I rest on the edge of my desk and gaze out the window. The sun is low and it’s almost time to go home again. Looks like we’re going to have another fruitless day.
Lyndsey sighs and I look back to her.
“What do you want to do?” she asks.
“I’m not sure. It’s not going to hurt to look deeper into the bank accounts but honestly…” I press my lips together then sigh. “I don’t know where this is going to lead Lyndsey. It just feels like it’s taking us off track. I’m not saying we shouldn’t do it. I just think we shouldn’t rely on it.”
“Yeah. I agree.” She runs a hand through her hair, looking exhausted. She was in before me today. “Will you be okay for a while? I think I need a little break. I promised Owen I’d check in.”
“Lyndsey we’ve been working all day. Of course you can have a break.” I chuckle and she smiles.
“Thanks. Call me if you need me.”
“I will. Take your time.”
“Cool.” She nods, grabs her bag from her desk and saunters away.
I sit there for a few minutes just gazing through the window. This case is undoubtedly the hardest I’ve worked since joining the Bureau. It’s annoying me that I can’t do more than I am. It makes me feel incompetent and inadequate. We were called in from LA to help but haven’t done shit.
I hop off the desk and my jacket pocket starts buzzing. At first I think it’s my phone, then I realize it’s not. It’s the ghost tracker.
I grab it quickly, gasping when I look at the screen and see the display light up with Matvey’s number. Fuck… it’s in use. It’s not delisted or anything like that. It’s being used now.
I rush to my computer and plug the tracker into the USB drive. Instantly the screen goes dark but highlights with a luminous blue dot for Matvey’s number and a red dot for the person he’s calling. I click on the blue dot and my heart leaps with joy when the address comes up. It’s for an accountancy firm downtown called Broadman’s.
I take a screenshot of the address and click on the red dot next to see the address of that. The docks come up. Both dots blink when the call is live and I could listen in if I wanted to. But the blinking stops and holds stationary, signaling that the call is over.
Shit. What do I do now? I should tell someone, but maybe I should check it out first. I call Lyndsey and her phone goes straight to voicemail so I leave a message telling her I’m going downtown. I don’t say why though.
I’ll explain more either when I see her or when I have more details. whichever comes first.
Quickly, I print off the screen shot, stuff it in my pocket and head out with my gun in my back pocket, ready for trouble.
The accountancy firm isn’t far from the Bureau office. It took me twenty minutes to get there in the traffic. All the hope I felt when I picked up the number drains from me when I get out of the car and see the building is being renovated.
There’s a man inside painting the walls and there doesn’t seem to be anyone else. I didn’t expect to come here and catch Matvey, or see him here waiting to be handed over on a silver platter, but shit I can’t deny that I’m disheartened. I push the door in and walk inside, alerting the painter to my presence.
He’s got on the standard protection suit a workman would wear and doesn’t exactly look thrilled to see me.
“Can I help you with something?” he asks.
“I’m agent Monroe. I’m looking for someone,” I say, taking out my badge.
I show it to him. He scans over it with scrutiny and looks back at me cautiously.
“Did anyone come by here in the last half an hour?” I ask.
“Nobody’s been here, just me all day,” he answers.
“Are you sure?” I ask. The ghost tracker wouldn’t have been wrong.
“Yeah, sorry I can’t help. If you don’t mind I have to get back to work.” Something in the way his eyes shift and his breathing changes catches my attention. It’s subtle but not enough to go unnoticed.
I think he’s lying. I have a strong feeling he is and he seems to want to get rid of me.
“That’s okay. I’m sure you won’t mind if I just check out the back,” I insist, holding his gaze.
“Not at all, be my guest.” He waves his hand for me to walk in and I do.
I’m guessing that if anyone was here they’re gone if he’s so willing to allow me passage. I won’t take any chances though. I fire off a text to Lyndsey so she knows where I am, just in case anything happens to me.
I make my way out back and see there’s no one. There’s not a lot to look at either. Just a handful of empty offices, a break room, and a storage room. There is a back door though and it’s open.
It doesn’t help me much at all, anyone could have gone through it including Matvey.
With a sigh of frustration I make my way back to the front and walk past the painter who’s resumed his work. He doesn’t say anything to me as I leave and I just keep my focus straight ahead.
I get back into my car seething. This is all such bull shit. The ghost tracker worked though. That’s a surety, but what if it wasn’t Matvey who used the phone?
It could be anyone using it. That’s the fucking downside. Until I hear a voice I have nothing.
With a heavy heart I head back to the office.
I spot Richard ahead of me when I walk in. He’s talking to one of the agents who’s based here. He turns to see me, and I smile at him, but my smile fades when I notice the saddened look on his face.
Richard walks up to me, and the look intensifies.
“Hey, are you okay?” I ask. “You look like something happened.”
“Yeah, something did happen. Something bad.”
“What?” I ask as dark dread fills me.
“It’s Giles. He’s dead. He’s been murdered.”
Chapter Eleven
Cora
Richard took me to his office. He wanted to talk to me away from everyone else. Everyone is going to be given a brief in a little while regarding what happened to Giles and our safety during the investigation.
Richard looks pale and his eyes sullen. He’s known Giles for over twenty years. They were very good friends.
“How did it happen?” I ask.
“He was shot, and it looks like Matvey’s work.”
My heart sinks. “Were his eyes…” I can’t bring myself to finish the question.
Richard nods confirmation and I feel like I’m going to vomit. It’s bad enough to have the memory of the guy from that last murder stuck in my head with his eyes gouged out, but Giles too… someone I know.
“Oh God…” I wince and wipe away a tear.
“I’m sorry Cora.”
“When did it happen?”
“Must have been last night. His wife came home from her vacation early this morning and found him at home dead in the study, a bullet hole in his head and…the other mutilations.”
Mutilations. The bile rises from my stomach and lodges in my throat. I almost heave. For him to say that, it means Matvey must have done more to Giles than taking his eyes. Cutting people’s eyes out are just one of the gruesome things he does. He’ll go as far as limbs too, or burning people. With women it’s worse. He rapes and tortures them until he makes them beg for death, and that is why Alex didn’t want me working on this case. I’m completely numb. I don’t know what the hell to make of this.
Giles… he’s dead. Matvey killed him. I can’t believe it.
“We have to catch this bastard, Cora.” Richard sighs. I can’t imagine what he must be going through. And he’s putting on such a brave face.
“We have to. Richard, I don’t get why Matvey would have killed somebody so important. It’s asking for trouble, and for us to retaliate big time.”
“It’s a message, my dear. Cut off the head, and the body is weak. That’s what we are now. Thrown into a state of disarray while he gets to run around doing what he’s here to do.” He draws in a shallow breath. “Cora, I want to be the pr
ofessional and the man I’ve been employed to be and tell you to be careful, but you are like a daughter to me, so I can’t help it if I say I don’t want you working this case anymore.”
I widen my eyes and shake my head. “Richard, no. I can’t just quit, and definitely not now. Giles is dead.”
Out of my own personal need to help I have to stay, definitely after what I found last night.
He releases a heavy sigh and swallows hard. “Things have just gotten more dangerous than I realized.”
“I know, but I have to do this. It’s Giles, Richard,” I insist. I wish to God I’d gotten more out of the ghost tracker. Maybe I can. Maybe the phone will be used again and I can catch a live conversation. If I do then I’ll be better prepared.
“Cora… I’m biased. I won’t lie and tell you I’m not worried for your life.”
“I’ll be careful. Richard, if you take me off this case then I won’t be the agent you trained me to be. You’ve always wanted me to be an agent and you know I’m capable of doing this job. Please allow me to do it,” I plead.
“God, girl… as if I wasn’t worried enough. Okay. But you promise me you’ll be careful and you take security and back up everywhere you go. Safety is of the highest concern. We’re going to get extra security around here and around the hotel apartments.”
“I will.”
“I mean it Cora.”
“I know. I promise I’ll be careful,” I assure him.
“I’ll be running things for a while here, but I have to go back to LA tomorrow for a few days. Just promise me you’ll be safe.”
“Richard I will. Just focus on what you need to do to get this bastard.” I will be doing the same.
* * *
The gravity of the situation hits me hard as I make my way to my apartment.
I can’t believe Giles is dead, and I’m not really sure what to make of it.
I pull my keys from my purse when I get to the door, but my hand stills when I touch the lock and feel that presence.
It’s…inside.
Alex.
I must have been truly trapped in my thoughts to not sense him before now.
My heart races, and my pulse speeds up. Both gallop with anticipation. It’s nearly been a week since we last saw each other and I never expected to see him again.
I open the door, and there he is standing in the sliver of the moonlight just like that first night he came to me. Except this time, he’s inside already, standing by the floor-to-ceiling window.
I’m not sure how he looks more handsome than when I last saw him.
He looks at me, and a polite smile lifts his face. “Hope you don’t mind, but I let myself in. I’m not a fan of waiting by the door,” he says.
“I don’t mind.” I don’t, and while I should be cursing myself for feeling like I should just run into his arms and stay there forever, it’s good to see him.
He raises his hand, and I notice for the first time the brown envelope he’s carrying.
“This is a business call,” he says.
“What’s that?” My nerves spike, and my thoughts race. Did he find something on Matvey?
“The truth,” he says.
“What do you mean?”
“Your head boss was murdered. Your records are wrong,” he states.
“What?” My eyes snap wide. “And you know about that?”
“Cora, you act like we just met. You should know me by now. I have my ways of finding things out, especially when I’m pushed to get involved.”
“What pushed you?”
“Don’t worry about that. Worry about this. Your records show that your boss was found murdered at his home. He wasn’t.”
A chill races down my spine. “What are you saying to me?” I can’t understand why anyone would lie about something like that.
He opens the envelope and hands it to me.
“I don’t like you looking at shit like this, but you need to see this. Maybe it will clear up a few things for you. Maybe you’ll question if you really are working with the good guys.”
My hands start to shake, but I take the envelope. The first thing to shock me is a picture of Giles and Zack standing by a black sedan. My lips part.
Zack… I heard he was away all weekend. Clearly, he wasn’t. The date shows this happened yesterday. Sunday at eight p.m.
The next picture makes me gasp. It’s a picture of Giles lying in an alleyway at the docks with a gunshot wound. The other pictures are close-ups. I feel sick when I see his missing eyes and look away.
I look back to Alex, who’s already staring at me.
“How did you get these? Why were you following Giles?”
“I wasn’t following Giles, doll. I had Zack followed. He seems to have a thing for you, and I don’t like it. My men lost track of him when he and Giles went down to the docks in separate cars, but they picked these images up of him dead just before an unmarked car came and cleared the body.”
Oh God… what does it mean?
“We were told Giles died at home,” I say more to myself than to him. He’s already mentioned that.
“Yeah. I guess your boy didn’t want people knowing he was more than likely the last person to see the boss alive, or maybe he was the one who pulled the trigger. I don’t know. What we do know is you need to be careful. Lies are never good, no matter who’s telling them. Obviously, there’s a little more to hide than what you think, doll.”
He steps past me, and I turn to watch him as he walks away.
He gets to the door and stops, then turns to me. “Be careful who you trust, Cora.”
That’s all he says before he leaves.
Chapter Twelve
Alex
I keep my head down and work on my new bike.
The guys are all here in the garage tonight. The four of us. Claudius and Dante are arguing over engine parts, and Gio is playing mediator while I watch and lose myself in my thoughts.
The others are good at different things. I do stunts, so I’m always thinking up some shit to do to woo the crowd. There’s a race later, and I’m supposed to be taking part. The place is already packed with tonight’s crowd.
I’ve been here since earlier because I can’t deal with the female attention tonight. I don’t want it on me because the one woman I desperately want doesn’t want me. I’m not going to be a prick and fuck to forget her. I can’t do that. Not with her.
I’m worried about Cora. I hate what’s happening and that she’s caught up in it. That fucker Zack is up to something and it’s not good.
“Alex, are you nervous?” Dante asks, pulling me from my thoughts.
I lift my head and give him an incredulous glare. “Nervous? No way man, I’m not—”
My voice cuts when the door opens and men with guns pour in.
Before they can even get inside, I join Claudius, Dante, and Gio, guns at the ready.
It’s five meatheads who look like they want death. Then who comes through the door next makes shock slam through me.
Matvey.
He’s tall, burly, and the shit-eating grin plastered on his face is a big tell that he doesn’t give a shit who we are.
“You better state your fucking business right the fuck now, or I will end you,” Claudius roars.
Matvey looks to me then back to Claudius.
“Claudius Morientz, this is a social call. Believe me, if we wanted death, you could tell by the part about you all being dead already,” he answers in a heavy Russian accent.
Fuck. I hate dealing with these guys. I can never tell what they’ll do next.
“Matvey, I would really love to see you try and kill me and mine,” Claudius sneers, but Matvey just laughs.
“It would be very interesting, Chicago Boss. I’m like a sleeping giant though. I don’t fuck with you unless you fuck with me and mine. Rest assured I will surely fuck with you if your capo continues to help his fed.”
Jesus Christ. I’m being watched, and so is Cora. This guy has
the same vibe as Zack.
Claudius tenses, and I know he wants to look at me, but he’s stopping himself.
“This is a warning to stay the fuck away. I believe there’s a code among us criminals. At least there is where I come from. We certainly don’t help feds, even if they’re just for fucking.”
I cock my gun, ready to kill his ass but Gio holds on to my hand and tightens his grip, shaking his head at me. Matvey walks to me and chuckles.
“Pretty little thing she is. If you fuck with me, I’ll kill you, and I’ll take her and make sure I fuck her six ways to Sunday before I put a bullet in her head,” he taunts.
Both Dante and Gio have to hold me back now as I growl and lunge for Matvey, who turns back to Claudius. He looks at all of us and smiles wide with his arms extended on either side.
“Your numbers are few compared to the army we have. Your pretty little dolls and your children will all suffer. Here endeth the lesson. Stay. The. Fuck. Away.” He backs away and walks through the door. His men lower their guns and follow, leaving like they were never here.
When Claudius looks at me, I already know what he’s going to do before he does it. So I’m not surprised when he lands a fist in my face.
One fist, and then another. Dante stops the third from coming.
I know I slipped up, so I’m not going to get into a fight with him that would be blow for blow until we killed each other.
“Alex, you fucker, what did you do?” Claudius bellows.
This must be about yesterday. Someone must have been watching me when I gave Cora the information.
“I’m being watched. Claudius, Cora’s in danger,” I answer, wiping away the blood trickling down the side of my lip.
“Fuck you. Alex, she’s a fed. She made her choice, and it wasn’t you. You killed your brother for me, and that day I knew I could trust you with my life.” Claudius glares at me, and I stare back, shaken and tense, conflicted. “We are a unit, and we have no secrets. What the fuck did you do?”
“I gave her information.”
“You used our resources to help the feds?” he flares, eyes blazing.
Double Edged Hearts Page 9
