Superior Collision

by C. A. Szarek

Had Carter-the-bastard not killed John, the fate of their crew would have been the same as Taz’s.

  Cami’s and Devon’s safety wouldn’t be in question if Rowdy had never turned up again.

  Shit.

  When he flipped backwards onto the mattress, the crappy bed creaked again, like the frame was going to refuse to support his weight.

  He hadn’t talked to Cami since the day before yesterday, so he could call her. He shouldn’t wait until too much later in the day, either, though he was unsure of her schedule this week.

  Rowdy reached for his phone and dialed her number from memory. He wouldn’t have the thing long, so he hadn’t bothered with entering anything in the contacts.

  “Hello?” Her voice was breathless, as if she’d had to run to her cell.

  “Hey, Cam.”

  “Eric. Thank God. I was starting to worry.”

  “I told you not to worry about me.” He tried to keep his voice light. Hide the stress inside him.

  “Where are you? Wait… You’re not going to tell me, anyway.”

  “I’m safe. Promise.”

  She didn’t answer, but he heard a sniffle that made his gut clench.

  “Hey, what’re you crying for? I’m checking in like I said I would, and I’m not lying. I’m safe.” For now.

  “Okay.” The word was thick with tears.

  “I miss you guys.”

  “We miss you, too.”

  “Cami…”

  “Yeah?” his sister prompted when his hesitation stretched out.

  “What if I turn myself in?”

  There was silence for a good fifteen seconds. Rowdy clutched his phone tight and had to remind himself to breathe. His pulse thundered in his temples.

  “For what, Eric?”

  He laughed. Couldn’t help it. “Cam, you don’t think I came by all that money honestly, do you?”

  His sister went quiet again, and seconds ticked away before he heard a big intake of air. “No. Half of me wants…needs…to know. But the other half…can’t stand the idea of you being into something dangerous, let alone illegal.”

  “And I don’t want to tell you.” Rowdy wouldn’t, no matter how she begged or prodded.

  “And don’t deny it’s dangerous. You told me some asshole is after you, and you showed up on my doorstep with two infected GSWs.”

  “I’m not going to tell you anything.”

  Cami sighed. “Fine. Then why ask me? What do you care about what I think?” Irritation colored her words.

  “Because I’m trying to talk myself into doing the right thing, which is something you’re way more familiar with than me.”

  She laughed, but it was bitter.

  Rowdy winced.

  “Funny, when you think about it, since most of the time when we were kids, you were always telling me to do the right thing.”

  “Cami—”

  “It would be okay.”

  His heart skipped. “What would?”

  “If you did it. The right thing, I mean. Turned yourself in, or whatever. God knows we have the money for a good lawyer.”

  He snorted. “I guess. Unless the FBI confiscated it, which is likely. You’d have to hide it, and hide it good. But they’d still ask how you’re paying said good lawyer. They’d find out.”

  “FBI?” she gasped. “It’s that serious?”

  Rowdy closed his eyes, banishing the picture of her wearing a disappointed expression when it popped in his head. Her voice hadn’t sounded anything but stunned. However, he knew his sister too well, even if he couldn’t see her. When everything came out, she was going to be more than disappointed. Rightly so. “Yes,” he admitted at a whisper.

  “It doesn’t matter.”

  “It doesn’t?”

  “No. I’ll be there for you no matter what. You’re my family.”

  Relief swirled around in his head and he bit his bottom lip to keep from crying like a little bitch. He didn’t know what he wanted to do yet—what he should do—but at least he had Cami at his back.

  Chapter Nineteen

  What the hell was I thinking? revolved in her head, taunting her as it had for days.

  Taylor couldn’t get her last encounter with Shannon out of her mind. How his hands had felt on her bare skin, and how his kiss had tasted. How her body had been on fire—incendiary, from the inside out. She thought of him and dreamed of him, and no amount of miles run on the treadmill were helping. Neither was her case, and work had always saved her before.

  What was wrong this time?

  She hadn’t talked to Shannon since that night, text or otherwise, and that was another kind of torture, too. She didn’t want to admit that she missed him. Even worried whether he’d gotten home and back to work okay. But she wouldn’t reach out to him.

  Taylor had been clear. They were done. There was nothing else to say.

  She was only glad she’d managed to not do something stupid that night. That, she would’ve regretted.

  It’d taken all she was made of to kick him out calmly. She’d faked her composure, fought the tremor that’d shot down her spine and ignored the screaming protest of her body when she’d put her shirt on, instead of ripping the rest of her clothes off and dragging him to her bed. He’d made her burn for him, though she wouldn’t have admitted it aloud, like Shannon had.

  Telling him he was pressuring her had been a cop out—mostly. Taylor wanted him as much as he wanted her. She was just scared shitless about it. She wasn’t ready for intimacy with a man, was she?

  Her body sure as hell was.

  She growled and made a fist.

  What happened to my self-control?

  The guilt that assaulted her whenever she looked at John’s picture made her want to vomit. Almost tempted her to take it off the entertainment center. That framed photo of the two of them was the last left on display in her apartment. The rest—along with all his things she couldn’t bear to part with—were in the hall closet.

  “Hey, Carrigan?” Holman’s voice from the doorway made her jump. Her partner had gone to a meeting with the analysts helping with their case.

  Taylor cursed and nearly missed ramming her knee into her desk. “What’s up?”

  “There’s a call on line two. Vasquez, from LA.”

  “Thanks.” Taylor grabbed the phone and hit the blinking line. Then it occurred to her Holman might benefit from whatever info Eddie might have, so she pressed the speaker button, resting the handle back in its cradle. “Carrigan.”

  “Hey, Tay.”

  She cringed at the detested nickname, and didn’t miss her partner’s smirk.

  “I have news.” The LA-based agent’s voice was deep, with an urgent edge she wasn’t used to.

  Taylor sat taller and exchanged a look with Holman. He settled on the corner of her desk. “Go ahead. Holman’s here with me. You’re on speaker.”

  Eddie took an audible breath and launched into a story that made Taylor’s blood boil.

  “What the hell? Are you serious?” Rage made her face hot and she bit back curse words so she wouldn’t scream even louder.

  “I’m sorry, Tay. He didn’t tell me until Carter Bennett left his place.”

  She growled and didn’t spare Holman a glance, even though she could feel his stare. “Eddie, this is fucking serious.”

  Her partner stilled, and Eddie paused.

  Yeah, she didn’t say that word aloud too often. Good thing they’d both noticed.

  Holman slid to their office door and closed it.

  Probably a good thing. Their fellow agents didn’t need to see or overhear Taylor have a meltdown. And she was close. Speaker phone wasn’t always her friend.

  “You’re preaching to the choir. No worries, Bubba and I had words.”

  “Words? That doesn’t cut it. That bastard was staying with him and he didn’t think to give you the fucking heads up? I thought he was your CI? The reliable one? What the hell happened to that?”

  “He says he didn’t expect Be
nnett to up and leave, but I don’t believe his ass. I’ll get him to come clean, I’m working on it. Let you know. No worries.”

  Taylor drummed her nails on her desk. Her head spun, her face seared—and was no doubt three shades of red. Damn good thing they were separated by fifteen hundred miles, because she wanted to strangle Special Agent Eddie Vasquez. “What the hell was he waiting for? What does working on it mean?”

  Eddie laughed and it pissed her off even more. “I knew you couldn’t help but take the bait.”

  “Bait? I swear to God, Ed—”

  “Okay, take a breather. Sorry, I’ll get to the point.”

  Take a breather was too close to Calm down and made her ire rise even higher. Good thing for her colleague she was too angry to speak.

  Her partner took one step toward her, but a glare stopped him in his tracks and he perched himself on the end of his chair, instead.

  Smart man.

  “Yeah, get to the point, Eddie,” Holman muttered. He shook his blond head.

  “The reason Bubba waited to call me was because Bennett was trying to set up a train hit, but it didn’t pan out, according to him. He told me he wanted more evidence. Something solid before he called me, but I can smell the BS. He’s hiding something, but I will get to the bottom of it. He fed me some shit that he was sorry, he knew he was wrong, but I know he’s not sharing everything with the class. Don’t worry, I’ll find out what he knows or I’ll haul him off to jail. Right now, I need him in play.”

  “Fuck that, Eddie!” Taylor made a fist. “Bennett was in his house! Arrest his ass now. Make him talk, or tell him you’ll throw away the key!” Her voice rose with each word until she was shouting and her throat ached. She didn’t give a shit.

  “Why didn’t the train hit pan out?” Holman asked. His voice was at a normal volume. He was calm, collected.

  She forced a breath. If her partner could be calm, she should try. Didn’t need word making it back to Baker that she’d lost it. Or that she wanted to go postal on a fellow FBI guy.

  “Word’s spread of Bennett killing off his crew, so no one will work with him. He even tried Grady O’Malley, according to Bubba.”

  “It must be bad, O’Malley’s as scum as they come,” Holman said. “Always out for a buck, no matter the risk.”

  “You know him?” Eddie voiced the question Taylor, too, wanted an answer to.

  “Ran into him once or twice when I was under. None of the crew leaders like him much.”

  “Even thieves have honor,” Eddie said.

  Taylor rolled her eyes. Her heartrate was starting to regulate. She whipped the little yellow, smiley-faced stress ball—compliments of Doc Wong—from her desk. She tried not to glare at Holman’s snort. If he said anything, she’d kill him. “Why did Bennett leave?”

  “Bubba won’t say. My gut says he knows where, when and why. I have him by the balls. I will get an answer. Maybe it’s something to do with Rowdy Vargas.”

  “Son of a bitch, that’s the last thing I need!” Taylor gritted her teeth.

  “Do you think Bennett found out Bubba is your CI?” Holman asked.

  Taylor’s knee was bouncing a mile a minute of its own accord. She adjusted herself, settling on the edge of her seat, and squeezed the damn ball. Her palms were clammy. Her mind spun into chaos she couldn’t make sense of. Demands she needed to make couldn’t be spoken. The answers she needed weren’t there, anyway.

  “Doubtful,” Eddie was telling her partner. “No way he would’ve stuck around at Bubba’s place if he did. As it is, Bubba says he wants to kill him now, too. Though, not sure I buy that.”

  “Why?” Taylor and Holman asked at the same time. She exchanged a glance with her partner.

  His blue gaze was calm.

  She sucked in a subtle breath and looked back at the phone.

  “Bubba said Bennett relieved him of thirty grand on his way out, but he was too angry, it was too loud of a protest, if you know what I mean.”

  “Dammit,” Holman muttered.

  “Now the bastard has resources,” Taylor said.

  “If it’s true, I think Bubba gave him the dough. He’s covering for him. It’s not a million dollars, but it’ll last him a little bit. More than get him to wherever he thinks Vargas is, if that’s where he went,” Eddie said.

  Taylor could see him shaking his head in her mind, his dark hair flying, but him being annoyed with his CI didn’t make her feel an ounce better. “Eddie, you’d better fucking fix this. Get that asshole in cuffs, today.”

  “I got it handled, Tay. Promise.”

  She scowled. Third time was a charm. “I told you not to call me that.”

  “I know.” But his voice wasn’t repentant. It sounded like he was grinning, actually, damn him.

  “Why would he call you at all, if he’s involved with Bennett in some way? Why let you know he was there if he’s covering for him?” Holman asked, again in that unruffled tone. “If he hadn’t said a word, we wouldn’t know.”

  “Good damn question.” The LA agent sighed. “Maybe he was afraid word would get back to me somehow, I dunno.”

  “You’d better find the fuck out. And call me the very second you do,” Taylor barked. She hit the hang-up button without further word or apology. She glared at her partner.

  Holman stared back, unaffected.

  “If you tell me to breathe or something, I’m going to shoot you.”

  He chuckled but flashed his palms up in surrender. “I wouldn’t dare. I’m with you, this blows. I met Bubba a few times, and he’s a convincing thug. No one could guess he’s with Vasquez.”

  “Obviously he’s not.”

  “I don’t know about that. I think there’s more to this, and Eddie will get him to talk. He’s good.”

  “This is bullshit.” She crushed the stress ball in both hands, fighting the urge to fling it across the room. “How’s the search for the sister coming?”

  Holman had been gone for a while before hollering that Eddie was on the phone. It’d taken every ounce of Taylor’s self-control not to go after him as the minutes had ticked away. To let him handle it, and trust him to report back to her with any info they needed.

  She didn’t like relying on someone else. Needed to do it all herself. But a part of her wanted Holman to know she did think he was a good investigator. She grudgingly had to admit they’d worked well together for the past few days.

  He was her partner. Taylor didn’t hate that idea anymore. Not all the way, anyway.

  “They’ve ruled out New Mexico. Still looking in Arizona and Nevada. It’s tough with only a guestimate at her years in state custody, no age and no last name. They didn’t have any luck with using Vargas so far. I told them to assume Cami is short for Camille and look for both. All the spellings they can think of. We’ll find her. Messing with kids’ records is a bitch, too. Family Services, no matter the state, throws a confidentiality fit around a lot. They’re fighting through it, though.”

  “What about prison records? If Vargas is a criminal, maybe it’s all in the family?”

  “Maybe, but Pompa said she wasn’t.”

  “He didn’t know much about her.”

  “True.” Holman ran his hand through his short locks.

  She reclined in her chair and sighed. “I was hoping for more.”

  “Me too.” He shook his head. “But we’re a tad closer.”

  “Not close enough. If Bennett really did find Vargas, it’s too late. We’ll get the call about a body found.”

  Holman echoed her sigh and nodded. “I think so, too.”

  “Dammit. We need Vargas alive. I want to kill Eddie.”

  Amusement rippled across her partner’s handsome face. “That wouldn’t do any good.”

  She rolled her eyes, then glanced at the phone when her direct line rang. It was Baker.

  “Carrigan, come see me.”

  “Sure.” She hung up and looked at Holman. “Be right back.” Taylor didn’t wait for his answer b
efore heading out, but she left their office door open.

  * * * *

  “You’re off for the rest of the day, tomorrow, and taking this weekend off.”

  Taylor hit her feet, her fists clenched at her sides. “The hell I am. I have to find Rowdy Vargas before Carter Bennett does.”

  “Holman will work on the case.” Baker’s tone brooked no argument. “You need some time away from it.”

  “Baker—”

  “You remember the conversation we had the morning I paired you with Holman?”

  She snapped her mouth shut. The word ultimatum danced around in her mind. No way would Taylor acknowledge it aloud. “What is this about?” She forced the question out, chanting the word calm over and over.

  “I heard about your little phone conference with Vasquez from the LA office.”

  Taylor cursed. Sank back into the chair she always sat in, on the left in front of her boss’s desk.

  “And before you rip your partner a new one, the info didn’t come from Holman. I don’t know how it’s going with you two, since you don’t tell me anything, but obviously the kid is loyal to you. Which I’m happy to see, by the way.”

  Of course he hadn’t reported to Baker. He’s been with me the whole time, but Holman… Loyal to me?

  Why? Hadn’t she been treating him like crap? There’d been moments, like in the car on the way back from Texarkana, and the last few days in the office, where things were all right. More than all right.

  “Working with Holman’s okay,” Taylor confessed. Then cursed at the triumphant look on her boss’s face.

  “So, no issues with taking a few days off? Taking it easy for the weekend?” His voice was even. He smiled and intertwined his fingers, planting them on his desk.

  “You know I have issues with that.”

  “Well, I’m glad to hear it.”

  Taylor blinked. He was just going to pretend she hadn’t spoken?

  Baker’s smile widened. “Have a good weekend. Get out of town.”

  Out of town?

  Shannon’s trial was over, and he was back home in Antioch, but Baker couldn’t know about the sergeant.

  “If you can take a breather, and next week goes okay, I’ll even consider not shortening your work hours or benching you every weekend.”