”
It took all my self-control not to go after them. One, I could’ve taken, even with the gun, but there were three guys, two with guns, and if I tried anything, I had no doubt that I’d be beaten at the very least, killed more likely. And if I was too badly injured, or worse, I wouldn’t be able to protect Tess.
And nothing in this world – not even watching millions of dollars walk off while two bodies lay on the ground in front of me – could make me put Tess at risk.
The other men backed out, leaving me standing in the middle of the warehouse, two bodies in front of me, and Tess in the van outside. Waiting.
And then I heard it. The creak of a door. The shuffle of shoes against concrete.
I turned, my arms going out to catch Tess even as she ran forward. I held her back, knowing that if that woman’s body was Brianne’s, Tess would be in no condition to leave, and that’s exactly what we needed to do. We’d take the bodies, then check them when we were safe.
“Let me go!” She struggled against me, but I held her tight. “Clay! Let me go!”
“We need to get out of here,” I said calmly. “We have to take those bodies and get in the van and leave before they decide to come back and take us.”
She took a shuddering breath.
“Remember, the woman at Red Care said Brianne wasn’t with this group,” I reminded Tess.
“But she could’ve been wrong.” Tess’s entire body shook. “That body, it could be…it could be…Clay, it could be her.”
“Tess, sweetheart. Please.” I pressed my lips to her temple. “Don’t think about that. Focus on how we’ll find Brianne after we take care of this, okay? How you’re going to yell at her for making us all worry.”
The laugh sounded more like a sob, but Tess nodded and stopped fighting.
“Now, let’s get out of here.”
Twenty-Nine
Tess
From the moment I’d been told that Brianne wasn’t with Red Care, a part of me had hoped that the information was wrong. That someone had made a mistake and that when Clay paid the ransom, Bri would be with the group anyway. But another part of me hadn’t wanted to hope that it’d be over, hadn’t wanted to face the disappointment when the hope was shattered.
But then I’d walked into that warehouse, and there’d been two bodies on the floor. Not moving. Hoods over their heads. A man and a woman.
In that moment, all my hopes for a mistake swamped me, and the only thought that screamed through my mind was I killed her.
I’d wanted her to be here so badly, and for once in my life, the fucking universe had listened – she’d been here, and I’d killed her.
I was barely aware of Clay grabbing me or even of what he was saying. It wasn’t until he called me sweetheart that the hysteria receded enough for me to think again.
“Now, let’s get out of here,” Clay said. “You go back to the van, and I’ll be right there.”
I shook my head. “You can’t carry them both.”
The thought of touching the body that could be my sister made me sick, but he was right that we needed to leave.
“It’s all right.” His voice was quiet. “I can take care of it. Go ahead back to the van. Keep an eye out for anyone coming back.”
I nodded, hating how relieved I felt that I wouldn’t have to touch the bodies. I couldn’t stop myself from glancing at them again, but I managed to get my feet moving before I could linger. No matter how calm I was pretending to be, I still had that spark of fear inside me that I’d see something that would make me recognize her.
When I got into the van, more than anything else, I wanted to just put my head down and close my eyes, but Clay had specifically asked me to watch, and I wasn’t going to let him down. The back doors to the van opened, and I heard a thump, but I didn’t look.
“I’ll be right back.”
I twisted my fingers together in my lap as my gut churned. I’d never considered myself squeamish but knowing that a dead body was stretched out behind me was making my skin crawl. Another dull thump told me the second body was insid
e, and then Clay was climbing into the driver’s seat.
Neither one of us said anything as he drove us back to the motel. Instead of going into one of the empty spots closer to the entrance, he took us to the farthest corner of the parking lot before parking and turning to me.
“We have a decision to make,” Clay said, his expression serious. “Two, actually. The first is what to do about the bodies.”
I swallowed hard.
“We can call the Red Care office or the US Embassy, let them do the identifications and notifications of both bodies.” He reached across and took my hand. “Or I can take the hood off the woman’s body and make sure it’s not Brianne.”
“I need to do it.” I squeezed his hand, but my voice didn’t shake.
“Tess…”
I shook my head. “It’s not her. My brain knows that, but my heart is still arguing. I need to see.”
He didn’t look happy about it, but he nodded, and I moved into the back of the van with him following close behind. The hand he put on the small of my back bled warmth into my skin, heating the parts of me that were chilled by what I was about to do. Steadied by his presence, I reached down and took the edge of the mask between my finger and thumb.
A slow breath, and then I lifted it with one quick yank.
The moment I caught the gleam of pale hair, everything in me went limp. I closed my eyes and slumped back against Clay. He caught me and held me against his chest, murmuring words I couldn’t register. The words weren’t important though.
It wasn’t Brianne, and that was what mattered. I’d let myself have the moment of relief before we moved on to new shit we had to deal with.
* * *
We’d rented the van with the intention of using it to transport twelve people from the cartel’s house to the Red Care or US Embassy – or the hospital, if necessary – but we obviously hadn’t told the rental place of our plans. If we’d told them about the Colombians’ involvement, they most likely wouldn’t have let us have it. Having it found in a hotel parking lot with two bodies in the back would definitely piss them off.
After some debate, Clay finally made a call back home and had Ray contact someone from the embassy. The two of us now waited outside the van, each wrapped up in our own thoughts. I didn’t know for certain, but I suspected Clay was thinking about the same things I was.
What had happened. Who those two poor souls were. What we were going to do next. If everything we’d done would be for nothing. If the cartel would simply kill the others or wait to see if we’d come up with another ludicrous amount of money.
We’d have to talk about all those things soon, especially if we still planned on helping the rest of the group, but right now, we stayed silent. The noises of the city buzzed around us, amazing me with how similar it sounded to home. With the warm humidity leaving a sheen of moisture on my skin, I could almost close my eyes and pretend it was late spring or early summer in the Big Apple rather than mid-January in Costa Rica.
The moon was already starting its downward journey when a car pulled into the parking lot. As it came closer, I saw that it wasn’t a car. It was a hearse. Appropriate, but it still sent a chill down my spine.
Two men got out of the car and came straight over to Clay. The three of them had a quick conversation in Spanish that I probably could’ve followed if I’d had a mind to, and then the men moved to the back of the van.
I continued to stare straight ahead while the men did their thing. They didn’t acknowledge me, and I didn’t speak to them, though I wasn’t sure if their reticence was because they weren’t sure I spoke Spanish or because of the nature of why they were here.
Only after the hearse pulled away did Clay come back to my side. He held out a hand, and I took it, letting him lead me back to the hotel. We went to his room, but I didn’t need him to tell me that we weren’t there for sex. No matter how much I liked having my hand in his, I knew that his thoughts were as far from sex as mine were.
“I need to go back tonight,” Clay said as he sat on the edge of the bed. “This isn’t going to stay quiet for long now.”
“Can you get more money from Rylan on such short notice?” I asked, taking the seat in the chair. “Will he even give more? That was a lot.”
“I’m not going to ask him for it,” Clay said, shaking his head. “Even if I could get it, the cartel will just give us two more bodies, maybe three. I don’t know what made them decide to kill those two people or go back on the exchange, but I don’t think they will honor any arrangement.”
I’d already been thinking it, but hearing Clay say it made it all too real. “What are we going to do then?”
“We?” He raised an eyebrow.
“Do you really want to waste time having this argument again?” I asked. How long would it take for him to see me as someone who could handle things? Someone he could trust at his side?
I shook off the questions and reminded myself that none of it mattered. I wasn’t here to become his partner…in any sense of the word.
“No,” he said quietly. “We is fine. It’ll be easier with two of us.”
I was relieved to hear him say it, but the relief didn’t last long. “What will be easier with two of us?”
He blew out a long breath. “Breaking us in and them out.”
I blew out a long breath too.
I’d been afraid he’d say that.
* * *
The plan was simple. No dramatics. No killing. We’d sneak in, and once we found the rest of the group, we’d sneak them out. It sounded easy anyway. Whether or not the practicality of it would be that way, we had yet to determine.
As I followed Clay through the hole he’d cut in the fence, I resisted the urge to scratch at the knit cap holding my hair. Between that, the long sleeves and pants, I was already sweating, but I’d take being overheated over getting scratched up by the fence or the thorny plants on the other side.
The yard around the house was overgrown, grass, bushes, and weeds giving us surprisingly good coverage as we took a few steps forward. Suddenly, a pair of ratty-looking dogs came around the house, heading straight for us. I stiffened, fighting the urge to run.
Clay had said he could take care of the dogs, and I trusted him. He tossed something at the dogs, and they stopped, their attention caught by whatever it was. I thought it was strange they weren’t barking, but then one turned its head, and I saw the scars on its neck.
I’d done a story once about some dealers in Queens who’d cut their dogs’ vocal cords, so they couldn’t scare people away. The dogs hadn’t been used as a deterrent but rather a threat. The dealers had wanted the dogs to sneak up and attack without warning. It looked like these assholes had the same idea.
As the dogs continued to eat whatever treats Clay had thrown them, the two of us made our way forward. By the time we reached the house, the moonlight had helped me navigate around a rusted bike chain, a chunk of concrete the size of Clay’s fist, a couple plastic bags, and more broken and used needles than I wanted to think about.
Clay crouched near the back wall of the house and brushed aside some grass to reveal a window. A grimy, cracked window, but still a window, and one without bars. I wondered if that was because they’d forgotten the window was even there, or they thought no one would dare break into the house. Because of the dogs, I was guessing the latter.
I watched as Clay pulled a roll of masking tape from his pocket and tore off several long strips. With quick, sure movements, he put the tape on the window, then tapped it with a small hammer that he apparently had in his pocket.
Who the hell had dog treats, masking tape, and a hammer in their pocket?
Apparently, he did.
He set aside the tape and glass, then peered through the new hole. Once he was satisfied with what he saw, he held out a hand to me. Since I was smaller, he would lower me down first, then join me.
We were both wearing gloves, but it didn’t stop my heart from skipping a beat when I took his ha
nd. He helped me through the window, then leaned over to lower me down. The adrenaline flooding my system left a sharp taste on the back of my tongue even as it sharpened my senses. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust, and by the time they did, Clay was standing next to me.
The basement appeared to be divided into rooms, and this one was full of junk. Broken tools and buckets and brooms and other things I couldn’t quite make out before Clay opened the door. I followed him into the next room and saw that we’d hit a bit of luck.
Ten figures sat against the far wall, all looking back and forth between where Clay and I stood and another door. I couldn’t make out their expressions, but I got the impression that they were as shocked by the door we’d come through as they were about the fact that we were there at all.
“We’re here to rescue you.”
The moment the words came out of my mouth, I wished I could take them back. I sounded like an idiot.
“Tess?”
I froze even as one of the figures stood. I couldn’t take the disappointment again. I was hearing things. But Clay was staring too.
I didn’t break free of my paralysis until she was close enough for me to confirm that she was actually Brianne. Then I threw my arms around her and pressed my face into her shoulder, barely registering her sound of pain. All the things that made me angry at her didn’t matter right now. I’d address it later, but at this moment, I was just happy that she was alive.
“What the hell are you doing here?” she hissed in my ear.
“Really?” I asked. “That’s your response?”
“Tess,” Clay said softly as he put his hand on my arm.
“Who the hell – Clay? Clay Kurth?” Brianne seemed to give herself a shake, then winced.
“Are you hurt?” I asked, taking a step back. I couldn’t see details, but I could make out enough to see that she was favoring her right arm and there was something dark on the side of her face, something I suspected was blood.
Finding Brianne: New Pleasures Book 4 Page 14