“I know.” She rolled her eyes and wished her dad would stop treating her like a child.
“Did you get the emergency numbers?”
“Yes.”
“We won’t be able to talk until I’m free, but it’s only a matter of weeks. If anything happens, if anyone comes close to you, go directly to the safe house.”
“Oh, you mean the house you let your fuck-buddy Portia have? No thanks.”
“Hey, that’s uncalled for. It’s safe and it’s mine. I don’t want you to end up dead like your brother and sister. Understand?”
Elise pouted. “She hates me.”
“She doesn’t, but it’s your house as much as mine. And no one else knows about it.”
“Portia does.”
“She’s not going to betray me.”
“She’s not family.”
“Elise, please.”
“Fine.”
“No deviations from the plan. No games.”
“You’re no fun. And it’s not fair that I can’t kill Lucy. She’s psychic.”
“She’s not psychic.”
“You haven’t met her. She knows things she shouldn’t know.”
“She’s just a cop. But I promised her safety—we lose everything if she dies. Do you understand me? She lives, we get all the money her husband stole from us. All of it. That’s the agreement. She dies, we get nothing and we’ll be hunted.”
She sulked. “Fine.”
“When all is said and done—and after time has passed, a year or two, tops—you can take her down. But this is the one time where you have to exercise patience.”
“Okay.” At least she had something to look forward to. And a year or two might even turn into a month or two.
Yes, she was looking forward to torturing and killing Lucy Kincaid. Elise smiled as she finished her champagne.
“Ms. Hunt?”
It was Donny, the puppy dog. The boy who did everything she said and never questioned her. He was cute and loyal. She liked him. She liked people who did what she told them to do. If she told him to kill someone, he killed them. If she told him to steal a car, he stole a car. It was fun. And all he wanted was to get into her pants. She hadn’t let him yet, but she would when it benefited her. It was the promise that it would happen that kept him in line. That and money and fear of her daddy.
Donny should fear her more because her daddy was still in prison.
But he’d realize that soon enough.
“Sit,” she said, patting the lounge chair next to her. They had rented this house before she was out of juvie. Cute Donny and bitchy Clara and stupid Pablo had been taking care of business for months.
But she was in charge and they all knew it.
He didn’t sit.
“The DEA agent is still unconscious.”
“I know, so?”
She really hated people repeating things.
“Pablo called. He and Clara were unable to get the kid.”
She frowned. “I don’t like that answer.”
“He was taken out of school before the end of the day. They were in place, but he didn’t come out. They learned that Agent Kincaid picked him up early.”
“Why would she do that?”
“Clara thinks that once Rogan was arrested, they pulled him.”
“Well, that’s stupid.” Clara always tried to make Elise seem stupid, like she couldn’t plan a simple kidnapping. “The kid was icing. We’ll get him later,” Elise said. “He can’t be locked in that house all fucking day and night, right?”
“Jimmy said—”
“I know what my daddy said. I helped him come up with this plan!”
Yes, they wanted the kid, because kids were better leverage. Well, she wanted the kid. He wasn’t part of the original plan, but Clara and Donny didn’t know that, and if they thought it was her plan, and not her daddy’s plan, they might not obey her.
“I have an idea, if we can’t get him by tomorrow morning.” She jumped up and clapped her hands. “Let’s go play with the fed, okay? That’ll make me feel better.”
“He’s unconscious.”
She winked. “Not for long.”
Donny stared at her scantily clad body. She knew she was cute. And young and pretty and she had big boobs that guys liked. So she used them to her advantage.
She wrapped her arms around Donny and gave him a fat, sloppy kiss. She felt him tense, push toward her, instantly aroused.
She stepped back, enjoyed his torment. “That’s for being the only person I can really count on, Donny. When we’re done with this whole thing, we’ll have time for a lot more fun and games. I promise.” She touched his dick, because she could and it would drive him crazy, then she skipped into the house and to the soundproof studio. The owners had been musicians, they had a whole little recording studio set up in part of a tandem garage.
How nice of them to give her a kill room. Or a torture room. Or a room where she could do whatever the fuck she wanted.
Daddy said to kill him, but he didn’t say she couldn’t make him suffer first.
Chapter Eleven
SAN ANTONIO, TEXAS
Lucy told Jesse everything that she knew. He deserved the truth. Not only because he was nearly fourteen, but because Sean had promised Jesse he would never lie to him—even when the truth was difficult.
They were alone in Sean’s den. While the police had been mostly respectful of their house, they had still left many things out of place. Lucy couldn’t worry about that now. She was glad that they hadn’t taken more than they had, and in the back of her mind she wondered why they had such a restricted warrant. Did they not want to ask for too much and have the whole thing tossed?
Ultimately, it wouldn’t matter. If one of the guns they found was the murder weapon, they’d be back with an expanded warrant, including for Sean’s computer.
She watched Jesse. He looked so much like Sean, it melted her heart. She wanted to protect him more than anything, but life wasn’t always pretty. He didn’t say anything at first, and Lucy didn’t have anything to add. She didn’t know much and it was driving her up a wall. She wanted to be doing something, not sitting here waiting for permission to see her husband.
She wanted to reassure Jesse that his family would fix this, but she couldn’t.
Especially since she had doubts.
Small doubts.
Not about Sean’s innocence, but that they would be able to prove it. And that troublesome voice in her head that kept telling her what was happening to Kane, Nate, and Sean were all related. That someone was out to destroy them.
She couldn’t tell Jesse that. She shouldn’t tell him that.
But was keeping him in the dark more dangerous?
“What are you doing?” Jesse asked.
“Everything I can.”
“Which is?”
“I told you. Jack is in Mexico working on something with Kane, and Nate’s on his way—he was detained. Nate will stay here with you.” She didn’t want to tell him Kane was missing. She’d already put a huge weight on Jesse’s shoulders. “Jack and Kane will be here as soon as they can. Hopefully by tomorrow.” She really had no idea. Maybe Sean was right—full honesty was the only way to go. But to tell him his dad was in jail and his uncle was missing in Mexico? It was too much.
“I want to go with you to Houston. I want to see my dad.”
“I don’t think that’s a good idea.”
“Yes! Please, Lucy?”
How did she explain it? Maybe just tell him what Sean was feeling. What she knew Sean would be feeling.
“It would tear your dad up if you saw him in jail. This is hard on him—really hard.”
“Have you talked to him?”
“No. They wouldn’t let me. I’m working on going to visit, it might not be until tomorrow.”
“And why can’t I come? I want to tell him I believe him.”
“I’ll tell him.”
“It’s not the same thing.”
“Jesse, we don’t have a lot of details right now, and it’s safer for you to be here.”
“It’s not fair.”
“I know. I’m hoping all this will be resolved quickly.”
“You don’t think he did it, do you? Killed that woman?”
“No.” She shouldn’t ask him questions, but she couldn’t help herself. “What happened on Monday? Sean went to Houston—did he tell you why?”
“He said he had to do something and to have leftovers for dinner, and he might not be home until late. I tried to stay up, but went to bed at ten. I didn’t hear when he came in.”
“He was here when I got home at eleven ten.”
“I can say he was here.”
“No,” she said emphatically. “Jesse—you cannot lie. It’s better to remain silent than to lie. But you’re not going to have to talk to the police. I won’t allow it, and I don’t think they can compel you. Don’t say anything to them related to this situation or even something you think is totally innocuous.”
“But you believe he’s innocent?”
“Of course I do.”
“Then why are you asking questions?”
He was genuinely worried that she thought Sean might be guilty.
“Because if I’m going to find out who killed Mona Hill and get Sean out of this, I need all the information I can get.”
“I want to help.”
“I know.”
Jesse looked at his hands.
“What is it?”
“Is he okay? I mean—there are bad people who hate my dad.” His voice cracked. He was worried. He’d lost so much in his young life; Lucy couldn’t stand for him to lose anything else.
“JT and Rick and everyone at RCK and the FBI is working to keep Sean safe. I trust them. You need to trust them, too.”
“Then why aren’t Jack and Kane here? What’s so important in Mexico that they can’t drop it and come when we need them the most?”
“Kane and Siobhan just rescued six young girls from a human trafficking ring. There were some complications, so Jack’s there. They’ll be here as soon as possible.”
“But they’re okay, right?”
“As far as I know.” She hated obfuscating the truth.
He stood up. “I still want to visit my dad.”
“I’ll tell you what. I don’t think they’ll let him out this weekend, but I think our lawyers are really good and he’ll get bond on Monday. If something happens and he doesn’t? I’ll take you to see him.
“Promise?”
“Yes.”
I hope it doesn’t come to that. Please, God, don’t let it come to that.
Jesse went upstairs to his room and Lucy didn’t know whether she’d made the situation better or worse. Bandit, who’d been asleep on his dog bed, immediately jumped up and followed Jesse.
Her cell phone rang and the number was unfamiliar, but she answered anyway.
“Kincaid.”
“Lucy?”
She didn’t recognize the young female voice and demanded, “Who’s this?”
“Aggie Jensen. From the DEA.”
Lucy rubbed her eyes. “Right. Of course. How can I help you?”
“Brad was kidnapped an hour ago, a block from DEA headquarters. I would have called you sooner, but it’s a madhouse here.”
If Lucy wasn’t already sitting, she would have dropped on the spot. Brad … missing. “What happened? Do you know who’s behind it?”
“Not yet. Martin—SSA Martin Salter—he’s not listening to me. Well, that might not be fair. He’s weighing all the facts in the situation, but we don’t have any evidence that what happened to Sean and Nate is related to Brad’s kidnapping, so he’s running the investigation from the wrong angle. He’s a good agent, but … well…”
“I know Martin. He’s by the book and very honest, which is why Brad brought him on the team. Are you sure—”
“Yes, Brad was taken, his tire shot out, his gun kicked away. This can’t be a coincidence, right?”
“No. The big question is why. And how did they know he would be there at that exact time?” They’d ambushed him, but Brad wasn’t a novice. How’d they get the edge on him? Had he missed a tail? Or was it a tag team? Had they waited for him?
“Brad asked me confidentially to look into Nate’s situation. I don’t have anything solid, but a drug house was hit last week outside Austin. The house was run by the Merides brothers, known dealers. Three days later a gangbanger came in with an infected gunshot wound. They cut him loose, he missed his court date yesterday. So now there’s a warrant. He was part of the Saints, a rival gang.”
Lucy knew all about the Saints.
“And you think the drugs taken in this raid were planted on Nate.”
“I don’t think anything at this point, I’m still gathering information, but I was wondering why sixteen kilos? It’s a quarter-million-dollar bust. Most gangbangers aren’t going to want to give up that weight, even to frame a cop, unless they take it from someone else, or get paid even more than it’s worth to plant it. Honestly, it’s overkill. A kilo would have netted the same result.”
Aggie was right. “Where are the Merides brothers now?” Lucy asked. “Jail?”
“In the wind, no active warrants for either of them. The police didn’t connect them to the shooting of Mitts Vasquez—the Saints gangbanger—but Mitts is in the wind as well. This is my theory.”
“Can you send me what you have?”
“Aren’t you kind of busy?”
“Helping Nate helps Sean.”
“We might have caught a break,” Aggie said. “There were security cameras on a warehouse right outside where we found Brad’s car. Martin sent two agents to retrieve copies from a digital warehouse. We should have them within an hour.”
“Good. Show them to me, if this is connected to the Hunt family I might recognize some of the people.”
“I’ll do what I can. Oh! I forgot, I reached out to Zach—on the q.t. I don’t want to get him in trouble. But he’s been trying to call me and I couldn’t talk to him with Martin around. Brad wanted to look at the evidence from Nate’s truck. Different gangs have different signatures, and if this is a major gang, he might be able to ID where the drugs came from. I have to go into a meeting right now.”
“I’ll call him. Thanks, Aggie. I appreciate everything. I want to find Brad, but I have to go to Houston.” Brad had dropped everything to come over here when she called after Sean’s arrest. And now she felt torn, like she was letting everyone down.
“Anything you learn, let me know. I’ll do the same.”
“Of course.”
“And I reached out to Nate. I’m going to pick him up at SAPD. He doesn’t know anything more than we do, but I’m going to give him this information in person, not over the phone.”
“Thank you, Aggie. I appreciate everything.”
Lucy hung up and dialed Zach’s cell phone. It wasn’t that she didn’t want the office knowing she was calling him, but she didn’t want him to get into trouble for sharing information with her.
“Zach, it’s Lucy. I’m calling from home.”
“How’s Sean?”
“I don’t know. I can’t see him yet. I just talked to Aggie Jensen.”
“You heard about Brad Donnelly.”
“Yes. Brad was here before he was kidnapped. He was looking into the origin of the drugs that were found in Nate’s truck.”
“I can’t get anything from SAPD, but I got the photos, which Donnelly wanted. Not going to do us any good now.”
“Send them to Aggie. Watch yourself. Someone is coming after us.”
“Isn’t that a stretch?”
“No.” Jack had made her paranoid about talking on the phone. While their phone was clean, what if Zach’s wasn’t?
Now you’re being far too paranoid.
“I wish I could do more for you guys,” Zach said. “Rachel had a staff meeting and made it clear that we can’t use FBI resources
to help Sean. That’s not our job, all that stuff. But she also said that Sean had a lot of friends. I don’t know what that meant—like, can we help him as long as we’re not using resources?”
“It means that he has friends in the FBI—not just here, but other places. I’m not worried about Sean’s innocence—I know he didn’t kill Mona Hill. I’m worried about him being in jail over the weekend. There are people who want him dead, and jail would be a great place to get to him.”
She had an idea.
“I have to go, Zach—you can help Nate, so focus on that. I’ll help Sean.”
She immediately called Rick Stockton, an assistant director in the FBI. She could go through channels, she could try other people, but she needed a huge favor, and if anyone could do it, it was Rick.
It took her several minutes to get through to him, but she wasn’t surprised. The national FBI headquarters had been raked over the coals of late—some of it justified, some of it not—but even though Rick’s division had gotten through the controversies unscathed, he had to take on additional responsibility as a result.
“Lucy. I meant to call you earlier about Sean, but I’ve been swamped.”
“I know, I didn’t want to bother you, I knew JT was going to call, but I need a favor and I wouldn’t ask if I didn’t think it was important.”
“Name it.”
“Sean didn’t kill Mona Hill, but they’re not going to release him, not until Monday when he’s arraigned. His lawyer basically said as much. Meanwhile SAPD found a large quantity of drugs in Nate’s truck, which are not his. And Brad Donnelly was kidnapped less than two blocks from DEA headquarters.”
“I heard.”
That was fast.
“Sean is going to be in a Houston jail, and I fear for his safety. Can you do anything to get him transferred into federal custody?”
“This is a Houston PD case. I spoke with the chief of police personally, and she is aware of who Sean is, and that he has had a bounty on his head in the past. She doesn’t want anything to happen to him while in their custody, and has assured me that she and her corrections department will go above and beyond in protecting him. They’re considering putting him in the Houston administrative jail—it’s federally controlled, it’s probably the safest place for him. I’m helping facilitate that.”
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