Locked and Loaded

by Mandy Baxter

  Even Charlie had let him down. She’d put her own ambition before him. Before anyone. At the end of the day, was she any better than Kieran or Jensen?

  “You never believed in the system, did you?”

  Kieran snorted. “No. Jensen was right about one thing. The system’s corrupt. I’ve met more ruthless criminals on the right side of the law than I ever have on the wrong side of it.”

  Charlie bristled. She’d always been so confident in her path. So righteous in her need to prosecute those who broke the law. So sure that her side was the right side. The only side. Over the course of the past month, she’d come to realize life wasn’t simply black and white. There was so much more to right and wrong than the decision to be one or the other.

  By the time all of this was said and done, Charlie prayed she could continue to see the difference between the two and make the right choices.

  *

  Mason’s leg bounced as he sat in the visitors’ room at San Quentin. Kieran’s third shipment of diamonds was safely stashed in the safe-deposit box, and now it was time to shake the bushes. A niggling thought scratched at the back of his mind, something he hadn’t been able to let go of since they’d gotten back from L.A. He’d learned in the course of his life that when something came easily it was usually because someone wanted it that way.

  Mason had been given far too many liberties since being brought onto the task force. Charlie too. He’d been undercover enough with CBP to know how it worked. There was no way the U.S. Marshals Service would be so lax in the way they handled undercover operations. Even with Mason’s smart mouth and unwillingness to follow orders, he’d had to play it by the book. All it had taken with Carrera was a few grumbled protests and they’d let the reins loose.

  None of it made sense.

  Including the ease with which they’d transferred his dad to San Quentin.

  Jensen strode into the room with the confidence of a king. Unease slithered up Mason’s spine and tightened the muscles across his shoulders. His gaze landed on Mason. Mild shock accentuated the lines of his face for the barest moment, but Jensen quickly recovered and replaced the expression with passive disinterest. He took a seat across from Mason, completely at ease despite the cuffs that bound his wrists and ankles. That look of confidence rattled Mason because it only helped to confirm his suspicions.

  “You seem surprised to see me.”

  “Two visits in one month.” Jensen shrugged. “This must be a special occasion.”

  “I want you to tell me everything you know about Faction Five.”

  Mason wasn’t here for small talk. He wanted answers and he wasn’t going to stand being kept in the dark for another goddamned second.

  Jensen responded with a cocky grin. “What’s that?”

  Mason’s jaw clenched. He’d beat the information out of his dad if he had to. Charlie was headed God knows where to meet God knows who with Kieran. The only thing Mason knew for sure was that she was in trouble. He needed to find out just how much trouble.

  “Don’t play your fucking games with me.” His jaw clenched and unclenched with agitation. “I’m not some newb you can snow with your smiles and personality. Don’t forget, Dad, I know exactly who you are and what you’re capable of. Your bullshit doesn’t work with me. So I’m going to ask you one more time before I beat the ever-loving fuck out of you. What do you know about Faction Five?”

  Jensen’s smile melted from his face. His bright gaze darkened and a sneer curled his lip. Finally, Mason got a glimpse of the man he knew as his father. The ruthless, selfish bastard who had only ever looked out for himself.

  “Enough to know you’re in way over your head, boy.”

  Mason fixed his dad with a stern stare. “What did they offer you? What do you get now that Kieran’s working to raise the money to buy your way in?”

  A corner of Jensen’s mouth hitched. He settled back in his chair and regarded Mason for a quiet moment as though trying to decide how much to reveal. “Freedom.” He drummed his fingers absently on the table. “And after that”—his smile grew—“whatever the hell I want.”

  Complete autonomy. Faction Five offered its elite membership carte blanche. The opportunity to conduct business with the freedom of knowing there would never be any chance of arrest or prosecution. What was a multimillion-dollar buy-in compared to the hundreds of millions he stood to make, given the opportunity to operate without law enforcement breathing down his neck? And the worst part? Jensen hadn’t had to lift a fucking finger to do it. He’d let Kieran and him—his own goddamned sons—do all of the heavy lifting for him.

  “You son of a bitch,” Mason spat. “You knew all along what I was doing, didn’t you?”

  “Let’s face it,” Jensen said. “You were never very good at the long con, son.”

  Son. The word made Mason’s teeth itch. “And Charlie?”

  Jensen chuckled. “You mean, Assistant U.S. Attorney Charlotte Cahill?”

  Mason’s heart pounded against his rib cage. His lungs compressed, squeezing every last bit of air from his chest. “You knew all along who she was, didn’t you?”

  “It was important to keep up appearances,” Jensen remarked. “For Kieran’s benefit. After today, though, I won’t have to play games anymore.”

  Anger pooled in Mason’s gut. Kieran had been as much a victim as Mason and Charlie. Jensen had played them all. But he hadn’t orchestrated it on his own.

  The realization made Mason nauseous as he said, “Carrera set it all up.”

  Jensen smirked.

  Adrenaline raced through Mason’s veins as his worst fears were confirmed. The chief deputy was one of the five. He’d promised to personally keep an eye on Charlie, which meant she was as good as dead.

  Charlie had been on the right track. Sort of. A couple more weeks and she might have had it all figured out. The task force had been set up for failure from the very beginning. Jensen had planned it so that his kids would be saddled with the task of raising his buy-in, thereby proving his worth to Faction Five. He’d conned them all. Tricked them into doing his dirty work for him while he sat back and watched from the comfort and protection of his jail cell. And when it was all over, anyone not on board would get a bullet to the head. Namely, Charlie and Mason.

  “Why keep Kieran in the dark at all?” It took a sheer act of will not to launch himself across the table and wrap his hands around Jensen’s throat. “Why not tell him everything?”

  “Kieran could have raised the funds on his own,” Jensen admitted. “But it would have taken him a couple of years to get it done. This way was faster, not to mention easier.”

  Mason snorted. Dipping his hands into the government’s coffers probably filled his dad with a smug sense of satisfaction.

  “Besides,” Jensen said, “he never would have knowingly turned on you. He wouldn’t have let me use you.”

  “Someone has to take the fall for the money the feds transferred to Kieran for the fenced diamonds.” The realization was a punch to Mason’s chest. They’d played Kieran’s game, paid him millions for the diamonds he’d smuggled into the country, under the assumption that when the case was wrapped up, the government would reclaim the funds. “Seems like the powers that be would’ve kept you from doing anything that would shine the light of suspicion on them.”

  “What do they care where I get it from as long as they get their money?” Jensen remarked. “Someone will take the fall for it. It won’t be them. Or me.”

  Mason’s gut clenched. “Charlie.”

  “That was the plan.” Jensen let out a chuff of breath. “She sorta fucked that up when she marched in here after you the other day, didn’t she? Kept you on your toes, though.”

  “It’s all right,” Mason said. “I can roll with the punches.”

  The original plan must have been to kill Mason off and let Charlie be responsible for the lost money and botched investigation into Faction Five. Once again, Mason had thrown a monkey wrench into his dad’s plan
. “What now?” he asked. “Let me take the fall for the money the government is going to lose? What about Charlie? What happens to her now?”

  “It’s outta my hands.” Of course his dad would find a way to have zero accountability.

  “Who planned the robbery with the gangbangers last night?” Mason studied his dad’s expression, but the bastard didn’t even flinch. “You or Carrera?”

  “You give me a hell of a lot of credit.” Jensen narrowed his gaze at Mason. “If you think I can orchestrate something like that from in here.”

  He might not be connected now, but once he paid his multimillion-dollar tithe to Faction Five, Jensen would be damned near omnipotent. As one of their elite membership, with the power to pretty much do whatever the hell he damned well pleased, he’d be set for life.

  “What happens to Kieran when all of this is said and done? Are you bringing him along for the ride, or will you leave him high and dry as well?”

  Jensen had the decency to show the slightest bit of remorse in his answering scowl. “Kieran knows how the game works. He’ll understand.”

  The hell he would. Mason knew Kieran better than anyone. Even his dad. Family meant more to him than anything. Kieran wouldn’t take a betrayal lightly. “You think you know him.” Mason returned his father’s hard stare. “But you don’t.”

  “And you do?” Jensen laughed long and loud.

  “You’re damned right I do.”

  “We’ll see about that.”

  Mason wanted to use his fist to wipe the smug expression from his dad’s face. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Wonder what Kieran will think when he finds out who Charlie really is. She’s a hot piece of ass, no doubt about it, but that won’t mean much when he finds out she’s been working with his own brother to fuck him over this entire time.”

  Shit.

  Mason launched himself across the table and grabbed his dad by the collar of his ugly orange jumpsuit. “If anything happens to her, so help me God, I’ll wring the life out of you with my bare hands!”

  Urgency vibrated through Mason’s limbs as he held fast to Jensen’s collar. He needed to get to Charlie. Now. Hell, it might already be too late.

  Chapter Twenty-Five

  The house Kieran pulled up to didn’t scream international crime syndicate headquarters. Instead, it was simplistic and boring, so suburban, that Charlie wondered if they were even in the right place. He put the car into park and killed the engine. Sat for a silent moment before he turned to face her.

  “What you are, Charlie, is a small piece of what is going to be a massive empire.” Kieran’s gaze bore through her, his dark eyes intent and serious. “A crime syndicate unlike anything there’s ever been before. No rules. No fear of arrest or prosecution. Whatever we can dream up, we can do.”

  Giddy anticipation raced through Charlie’s veins. Finally, some definitive answers! She kept her excitement under wraps and canted her head to the side as she regarded Kieran. “No accountability whatsoever?”

  He beamed. You’d think Kieran had dreamed up Faction Five all on his own. “None.”

  She kept her expression skeptical. “How do you think you’re going to manage that?”

  “It’s already been managed.”

  “Is that what we’re amassing money for?” She let her lips curve into a sweet smile. “The ability to work without restriction?”

  “Exactly.”

  “No one’s completely immune from the law,” Charlie said, dubious.

  “Mason managed to keep you from being thrown in jail,” Kieran pointed out.

  “True.” Charlie eyed the house in front of them. Nervous energy churned in her stomach and burned in her chest. She rubbed at her sternum as though to banish the sensation. Being separated from Mason didn’t sit right with her. Why would Kieran bring her to meet with any of Faction Five’s leaders and leave him behind? “But Mason is one tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. I got lucky.”

  “We’re taking luck out of the equation.”

  “How so?”

  Kieran reached out and traced the pad of his finger along the back of Charlie’s hand. His gaze heated and she swallowed down the nerves that refused to calm. “The game’s about to change, Charlie. And I’m bringing you along for the ride.”

  She cleared her throat. “What about Mason?”

  Kieran’s gaze darkened. “Come on. There’s someone I want you to meet.”

  He got out of the car and Charlie took a quick moment for a few deep, cleansing breaths that did little to slow her pounding heart. Her hands shook and she gripped them tight, willing them to still before Kieran noticed the fear she couldn’t seem to temper.

  Charlie reached for the door handle and reminded herself that she wasn’t alone. Carrera and a couple of deputy marshals were somewhere close. The GPS on her phone was active. It wasn’t like no one knew where she was. Everything would be okay. She’d be okay. Just breathe, Charlie. Don’t lose it.

  Kieran pulled her door open at the exact moment she pushed. He held out a hand and Charlie took it, hoping like hell he wouldn’t notice her sweaty palms. “This doesn’t look like the sort of place an international crime ring would set up shop.” She kept her tone light and airy, forced any hint of a tremor to the pit of her stomach.

  “Looks can be deceiving.” Kieran flashed her a wicked grin.

  “I guess that’s true.” Charlie forced herself to laugh. They made their way down the narrow walkway toward the house. With every step placed, her anxiety built. “Don’t you think Mason should be here for this? I mean, we are partners and this seems like a pretty important meeting.”

  “We can fill him in later.” Kieran’s reassurance didn’t do anything for Charlie’s nerves.

  “Sure.” What else could she say?

  “Relax.” Easy enough for Kieran. Charlie wouldn’t be able to relax until she was out of this mess and every member of Faction Five was behind bars. “We’re about to be given the keys to the castle.”

  The keys to the castle? Or yet another set of hoops to jump through? Either way, Charlie supposed she was about to find out.

  Kieran stepped up to the door and rang the bell. Fear compressed the air from Charlie’s lungs as she waited to be greeted by whoever stood on the other side. She’d been less worried walking into Katarina’s high-end strip club, surrounded by Russian mobsters, than she was this innocent-looking house. The door swung wide and Charlie felt as though she’d been knocked in the stomach with a baseball bat as she came face-to-face with Carlos Carrera.

  She clenched her jaw to keep it from hanging wide open. A slap in the face would have been less shocking—and would have hurt a hell of a lot less—than what she was seeing right now. Carrera? Part of Faction Five? One of her own damned task force members had been in league with the bad guys all along. She couldn’t believe it. Didn’t want to. There had to be another explanation. Like, he’d shown up early and made the call to arrest everyone at the house. Surely that was it. It couldn’t be what it looked like. Charlie refused to believe the truth that was right in front of her face. Otherwise, she’d crack.

  “Sorry about this, Counselor.” Carrera pulled his gun from the holster. “Kieran. Why don’t you two come in?” He held the gun casually at his side but the threat was inherent in his voice.

  “Counselor?” Kieran sounded as confused as Charlie felt. At least they were both in the dark.

  With mechanical steps, Charlie moved forward. The door closed silently behind them, but it might as well have been the stone of her tomb sliding into place. Because she had no doubt she wasn’t walking out of here. She’d been intentionally separated from Mason, duped by her own damned people and one of the men she’d put her absolute trust in. Charlie had never felt so betrayed in her entire life, and she knew that she had no one to blame but herself.

  She’d gotten herself into this mess and it seemed there was no way of getting out.

  “Put that gun away, Carlos. Jesus Chris
t.” Kieran looked like he was hanging on to his temper by the barest of threads. Apparently he didn’t like having a gun pointed at him any more than Charlie did. He raked his fingers through his dark hair and the expression reminded Charlie so much of Mason. “Would someone care to tell me what the fuck is going on here?”

  “Jensen wanted to make sure his funds were secure before you knew.”

  Kieran looked from Charlie to Carrera. “Knew what?”

  That lousy son of a bitch! Anger seethed beneath the surface of Charlie’s skin, writhing and boiling. The theory that Kieran had been planning to con the government out of its money had been right … only Kieran didn’t seem to be in on it. Had Jensen played them all? Jesus. Nausea rolled through Charlie and angry tears stung at her eyes. She’d been made a fool of. And the worst part of it all was that in this case Kieran was right: The worst criminals were the ones who claimed to be on the right side of the law.

  “Charlie isn’t who you think she is,” Carrera said. The bastard didn’t even have the decency to pretend to feel guilty as his gaze slid to Charlie. “She’s an assistant U.S. attorney. In charge of the task force investigating Faction Five.”

  Kieran’s eyes went wide, confirming Charlie’s suspicions. He’d been kept completely in the dark. But why?

  “Mason …”

  “Mason knows,” Carrera said. Kieran looked as though he’d just been punched in the gut. Charlie could relate. It totally sucked to have the rug pulled out from under you. “He’s been working the case with Charlie. It’s what Jensen wanted.”

  “Mother … fucker.” Kieran took a step back. For the first time since she’d met him, Charlie got a glimpse of the hard-hearted, ruthless criminal. A deep crease cut into his brow and his nostrils flared with anger. A burst of nervous energy dumped into Charlie’s bloodstream. If Carrera didn’t kill her, she was pretty sure that Kieran would get the job done.