“Me?” He gave a faint laugh and raised a brow. “Just how in the hell are you including me in your grand scheme? Better yet, what makes you think that I want to play a part in it?”
“Don’t play coy, country boy. We both know that you’re already the major player in this game. But, if it’s an explanation that you’re after, so be it.” She waltzed away from the window. “Everything’s fairly easy to explain. While I don’t know what information you have, I do know that you have something, and in the coming days, it will come to light.” When she stopped before him, she planted both hands against his chest. “Take that something and screw both of the son-of-a-bitches over. When they’re buried one hundred feet under, literally, figuratively, and lawfully, everything will conveniently fall in my lap, and I’ll be in charge of everything. Unlike this tragic and pathetic show tonight, I plan on a more dazzling display. I’m going to run this shit like a real boss.”
“Hypothetically speaking, if I did have something, why are you so certain that your family’s implicated?”
She laughed brazenly. “I’m a mafia princess. In the darkness and the light, there’s no secret as to the inside workings and details of my father’s empire. My loving family believes that they’re pacifying me with fast cars, fancy clothes, and jewelry.” An envious expression lined her face. “I want more and plan on getting it. But, at this point and time, you realize that I’m the small fish in the pond. I’m hardly any value to you. It’s them that you want rather than me.” Slowly, she traced a lazy pattern along his bare chest. “What a pity that we’ll be bitter enemies one day. Because I really do love a challenge, not to mention a great fuck. But, as they say, sex isn’t everything.” Then, her striking features hardened as she pivoted away from him. Then, she walked back to the window and peered out. “Take the servant’s elevator like you did earlier. Go to the ground floor and go out through the kitchen. No one will even notice you. The security team is breathing down my father’s ass and holding his dick so tight that they don’t have time to watch everything.” She smiled coyly. “Besides that, I have a secret pact with a few of them. What can I say? I love living dangerously on the edge and screwing whoever I want right under their noses. It gives me a thrill like no other. But, I have to play it smart, mind you. Whenever I want to have my little sexual dalliances and escapades like tonight, they know when to make themselves scarce. Better yet, I pay them more than enough to keep their mouths sealed shut.” She shrugged before falling into thought again. “So, you’re in the clear if you take my suggested route. Don’t be a fool or wise ass and try something different. You’ll regret it.”
His brow rose higher.
In his world, the entire sphere was shrouded with regrets.
Mentally, he shrugged away the thought.
“Hope you don’t mind. But, I’m going to hang onto your little play toy. Since my prints are on it, that’ll pose more than a few problems. Don’t take it personally. But, I’m still finding it difficult to trust what you’re saying. I suppose, however, that I have little choice but to play the game by your rules now,” he muttered tightly, sliding the gun into his waistband. Then, he made way for the door before turning towards her again. Still, he only got a view of her luscious backside. “Saying thanks hardly seems the appropriate thing to say.”
“Don’t thank me until you’re long gone from here, country boy. Now’s your chance---it seems that everyone’s venturing toward the garden area.” Holding the curtain slightly open, she continued to peer outside. “Besides, this is more about me and less about saving your ass. Its tit for tat, shall we say? I get what I want. You get what you want. And what I want is for you to burn Daddy and my husband real good. Send them straight to hell.” She gave a catty laugh that was riddled with a deadly warning. “Someday, we’ll meet up again on enemy lines. But, let me warn you now. It’ll be all kinds of ugly when you try to double cross me, bitch. Now, get out of here before I change my mind.”
His own smile was lethal. “See you on the other side.”
A few minutes later, the minutes were fraught with tension as the elevator descended. As it reached the ground floor, he inhaled a collective breath. When the doors opened to the kitchen, he was admitted to further chaos. Waiters, chefs, caterers, and various kitchen staff raced around the large area, all in an attempt to please the raging crowd outside. Luckily, no one paid heed as he scurried past them. As he stepped outside, he couldn’t stifle the blatant relief.
He passed a careful glance alongside the house.
Fortunately, he was alone.
The dark woods were just ahead.
With lightning fast speed, he broke away from the house.
A moment later, the darkness and freedom embraced him.
Chapter 1
Four months later…
A sea of danger capsizes the world on a constant basis.
In a direct act of rebuttal, equilibrium is sought to bring clarity within the chaotic imbalance. But, criminality is a formidable enemy within the fragile system of living.
Once it besieges life, it never fully relinquishes its hold.
That much was blatantly obvious, Isabella Spencer deduced, staying silent, and watched her fellow agent. For the past two hours, Agent Rowell had paced back and forth, beating a tireless path across the floor, and with his every step, the gruesome details seemed to become viler. Yet, while his every word triggered her disgust, she managed to keep her features impassive.
All throughout the perilous undercover operation, hadn’t keeping a poker face been the greatest form of protection? Wasn’t it the only barrier against the horrors that breathed and festered like a sore?
“Vitali’s a mastermind. I have to give that to the bastard, at least. In six months alone, he has managed to expand his operation.” The bitterness seeped in Rowell’s tone as he hurled the thick manila envelope onto the table. As the light swayed overhead in the dimly lit room, it slanted across his pale features. “Riverside has gone to shit, and it’s become a stinking hellhole like all of the other cities. It now bears the stain of his irreparable legacy of corruption---illegal drugs, prostitution, human trafficking, money laundering…Hell, you know the rest.”
She didn’t flinch.
Her gaze stayed steady.
Of course, she did.
For a painstaking year and a half, she’d literally lived, breathed, and conned her way through the dark sordid world. With each passing day, she’d fallen prey to the danger and ugliness that marred it. At some point, reality and fiction had blurred since she’d been in so deep.
It’d nearly done her in.
She slid a fast glance over him.
From the looks of things, Rowell was threatened with the same damning fate.
The worried, creased lines in his face indicated it.
But, unsurprisingly, defeat wasn’t a part of the topnotch FBI agent’s repertoire.
Rowell was the kind of agent that you’d see betrayed on a nighttime crime drama. He had an edgy, nostalgic signature 1960’s look that was befitting of agents during those times. Topping 6’1”, medium build, at sixty-one years of age, he was lithe and well-fit. His hair line receded at the edges and a thin mustache lined his upper lip. In fine patches, the light freckles dusted his cheeks and matched his light brown hair.
Yet, it wasn’t the physical features that screamed agent.
Rather, it was his stead fast character.
Tough, edgy, astute, and driven towards justice…
The very attributes that made him admirable and valuable to everyone at the agency, including her…Without a doubt, he was the agency’s best.
She started when he stopped the incessant pacing.
On cue, her gaze collided with his.
As he returned her stare, a pensive look seized his features.
For the first time since summoning her to the seedy run-down motel in west Clanton, just short of the brink of midnight, Rowell showed the first hints of reservation.
Watching him, she grew uneasy.
Oh, shit.
He was mulling over something heavy.
Generally, the ‘heavy’ always involved her.
She stiffened in the chair. “Rowell---”
“Listen to me. We can’t keep pussy-footing around with Vitali. He has to be stopped,” he quipped tightly, bracing his hands against the rickety table, and the action caused it to wobble on its uneven leggings. Then, he leveled his piercing blue stare on her. “The warning shot has been fired, and if we’re not careful enough, we’ll lose the race. We’re running out of time. This is our last chance at nailing Vitali to the wall. There’s only one person who can do it---you.” He stalled for a brief moment, and then tightened his jaw. “We’re bringing you back in.”
The words were a trigger point.
They hit her upon impact.
In a quick flash, the anger flared to life inside of her.
She fought for control.
Warring against the will to give into his demands…
Under the dim light, her honey brown skin was flushed, and her features showed a perfect palette of her African-American heritage. Her shiny black tresses were pulled back in a tight ponytail, and she felt every bit of the tension at her temples. The white crew-neck t-shirt and dark gray joggers were a perfect barrier against the coolness in the room. But, the coldness seeped past through into her heart, and for the longest time, the awful feeling had lingered inside of it. Stiffening further, she returned his stare, and her dark brown eyes held straight defiance. “No.”
Rowell pounded an angry fist against the table. “Damn it, Spencer!”
“You drag me out here in the middle of the night for this?” She leaned forward in the chair, just as her anger kicked into high-drive. “We had an understanding---at least I believed that we did. When I walked away, I thought that I made myself perfectly clear. I’m no longer a part of this Vitali case. I’m off the grid---”
“You don’t get to make that call. I do. Don’t think for one minute that any of this is just about you! Or have you lost sight of that fact?” Rowell snapped unkindly, and the veins seemed to bulge at his temples. “This thing with Vitali involves all of the innocent victims that he’s destroyed at his hands.” Releasing a sound of disgust, he paced a few feet away from the table before facing her again. Again, his face was flushed red with frustration. “What do you need---some cold, hard facts to stimulate that dead conscience of yours?”
“Don’t you dare accuse me of not caring!” The chair nearly toppled over as she jumped up from it. “It’s the very reason why I walked away from this---”
“Tabitha Gates, sixteen years old,” Rowell interrupted midstream and eyed her with his steely gaze. “She was found dead in a ditch on the western edge of the city. She’d been drugged, beaten, and left to die. Word is some john had gotten all the pleasure that he wanted from her. He discarded her like she was useless trash.” As he paused, there was no denying the raw emotion in his hard tone. Though the agent was as tough as nails, he was damned good at his job because he cared. He leveled his gaze with hers again. “She didn’t deserve to die. She was somebody’s daughter---she was loved by someone. Where’s her justice?”
Stunned, she stayed quiet at the haunting truth.
But, still, deep within, she felt the stirrings of pain.
The loss of so many innocent lives…
Wasn’t that the very reason why she’d taken a hiatus?
Because of the fact that she could no longer pretend to be numb or stay emotionally detached from those that she’d sworn to protect…
Rowell’s words soon cut through her silent reverie.
“How’s that for facts? Don’t worry, the details get more gruesome, sweetheart,” Rowell said harshly and braced his white-knuckled hands against the table again. “Becky Sage, eighteen year old college freshman---found dead with her throat slit in a dark alley on 4th and Main. She was bleeding blood like red rain. Her story? She saw and knew too much. As a result, she became just another casualty in Vitali’s illicit dally against society.” He stopped again and watched her closely, allowing the horrible truths to seep in. “Enough people have suffered. I know that. You know that.”
Overcome with emotion, she turned away from him blindingly.
Slowly, she journeyed to the window before staring out.
The marquee sign flashed a steady bright red against the dark backdrop. Apart from a few patrons, the rundown motel was practically deserted and resembled a ghost town, especially since only three vehicles filled the small parking area.
But, here…
At this very place…
How many days and nights had they scoured over files and evidence, desperate to find anything incriminating to bring down the notorious mob kingpin?
She squeezed her eyes shut.
Too many…
Nothing seemed to stick or the information ended up being a dead end.
But, more than that…
She was no longer immune to the pain when innocent lives were taken.
This case with Vitali, it’d become personal.
She’d gotten in too deep.
Someone close to her had---
The pain stabbed her like a knife.
Like it had forever, the horrible truth breathed in her conscience.
The horrible truth…
It was like a roaring freight train when it rode in.
There was no stopping it on her mind’s track.
Her lips trembled.
It hurt too bad to breathe.
Against her volition, the bitter tears slipped past her closed lids.
Somewhere, within the dark cresses of her mind, she heard a child’s laughter. As much as she fought to block the sound out, she failed to.
“Gage was supposed to go to school that morning,” she murmured quietly, swallowing past the huge lump in her throat, and stared out into the night. “He was going on a field trip with the rest of his class the next day---the museum, I believe.” Her brief smile was nostalgic and sad. “He told me that I was the closest thing that he had to a mom, and he wanted me to chaperone.” She closed her eyes against the pain. “Oh, Gage---you sweet boy…the best seven-year old kid ever born into the world…I destroyed you. I should’ve never become involved in your life.” A deafening silence came, and her lips trembled so badly that speech was nearly impossible. “After everything was over with Vitali, I was going to adopt Gage.” A sad smile lifted her lips. “Can you believe it---me of all people envisioning a house, the white picket fence, and eventually, a good man?” She shook her head to clear the disturbing thoughts. “The idea was totally crazy in itself. We both know that I’m hardly suitable---”
“And you would’ve been a wonderful mother---”
“Would’ve is the operative word, isn’t it?” She couldn’t dispel the hostility or bitterness in her voice. “It was crazy of me to even think that I could live a normal life or give Gage what he needed.” The hot tears burned her eyes. “You know what, Rowell? I should’ve just left him alone. As horrible as his situation was at the homeless shelter, at least he was alive.” A distraught sound belted past her chest. “If only I’d stayed away from him---”
“The blame-game---don’t do that to yourself. You did everything in your power to do things right and play by the book---”
“I was supposed to protect him,” she whispered against the haunting truth of her failure. The bright tears shimmered in her eyes as she turned and faced him. Again, the dead hollow feeling weighted her chest. “I was the one thing that he believed in. Truth is, I was a lie, and I betrayed that little boy in the worst way possible.”
“You loved him---you still do.” Though he tried to sound detached, he couldn’t disguise his blatant pity. “What happened with him, it’s not your fault---”
“Why isn’t it my fault?” The hollow and empty feeling deepened in her chest. “It wasn’t fair that I couldn’t be me all the way. The pretense and lies kep
t me from being my true self, and in a sense, I robbed him. He just wanted someone to love him. I did love him. Anyone would’ve been blessed to call him son.” A hot tear slipped free. “That day, he was at the club looking for me, thinking that I was going to be there. I wasn’t. Because of that, he’s dead.”
“I don’t want you to think for one minute that I’m minimizing your pain or his death. But, the truth is this, Isabella. There will be another dead Gage, another, and another if Vitali isn’t stopped.” He blew a hard breath. “Listen to me. If you go back in, it will be your chance to vindicate Gage’s death. Your fight will bring justice for him and all of those that have died before him and those that will perish after him. You have the power to do that.”
A terse silence followed.
“Before Vitali, I never contemplated the thought of murdering someone in cold blood. But, after what happened with Gage---” She swallowed hard to get the other words out. “I wanted Vitali to die.”
“Considering the circumstances, your reaction is understandable.”
Once more, she loathed the pity in his voice.
But, the words were forceful enough that she could continue.
In a distracted haze, as she stared out into the night, she voiced the next words. “That same night, I went to Vitali’s compound. Taking him out was the only thing that mattered. I had every intention of killing him.” The nausea rose in her throat at the dark and violent memory. “Being so close to him, I knew his habits and sick fixations. Naturally, he was out on a drunken binge with his cronies. At exactly midnight, I hid within the shadow of the woods and waited for him to return home.”
The silence clung to her embittered words.
Rise of the Titan Page 2
