Suspicion At Sea

by Nichols, Amie

  The brothers stole my payday, and if anyone can scare them out of hiding, it is him.

  Chapter 28

  Justin

  It doesn't take long for us to get back. I park the Jeep in the parking lot off the docks. Once on the boat I lead her down to the galley, grabbing us both a bottle of water.

  “Are you hungry?” I pull out some lunch meat and bread to make a sandwich.

  “Not at the moment.” She places her hand over her stomach. “Nervous knots right now.” She takes the bottle of water and takes a large drink.

  “You know it doesn't matter what you tell me,” I try to reassure her when I see the fear in her eyes.

  “Honestly, Justin, I believe you. And even if it did matter to you, and what I'm about to tell you disgusts you...” She stops to choose her words. “If you can't look at me after I've told you what I've done, it would kill me. But I can't change it, it's part of me now. However, to tell you what might have happened to your brother-in-law I have to tell you the whole story.” She sits at the galley table, twirling her bottle of water in her hands.

  “Okay, now I'm not hungry.” I sit opposite her. Words like disgust and Ellie are two that I would never put together in a million years.

  “So I guess I'll start from the beginning.”

  Chapter 29

  Ellie

  “My parents were murdered...” I stop, swallowing to try to get the lump out of my throat. “I had just started with the Bureau; in fact, I had only been there a few months when it happened. At first we thought it was totally random, but then it happened again.”

  “How were they killed?” Justin asks softly, reaching over the table putting his hand on mine.

  “It was a home invasion. They were tortured and killed,” I have to choke the words out, because it is the first time I've ever spoken them aloud. “Cody knew about it, of course, because he was my partner at the time it happened.

  “There were a lot of similarities in the second murder; an interracial couple that were tortured and killed in almost the same way. At first we thought we had a serial killer. We started searching records for other deaths in different states trying to find a pattern or a signature. It consumed me for weeks, I thought of nothing else. There was nothing; no leads, no trail, just absolutely zilch.” Justin squeezes my hand when I stop to take a breath.

  “Then, all of a sudden, we had a lead. An anonymous tip that the killings were part of some initiation. A sick, cruel initiation for the Los Diablos Rojos. They were a new biker gang and we didn't know much about them. The DEA had done an investigation for suspected drug running, but they were called off.” I stop for a second as I remember this. At the time we just figured there wasn't anything to their investigation. But knowing what I know now, why were they called off? How had I never thought of this before now?

  “Los Diablos Rojos, LDR?” Justin says, interrupting my train of thought. “Your tattoo...” The look I am getting from Justin is the one I feared. I wrap my arms around myself, I can't stand the disgust in eyes so I concentrate on my water bottle and continue.

  “We watched them for a while, but we were getting nowhere, so Cody and I went into deep cover infiltrating them. It was easy for me, because I was the leader's type. Chico Alverez, the head of the LDR, took to me instantly. He was a bigoted asshole and I had no choice but to go along with it.” The knots in my belly seem to swell when I meet Justin's eyes.

  “Ellie,” Justin whispers, shaking his head, his shoulders slumped. “I can't believe Cody let you do that,” he snaps, slamming his hand on the table. “So you played along as Chico's girlfriend?” Justin's hands are in tight fists, one goes up to his mouth as if he is trying to stop himself from saying any more.

  “At first it was just flirting, but the more we were around them the more we learned. Drugs, human trafficking, young girls brought from South America and sold off to creepy old men.” I shiver remembering this. The ones I knew about, I arranged for the FBI to bring someone in undercover to buy them. But I don't know how many I didn't know about that got sold.

  “The whole thing had turned into something so much bigger. I was distracted from my parents’ murder as we gained intelligence. I spoke with my Deputy Director, Carl Parson. There was nothing leading us to believe that LDR had anything to do with the murders and they had stopped. There were only my parents and the other couple.”

  “What did you have to do?” His words are like ice, sending chills through me.

  “I wanted out, I wanted to investigate my parents’ murder. I was going to bring in another agent to take my place. I was ordered to stay, that Chico was starting to trust me and was giving me intel. Enough that we could bring the whole operation down. I had no choice. If I left it would have jeopardized everything.”

  “What did you have to do?” Justin repeats his question. He already knows what I had to do, and he is going to make me say it.

  “Justin, please,” I whisper. I see judgment in his eyes. “You can judge me, it's fine. I'm used to it. But you don't know what it is like to have your whole world turned upside down. You don't know what they did to my parents before they killed them. They were tortured for hours, my mother was raped repeatedly,” I snap back and can't control the tears streaming down my face. “Carl swore to me that if I stayed with LDR, he would do everything in his power to find my parents’ murderer. The case was cold, and he told me that if I left LDR he would have no choice but to close it.” I sniff, wiping tears from my eyes.

  “You were blackmailed into selling your soul to the devil.” His words are chilly. His demeanor toward me completely dry as I feel the distance between us grow miles apart.

  “I'm assuming by the tattoo you have in the very private place that you and Chico got pretty close.” There's the look of loathing, the gut wrenching, heart breaking look that I knew I would see.

  “Yes,” I whisper. “I was his girl, and I was allowed in all meetings. It didn't take long after for us to have enough to be able to take down Chico and most of his gang. Do you know how many young girls were saved from a life of being bought and sold as sex slaves?” I state, thinking, sacrificing my body to save hundreds of girls, was there any other choice?

  “What did Carl have to sacrifice?” Justin shouts, his voice booming in the tiny galley.

  “What I did was nothing compared to what those girls had to go through.” I stop, wiping the tears streaming down my face. Justin is silently fuming, I can feel his foot shaking up and down rapidly, his fists still pressed against his lips. I continue with my story.

  “Most of the key players were there that day and taken down. The shooting started immediately when the raid went down. Chico used me as a human shield.” I stop and rub the scar. “The last thing I remember of that day was Cody emptying his clip into Chico.”

  “So what does any of this have to do with what Cody told you last night?” Justin says, his tone still flat. I feel the disconnect, making my heart ache and my eyes sting.

  “Apparently, The Sweet Suzy was on the watch list during our time undercover. There was chatter that led the Bureau to believe there was a connection—”

  “Why are you just now telling me this?” Justin shouts, interrupting me.

  “They were taken off it almost as fast as they were put on. Cody didn't know if it was a fluke or what was going on. I didn't want to tell you until I knew for sure.” Justin gets up and throws his water bottle against the wall, making me jump. “I still don't know. He hasn't called me back.” I get up and stand beside Justin, and I know when he moves away from me that this, us, whatever we are, is probably over. He takes the steps two at a time as he escapes from me onto the top level of the boat. I stand there for a second before I go up.

  I don't see him when I reach the top. I go out on the deck and leave the boat. I didn't expect him to be, “Oh that is a great story,” but wow. The pain in my heart is numbing and the knots in my stomach are making me nauseous. The tears rolling down my cheeks are uncontrollabl
e as I feel like the only man I will probably ever love now regrets ever meeting me. The look on his face is burned into my brain. I can't believe that expression will be the last look on his face I will see.

  I walk down the dock trying to hold it together. A black sedan with tinted windows is in the parking lot of the dock.

  Fuck you, Cody. If you were so worried about me, call me back. I'm in no mood for this and head straight for the sedan ready to tell off Cody's agent. Just as I reach the parking lot, the sedan backs up and speeds away. That's when I feel the rock drop in my stomach. One of our agents wouldn't have acted that way.

  I fumble in my purse for my phone as I walk across the parking lot to stand by a light pole, not wanting to be out in the open. My hand goes to the gun still tucked in the waistband of my shorts as I scan my surroundings, but don't see anything suspicious.

  “Agent Reed,” Cody answers his phone seemingly out of breath.

  “What is going on, are you having me tailed again?” I talk as loud as I can without actually shouting.

  “No, why? Are you being watched?”

  “A black sedan, and I've been getting a feeling of being watched, but thought it was you until the car sped away when I was on my way to confront them. What agency would it be?” That kind of car would not be part of the LDR, that was a professional tail.

  “I don't know, but I'm on my way to you. You need to go somewhere safe,” he breathes into the phone.

  “Why are you coming here, Cody?” The pounding of my heart is worse now. Between this and the heartbreak I just encountered, I feel like I'm having a heart attack right now.

  “Fausto is on the move. We thought he was still in Brazil. He was using a decoy.”

  “Fuck, I can't breathe.” I lean up against the light pole as I look around. An older gentlemen walks on the pier and a few teenagers are on one of the yachts.

  “Calm down, Ellie, I will be there tomorrow morning and will explain everything. Just get somewhere safe, can you do that?” he asks. He doesn't know I told Justin everything and have lost him.

  “Yeah,” I lie. I don't know where the hell to go, except to get to my car. “Are the McGills and LDR connected?” I ask. How is it that I just happen to be taking vacation in the one place that Fausto Alverez might be coming to?

  “Yes, I will explain when I get there, and keep your phone on,” he orders before hanging up.

  Chapter 30

  Still Ellie

  After the raid on LDR we thought things were shut down, until we learned that Fausto was taking over. He did things differently than Chico, much more on the down low. We've been watching him, and his last known location was South America. As far as any remaining LDR members knew, I was killed the same day as Chico. Even though I looked different—with much longer hair and wearing a lot of makeup—some would still recognize me, including Juan, and especially Fausto who took great interest in me. He wanted me for himself, but Chico wasn't sharing me. Thank God for that at least. Chico never passed me around, I was his possession. He took great pleasure in flaunting me in front of his brother. He knew Fausto was in love with me and caught him sending me a note. I never did read it, but from what I understand it was his vow of undying love for me and that someday we would be together. It caused a rift between them and Fausto was forced back to South America. It was also no secret that Fausto hated the way Chico ran things. The gang he started and his love of motorcycles drew too much attention.

  With Chico out of the way, Fausto has been trying to rebuild as the man in charge.

  The one thing we never could figure out was how they were transporting the guns—their most hush hush operation and biggest money maker. This was also Fausto's department, and another reason I didn't get more information.

  Standing against the light pole, I examine my situation. The sedan took off and I don't see any other suspicious cars. Nothing seems out of the ordinary except me plastered to a light pole. I relax my shoulders and start to walk toward the B&B. Time to get my things and find somewhere to hunker down until Cody gets here. I instantly think of Justin, which makes me think of Suzy. Could she be in danger? If Fausto is coming here that means the McGills probably stole something or did something very bad for him to come out of hiding and risk being caught.

  As I walk at a fast pace, I call Justin. It goes straight to voicemail, not that I expected him to answer my call anyway.

  “Justin, this is very important, please call me back.” I don't want to leave a message telling him his sister is in danger, without a few details. He left the boat before I could tell him about Fausto.

  It doesn't take me long to pack, and I am in my rental car. I just need a place to go. Still not hearing back from Justin, I drive to his sister's house. I take the long way around the island to make sure I'm not being followed. Not that whoever is following me doesn't know about Justin and his sister. It just makes me feel better to do this.

  His Jeep is in the driveway when I pull up. My palms are immediately sweaty and I feel a lump in my throat. He's going to think I'm insane coming here, chasing him down like a possessive freak.

  I pull up behind the Jeep and get out of the car, looking up and down the street. It's quiet; no cars, and no one is outside their houses. It is almost dusk and I see lights peeking through the windows of the row of houses up and down the block. It's peaceful and homey feeling. I can see why Suzy loves this house.

  I put my index finger up to the doorbell and hesitate before pushing the button. Taking a deep breath, I press and hear the ding dong of the bell inside the house. It doesn't take long for Suzy to answer the door.

  “Agent Marks,” Suzy greets me, seeming so cold and unfriendly. Has Justin told her everything? I feel like turning and running to my car, but I don't. I stand firm, remembering the reason I am here. Suzy could be in danger, I need to do my job.

  “Suzy, may I come in?” My mouth goes dry when Justin steps behind her.

  “Ellie, what are you doing here?” Justin says just as coldly as his sister. This tears my heart into a million pieces. My past is a nightmare, I know, I relive it every day, but seeing the look of disappointment on Justin's face is worse than anything I've been through so far. I fight the tears pricking my eyes.

  “It's strictly business,” I stutter, scanning up and down the street quickly. “I'm sorry to intrude, but Suzy I need you to listen to me for just a second,” I tell her, avoiding Justin's eyes.

  “Come in.” Suzy moves enough to let me in. Justin doesn't move, making me have to brush up against him. The tension coming off him is thick. Finally moving, I follow them into the living room where Justin turns, crossing his arms in front of his chest. He stares at me and I swallow hard. I want to yell at him, I want to scream. How dare he judge me and tell me that it doesn't matter what my past is then break my heart when I tell him. I swallow my hurt and anger. This is not the time or the place, I came here to warn Suzy.

  “I suppose Justin told you about me.” I turn to Suzy who gives me a blank stare.

  “No, I didn't, Ellie. First off, it's none of her business what happens between me and you,” Justin barks, making me jump. “Besides, there was no confirmation, so why trouble her.” He is warning me not to upset his sister more.

  “I have confirmation,” I talk under my breath, not able to look him in the eyes.

  “Maybe we should talk in private.” Justin uncrosses his arms and comes to me, grasping my bicep and pulling me into the kitchen.

  “Hey, what is going on?” Suzy yells, starting to follow us.

  “Suzy, just give us a second,” Justin yells back. Taking me into the kitchen he moves me behind the counter in the farthest corner away from the living room. I'm up against the counter with Justin standing in front of me. I want to reach out and touch him, but I fight the urge.

  “You said the LDR guy, Chico was it,” he says with so much condescension it makes me cringe. Like I enjoyed what I had to do with Chico. He has no idea how degrading and horrible it was. �
��You said he was dead, so why does she need to know what Jade used to do?” I can feel the anger boiling up in him. As if just thinking about it is making him madder and madder.

  “You left before I could finish. Chico's brothers are still alive and well. In fact, we have reason to believe that Fausto Alverez is on his way here to Bailey Island.” I chance a look into his eyes. God, do I love this man. I can never imagine loving anyone more than I love him.

  “Why? Were they still working for them?” I see his mind working out what is going on. “What were they doing for them, Ellie?” He gets the picture, fear instantly creeping into his voice. It's easy to tell he is figuring out that Suzy might be in danger.

  “We don't know yet, but you need to get her somewhere. Somewhere safe, just in case,” I explain, his eyes darting back and forth as he tries to figure out where he can take her.

  Chapter 31

  Justin

  I was trying not to think about Ellie, but it wasn't working. I was telling myself I could never be with a woman who would so easily give up her body for her job. Especially to a man as disgusting as she explained him to be. But who am I to judge, I don't know what it's like to have your family taken from you in such a horrible matter. It pisses me off that she felt it was her only option. That she was extorted into doing it, dangling her parents’ murderer in front of her.

  Now she's here standing in front of me looking hurt and I can tell she's been crying. It looks like she could start again at any moment. I want to hug her, tell her that I love her because goddammit, I do. I love her. The thought that she could possibly do something like that again in the future for her job makes me enraged. How can I be with someone like her knowing how far she is willing to go?

  “Why do you think he would come for Suzy?” I ask, knowing I haven't gotten the whole story yet.