Shooting Star

by Bradley Wright

  “Is he gone?”

  “No, he’s coming right for us. How bad are these guys?” Pam said.

  “The worst.”

  “Then hang on, honey, we’re getting out of here.”

  Pam dropped the shift knob to drive and laid on the gas. Taylor peeked up over the console and watched as one of the men chasing them dove to get out of the way of Pam’s car. Taylor looked back through the rear window, and the man was already on his phone. Pam took a hard left out of the back parking lot but had to hit the brakes before turning onto the Pacific Coast Highway.

  “Damn traffic. I petitioned for a light to go in here months ago, and nothing. All the money my husband pays this city in taxes, and I can’t even get a stoplight put in.”

  Taylor checked the rear window again. A man was running toward them away from the health club’s front entrance, and the man Pam had nearly flattened came sprinting around the back of the building. Both men had guns in their hands.

  “Pam, they’re coming. We have to go.”

  Taylor looked down, and Lexi’s face was buried in the seat, both hands covering her head. Terrified.

  “Honey, I can only do what these damn cars allow me to do.”

  “Pam, they have guns!”

  Pam laid on the horn and inched her way out into the road. Cars swerved around the nose of the Mercedes, narrowly avoiding a crash. Taylor looked back again, and the men were just a few feet away now and closing fast.

  “Pam.”

  “I’m trying, honey.”

  “Pam!”

  The men reached the car, and Taylor looked up through the back door window, staring directly at the business end of a pistol. At that exact moment, Taylor felt the car jerk forward; she heard two more horns around them and a lot of screeching tires, but the man with the gun moved out of sight.

  “Hold on, girls!”

  Pam turned the wheel and the car slid sideways. A couple more cars slammed on the brakes to avoid the heavy sedan. As they pulled away, Taylor took one last look back, happy to see the men stalking them moving farther away. But just before they were out of sight, an SUV pulled up and they started to get in. That must have been the call the man was making in the parking lot.

  “Okay, I think we’ve lost them.” Pam was beaming with pride.

  “I saw them getting into an SUV. They’ll be coming up on us fast.”

  Taylor and Pam met eyes in the car’s rearview mirror. “Oh no they won’t. This car may not be big, but it has one hell of an engine.”

  The Mercedes Benz’s engine groaned as the car sped forward. Pam had been a godsend. The problem now was that Taylor had no idea where to tell her to go.

  “Don’t worry, we’ll be at the police station before they can catch us.”

  “I can’t go to the police, Pam.”

  Their eyes met again.

  “What kind of trouble are you in, Taylor Lockhart?”

  “I’ve been blackmailed. I made a mistake and got this innocent girl in trouble. I can’t let them get her.”

  “If you can’t go to the police, who’s going to help you?”

  “My dad.” Lexi sat up.

  “What’s your name, darling?”

  “Lexi.”

  “Lexi, I’m not sure your dad can find us,” Taylor said. “He’s not answering his phone.” Then to Pam. “Is there somewhere you can take us? I know someone who can help. But I need to give them a place to meet us.”

  “I have a boat at the docks in Marina del Rey.”

  “I can’t keep putting you in danger, Pam. You’ve already done enough.”

  “Sounds to me like you don’t have a choice.”

  Taylor knew she was right.

  “Can you get us there before they catch up to us?”

  The car started going even faster. “I can sure as hell try!”

  Lexi asked, “Who are you going to call?”

  “I’d call Cassie, but she said she doesn’t have her phone. But she was with the guy I called earlier. Even answered his phone.”

  “Who?” Lexi was concerned.

  “I think his name is Clint, but don’t worry about it.”

  “Clint? Clint Hues?”

  “That is his last name, I think. How’d you know that?”

  “’Cause he was at our house earlier. Dad doesn’t like him. I don’t think we should call him.”

  Taylor was confused. “At your house—wait, the man and woman who came to your house? When you told me to hide upstairs? That was Clint Hues?”

  “Yeah, why?”

  “We can trust him. If he didn’t know I was there at the house, he can’t be working for Victoria. She would have told him, so he would have known I was there with you.”

  Taylor pulled her phone and once again hit the contact named FIXER.

  “Taylor,” Clint answered on the first ring. “Were you able to get to the SOBA Center?”

  “Is Cassie with you?”

  “Cassie? No, but she’s on her way to SOBA, I think. Are you there now?”

  “No, we couldn’t get there. They’re chasing us! What do I do?” Taylor was still high on adrenaline, but she felt a rush of relief along with it. At least someone was coming to help.

  “I don’t know where you are, so I can’t—”

  Pam interrupted. “Tell him the Esprit Boat Club in Marina del Rey, and tell him to hurry.”

  “Esprit Boat Club in Marina del Rey. Are you sending someone?”

  “No, I’ll meet you there,” Clint said. “We’re on the 10 Freeway now.”

  “Hurry, they have guns!”

  34

  After a moment of thought, Lawson realized he wouldn’t be able to go with Sloan. There was no time. He had to set the scene there at the Library Bar, then he had to get to Lexi. Fortunately, he had been able to convince Sloan to follow his plan—even though it involved a not-so-pleasant day for his son. While Sloan and his man with the broken nose reluctantly went to put that plan in motion, Lawson put Hector’s gun in Hector’s hand and fired off a couple rounds, at least making it look like he’d fired his own shots and maybe got what was coming to him. It was all going to be a tough sell, what with all the cameras watching in the lobby, but it would help when questions were asked.

  Lawson took out the phone given to him and called Frank.

  “Causing quite the commotion at the Roosevelt, I hear. Cops are on their way.”

  “I almost had him, Frank. But Sloan and one of his men got away. I did manage to take down a man Sloan called Hector. Ring any bells?”

  Lawson wasn’t going to let on what he knew.

  “Hector Ramirez, sure. Longtime criminal. No surprise he works for Sloan.”

  Frank played dumb as well. Or maybe he was just dumb.

  “Where’s Lexi, Frank?”

  “She’s fine. Just get Sloan to sign over the movie and I’ll tell you where she is.”

  “Tell me where she is and I might let you live.”

  “Threatening an FBI agent? That might not be—”

  “I don’t know where Sloan went,” Lawson interrupted. The best way forward was to play along. Bide his time.

  “That’s my boy. Don’t worry about that. I’ve got eyes on him.”

  “Let me know where he goes and I’ll take care of everything. I have to get out of here.”

  “I’ll text you the location,” Frank said.

  Lawson ended the call and immediately ran through the bar out into the hotel lobby. He had to hurry to see if he could find the person tailing Sloan, because he needed to make sure no one saw what Sloan was about to do. Especially not someone who could tell Frank. If they were going to have a shot at pinning the kidnapping of Sloan’s son on Frank and Victoria, Sloan would need to have the chance to set it all up perfectly.

  “Freeze!”

  Lawson heard a woman shout behind him. It echoed in the lobby because the space had already emptied out after the gunshots in the bar. Upon reflex, he stopped. Because when you’ve done someth
ing wrong and that’s what someone shouts, that’s just what you do. Every fiber of his being sizzled, screaming at him to run. He didn’t. But before he could turn around, he felt an arm hook around his.

  “Walk with me.”

  Lawson looked over, and while he didn’t know the woman ushering him out of the lobby, she was familiar. She wasn’t forcing him along; in fact, her gun was nowhere to be found.

  “I thought you said freeze,” he told her.

  “Just walk. Ask for your truck at the valet and let’s get the hell out of here.”

  They exited the hotel, but of course there was no valet at the stand. They, too, had run for cover. Sirens rode the warm California breeze; they couldn’t have been more than a block away. Lawson rushed to the key stand, found the F-150’s keys, and the two of them ran for the truck. Lawson jumped in the driver’s seat, and as soon as the woman shut the door, he held his gun on her.

  “Where do I know you from, and what are you doing here? As you can see I’m a little busy.”

  The familiar woman with the short brown hair seemed entirely unfazed by the gun. “ Start driving or the cops are gonna stop you.”

  Lawson looked in his rearview mirror. Nothing yet. But she was right, he needed to move. He put the truck in reverse and started out of the hotel parking lot.

  “We met in the holding room yesterday when you were arrested and let go. I’m Frank Shaw’s partner, Claudia Miles.”

  Damn. “So you’re Frank’s watchdog.” It wasn’t a question. More of a realization.

  Claudia smiled. “Not exactly. I’m also a Department of Justice special agent. I was assigned to Frank a year and a half ago because rumor had it he wasn’t playing by the rules. That surprise you?”

  Lawson engaged the safety and set his gun in his lap. “What, that you are DOJ or that Frank is crooked? The answers are different. Yes and no. But why should I believe you?”

  Claudia reached into her pocket and produced something from a hidden flap in her wallet. It was her DOJ credentials. “That help?”

  Lawson was relieved. With Cassie not making it back to the hotel yet and no way to get ahold of her, he was happy to have someone with some knowledge of what was going on. She might even know more than he did.

  “Were you the one tailing Sloan for Frank?”

  “Yep. But I figured after your meeting with Sloan, which seemed to go in your favor, I should probably stick with you seeing as how you know where Sloan is going anyway, right?”

  Lawson turned onto Hollywood Boulevard just as the police cruisers were rushing into the hotel. “Let’s cut the shit, okay? My daughter is in danger and I need to find her.”

  Claudia cut right through it. “Frank got you released from police custody so you could help him take down Sloan. He’s had a hard-on for him for as long as I’ve been his partner and, I can tell you, for much longer than that. A couple of Sloan’s guys roughed him up real bad a few years ago. So much so that he lost his hearing in his right ear. And almost lost his job because Sloan had set him up and made Frank look like a fool to the Bureau.”

  “Frank’s been looking like a fool to the Bureau since I worked with him in Vegas.”

  “I can imagine. Anyway, one of Sloan’s men was Frank’s informant, but he was playing Frank the entire time. The man you shot, Hector, that was Frank’s retaliation. But when you popped up on the radar, Frank saw an opportunity to make sure Sloan went away for good. He knew what you were capable of when your family was threatened. He’s trying to take advantage.”

  Lawson was furious. “You knew this, and you didn’t tell me? My daughter could have been killed!”

  “Now hold on. If I would have known your daughter was in danger, I would have stepped in. It was only a hunch for me that he wanted to use you. Frank has only been giving me the scoop on Sloan, said he was up to something and that I needed to follow him. Never said anything about you. I’ve been working on that independently. Since a couple nights ago when we first got the video of you at the bar. Then Frank started acting funny. So when he asked me to find you and Cassie, I did, but I looked with an eye as to why he might want you so bad.”

  “So you don’t know about Victoria Marshall?” Lawson moved on.

  “That she was kidnapped or missing? Yeah, I knew that. Did you do it?”

  Lawson shook his head; then he snatched Claudia’s phone from her hand and dialed Lexi’s cell phone number.

  “What the hell are you doing?”

  “Trying to save my daughter. That okay with you?” Lexi’s phone just kept ringing. “And you need to know, this goes much deeper than you think.” The call went to voice mail. When he heard Lexi’s recorded voice, his breath caught. He wasn’t going to do anything else from that moment on but find his daughter and keep her safe. Frank and Victoria be damned. He would just have to bet on the hunch that Taylor wasn’t capable of hurting Lexi. He ended the call and handed the phone back to Claudia. “Find out where my daughter is and I’ll fill you in on just how far Frank has been willing to go.”

  “I’ll make a call and see what I can do. Where are you going?”

  Lawson’s brain hit a land mine. “You said Hector was Frank’s way of retaliating against Sloan. So Hector really did work for Frank?”

  “Well, as much as a career criminal can work for an FBI agent. Why? He was an informant, so what?”

  “No he wasn’t.” Lawson slammed his hand against the steering wheel. He had made another terrible mistake.

  “Yes he was, I was there a few times when Hector met with Frank. What’s wrong?”

  “Hector is the one who shot up the car earlier. He killed two of Frank’s guys and tried to kill me. If he was working for Frank—really working for Frank—and Frank wanted me to go after Sloan, he would never have tried to kill me.”

  “You’re sure it was Hector?” Claudia asked.

  “Positive. And I sent my partner into the lion’s den without knowing it. To the man Hector really works for, Clint Hues.”

  “I’m officially lost,” Claudia said.

  “Apparently so was I.” Lawson jerked the steering wheel and swerved onto the Santa Monica Freeway toward Malibu.

  “What are you doing? We have to find Sloan!”

  “Martin Sloan is the least of my worries.”

  Lawson floored the gas pedal. It just hit him: now that he had Claudia with him, he didn’t need to wait for Frank to tell him where Lexi and Taylor were.

  “I’ll fill you in on everything I know. Just trace my daughter’s cell phone. I get her out of this, I’ll help you bring this entire thing down.”

  “What’s her number?”

  “It’s the number I just called.”

  As Lawson swerved around traffic, using the shoulder when he had to, he filled Claudia in on Clint, Frank, Victoria, and Sloan. She needed to know everything so she could help him keep Lexi safe. Everyone who had something coming to them was going to get it, but only after Lexi was out of harm’s way. His only hope was that Cassie was ahead of him in that matter and that’s why she hadn’t come back to the hotel. And his even greater hope was that Taylor Lockhart wasn’t the woman Victoria was saying she was. That instead Taylor was the woman he thought he’d gotten a read on at his home. His daughter’s life might literally depend on it.

  35

  The drive from Malibu Health Club to the Esprit boat slips in Marina del Rey would normally be about thirty minutes. However, the way Pam was driving—Taylor checked the speedometer and it said 110—they were going to be there in half that. If they made it without crashing. It wasn’t like there weren’t cars on the road, but Pam was weaving in and out of them like a show dog on a skills course.

  Taylor still hadn’t seen the black SUV come up behind them. Their speed in the Mercedes was keeping them at bay. But they wouldn’t be far behind, and Taylor knew she needed to start thinking ahead. She had a thought earlier about social media. She hadn’t been posting to it much lately, but whenever she did, inevitably the papar
azzi magically showed up within minutes of where she was going to be. She pondered how she could use this to her advantage. Judging by what Clint had said on the phone, Pam’s Malibu express was going to beat him to the boat docks by about five minutes. That would leave a five-minute window for the men chasing them to find her and kidnap her and Lexi. Or kill them. Whatever they were planning to do. She shuddered at the thought.

  Lexi was being such a trooper. She said she was able be stay calm because what was going on right now was nothing compared to what happened last year in Vegas. Taylor had no idea what Lexi was talking about, but to be worse than their current situation, it must have been really bad.

  Taylor opened her Instagram account, which was linked to her Twitter and Facebook accounts. She found a picture of the Esprit boat docks on Google, uploaded it to Instagram with the caption, “Never a bad day to be on the water,” and added her location so anyone wanting a scoop would come running. This at least would create a good amount of people around her so the men wouldn’t be able to touch her and Lexi until Clint could get there. She uploaded the post, and just like that, using those three popular social media platforms, over 100 million people knew where she was going to be. A curse any other time, but she was praying it would be a blessing today.

  The next few minutes were filled with angst. Pam had tried to strike up a conversation a few times, but Taylor’s mind couldn’t stay with her. She was sweating she was so nervous. Her arm was sore from her gunshot wound, which now she figured she completely deserved. She was so disappointed in herself for being so desperate to suppress those photos and get the chance at a movie role. Though there was nothing she could do about that decision now, she was at least doing her best to get Lawson’s daughter out of trouble. She’d felt a spark with him on that couch. But she supposed any shot at future sparks would fizzle once he learned what she’d done. She had to get her shit together if she made it out of this alive. No more feeling sorry for herself. Those days were over. A few more minutes of hellacious driving and nauseating nervous thoughts passed, and she knew they should be getting close.