The Red Ledger 9

by Meredith Wild

  I tighten my grip on the gun tucked by my side when there’s a loud rapping on the passenger window. Townsend’s face appears through it. I press the button that unlocks all the doors at once. He slides into the passenger seat, slamming the door behind him.

  “Nice ride.” He glances to me, then squints toward the river and the restaurant. “What’s up with this place?”

  Even if he knew, he wouldn’t appreciate the significance, so I don’t bother telling him. “Just an old haunt.”

  He regards me for a moment before reaching into his jacket and pulling out a pack of cigarettes.

  “Not in the car.”

  He taps one out anyway and tucks it carefully behind his ear.

  “You already looked at the files Mushenko dug up,” I say matter-of-factly.

  He shrugs. “I took a glance before I handed them over.”

  “And?”

  “It looks legit. Seems like the FDA thinks it is too.”

  “If that’s how you felt, why didn’t you just tell us that?”

  He exhales an annoyed sigh. “Listen, I’m not a fucking scientist. I don’t do what Mush does. I like to work with the shit, not cook it up. I’ll be as curious as you are when it hits the market and we can see if it actually does what they’re promising.”

  “Just seems like maybe you were wasting our time.”

  He releases a dry laugh. “Ah, Red. I’m really going to miss these chats.”

  “Why didn’t you go after Crow yourself when he showed up in Berlin?”

  “Don’t like planes,” he says, his tone clipped. “Anyway, I figured the Company had it handled.”

  “Seems strange that one minute you’re ready to run through a wall for a little revenge, and the next minute you don’t care all that much about seeing it through.”

  His mouth wrinkles into an ugly grimace as he turns his body toward me. “A little revenge? Are you serious? Do you ever stop and think about what they did to her?”

  The way he spits it out, I know there’s a lot more venom behind it. Whatever he might know, I trust his protectiveness over Jay is genuine, which may be half the problem.

  “What wouldn’t you do for her?”

  His dark eyes grow darker. “Cut the shit and tell me where Crow is, or I’m out of here.”

  I’d hoped to talk a little more, but he’s not giving me much choice. I reach out and cuff his neck, shoving him sideways against the window at the same time. With my left, I shove the muzzle of the gun hidden by my side into the soft flesh under his jaw. He clutches my arm, but I only squeeze harder. I’m stronger and faster. He knows it.

  I take in all his panicked responses. Dilated pupils, slick palms, restless legs trapped below the dashboard that have nowhere to go when I have him pinned against the window with all my strength.

  “Red,” he croaks past the hold I have on his throat. “The fuck.”

  “Do you think I’m stupid?” I ask the question calmly. I’m curious what he has to say. Except I’m barely letting him breathe, let alone answer. “Because either you’re jerking me around, or Jay’s jerking us both around. Neither would surprise me. We’re going to figure it out right now.”

  He tries to swallow but can’t. He presses his lips together so tightly they’re white.

  I tilt my head. “Maybe I should give you a little truth serum. That’s what’s in the antidote, right? A little bit of this, a little bit of that. Maybe I’ll shoot it into your vein instead and see what happens. Seems only fair since that’s what you did to me.”

  His nostrils flare when I let him take in a full breath. The added unease when I mention the antidote reaches into me too. Any doubts I harbored about it are now wrapped in distrust for Townsend.

  “I paid a little visit to the Paris lab. Reminded me what a piece of shit you are. I guess that was a good spot to play doctor, huh? You want to talk about revenge? Did you think I forgot you fucking blasted my memories because you helped us out a little bit?”

  “Said I was sorry,” he grates out. “Hypocrite.”

  I lift an eyebrow. “You want to test me right now?”

  After a few seconds, he shakes his head as much as he can. We’re both murderers. I get it. Doesn’t mean I have to give him a clean slate after what he did to me.

  I lean in so close I can smell the tobacco on his clothes. “I’m going to let you take a nice deep breath. Then you’re going to tell me why Jay’s on Simon’s offshore accounts and anything else you think might keep me from putting a bullet in your head.”

  His gaze flits back and forth across my face. He’s trying to read me. Motherfucker.

  I release my grip to gain just enough leverage to slam his head harder against the window. He widens his eyes and tries to twist and look out the window.

  “There’s no one here to help. I’m your only hope. Unless you have something to tell me, this is probably the last stop for you.”

  “Okay… Okay. Fuck,” he rasps.

  After a prolonged moment, I pull away. “Don’t bother trying to bullshit me either.”

  He blinks a few times before taking in a ragged breath. From the way he glares at me, I don’t think the things on his mind at present align much with what I want to know.

  He rubs his neck and swallows hard. “Who cares if she’s on the accounts? It doesn’t make her any less valuable to the Company. Only makes the price on her head that much higher.”

  “She lied to me. She’s deeper in this than she let on.”

  “Why the fuck would she tell you? It’s not like she trusts anyone.”

  “Because I saved her life. Three times, actually. This is the thanks I get?”

  “She’s not working with Simon. A long time ago she tried getting out of the Company. He couldn’t risk letting her go with everything she knew. She was too valuable, so he got her to double down instead, roping her into this Felix fiasco. She was on the accounts long before Crow snatched her. She hasn’t exactly been available for him to take her off it.”

  “If they’re both signers on the account, that means they’re partners,” I say, furious at myself for assuming Jay’s subordinacy to Simon all this time.

  “The whole fucking lot of them are in on this. Jay got cut in along the way, and there was no going back. Now she’s nothing but a liability. You think they want to get their hands on your precious Isabel. How badly do you think they want Jay?”

  Judging by the money on the line, I’d guess Simon would do about anything to have Jay back under his control, if she isn’t already.

  “How long have you known she was involved in this?”

  “She only told me after Miami. When you got that close to Simon, it wasn’t just about hiding out anymore. She realized there was hope of getting out of this mess.”

  “And how exactly did she think she’d manage that?”

  “The second she walks into that bank to make a withdrawal, she’s as good as dead. This isn’t over until they’re gone. Every last one of them.” He hesitates. “And you’re the best man for the job.”

  The air in the car is thick with a different kind of tension. Suddenly it all makes sense. Even with Townsend’s help, Jay wouldn’t be able to get to all of them. It had to be me.

  “Why didn’t you just tell me? I thought we were on the same team.”

  “We’re in this for different reasons, mate,” he says quietly. “There’s a lot of fucking money in that account.”

  “And you want all of it.”

  “You’re damn right I do. You and your girl are on a mission to save the world. I’m not going to sit here and lie to you like I care.”

  “You think any of that would shock me?”

  “No, but if you knew Jay was involved at all, you’d think the worst—the way you already are. I wasn’t going to let you make a target out of her instead of Simon and his cronies. I want that fucker Crow gone, but I came to Boston to keep you focused on Felix. I knew you were bloodthirsty for the Boswells and it was just a matter of ti
me before you’d take the last of them out. I was just pointing you in the right direction.”

  “Away from the money trail.”

  He shrugs.

  “And what about the antidote? You figured I’d jump right on that as soon as Simon was out of the picture?”

  He licks his lips nervously, averting his eyes briefly.

  I lift the gun and point it at him, my blood pumping angrily through my veins.

  “I don’t know what’s in it, all right? Mush didn’t tell me anything. It’s a gamble. You knew that.”

  “Doesn’t sound like my odds are very good if you’re banking on it taking me out of the equation.”

  “I don’t fucking know!”

  His eyes are round, his voice uneven, like he knows he’s running out of time. To lie. To tell the truth. To do whatever he needs to do to appease me. I grind my teeth. I should shoot him. Get it over with. If he’s not working with me, he’s against me. He’s getting in my way. They both are.

  “Jay knows about the antidote too?”

  A resigned kind of laugh leaves him. “You’re dumber than I thought.”

  I tilt my head, the darkest corner of my brain whispering at me to press the trigger. “Sorry?”

  He shakes his head, a miserable smile on his face. “She’d never let me kill you. Crow? Now that’s another story.”

  “Right. She just wants to send me to the front lines to do all her dirty work so she can make off with Simon’s money. I’m really moved.”

  “You were going for him anyway. What’s the difference?”

  “I don’t like being lied to. That’s the difference. You think I care about the money?”

  “Why wouldn’t you?” he says in a raised voice of exasperated disbelief.

  He doesn’t know I haven’t gotten close to burning through the money I earned from Jay’s assignments. And he definitely doesn’t know about the Halo money that flooded Isabel’s account after I killed Martine.

  “Let’s just say I’m comfortable.”

  He rubs at his throat again, eyeing me warily. “Then finish the fucking job.”

  Slowly, I lower the gun. “I plan to. And you’re going to help me.”

  CHAPTER SEVEN

  Isabel

  I zip up my backpack and take a last look around my room. Two months ago, I left my parents’ house not knowing when I’d be back. I have that same distant feeling again—like after tomorrow, things won’t ever be the same. My gaze lands on the old picture set atop my dresser. I walk over and pick up the heavy ceramic frame that’s held the memory of my sister and me for as long as I can remember. I turn it over, lift up the metal tabs holding the photo to the glass, and release it.

  Our names are written on the back with the date in my mother’s script. She probably thought we’d have so many more photos like this together. What if Mariana had lived? I brush my thumb over her sweet three-year-old face, a mirror of mine beside her. I don’t know if I’ll ever be Isabel Foster again. She seems like a stranger now.

  I’m still me, but I’m not. I’ll always have my memories, but maybe Tristan and I aren’t so different anymore. Life has carved a cruel line into our psyches, a bloody demarcation between our youthful innocence and the harrowing truth. The warmth of a dream and the harsh light of awakening.

  Now we see more. We feel more. And somehow, with everything that’s been taken from us, together again, we are more.

  Newly determined, I slide the photo into a side pocket of my bag and sling it over my shoulder before leaving my room. I’m quiet on the stairs, careful to avoid the creaks and moans I’ve memorized from a lifetime in this house. I already warned my parents, but no matter what happens tomorrow, if Tristan and I can get away, we should stay away. And I’m not letting him fight this war alone.

  My father convinced Rivero to go to Miami to poke his nose into the new DEA investigation around Javier Medina and the port authority there. Hopefully Rivero will forget about Tristan enough for us to disappear and stop looking over our shoulders. If not, maybe my father won’t give him any choice once I’m gone.

  I leave a note on the counter for my parents—just a goodbye for now—and unlock the front door. A taxi is idling at the curb, waiting to take me away from the place I’ll always call home.

  Twenty minutes later, the driver pulls up in front of a narrow house. Makanga’s unforgettable car and a red BMW are parked in the driveway. I pay the driver and walk up the path to the front door. I knock and wait. Tristan probably won’t want me here, but that doesn’t slow my heartbeat when I think about seeing him again and spending one more night with him beside me.

  After I knock, Makanga answers and opens the screen door with a squeak. He narrows his gaze as he looks past me and cranes his neck to glance around the yard.

  “I’m alone,” I say, a little disappointed at the less-than-warm reception.

  “Who brought you here?”

  I huff out a sigh. “I called a taxi and remembered your address. Can I see Tristan?”

  I hear footsteps behind him. Then Tristan comes into view as he nudges Makanga to the side.

  “Isabel.” He takes my bag and ushers me inside, but his expression is no warmer than Makanga’s. “What are you doing here? I thought you were going to stay with your parents until I came for you?”

  “I figured you could use some help.”

  Makanga chuckles before walking over to his chair.

  “I don’t need help,” Tristan says. “I need to know you’re safe so I can concentrate.”

  I cross my arms over my chest. “How are you getting into the building tomorrow?”

  “The way most people get into the building. Through the visitor center. I can get where I need to from there. Does your father know you’re here?”

  “No, but he got you this.” I pull the staff pass he arranged out of my bag and hand it to Tristan.

  He stares down at it, then up at me. For a split second, I worry I’ve gone too far. Of all the times I’ve pushed myself into his plans, maybe this was the time to step aside and let him do things his way. I cross my arms tightly again, a small defense against the hard look he’s pinned on me.

  “What did you tell Morgan?”

  I suck in a breath that’s less than steady. “That you were meeting with Simon.”

  “At the Capitol building.”

  “Yes. Obviously.”

  The muscles in his jaw flex. “Isabel, why the hell did you do that? I have this under control.”

  My apprehension slips, quickly replaced with frustration that we’re fighting this battle all over again. “Like hell you do. Walk in the front door, kill Simon, and walk out? That’s your strategy?”

  When he doesn’t say anything, I step around him, taking my bag from him as I move. I settle on the couch and pull out a few visitor-guide brochures, unfolding one on the table in front of me.

  “With a staff pass, you can enter through the entrance on the north side. Keegan’s office should be close. This way you won’t risk anyone seeing you trying to sneak someplace you aren’t supposed to be.”

  He comes closer, hovering above me. “You’re worried I won’t be able to make my way to his office? That’s what this is about?”

  I glare up at him. “I’m worried about you underestimating everything because you want this too much. We’re talking about the Capitol building, Tristan.”

  “Which thousands of tourists flow through every damn day. I made it out of an international airport in less than five minutes. You think I can’t get where I need to go in there?”

  “You also had security immediately looking for you, which isn’t something we want. Will you stop being so pigheaded and just let me help?”

  He doesn’t answer me, which is almost promising. It’s not a yes, but it’s not a no.

  Makanga is wearing a smirk as he leans over to look at the map on the brochure. “Seems like a more direct approach. Is the pass legit?”

  “My father assures me it is. He d
oesn’t know I’m going to be there yet, but when he realizes I’m not home in the morning, he’ll figure it out. He’s not going to do anything to jeopardize this. I promise you.”

  Tristan’s eyes grow wide. “You are not going anywhere near this. Mark my words.”

  I exhale a frustrated breath through my nose and push on. “Where will Keegan be?”

  “He’s planning to be late for the meeting. I figure I’ll have about fifteen minutes before Simon gets restless and leaves.”

  “Which means that whatever happens, chances are Keegan is going to find Simon after and alert security before you’re even out of the building. He won’t have any other choice if he doesn’t want to somehow implicate himself.”

  He exhales with a subtle shake of his head. “Not necessarily.”

  “It’s a tight window,” I say.

  He shrugs. “It’s do-able.”

  “If someone stumbles upon a crime scene, the police are going to be looking for you faster than you can disappear. I’m not talking about getting out of the building, Tristan. I’m talking about getting out of DC before there’s a citywide manhunt.”

  A heavy silence falls on the room. Makanga seems to be holding his breath. I’m waiting for Tristan to react. To tell me I’m wrong or toss me in a cab back to my parents’ house. He stares down at the map a moment before taking a seat beside me. He steeples his fingers in front of his mouth, saying nothing, which feels oddly like resignation.

  I bite the inside of my mouth to keep from smiling.

  “I can come in through the visitor center and, when the time is right, create a diversion. Something that will give Keegan a reason to leave the building instead of meeting Simon as planned. An evacuation will create confusion with all the visitors and staff trying to leave in a rush. No one’s going to notice either of us. Security will be too busy trying to get people out. It should be a while before anyone notices Simon after that. By then we’ll be long gone.”

  Tristan is quiet for a long time. So long that I know he’s at least considering my proposal. He doesn’t want me getting mixed up in this, and he won’t want me in the building when it all goes down, but we threw solo missions out the window a long time ago. He could do it alone if nothing went wrong, but I’m convinced we’re stronger together.