Maggie nodded and scooted towards the bar, while Sully edged closer to the group by the wall. He was too big and too noticeable to get very close. In a stroke of luck, the two gang guys pushed away from the wall and walked to the bathroom.
Sully caught Maggie's attention and motioned towards them, letting her know that he was going to follow. He hated to leave her out here alone, but he didn't have much choice if she wasn't willing to leave and hang out in the van while he did his job. She nodded, seeming to understand, and he followed the guys to the bathroom.
Sully dropped his head, tilting the fedora to cover his face as he locked himself in the stall. The two guys lined up against the wall, using the urinals and speaking in Spanish. Sully had lived in D-town long enough to have learned the language. He wasn't nearly as good as Gabriel, which was part of the reason he'd made sure that Gabriel was on his team, but he could eavesdrop on a conversation just fine.
"Heard back from my guy a few minutes ago," one of the guys said—Avila, Sully thought from the accent. Mexican. Mean. West-sider.
"Yeah? Did he take out the woman?" That one was Castenada. Cuban. East-side territory. Neither were guys he'd want to meet alone in a dark alley.
"No. Said she got away somehow. Took out the cops, though. That's always a thrill."
Sully's spine stiffened. Who were they after?
"Stupid bitch threw a pot of boiling water at my guy and took off into the woods. For a woman who worked as a high-dollar hooker for most of her life, she sure knew how to hide in the woods."
Christy Knox. It had to be.
"Is The General pissed?"
"What do you think?" Avila snorted. "He should have killed her before she went into protective custody."
Bingo.
Sully waited while the two men washed their hands and exited the bathroom. He took out his phone and made a call to Cate.
"The person you're looking for?"
"Yeah?" Cate answered, completely unaffected by Sully's lack of niceties or his vague references. She was good at reading between the lines.
"She's in trouble. Two men just confirmed that the security detail has been terminated, and she's on the run."
"Terminated, as in—"
"Affirmative. Keep your phone nearby. My gut tells me that she'll try to reach you."
"Got it. Thanks."
"And call our contact with the FBI that the president set us up with. See if they can send some people over there."
"I will."
Sully clicked off the call and left the bathroom. Since he'd stayed in the bathroom to call Cate, he'd lost sight of the two gang leaders.
His eyes searched the crowd, but he didn't see them. He moved towards the bar, and his blood froze in his veins.
Garmoni stood hovering over Maggie, his hands locked around her upper arms. Fear was etched on her face, as well as anger. Garmoni yanked her off the stool and started out the door with her.
Sully tried to breathe as he pushed through the crowd of people, trying to reach her. Ethan had eyes on the door. Lucas and the other guys would be close by. Garmoni wouldn't get far with her.
And if he hurt her, Sully was going to kill him.
* * * *
Maggie had been watching the door to the bathroom after Sully had disappeared behind it, and whirled around when someone sat down on the stool next to her.
"That seat's—"
"Taken?" Anthony finished for her, his brow quirking on one side and a grin stretching his lips.
He was a handsome guy—if you didn't know he was a sick, sadistic bastard.
"What do you want?" Maggie managed, her heart thumping loudly in her chest.
"You, of course. It's always been you," he answered, running his hand along her bare arm. Maggie jerked it back, pulling away from him. The smile dropped from his lips, and anger burned, hot and heavy, in his eyes.
"Where's my son?" she hissed.
"You mean, my son?" Anthony grinned again, but this time it had changed. It wasn't welcoming or kind; it was evil and cruel. "He's far away from your hillbilly relatives. What the hell were you thinking, letting your brother raise him in some Podunk town?"
"I was thinking of keeping him far away from you!"
"Good. A judge will be happy to hear that when he grants me custody."
Maggie tried to keep her anger at bay.
"Especially when he hears that you kept him from me for four years."
"How do you think that judge will feel when he learns that you put me in the hospital for three weeks, where I almost died?"
"Judge Marino understands that sometimes you have to keep your woman in line." Anthony’s voice dropped to a menacing tone. "You were supposed to be my wife. You're supposed to be in my home, in my bed. Not traipsing around in a too-short dress and a cheap wig."
His hand dropped to her leg, caressing her bare thigh. "Although I do like this dress. It will look lovely on my floor."
Maggie smacked his hand away and tried to slow her breathing. It would do her no good to get angry with him. She needed to be strong. For Brady's sake.
"I'm not going anywhere with you," she spat. "And I want my son back. If you so much as lay a hand on him, I swear I'll cut your balls off and shove them down your throat!"
"I see someone has some fight in her." He leaned in closer, his hands tightening on her upper arms. "That's good. It will be more fun when I break you."
His breath was sickly sweet, like mint and honey. She remembered the smell, and fear clawed at her insides, screaming at her to run away.
Where was Sully?
"Let's go," Anthony said, pulling at her arms and jerking her off the stool.
She pulled against his hold. "I'm not going anywhere with you!"
Anthony shoved her hard against the bar. The bartender looked up. "Hey, what's going on here?"
"Nothing! Mind your own damn business." The look on Anthony's face was deadly, and the bartender lifted his hands and walked away. Coward.
"Move it," Anthony said, shoving her towards the entrance.
Maggie tried to look behind her, to find Sully, but the crowd had pressed in, and she couldn't see. Panic was a living, breathing thing inside her. Flashes—of Anthony's fists flying towards her face, of his foot smashing her arm into three pieces, of his throwing her against the wall and feeling her ribs splinter—crowded her mind. She wouldn't let him hurt her again. She couldn't.
Ethan. She remembered that he had eyes on her. He would notify the guys. There would be no way they'd let him take her.
The cool night air hit her as Anthony pushed open the door and shoved her outside.
"Let me go," she pleaded.
"Not a chance, baby."
She hated the endearment. He'd always called her baby. It made her feel small and young and inexperienced. All things she had been at eighteen.
But she wasn't a kid anymore. She'd lived through more in her twenty-six years than most did in their entire lives.
Maggie pulled against his hold, and Anthony's hand shot out, slapping her across the face. Her head snapped back, and she saw stars.
It had been so long since someone had hit her, she'd forgotten how helpless it made her feel. Momentarily stunned, she didn't see the three men coming out of the shadows, their guns raised.
"If you want to draw your next breath, then I'd suggest you drop your hold on the lady and take a step back," Lucas said, his voice low and threatening.
"Who the hell are you?" Anthony spat, his hand not leaving Maggie's arm.
"None of your business. I'm not going to tell you again. Let her go."
Anthony, seeing he was outnumbered, dropped his hand from her arm and took a step back, his hands raised.
Lucas motioned for Maggie to come to him, and she obliged.
"We were just having an argument, right, baby?" Anthony crooned, using that damned nickname and trying to smooth things over, not realizing that Lucas, Gabriel, and Zach were her friends.
The door to
the Blue Note flew open, and Sully charged up the steps. His gaze took in the scene before him, and he met Maggie's eyes. Seeing her red cheek, her hand still covering it to soothe the sting, Sully's face turned red with anger.
In two steps, he had Anthony's arm twisted up behind him.
"What the hell!" Anthony yelled.
"I’m going to say this one time, and one time only," Sully started. "If you ever lay a hand on her again, I will personally tear you apart, limb from limb. Are we clear?"
Sully punctuated the threat by twisting Anthony's arm up even further. He yelped and sputtered, "Y-y-yes. C-c-clear."
"Good," Sully said and pushed Anthony forward. He fell to his knees, his eyes jerking up to catch Maggie's face. Anger morphed his features, and she remembered this look from the many times he'd beaten her senseless. They were the eyes of a killer. A man who enjoyed hurting people.
"Where's Brady?" Maggie called out.
Just then, several men dressed in black suits and carrying semi-automatic weapons emerged from the Blue Note. They pointed the weapons at the Castle team, and Lucas pushed Maggie behind him. Sully joined them, his gun raised and pointed at Anthony.
"Call off your guys," Sully said.
"No way in hell," Anthony responded, wiping his mouth with the back of his hand. "You're outnumbered." His face contorted into the sadistic smile he'd worn earlier in the Blue Note.
"We may be. But I have a sniper on the roof over there," Sully said, nodding in the direction of Ethan's post. "Your guys might get off a shot or two, but I can guarantee you that you'll be dead first."
Anthony looked as if he were deliberating over what to do. Maggie could tell that he didn't want to give up, but he valued his life too much to take a chance. He lifted a hand and waved his men off. The guys backed away.
Sully's arm snaked around her middle as they retreated to the shadows, then took off at a jog back to the van.
"Are you ok?" Sully asked as soon as the van door was closed.
She nodded, tears starting to streak her face.
"We'll come back for your car tomorrow."
"No, it won't last overnight in this neighborhood. Please," she said.
He dipped his chin in agreement.
Zach drove the van around the block several times before stopping on an adjacent street, where Ethan jumped in, dressed in all black, his face covered with a mask except for his eyes, and his rifle slung over his shoulder.
No one said anything, keeping the van quiet. Maggie was sure they were trying not to upset her. She was grateful. She wasn't in the mood to talk about Anthony. Or her past. Or the memories it had brought up when he’d slapped her across the face. Her cheek still stung, and she knew she'd have a bruise there. It made her feel embarrassed—even though she knew it wasn't her fault. It still made her feel young and stupid and responsible, somehow.
Maggie knew that she wasn't responsible for Anthony's behavior. Nor did she deserve what he'd done to her. But the memories of helplessness it brought up in her made her angry.
They reached the street where she and Sully had left her car. Maggie stepped out of the van and clicked the unlock button on her remote.
A huge fireball exploded into the air, the sound deafening as the car burst into flames.
The force of the explosion propelled her back, and she hit the ground with a thud, feeling a hard body falling on top of her and shielding her from the fiery debris that fell on them.
When she was able to catch her breath, she pushed at the hard chest pinning her to the ground. Her eyes met Sully's. His were wide with fear.
"Let me up," she said quietly, the loss overwhelming her.
Sully moved off her, allowing her to sit up and stare at what remained of her car.
Tears pooled in her eyes. She'd lost so much in the last few months. After years of working her ass off to provide for her son and carve out a little bit of happiness for them, it had all been taken away from her in such a short time.
Her home.
Her car.
Her son.
When would it stop?
Chapter 14
The street was crawling with police activity. Sully had called in to Chief Livingston and his contact at the FBI. Maggie sat in the van with the guys, a blanket tucked around her, and her arms wrapped around her knees.
After having an EMT look at the burns on his back, where some of the debris had landed on him, Sully had been tied up giving his statements to all those involved. The car bomb had caught him off guard.
Anthony wanted Maggie alive. It didn't make sense that he'd tried to kidnap her tonight, only to blow her up with her car a few minutes later. The General wanted Sully dead, but did that mean that he was behind bombing Maggie's car? How did he even know that Sully would be with Maggie? Was The General making an attempt on Maggie's life because she was important to Sully? But how did he even know that? Or maybe the bomb had been set in case Maggie got away from Anthony when he tried to take her that evening. Maybe it had been a warning of what would happen to her if she didn't go back to him.
Sully wasn't sure. He just knew that if she hadn’t had her remote on her, or if she’d been any closer to that car, she would have been killed tonight.
The ache in his heart told him what he'd been trying to deny for months.
He loved her.
It didn't matter that it wasn't a good idea, or that she deserved better than some screwed-up guy who had mommy issues. It didn't even matter that The General would be gunning for her if she was connected to him—or that he could already be after her.
That ship had sailed.
An attempt had been made on Maggie’s life tonight, and Sully knew that it wouldn't be the last time. Keeping her away from him wasn't even an option any more.
So he'd protect her, and then let her go after this was over. She didn't need his brand of messed-up in her life. She had a kid. And he'd make sure that she was able to be reunited with that kid at the end of this.
"You're all set," Chief Livingston said as he wandered over to Sully. He wasn't the kind of guy that usually made an appearance at crime scenes, but he'd come as a favor to Sully.
Sully needed people around him that he could trust. He didn't trust anyone on the force except for John Livingston.
"Got anything yet?" Sully asked, knowing it was too early for any major developments.
"Bomb. Wired to the locking mechanism. Could be that the guy knew she had a wireless entry and was giving her a warning. Either way, he took the chance that she'd be blown up with the car."
"Dammit!" Sully muttered. He'd hoped it was some fluke, even though his gut knew it was tied to the situation they were in, both with Garmoni and with The General.
"Anything you need to tell me?" Livingston asked.
"Garmoni. The mob boss. He tried to kidnap her tonight. Hit her and took her from the Blue Note."
"Why the hell were you over at the Blue Note tonight?"
"Gotta tip that he'd be there, along with Kingston and a few other lowlifes."
"And you took the girl with you?" he asked incredulously.
"She wouldn't take no for an answer," Sully stated, feeling stupid. Allowing her to come with him had been risky. But he was positive that had he not brought her, she would have found a way there on her own.
"Oh, man. She's got you whipped good." Livingston clapped him on the back. "Good luck with that."
"Shut up." Sully pushed his shoulder, and Livingston laughed.
"Did you catch who the other players are in this game?" Livingston asked after gaining control of his laughter.
"Yeah, Avila and Castaneda. Another low-life drug dealer that I recognized but don't remember the name of."
"Gang leaders. Heavy drug dealers. What's the motivation to include them?"
"Territories. Avila owns the west side, and Castaneda the east. Both are friendly enough with each other, whereas the other two gang leaders, for the north and south sides of the city, don't get along with an
yone, right?"
"Right. Makes sense, I guess, if you're trying to control the crime in the District."
"Any news on Garmoni and what he's up to?" Sully asked, hoping Livingston might have some information he'd be willing to share.
"Rumor has it that his thugs have made their rounds to the local businesses on the east and west sides, so I'm assuming that this is the part that Avila and Castaneda are playing. They're enforcing protection fees. We had a fire earlier today. Arson. Found the shop owner shot dead in the rubble."
"He wouldn't pay, I'm assuming?"
Livingston nodded. "Seems that that was his punishment. This guy is instilling fear in everyone. There are more rumors that blackmail is next. Videos, pictures, you name it. The elite of D.C. are running for cover."
"We have to stop him," Sully said, determination coursing through his veins. He was tired of these games, especially since his team, his family, and the love of his life were all caught up in the middle of it.
"Working on it. Keep me posted." Livingston shook Sully's hand and walked back to his car.
Sully's phone buzzed, and he saw a text from Isabel.
Izz: Just heard. Maggie ok?
Sully: Shaken up but fine.
Izz: You?
Sully: Pissed.
Izz: Find the creep that did this to our girl.
Sully: Definitely.
Our girl. Since when did they all think of Maggie as their girl?
But she was. They'd all grown attached to her. He glanced up from his phone, and his eyes met Maggie's across the road. Slipping the phone into his pocket, he jogged over to the van.
"Ready to get out of here?" he asked.
"I was born ready," she teased, and he loved that even after the evening's events—running into Garmoni, almost getting kidnapped, being slapped, and having her car blown up—she still had her sense of humor, even if it was super corny.
Sully shouted at Zach and Lucas, who were talking with the FBI. Gabriel and Ethan were still sitting in the van, keeping an eye out for Maggie.
The other guys piled in, and they drove the short distance to the warehouse.
Castle Investigations Box Set Page 110
