by Liz Wolfe
“What’s this?” Shelby asked when Zoe handed her the PDA. She turned it over in her hand. “Is this Howell’s PDA?”
“Pretty much,” Zoe said.
“Zoe, what in hell have you done?” Shelby laid the PDA on the desk and picked up her coffee. It was too early in the morning to have to deal with this crap. “How did you get this?” Shelby held a hand up to stop Zoe from answering. “Once Howell discovers his PDA is missing, he’s going to be suspicious. He could call off the entire deal.”
“He won’t notice his PDA is missing because it isn’t,” Zoe explained. “I simply downloaded all the data from his PDA to this one.”
Shelby looked at her for a moment. “You want to tell me how you did that?”
“Sure.” Zoe shrugged. “I broke into his condo and hooked his PDA to a device that downloaded all his data. Then I transferred the data to another PDA.”
“Without clearing it with me?”
“I thought you’d be happy. You said you needed the data, and now you have it.”
“Zoe, why didn’t you tell me what you were doing?”
Zoe crossed her arms and leaned back in her chair. “If I’d asked, the answer would have been no, so I figured I might as well go ahead and do it anyway.”
“It’s easier to get forgiveness than permission?” Shelby had a hard time arguing with that since she’d had the same attitude most of her life. “Zoe, what if you’d been caught? Howell would have killed you.”
Zoe laughed. “I don’t get caught, Shelby. Ever. Now, stop whining about what I did because we both know you need that information. Just look at it.” Zoe got up and made herself a cup of tea. “You know, if you’d include me in things, then you’d know what I was doing.”
Shelby snorted in reply and opened the PDA. She viewed Howell’s calendar, notes, and saved emails. As much as she hated to admit it, Zoe had provided her with exactly what she needed. Howell’s PDA contained the date, time, and place of the meeting to sell the plans for the Mobile Anti-Radar Device.
And one of the saved emails from Martin Scoresby mentioned The Dominion Order. She laid the PDA down and punched Ethan’s speed dial number into her cell phone.
“Ethan, I’ve got the intel. The deal is going down at the warehouse. At midnight.”
“You’re sure?” Ethan asked.
“Positive. I got it from Howell’s PDA.” Shelby frowned at Zoe’s grin. “And one of his emails from Scoresby mentioned The Dominion Order by name.”
“Then we were right,” Ethan said.
“Can you send a couple of agents here? I wouldn’t mind having some backup on this one.”
“They’ll be on a plane within an hour.”
“Good. Have them come to my office.”
“I’ll send Hanson and James. Have you worked with them before?”
“A few times. They’re both good. Just make sure they understand I’m the lead. I don’t want to waste time playing king of the hill with them.”
“No problem. Will just Hanson and James be enough? I can send as many as you need.”
“Two is fine. Any more and we run the risk of detection. I don’t want anything to go wrong.”
“I agree. This could be our chance to take someone from The Dominion Order into custody.”
“I’ll do my best, Ethan, but I can’t promise you’ll get them alive.”
“I understand.” Ethan sighed. “Keep me informed.”
“What the hell happened?” Connor wrapped adhesive tape around her ribs while she held her breath and tried not to groan.
“Wade beat the hell out of me.”
“I’m amazed you got away from him, considering the damage you took.”
“I guess he didn’t feel much like running with a fork sticking out of his leg.”
Connor scowled at her. “You really should see a doctor.”
Paige shook her head. “He’ll just x-ray me, tell me something I already know, and do what you’re already doing.”
“Still, it couldn’t hurt.”
“This from a man who checked himself out of the hospital against the doctor’s orders.” Paige rolled her eyes.
Connor chuckled. “Okay, you got me. But, be careful.”
“I’m always careful.”
“Not this time, you weren’t.” Connor finished wrapping the tape and handed her a T-shirt. “There was cocaine in the cartons of machine parts?”
“That’s what it looked like to me. Could have been heroin. I didn’t have time to check.”
“Let’s go get some breakfast.” Connor held his hand out to help her up. Paige took it, gratefully.
“I want to check my mail, then we’ll get some breakfast.” She pulled the car to the curb in front of her apartment building and ducked inside the lobby. Mr. Madison was coming down the stairs with his tiny Pomeranian.
“Paige, haven’t see you for a while. Heard there was some excitement in your apartment.”
“Yeah. Steve’s going to fix it for me. How have you been?” She patted the dog and received a less than menacing growl of greeting.
“Someone was looking for you yesterday.”
“Here?”
“Well, of course here. Where else would he look for you?”
“Did he have a name?”
“Not that he cared to share with me. I was getting my mail and he asked me if I’d seen you around.”
“What did he look like?”
“Average, I suppose. Light hair, wore casual clothes and sneakers. I explained there had been a problem with your apartment but didn’t know where you were staying.”
“Great,” she mumbled. Mr. Madison put his little dog down, and they tottered out to the sidewalk. Paige grabbed the handful of envelopes from her mailbox, slammed it shut, and went back to the car.
“Wade’s been looking for me. This is the second time. First Nadine mentioned he had been down to the precinct asking for me, and now here.”
“Are you sure it was Wade?” Connor asked.
Paige nodded. “He didn’t leave a name, but the description fits.”
“Hell.”
“If the Hunters have been importing cocaine with the parts they’re manufacturing in Colombia, that would explain why Alex was chosen.”
“Working for the shipping company down there, he could have seen or heard something. Even if he didn’t know the significance of it at the time,” Connor agreed. “But what about Aleisha and Barry? They both worked for Eastland.”
“Probably a similar situation. They could have come across information that the Hunters didn’t want known.”
Paige parked in the garage next to the hotel, and they walked around the corner to a diner for breakfast.
“You still don’t want to go to the FBI?” Conner asked after their plates were delivered.
“I want proof of what they did. Or a confession.” She sipped her coffee. “They aren’t getting away with this. Or with murdering my dad and Ellie.”
“What about the agency you work for?”
Paige scowled at him.
“Own,” he corrected. “What about the agency you own?”
“I don’t own it. I’m a partner.”
“Whatever. Could anyone there help?”
Paige stuffed a forkful of eggs into her mouth. No doubt Shelby could help. Shelby could do anything. She was a freaking superwoman. But for Paige, that was a last ditch option.
She knew Shelby would want to help. Shelby would expect Paige to call her. But Paige wanted to do this herself. She had gotten herself into this mess, and she would get herself out. She knew it was pride. Maybe even stupid pride. Still.
“I’d rather not do that just yet,” Paige said.
“Your call. What’s the next step?”
“I have to go back to Wade’s office.”
“I can’t imagine why.” Connor looked at her closely. “I’m not sure I want to know why.”
“I saw something there,” Paige said.
“You s
aw something?” Connor sipped his coffee. “Care to enlighten me?”
“There was a bowl on his desk with some jewelry in it. I think my father’s watch was in there.”
“Would you be able to tell if it was his?”
Paige nodded. “Mom gave it to him as a wedding present. It has a chip in the crystal that he always refused to replace.” She bit her lip to keep it from trembling. “He didn’t have the watch on when they found his body.”
Connor covered her hand with his and squeezed. “Don’t you think it’s time to bring someone in on this? If we find the evidence, it won’t do any good.”
“Yes, it will. If he has my father’s watch, then I can go to the police. I’ll have enough proof to go to the commander and circumvent Robby.”
“Taking the watch to the commander will convince him?”
“I’m not going to take the watch. We have to preserve the chain of evidence. I’ll tell the commander and he’ll get a search warrant.”
“I’m not going to be able to talk you out of this, am I?” Paige shook her head.
Connor sighed and sat back. “Okay. When?”
“Tonight. After everyone leaves the warehouse.”
Paige and Connor waited until eleven before she decided it was clear for them to break into Wade’s office. The street was empty of cars and pedestrians and had been for several hours.
“Let’s go.” Paige grabbed a heavy towel from the jump seat of her truck and got out. Connor caught up to her as she crossed the street.
“What’s the towel for?”
“For breaking the window if I can’t get in with my lock picks.”
“There’s an open window down that alley. We could go in that way.”
Paige didn’t slow her pace. “No good. The door from the warehouse to his office could be locked, too. I’d rather go in from out here.”
She handed him the towel, pulled her lock picks out, and kneeled before the door to the office. She slipped the lock picks into the keyhole and worked the slender rods. After a few minutes, the lock gave, and she turned the doorknob and pushed the door open. Connor followed her in.
“Over here,” Paige said, walking to the desk on the far wall.
A bowl sat to the left of the computer keyboard. Paige picked up a pen and lifted the watch. A gold chain with a medallion was hooked in the band. Paige used another pen to lift the chain. The pendant dropped to the desktop, and she recognized it as a St. Michael’s. Patron saint of the police. She had one herself that her father had given her when she first joined the force.
Paige pulled out her penlight and aimed it at the pendant. Tiny letters were engraved on the back. Lori and Todd. Ty’s children. Tears welled in her eyes, and she bit her lip. She aimed the light at the watch and saw the chip in the crystal.
“What was that?” Connor whispered.
Paige killed the light and turned to him. “Someone’s in the warehouse.”
They moved closer to the door and looked through the window. Wade and the Hunters were standing twenty feet away with another man.
“We’re early,” Wade said.
“It’s good to be early,” Martin replied. “I wanted to be waiting when they got here.”
“Shouldn’t be long,” Dennis said, turning to the other man. “They said midnight, right, Howell?”
“That’s right.” He glanced at his watch. “Half an hour.”
“Give me the CD, Howell.” Martin held his hand out and glanced at Wade. Wade nodded and stepped behind Howell.
Howell handed the jewel case to Martin. “It’s all there. The plans, schematics, source code. Everything they need to build the Mobile Anti-Radar Device.”
“And you took care of the other stuff?” Martin took the case and slipped it into his pocket.
“Just like you said. The Department of Defense has a series of reports detailing the problems we have encountered in developing the device and the proof that it can’t be done at this time.” Howell laughed. “We received the notice from them to scrap the project this week.”
Martin nodded. “Excellent work, Howell. It’s a shame, really, that we don’t need you any longer.” He nodded to Wade.
Wade pulled a gun with a silencer attached, pressed it to the back of Howell’s neck, and fired. Howell slumped to the floor.
Paige barely caught herself before she gasped.
“Why aren’t they here yet?” Nathan whined as Wade dragged Howell’s body over to a corner. He removed the silencer, slipped it and the gun into his jacket pocket, then picked up an AK-47 from behind a crate.
“Relax, Nathan, they’ll be here.” Martin chuckled. “It’s all in the bag now.”
“It’s just that it has to happen now,” Nathan said. “We’ve taken all the money from the company. If we don’t close this deal and get out of the country, it’s all going to crash down on us.”
“Everything’s going as planned,” Dennis said. “We’ll be in the Cayman Islands before noon tomorrow.”
“You’ve got the new identification for all of us, right?” Nathan asked.
“God, Nathan. If you keep whining and worrying, I’ll let Wade use that gun on you,” Martin grumbled.
Paige leaned close to Connor. “I don’t know what they’re doing, but we can’t let them leave here.” The AK-47 worried her. Wade could take them both out in a heartbeat. Her only chance would be to get behind him.
Connor nodded and pulled a gun from his pocket. Paige lifted her eyebrows in surprise. “You didn’t think you were the only one with a gun, did you?” he whispered.
“We have twenty minutes before whoever they’re meeting is showing up. We have to move now.” Paige pulled her gun out. Connor nodded and clicked the safety off his gun.
“I’m going to slip out and go around those crates to get behind Wade. When I’m in position, you come out.” Paige watched until the men were turned partially away from the door, then slipped out and behind the crates. When Wade turned his back, she ran up behind him and pushed her gun into his neck. Connor opened the door and sighted his gun on the other men.
“Drop the gun, Wade,” Paige said.
“You’ve got to be kidding,” Wade said. “You aren’t going to shoot.”
“Give me a reason, Wade. Any little reason at all.”
Wade stiffened at the threat in her voice and placed the gun on the floor. Paige motioned him over toward the other men. She took her cell phone out of her pocket and tossed it to Connor. “Call Nine-One-One.”
“I don’t think that would be advisable.”
Paige turned to find two men behind her, and Zoe standing between them. One man held a gun on Zoe. The other held a gun on her.
CHAPTER
THIRTY-FOUR
CRAP! SHELBY HAD BEEN SITTING IN a cramped position for the last half hour, and now she saw Paige move up behind one of the Eastland men and force him to put down his AK-47. She started to move out of her hiding place to take control of the situation when two other men showed up with Zoe. The men holding Zoe had to be from The Dominion Order. She squinted at the areas where Hanson and James had hidden themselves. They were professionals, and they understood they were not to move until she gave the order. But they had to be getting antsy. She whispered into the small microphone on her collar. “Not yet! Wait for my signal.” There was still a chance that she could wait for the transaction to take place, then she and the two FSA agents could take out Wade and the two men from the Order.
What the hell was Zoe doing here? No doubt she’d waited until Shelby had left and then followed her. Shelby was going to have Zoe’s ass about this.
“I wasn’t expecting such a gathering, Scoresby,” one of the suited men said.
“Well, seems we have a few uninvited guests. But Wade, here, will take care of them while you transfer the money, if that’s all right with you.”
“First, I’d like to see the CD.” The man slipped his gun into the back of his waistband and held out a hand. Martin pulled the disc f
rom his pocket and handed it to him. The man pulled a slim laptop from his briefcase and set it on top of a crate. He slipped the CD into place and plugged a wire from his mobile phone into the laptop.
Wade picked up the AK-47 and held it loosely under his arm while he pulled the pistol from his pocket and attached the silencer. He waved the gun at Paige. “Let’s all move over here so we can have a little privacy.” Wade turned to the man next to Paige. “You too, Connor.” He glanced at Zoe. “And whoever you are, you can join us.”
Crap! Shelby was hoping the men from The Order would have a chance to transfer the money before anything happened. But Wade looked a little too happy to comply with Scoresby’s instructions to take care of Paige, Zoe, and Connor. Everyone had moved so that Shelby, Hanson, and James didn’t have clear shots at the men holding the guns. She had no choice but to move and hope for the best.
Shelby raised her hand and glanced at the two FSA agents to make sure they could see her. “On my signal,” she whispered into the microphone. Wade seemed to be waiting until the transaction was over to take care of his duties.
The man with the laptop typed in commands, and then smiled. “It appears to all be here.” He removed the CD, replaced it in the jewel case, and tucked it into his jacket pocket. “Of course, if it isn’t complete, or if there are any problems with it, we will find you.”
“Understood,” Scoresby said, nodding.
“But what if it doesn’t work?” Nathan whined. “We don’t have total control over that.”
“Shut up, Nathan,” Dennis said. “It works. Howell assured us that everything was good before he met with that unfortunate accident.”
Nathan whimpered.
Shelby waited. She wanted them to start transferring the money before she made her move. Her eyes darted from Wade to the other group as she tried to gauge just how much time she had before Wade used his gun. Wade had moved Paige, Zoe, and Connor about thirty feet away from the others. His back was to Shelby, but Paige was still in her line of fire. Zoe and Connor had turned to face him. Shelby took a chance that the other men were occupied enough to not see her, and stood up.