After he’d handcuffed Aggie to the table, Frost had disappeared. They’d taken her possessions and placed them in a plastic bag, so Aggie had no idea what time it was or how long she’d been cooling her heels.
She tugged at the restraints. It was futile though, the steel wasn’t coming off, but they made a satisfying jingling noise. She just needed to get out of here as soon as possible.
Aggie wanted this thing with Santiago over with, regardless of how it ended. This had been about freeing the children, but now she wanted to face the man, make him pay for what he’d done to Polly.
And she was itching to get started.
“Aggie, we meet again.” Frost walked into the room.
He had two cups of coffee and unfastened one of her hands, so she could drink it. He provided cream and sugar packets, so she doctored it up, but it was still lukewarm. Aggie drank it anyway because she needed the caffeine.
Frost sat across from her with a manila folder. She thought it was supposed to be scary, as though he had information on her, but other than a few speeding and parking tickets, she’d never broken the law. He couldn’t possibly know anything about her.
“At the risk of repeatin’ myself, do you wanna tell me what the hell happened?”
“I don’t know what you’re talkin’ about.”
“Oh? Your friend and partner was murdered at your place of business, as well as her husband.”
Aggie winced. “You found Coop’s body?”
“Yeah, and we noticed similar marks around his neck, although the killer finished him off with a gun.” Evidently, both Polly and Coop fought back. “Oh, and one more thing, your other friend, Ten, sent a flunky over there and we found him with Coop’s body.”
“Ten didn’t do anythin’.”
“Spare me the lies. I came in here with a peace offering, and I hoped you’d open up to me, show me a little professional courtesy.” He gestured to the coffee. “I’m not an idiot. I know something’s goin’ on here, something big. Tell me, and let me help you.”
For a split second, Polly wanted to take him up on the offer.
“Why? You don’t know me.”
“The way I figure it, you and I are on the same side of the law. Despite what it looked like earlier, I know you didn’t kill them.”
“You’re right. I didn’t hurt Polly, I love…loved her.” She swallowed, and tears burned in her eyes. “We weren’t just partners, Polly and Coop were the only family I have left.”
“Then help me catch whoever did this.”
Aggie said nothing.
He sighed. “Ask me how I knew about the crime.”
“Okay, I’ll bite. How do you know?”
“We got an anonymous tip this mornin’ about a body at your office.”
“Any idea who might’ve sent it?” Aggie already knew the answer, but she wanted to see how far the cops had gotten in their investigation.
Santiago had tried to set her up. Evidently, he didn’t want her interfering with his payday, or maybe this was just payback for killing his cousin.
“None. The call came from a burner phone, and we’ve been pingin’ cell phone towers, but it up and disappeared on us. However, I think you already know who tipped us off. Maybe I should take you into protective custody for your own good?”
No!
Aggie bit the inside of her cheek. She couldn’t react in any way, or he might just detain her out of spite.
“I don’t need your protection.”
“We both know you do.” His eyes narrowed. “If you ask me, this looks like a hit. And whoever it was, sent you a clear message.”
“And what’s that?”
“Back off.”
And what if she did let it go? That would mean Polly and Coop died in vain and it had all been for nothing.
“Whatever you’re into, I know you’re way over your head.”
Aggie hated lying to him, but she didn’t have a choice.
She crossed her arms over her chest. “I’m sorry, detective, but I don’t know anything.”
Chapter Sixteen
Go away.
Aggie just wanted to be left alone.
For the third time, Aggie hit ignore when her cell phone rang. She didn’t even glance at the number. It was probably a telemarketer who wanted to yak about switching insurance companies.
An hour ago, Frost had released them from custody because he had nothing to hold them on, but she wondered if he was having them followed.
Ten had gone out to “run errands” which was probably mobster speak for mayhem, but she’d barely registered the conversation, too lost in her own self recriminations. He’d left a couple of Lone Star soldiers outside to watch over her, Rebel (who’d also been released) and Braxton.
She sat in Ten’s living room, and his cat had taken up residence on her lap. She stroked the animal as it purred and the sound soothed her jangled nerves. Smokey lolled her head to one side, eyes shut, shamelessly enjoying a head scratch.
Maybe I should get a cat, too.
At least she hadn’t turned to alcohol for comfort again. Aggie had been concerned she was using it as a crutch, but dulling her senses no longer appealed. The only way to deal with this kind of guilt and anger, was to fight her way through it.
The phone rang again, and a flash of rage nearly blinded her. She was so furious, Aggie couldn’t think straight and venting her anger on somebody else appealed, especially some jerk who wouldn’t take a hint.
She answered on the fourth ring. “I’m not interested in whatever you’re sellin’ so stop callin’ me.”
“Hello, pollito. Forgive the call on your personal cell, but you’ve been holed up all day, so I couldn’t send you a burner phone. Did you get the gift I left for you?”
She’d recognize that silky, menacing tone anywhere. Santiago. And he knows exactly where I am.
Aggie gritted her teeth. “Gift? You sick son of a—”
He cut her off. “My associate told me Polly and her husband had a difficult passing—it was painful, traumatic. Such a pity they had to pay for your mistakes. This tragedy could’ve been prevented, if only you’d listened to me.” His voice was thick with mock concern. “You only have yourself to blame.”
Aggie didn’t think he was entirely wrong, but this wasn’t about her own arrogance. Santiago had Polly and Coop murdered and she wouldn’t let him twist her into taking full responsibility. Santiago was smart, cunning. No wonder people feared him.
“This isn’t over. One way or another, you’ll pay for what you did.” Aggie stood, and the cat leaped off her lap.
“We both know I won’t. You can’t touch me.”
“Why take it out on her? You should’ve come after me instead.”
“Diego and I grew up together,” he said, as though they were suddenly best friends, trading confidences. “Unfortunately, I was the one with all the ambition, and he rode my coattails. Still, he’s family, and I protect my own. Besides, I wanted you to experience my pain, the loss of a loved one. Tell me, how does it feel? Knowing your own stupidity got them killed?”
“Oh, I’ll share my feelings with you all right in person.” Was it wise to threaten him? Probably not, but Aggie couldn’t stop herself.
He chuckled. “Such fire. I wonder how much of a price you’d fetch. It’s why I wanted my other associate to bring you in.”
How casually he said the words, as though slavery were nothing to him.
“This isn’t over, Santiago, not by a longshot.”
“You haven’t learned your lesson then?”
“I’ll be the one teachin’ you this time.” About pain. About fear. About revenge.
“I’m lookin’ forward to it.” And then he hung up.
She threw her cell phone at the wall.
***
I never should’ve left her alone.
After Ten concluded his business, he came home to find Aggie pacing the floor, muttering to herself. She seemed unaware of his presence, and T
en knew she must be ruminating about Polly’s death.
He feared she’d be too lost in her own head to handle this mission. Santiago had wanted to rattle her, and it worked.
It was going to be difficult, regardless. They had to get past security checkpoints and walk away with the children, right under the CIA’s noses. Getting there would be tricky, too. Ten had already planned to take a circuitous route to the nearest border town, in case Frost had put anyone on their tail.
“Aggie?”
“Yes?” She was wringing her hands.
“Are you okay?” It was a pointless question, but he had to ask.
She shook her head. “No, I’m about to come out of my skin. I don’t know what to do with myself.”
“I’m sorry.” Ten was at a loss for words. He had no idea how to handle this. Even everyday social interactions through him for a loop and this was anything but ordinary. “I know things seem bleak, but you’re handlin’ it well.”
“Am I?” There was a touch of hysteria in her laughter.
“Did somethin’ else happen?”
“Yeah, Santiago called.’ She gestured to the cracked cell phone lying on the floor.
“Fuck. What did he say?”
Aggie went through the whole conversation. Then Ten whipped out his cell phone and texted Vick, so she could trace the call from Aggie’s phone, but he doubted they’d find anything because Santiago was slipperier than greased owl shit.
“Whatever happens, we’re pullin’ those little girls out of there.” Aggie vibrated with tension.
“What are you tryin’ to say?”
She wrapped her arms around herself. “I mean, I’ve gotta make Polly’s sacrifice worth it. Her death has to mean somethin’.”
Ten could read between the lines pretty well.
“Tell me you aren’t goin’ on a suicide mission tomorrow.”
Aggie wouldn’t meet his gaze. “Look, I’ve got an expiration date, okay? I might as well make the time I have left count. I’ve been ploddin’ along, grabbin’ meaningless pleasure wherever I could.”
“You’re talkin’ about sacrificin’ yourself.”
“No, I’m sayin’ if it comes down to it, I don’t mind. Better to fall for a noble cause than spend years declinin’, right?”
“Don’t talk like that.” Ten couldn’t stand to think of her withering away either, but he didn’t want to lose her tomorrow. “If you go into a situation, thinkin’ you’ll die, you will. We’ll save the day, and everybody gets to go home.”
Ten wasn’t sure if he believed it, but he said the words anyway.
She flipped up his shades. “Please, listen to me, Ten.” Aggie laid a hand on either side of his head, looking up into his scarred eyes. “I don’t mind. What I don’t want is casseroles and sympathy cards.”
“What?”
“When my mom died the freezer and fridge were stuffed full. Apparently, people thought I’d have an appetite.” She shrugged. “Or maybe it was somethin’ to do, a way to say they cared, but I hated those cards lyin’ around my place and the food, too. I didn’t need reminders of what I’d lost.”
“What are you tryin’ to say?”
“I don’t want to leave those behind for anyone.”
Ten wrapped his arms around her waist. “I just found you, and it ain’t fair.” He laughed bitterly. “Story of my life, huh? Nothing’s fair.”
“Yeah, it’s my story, too, but you gotta accept it.”
“Do I? Why won’t you admit that you care for me? That there’s somethin’ worth explorin’ here.”
“Because I can’t. Whether it’s tomorrow or a few years from now, it’ll end the same way. Trust me, when someone you care for dies, it leaves a hole. You might be better off lone wolfin’ it. You’ve done well for yourself without anyone.” Even as she said this, he could see the tears she blinked away.
“You don’t understand, I’ve lied to everyone, hid my true self, but not with you, never with you.”
He finally met someone who made him want to be himself, or at least the very best version of Ten he could be and she wanted to sacrifice herself in a blaze of glory. And Ten doubted he’d ever meet anyone else who mattered to him the way she did.
“I don’t want to talk, I need to feel somethin’, anythin’ besides this guilt.” She balanced on her tiptoes and kissed his cheek, the corner of his mouth, and then his lips.
Ten wanted to push her away, hash this out once and for all, but he couldn’t stop, couldn’t. When it came to Aggie, he only wanted more, and he wouldn’t deny himself.
“Tell me what you need, and I’ll give it to you.” He gripped her hips and pulled her flush against him.
“I need you, inside me.”
“Happy to oblige, Giselle,” he muttered before claiming her mouth in a searing kiss. At this moment, he needed a connection with her more than ever, something to hold on to.
Ten couldn’t even make it to the bed.
Instead, he pushed her back against the wall and Aggie wrapped those long dancer legs around his hips. He pushed her top up and bent to taste her nipples.
Aggie gasped. “Enough with the foreplay. Fuck me. Make me feel alive.”
After she unhooked her legs from his hips, he slid the pants down her thighs easily, along with a white cotton pair of panties. When he cupped her pussy in his palm, Aggie was wet for him. Ten pushed a finger inside, and she made an anguished sound.
Ten was already hard and aching. He wasn’t sure where the fervor came from. A desire to place a claim on her? A desperate attempt to change her mind?
He didn’t even bother taking off his pants. Instead, he undid the belt, yanked the zipper down and then lifted one long leg, sliding inside her sleek pussy smoothly.
“Yes, please.” She shut her eyes in pleasure. Aggie braced one arm against the wall.
Ten buried his face in the crook of her neck, pushing inside her as she cupped the back of his head. They both made guttural broken sounds, crying out as they moved in unison, racing to the climax.
His vision swam, and he couldn’t quite place the feelings flooding through him. Ten had gotten used to being numb, coasting through his days as an observer, but he was awash in a confusing, debilitating emotion.
And he got the awful sense this was their last time together.
Chapter Seventeen
“I can’t believe I’m doin’ this shit.”
Yeah, me either.
Ten glanced in the rearview mirror so he could see Jasper better. The other mobster sat right behind him, and in between shaking his head, Jasper snuck peaks at Ten without the shades. He’d never taken them off in front of Jasper before. It made him nervous, but he’d best get over it. Soon, there’d be a whole crowd of folks gawking at him.
They’d left in the middle of the night and they’d just driven into Mexico.
Even at this godforsaken early hour, there’d been a long line. Since 9/11 security had tightened and Vick had forged them some top quality passports, which had fooled the patrol. Technically, U.S. citizens got through with a driver’s license, but Ten hadn’t wanted to take any chances with some agent on a power trip.
“Believe it.” He adjusted the mirror so he could see him better. “And after we’re done here, you and I are square.”
“We’d better be.”
Their formal clothing was in wardrobe bags hanging from the hooks in the rear of the SUV. Luckily, the border guards hadn’t paid much attention to the trunk, or they would’ve noticed a false bottom. Ten had taken out an insurance policy on this trip so to speak, and he’d brought along the equipment they might need if things went toe up like they always did.
Ten had also used a fake license plate, so if the authorities checked it, they couldn’t be traced. He wouldn’t let anything happen to Aggie’s record, assuming she didn’t do anything reckless today.
Aggie sat next to him, and she had a case of the fidgets. Aggie kept sliding her new pair of glasses on and off, and she coul
dn’t sit still.
Last night they’d stayed awake, in between bouts of making love. Resting would’ve been more responsible, but Ten couldn’t help himself. He was greedy when it came to Aggie. While he needed the backup, he almost wished Jasper wasn’t in the car, so he could try to talk her out of doing something rash. Or even try to articulate what she meant to him.
“Hey, eyes on the road, these curves are dangerous.” Jasper pointed out a rundown old truck puttering on the opposite side of the highway. Although “highway” was a generous term for this rickety ass lane.
They were headed into the mountains, and the road was supposedly two lanes, but there was barely enough space for two cars. Every time someone passed them on the opposite side, he clutched the wheel, praying they’d make it past in one piece.
“Don’t worry, I got it.”
To make matters worse, the meandering road followed the path of a river which rushed down the mountainside over a steep cliff. One wrong move and they’d plunge over the side and into the rapids.
“How much longer?” Aggie asked.
“We’re almost there. We’ll find a roadside stand to stop at and then get ready for this shindig.”
“So, walk us through it again. I wanna make sure we’re on the same page.” Aggie wrapped her arms around herself as though she were cold, even though it was seventy degrees already.
“We’ll go in, make ourselves unobtrusive, and bid on the girls when they come up at auction.”
“And we leave the rest of the poor bastards there.” Jasper curled his lip in disgust.
It stuck in his craw, too, but they couldn’t take on a small, private army. Even if by some miracle, they succeeded, the government would throw their asses in jail.
“You can’t save everyone. I learned that lesson the hard way as a soldier.”
“You were a soldier? Jasper asked. “I mean for real, this isn’t one of those off the wall remarks you make?”
Ten’s grip on the steering wheel got tighter. “I ain’t lyin’.” It made him uncomfortable to tell Jasper even that much, but he couldn’t take it back.
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