No Feign No Gain

by Carrie Ann Knox

  I shrugged off my jacket and bent to stuff it in with the rest of the pile, just for good measure. Vinny watched carefully, staring me down when I straightened.

  “So I guess that’s it, then,” he said to himself, wistful with a touch of bitter. “You two will be the heroes walking out of here with the FBI’s most wanted.” He scoffed to himself. “Never thought it would be a couple ‘a chicks. No offense.”

  Sloan and I glanced at each other, then back at the door. More leaks had sprung. Forget the glory. I just wanted out in one piece.

  “But what I can’t figure,” he continued musing out loud, “is how you planned it. How’d you end up the hero, work it out so I’m stuck in here with you at gunpoint? That’s some real conniving, there. Call me impressed, I’ll admit it.”

  Sloan shrugged, her focus on the wisps streaming in, growing thicker. “We’re actually only down here because your guys like to brag about the weapons hidden all over. But to be honest, we had no idea you guys would end up here, too.” She dragged her attention away to flash him a broad smile. “Just our lucky day, I guess.”

  Vinny narrowed his eyes. “Yeah, mine too.” He shook his head. “Clearly I’m a lucky, lucky man. So you found the gun down here, huh?”

  “Maybe.” Sloan’s smile was icy. “The irony’s nice. How’s it feel to have your own weapon be turned against you?”

  He chuckled softly in response. “Serves me right, I guess.” He licked his lips and took a step closer. “But you know what’s really funny? You two’ll get a kick out of this, I think.”

  “Stay back,” Sloan ordered.

  Vinny held his hands at his chest, palms out, but stayed put. He chuckled again. “See, all those guns down here? They’re in storage, tucked away for a rainy day. Not the best environment, I admit. But we tend to run out of space. I have a bit of a thing for handguns. Especially those.” He nodded his head at Sloan’s weapon. “Just so versatile, you know?”

  Sloan shrugged. “Good to have a hobby, I guess.” She glanced to me and back at Vinny, suspicious. “So what’s the joke, then?”

  He stepped forward again and leaned toward Sloan just a hair. He lowered his voice.

  “Well, with those guns in storage and all . . . it wouldn’t make much sense to keep them loaded, now would it?”

  THIRTY-EIGHT

  Everyone froze.

  All eyes shot to Vinny, watching as his face twisted in a sinister grin. No one made a move as we processed, coming to the same dark realization. Mayday.

  Sloan instinctively glanced down at the gun and Vinny lunged forward, grabbing at her hands. Her finger immediately pulled the trigger and an empty pop echoed through the space.

  Her eyes went wide. Vinny capitalized on her surprise to yank her hands upward and swing hard, flinging her into the door. Her head hit the metal of the deadbolt with a sickening thud and her eyes closed in pain. She slumped toward the floor, the gun clattering uselessly to the ground.

  Lucas let out an agonized cry. Vinny turned toward him, sizing up his next adversary. I felt the weight of my own empty hands as I watched. I had no weapon and Lucas had no hands.

  The two men exchanged a stare, daring the other to move. When Lucas broke his gaze to glance at Sloan, beginning to stir on the ground, Vinny charged. He plowed his large frame into Lucas, using the force of his entire body weight to slam him against the back wall with a sickening thump.

  Lucas grunted and fell to the floor in a heap. With no limbs to help him move, he laid still, winded and trying to catch his breath. Vinny straightened and stood over him, watching.

  Satisfied his rival was incapacitated, he turned toward me. My blood ran cold as Vinny weighed his options. We were both unarmed, but he was double my size and cornered, fueled by an instinct to fight for his life by any means necessary. I was the only thing standing between him and freedom, just beyond that secret threshold.

  After a long moment, one side of his mouth turned up as he decided I was no foe to fear. He took several heavy steps toward me as my heart pounded. I gulped, keeping my eyes on his. There was nowhere to go.

  Suddenly he smiled. “Let’s get out of here, doll.”

  The statement caught me completely off guard. A trick?

  Before I could respond, Vinny reached out to grab a hunk of my hair. He yanked at my scalp, pulling my head toward him.

  “You’re gonna be my ticket out,” he muttered in my ear, “should anything else happen to get in our way.”

  I shrieked in pain and fear as he dragged me, head first, toward the tunnel opening. He used his free hand to shove the cabinet fully out of the way and then push me into the darkness.

  “You first, sweetheart.” A moment later a beam of light appeared as he held up his phone, directing the way. “I’ll be right behind you.”

  I hesitated, gazing ahead at the darkness of the narrow dirt path. Another shove at my back sent me moving forward, one timid step visible at a time. I felt the weight of the earth surrounding me as we walked, and had to fight a growing sense of claustrophobia. Vinny’s panting breath at my heels kept me in the moment. Deeper and deeper we went.

  “Watch out up here,” he finally said, his voice startling me. “Some steps at the end.”

  The end.

  A tingle ran up my spine as the first hint of incline appeared. Then a weathered hunk of wood packed into the ground as a makeshift step. I began to feel a growing sense of panic, not knowing what the end would mean for us. He would be slipping away, undoubtedly into hiding again for who knew how long, possibly for good. But how long would he have use for me?

  As we started up the crude stairway, I could see the outline of a trapdoor ahead. My mind racing, focused on the opening, my foot caught on the edge of a step and I almost stumbled. Immediately Vinny’s hand was on my arm, steadying me. He grunted with displeasure.

  I righted myself and continued forward, carefully stepping. His grasp remained tight on my arm. And an idea began to brew.

  I took a deep breath as I hastily reviewed my lesson. Only a few steps from the exit, I caught my foot again, this time intentionally and hard. As I pitched forward, throwing Vinny off balance as he moved with me, I twisted to grab his gripping hand in both of mine and yanked backward.

  His phone fell to the floor and we were plunged into utter darkness. Taking advantage of his surprise, I moved by feel as I wrenched his arm painfully around his body and in the wrong direction. He dropped hard to his knees, trying to gain leverage. But his position was awkward and I felt the power of my hold. I shoved him into the dirt.

  Pinned to the ground, Vinny struggled against me. His breathing became loud and ragged as his large frame weighed him down. I pushed harder on his twisted arm and he cried out in pain. I felt a rush of satisfaction as he became still, momentarily dropping the fight.

  Then reason flooded in. Now what?

  The darkness surrounding us became heavy. My stomach clenched as I realized my victory would not be able to last. I could not hold the man off forever; maybe not even minutes. It was a temporary move. Strictly a subduer.

  As if reading my thoughts, Vinny’s entire body suddenly lurched, testing my hold. I held steady but on his second attempt felt him rising up against me, regaining strength little by little. He twisted toward me, loosening my grip. Suddenly his hand slipped out of mine and I felt his weight shift, moving quickly toward me. My panic went into overdrive. He was back in control and I was a goner.

  BOOM!

  We both froze as the tunnel shook. The sound of dirt trickling down the walls beside us followed the impact. Then suddenly a bright light filled the space, blinding me. I lost all sense of reality as everything stopped, my only perception that of the overwhelming glare filling my vision.

  Until the most beautiful sound I’d ever heard appeared.

  “Hands up,” the voice boomed.

  I
became aware of Vinny’s face, only inches from mine, just in time to see the shock register. Then the contempt. His features cast sinister shadows in the light as he returned my gaze, pondering a last-ditch move. A quick retaliation.

  Suddenly his head jerked forward with a thump.

  “I said,” the deep voice broke in again. “Hands. Up.”

  Vinny let out a groan as he grabbed the back of his head and hunched over, rolling away from me. The light shifted away toward the floor and a man moved forward to crouch in front of me. It took a moment for my eyes to adjust to the dim light again.

  “You okay?” he said, concern etching his face.

  My eyes clearly hadn’t adjusted properly. Because gazing back at me, with a seriously furrowed brow, was Lucas. Not the Dominic-clad Lucas with a buzzed head I had just left behind. But the scruffy-faced, chestnut-haired Lucas I tried so hard not to dream about.

  How is that possible? Last I saw him he was wearing a tight black t-shirt and dark glasses, gasping at the head of the tunnel. Now he was at the other end, wearing an olive henley with perfect floppy hair intact. It was just impossible.

  Unless I was a fool.

  Realization hit me hard and fast. Played again. Always the one out of the loop. A step behind.

  I took a deep breath and gazed back at the real Lucas, reprocessing my reality. I was only vaguely aware of the swirl of activity surrounding us as the space lit up with yelling, swarming agents. They pinned down Vinny and hauled him out in handcuffs. Uniformed men and women began to fill every inch of the tunnel. Lucas held my gaze, never wavering. Just watching the understanding flood in.

  He hadn’t changed his look. He was never in disguise. In fact, he was never here with us at all. His brother was. That was the real Dominic. The real Joel. On the other end of the tunnel, with his real fiancé.

  And Sloan was neither acting nor in love with Lucas. She was reuniting with her true love, long gone. It was real. It had all been real.

  “So he’s not . . . dead?” I muttered, in a daze. It was all I could get out.

  Lucas’s emerald eyes twinkled in the light as he took a deep breath, relieved, and flashed me a reluctant smile. “We’ll talk about it later.” He grabbed my hand, the sudden voltage zapping my dulled senses. “Let’s get you out of here.”

  THIRTY-NINE

  “Alright, folks,” Sloan announced as she carefully placed an armful of drinks on the table, one at a time. “And by folks, I of course mean you two.” She eyed the guys. “No more goofing around. Time to spill it.”

  Joel gave one final sophomoric elbow-shove to his brother and gazed innocently back at his fiancé as she settled across from him. He rightly read her expression in an instant and straightened with a sigh. “What do you need to know?”

  “I want to know everything,” she replied. “And no more putting it off with the excuse that we’re not alone. Just start talking.”

  It had been less than twenty-four hours since we had all stumbled out of the tunnel, dazed and relieved. Sloan and I were given only the vaguest briefing and shipped off to yet another safe house to wait out the remaining chaos. Meanwhile the boys had joined the effort to right all the wrongs. With Sloan safely back and the real top bad guy now in custody, there was no reason to continue allowing freedom to all his men. The rounding back up of the crew was almost complete.

  So we were finally sitting down, all together and in public for the first time. The boys had chosen a newish downtown microbrewery for our first outing. I could feel my breathing lighten by the minute, the taste of freedom sweet. But I too needed answers.

  Joel’s head lowered as he licked his lips, thinking. “Where should I begin?”

  “How about explaining how you’re here, for starters?” I said, kicking things off. “I knew you were helping on the mobster case. But I was told you were killed on the job.”

  Sloan’s head whipped toward me, suspicion creeping into her gaze. “You knew he was helping?”

  “Calm down,” Lucas jumped in. “I filled her in once you were taken. The part about the case, anyway.” He lowered his gaze and his voice, sensing the bumpy road ahead. “Not about the whole . . . not dead thing.”

  Sloan’s eyes narrowed as she became laser-focused on Lucas. “But you did know, then. That he had not only been investigating them, without telling me—but he was not, in fact, killed while doing so?”

  He held his hands up in surrender. “Look, I’m really sorry I had to lie to you. It wasn’t easy, trust me. I was just following orders.” He nodded his head across the table at Joel. “But I’m not sure I should get all the blame here, huh?”

  Joel scoffed and glared at his brother. “Thanks man.”

  “Oh, don’t worry,” Sloan replied, shifting her focus to her fiancé. “We definitely have plenty of blame to go around, I think.” She settled back in her seat with a sigh. “So, got anything to say for yourself?”

  Joel took a deep breath, watching Sloan closely. A slight smile creeped onto his face. “I throw myself at your mercy? Look, all I can say is that it wasn’t my choice, none of it was my decision.” He paused a second, thinking. “Well, getting involved in the first place was, I’ll give you that. It sounded like fun. I was asked to infiltrate the mafia and gather evidence for the FBI, undercover.” He grinned. “You know me, when could I ever say no to that?” He held Sloan’s steady gaze. “I also couldn’t say anything to you. Their rules, not mine.”

  Sloan nibbled on her lip, thinking. “Okay, so you pretend to me you’re doing normal investigative work while you’re out doing god knows what, masquerading as some bad guy. For years, apparently. Fine. So, why stop? And, most importantly, why fake your own death?”

  “It wasn’t planned.” Joel shrugged. “But something went wrong. They were starting to get suspicious. Asking funny questions, making strange comments. We were just about to pull the plug on my involvement when they cornered me. And right then I knew I was made.”

  “Cornered?” I leaned in. “So how did you get out?”

  “We got lucky.” Joel picked absently at the label of his beer as he talked. “My guys got a last-minute tip there was going to be an assassination. The turf wars were getting pretty heated, fighting amongst themselves for control of certain sectors. But things took a turn and someone who wanted to move up was going to blow up a room full of their adversaries. Or so we heard.”

  Sloan’s eyebrow went up. “So that part was real? There really was an explosion?”

  Joel nodded. “And I came this close to being toasted in it. Fortunately we had another guy under, who barged in with a lame excuse and got me out of there. His quick thinking saved my life.”

  I tried not to watch as Joel and Sloan exchanged a long look. A slight smile creeped onto her face as she gazed. She really had almost lost him. Her eyes twinkled with gratitude.

  Finally Joel broke the stare. “Anyway, we hustled out of there just in time and the explosion got covered up as an accident, caused by a gas leak. And we did nothing to stop it. Too many questions would just lead to me and all of our undercover involvement. And the victims were all serious criminals, capable of some pretty heinous stuff. So nobody cried too hard about it, on our end anyway.”

  “So then Dominic died in the explosion, I guess?” I said.

  He nodded. “We figured everyone who knew otherwise was in that room. So it was a perfect out. The questionable cover no longer existed. But that would only work if he stayed non-existent.”

  “But you weren’t your cover,” Sloan retorted. “Why couldn’t Dominic have disappeared, and Joel stayed put?”

  “My cover was good, but not that good.” Joel rubbed his shorn head absently. “I still looked like me. It was risky enough before I was dead. But if I had been spotted in town after the explosion, it could mean all sorts of trouble. I’d get blamed for all of it. They would follow me and find you. Use yo
u.” He lowered his head. “As we saw.”

  His comment left an awkward pause. Everyone sat back and nursed their drinks a moment, the relief of having the kidnapping drama ended safely palpable at the table.

  “Anyway,” Joel finally continued, “I just couldn’t take that chance.” He took a deep breath, his eyes doleful as he gazed at Sloan. “Everyone agreed. I had to stay out of sight until they wrapped everything up, finally got them behind bars. All of them.”

  Sloan shook her head, not buying it. “But you could’ve told me. I would’ve hated if you had to stay away, but it’s certainly better than the alternative. You could’ve trusted me to keep it secret.”

  “Wasn’t up to me.” Joel slid his hand gently over hers. “That’s just how they do things. One slip of the tongue and it could mean everything is in jeopardy, lots of people are in danger. Stinks, but it’s just how it is. I really am sorry. I can’t imagine.”

  Sloan gulped, her eyes misting momentarily before she shook it off and forced a smile. “Well, you’re back now, so I guess I’ll get over it.”

  Joel sighed, his shoulders seeming to relax a little for the first time since I’d met him.

  Sloan flashed a sly grin. “Eventually.”

  He rolled his eyes, beaming back.

  I met Lucas’s gaze briefly. He had stayed very quiet throughout, calmly sipping his beer and watching without reaction. He took another swig and cleared his throat.

  “Okay, so we’ve got all that unpleasantness out of the way, right?” he called out. “Who wants to play a game? Think we’ve had enough truth for tonight, but I could be convinced to go for a nice dare.”

  I wasn’t finished. “Hold on, now,” I said, turning to Joel. “If you were so dead, why did they kidnap Sloan to get to you? How would they even know you were alive?”