by Dale Mayer
She winced. “I had to stay behind and handle a lot of late nights in my former position, so I understand how overwhelming it can be.” She sat there and stared at the thank you for a long moment. She didn’t like it.
“I haven’t had any contact or dealings with him in the past, but this seems way too simplistic for an email from him. And no capitals.”
He stopped and stared at her. “What are you talking about?”
She shrugged. “I asked a bunch of questions, gave a lot of information.” She turned her gaze to him and asked, “And all he says is ‘thank you’?”
She scrolled down to his signature, just below the message. And above the signature was an odd series of digits, numbers. She sat back and said, “Whoa.”
He walked around and asked, “What?”
She pointed out the code on the bottom. “This helps.” She turned to gaze up at him. “It’s the same code I had explained to him earlier on the accounts.”
He stared at her, then the email, pulled out his phone and tried to phone Robert. She waited in her seat, studying the code, her blood running hot at the thought of somebody going after the Dallas DA. But of course, that could’ve been because they’d gone after Rhodes and her.
“Why didn’t we check on him before?” Her body was tense as she waited for Robert to pick up his phone.
But his phone rang and rang. Finally it went to voice mail. Rhodes didn’t leave a message. He turned it off and said, “I’ll find Levi.”
She closed her laptop, tucked it under her arm and raced behind him. “Any idea where they are?”
“Last I heard, they were talking with Alfred in the kitchen area.” They ran down the stairs and burst into the kitchen. All three people turned to look at them.
“What’s up?” barked Levi.
Sienna opened the laptop, hit the button to bring it out of screensaver mode and showed him the email with the little bit of code on the bottom. “If I decode this like for the other accounts to get names,” she said, “that particular line of code reads help me.”
*
The discussion was hot and heavy as they decided the best way forward. Harrison came in from the other room where he was watching a movie, snagged up the laptop with Sienna’s permission and checked to see where the message came from.
“It was sent from his house,” he announced ten minutes later. But he glanced at his watch.
“That’s … several hours’ drive away,” Sienna said. “We should call the cops and have them go by his house.”
Ice said, “We already contacted somebody there. But they’ll check first if he’s being held hostage. If they just knock on the door, there’s a good chance they won’t find out anything or will get a bullet through the door themselves.”
Rhodes knew the truth was hard sometimes, but Sienna needed to understand these people were dead serious and had long-reaching arms.
Levi’s phone rang. He pulled it out and said, “It’s Robert.” He waited a second for silence to follow, then held it to his ear and asked, “Hello, Robert, that you?”
Rhodes watched Levi’s face as his gaze hardened. It zinged to Sienna and if possible, became even harder.
“I heard you. Where do you want to make the exchange?” He turned and faced Ice. “You are where? Almost in Houston?”
Rhodes waited and realized exactly what was happening. He checked his watch, mentally ran over the weapons they had ready and the men available. The plan of action would be determined by wherever the exchange was because Rhodes had no doubt they had Robert and were looking for Sienna too. Levi would have said, in exchange, but in reality, one of them was likely already dead. Which meant they were all leaving and Sienna would stay here, where she’d be safe.
Levi closed the phone. “A hotel on the other side of Houston. They’ve come into our neck of the woods. An hour.” He stared at everybody at the table. “This will take every one of us. We’re to meet in the parking lot.”
Rhodes pursed his lips. “That’s still pretty public.”
Harrison snapped, “Even worse, he could have a dozen men hiding inside the hotel rooms with sniper rifles already in position now.”
Levi nodded. “He said Rhodes must come too.”
Rhodes crossed his arms over his chest and said, “I wouldn’t have it any other way.”
“No way you’re going,” cried Sienna. “He wants to kill you.”
Rhodes turned to stare at her. “No way in hell you are.”
She stuck her chin out at him and said, “We have to stop them and help Robert. These bad guys think they can just take out a DA now?”
“Five minutes ago you thought that DA might be the bad guy,” Rhodes said calmly. “And you’re not leaving. You’re safe here. That’s the way you’ll stay.”
“And no way are we getting Robert back if they don’t see me there.” She added in a low voice, “Or you, for that matter.”
He opened his mouth to order her to stay when Levi stepped in.
“You know she’s right, Rhodes. She has to be visible—not accessible. We can protect her. But we have to do this. We’ll need all hands.”
“One hour’s not much time.” Rhodes stood up. “We must get there earlier and park somewhere else.”
“We need a plan,” Ice said as she stood up, facing them. “I can fly several into town but where to land and have wheels there?”
Levi studied her. “If we take the helicopter, we’re likely to trigger an alarm, and it’s not worth it. We’ll be faster driving. It’s only thirty minutes out.”
“We do need a plan,” Rhodes snapped. “But let’s make it while we’re driving. Because there’s just no time otherwise.”
“We’ll take three vehicles,” Levi said, standing up. “Everybody gear up. This could get ugly so come fully armed. Ice with me, Sienna with Rhodes.”
Stone walked in just then and asked, “Do you want to leave somebody here or not?”
“I’ll stay,” Alfred said. “I’ll be in the control room with Lissa and Katina.” He nodded to the women. “Sienna has to go. Otherwise, I would have kept her here too.”
“We leave in five.”
The room scattered.
Rhodes kept his gaze on Sienna. She clenched the laptop, her knuckles white. He told her, “Grab a sweater. Don’t know how late this night’ll be. We’ll take the same truck as the last time. Be there in five.” He waited, watched her nod before she bolted from the room. He turned back to Alfred and the other two women. “Use the satellite and see if you can find the hotel. You start searching now, you might be able to give us the heads-up as to what is waiting for us.”
“We’ll be up there in five minutes. As soon as you’re all off the compound, we’re in lockdown.”
Rhodes gave him a curt nod and headed to the truck. On the way, he stopped at the weapons room. They had depots all around the compound with a full armory downstairs. He pulled out several handguns and put one into his shoulder holster, then tucked a spare in his ankle boot.
He grabbed the keys and raced to the truck. Now all he needed was Sienna and they were gone. As he shifted the truck into Reverse to back up, the passenger door opened, and Sienna hopped in.
She quickly buckled up and said, “Let’s go.”
She slammed the door shut; he hit the power locks and ripped out of the compound. Levi drove with Ice, Harrison rode in the back. Stone drove the third truck carrying Merk and Logan. The full team.
Every one of them ready to kick some ass.
Chapter 17
The trip was fast and furious and done almost in complete silence. At least for the first five minutes. Then Sienna ran communications between Ice and Rhodes. By the time they hit the outskirts of the city, the plan was for Levi’s team to meet up two blocks on the other side of the hotel. They were running ten minutes early as Rhodes pulled in to rendezvous with Levi and the others. Rhodes grabbed his phone and called Alfred. “What did you see?”
Rhodes held the phone slightly away from his e
ar so Sienna could hear.
“Two snipers, one each top right second floor and top left third.”
She stared at Rhodes in horror.
“What’s in the parking lot?”
“One dark sedan,” Alfred said. “Quite possibly belongs to Robert himself.”
“Did you recognize any faces?” Rhodes asked.
“No. But we’re running what we have through facial recognition. Can’t get decent images yet.”
“Okay, we’re a couple blocks away, about to set plans into motion.” He turned to stare out the window.
“One more thing,” Alfred continued. “Bullard checked in. Warehouse was full of weapons. He sent a warning. Now that the cache has been seized, the police are all over J. R. Wilson’s ass.” He paused. “In other words these men are prepared to do anything to get away.”
“Got it. We’ll call with an update as soon as we can. Record everything, will you?” He pocketed his phone, turned to look at Sienna and asked, “You ready?”
She let her breath rush out and said, “At least for this part.”
The plan was simple. The other two vehicles would park here, and the men would take positions inside and out of the hotel. Levi, Rhodes, and Sienna would appear for the meeting. Simple with not a whole lot of options. Only this time they were going in Levi’s truck, just the three of them driving in to the hotel parking lot. She stared down at her hands, not surprised to see the fine tremor working its way through her fingers. This was not exactly how she’d expected to spend her evening. She just hoped to hell there would be a night after, not the endless one she suspected was the plan for her.
She ran her fingers over her face to still the panic erupting inside. They all had weapons, and for the first time, she wondered if she’d rather have one too. She was completely defenseless. She understood the risks of arming an untrained person. Maybe Rhodes would teach her. She really didn’t want to be in this kind of situation again and not have any skills. She knew Ice was hell on wheels with many weapons. Wouldn’t it be nice if Sienna could at least learn some of that?
Also, considering her free time while living and working at the compound, maybe she could convince somebody to give her some martial arts practice—something she’d really like to get back to. Maybe she hadn’t forgotten all of it. Surely if she got into a wrestling match with these guys, it would come back to her.
The vehicle was parked in front of the hotel as they had been told. Levi drove around until he was facing back out again, and pulled up at a cross angle to the vehicle.
Nobody moved.
“Do I get out?” Sienna asked in a low voice.
“Not yet. Wait until we see Robert, alive.”
The passenger and driver side doors of the sedan opened. The man on the far side got out first. She didn’t recognize him. The driver hopped out, and she didn’t recognize him either. They were followed by two more muscle men.
Then the rear passenger door was opened on the far side. Robert got out. A very disabled, bloodied Robert. She caught back her small cry. “Oh, my God. Did they have to hurt him like that?” She opened her door and stepped out.
And then she stopped when she saw the man walking toward her. “Bobby?” She stared at the man who’d brought her coffee, delivered her the printer she needed, and anything else for those hours she’d been at the DA’s office. And something else clicked. Bobby was short for Robert, and she sighed. “R.F. by any chance?”
He looked at her in confusion. “What are you talking about?
“Your last name, does it start with an F?” she snapped as she walked toward them.
Rhodes walked at her side, his arm holding her back. She could feel her anger rising inside. These bullies with a need to inflict pain on everybody had to be taken down.
Bobby frowned and replied, “Yes, but how the hell would you know that?”
She snorted. “You really are stupid, aren’t you? Did you have to hurt Robert? Did you break his bones just for your own satisfaction?”
“I had to do what I had to do. With Wilson’s operation now compromised, and you two meddling into things, I had to make a run for it. The gunrunning was a great way to make cash. The drugs were ugly but necessary. I’ve wanted to get out for a long time. Now I have to. The only way to do that is to make sure I don’t leave any threads behind. And that means the three of you.”
“Sorry for upsetting your plans.” She gave him a saccharine smile to let him know she was anything but. In truth, she wanted to reach out and smack him, but Rhodes was being very particular about keeping her at his side. She didn’t understand why, but he was too strong for her to argue with. She shot him a harsh look as if to tell him to leave her alone. She had another question for Bobby. “How did you lose the pages to the ledger?”
“Shut up, bitch. You think you’re so smart, but that had nothing to do with me. Goddamn J. R. Wilson. He didn’t even notice after a meeting at the bank in Africa. That man’s a mess. That stupid IT kid ripped out the ledger pages, then tried to blackmail us. We didn’t even have a solution worked out for him yet. Hopefully you’ll nail his ass to the wall too,” Bobby snapped. “Not that it matters to you. You don’t know anything.”
He raised his hand to the sky, instinctively she ducked.
And he dropped his arm as if he were starting a race.
Rhodes held her tight against him. And she realized he’d been expecting snipers to fire. She straightened and faced Bobby. With more bravado than she felt, she sneered. “What exactly is that surprise you’ve got for me?”
He glared at her, raised his arm and dropped it once more.
Nothing happened.
“Missing something?” Rhodes asked.
Levi, now standing on the other side of Sienna, said, “We thought we’d even the odds and take out your snipers.”
Bobby’s face hardened into a cruel laugh. “You didn’t think I came with just those two, did you?”
Instantly gunfire erupted all around them.
Rhodes grabbed Sienna and tucked her behind the truck. She dropped to the ground instinctively.
“Roll under,” Rhodes ordered as he pulled out a gun and fired over the truck bed. Shots came from the left and behind.
“Shit.”
She twisted underneath the truck to look at him. “Rhodes, you hurt?”
He shifted into a squatting position and fired again.
“Stop right there,” Bobby snapped in a hard voice. And he had a rifle aimed right at Rhodes’s back.
“Stand up slowly and throw the gun on the ground.”
Shit! … She didn’t know what she should do. She watched as Rhodes slowly straightened. All around them the gunfire slowed down.
Levi yelled out, “Leave my men alone, and I’ll leave yours alone.”
“Like hell. This is the asshole who knocked out my men in the garage. I had to shoot them because of him.”
Rhodes snorted. “You were just looking for an excuse to kill them anyway.”
“They were sloppy. Stupidly so.” The rifle butt jammed in Rhodes’s back this time, making him gasp.
And that was when she saw the gun tucked into Rhodes’s boot. His pant leg was caught over the top of it. But Bobby didn’t know. She heard him say something else but her gaze was on that handle. Her hand snaked out, lifted the gun free. She was under the truck, no one the wiser. Yet.
Except for Rhodes. He knew what she’d done.
She stared at the gun in her hand.
Beside the truck, so close to her, Bobby said, “Get down on your knees, asshole.”
She watched as Rhodes slowly lowered to the ground beside her. And realized she didn’t have time for decisions here. She flipped sideways so she could see the man, lifted the gun and pointed at his chest.
Then pulled the trigger.
The sound of the gun firing echoed in the silence.
For a long moment no one moved. Bobby slowly sank to his knees and fell over sideways. Rhodes spun, kicked the gun a
way from the man, then turned and dragged her out from under the truck, pulling her to her feet. He grabbed her, held her tight against him and whispered against her ear, “Thank God, you’re safe.”
She threw her arms around his neck and held him close. “You mean, thank God, you’re safe.” With a half laugh, she pulled back, placed her hands on his cheeks and kissed him hard. “When he put that gun to your back and told you to go down on your knees …” She kissed him again. “I was so scared.”
He stepped back and glared at her. “What were you thinking?”
She laughed. “That I didn’t want to lose you.” And she again hugged him tight. Over her shoulder she could see Levi, standing guard on two other men. The two other compound vehicles raced in and came to a sudden stop. Everybody hopped out.
Ice raced over to Robert, leaning against the car. She had her med kit with her but called out, “Somebody call 911. Robert needs an ambulance now.”
Not that they needed to worry. All the gunshots had alerted somebody. Sirens already raced toward them. But that would be the cops, and they needed medical help for Robert. Sienna pulled out her phone and quickly dialed it in. She patted Rhodes on the shoulder and walked over to help Ice. She crouched down in front of Robert, now lying on the ground with Ice beside him.
“Robert, how you feeling?”
He rolled his head to look at her and said, “You got my message, I see.”
“I did. But this asshole phoned Levi anyway within a few minutes. Still, you gave us just that much of a warning.”
He closed his eyes. “Good. I worked with Bobby for ten years. Ten long years and I had no idea.”
“When you’re back on your feet, you can rip his sorry life apart. He’s dead, so he won’t be going to jail. But a lot of other people were involved in this mess. Like J. R. Wilson. Bobby’s statement should help to nail his ass to the wall.”
Robert gave a broken laugh. “I can’t wait.”
Rhodes came and collected Sienna as the cops came roaring into the parking lot. Levi stepped forward and quickly explained the issue. Including the identification of Robert as the Dallas DA. At his name the place erupted into organized chaos.