“Al’s back.”
“Is that good or bad?”
“He seemed preoccupied. Barely acknowledged my presence. I believe I’ll drive up to Dallas and visit with my mother. I may put the kiddos in school there. This isn’t a marriage, Carina. I don’t know what it is anymore. All I know is the children and I shouldn’t be treated like nonentities.”
“Are you going to tell him why you’re going?”
“No. I doubt he’ll know we’re gone for a few days. He got home late last night and was gone by seven this morning. Said he didn’t know when he’d be home.”
“Did you hire an investigator?”
“No. I figured what’s the point? It doesn’t really matter what he does with his time. It’s obvious he doesn’t want to spend it with me.”
“Oh, Marisa, I’m so sorry all this is happening.”
“Yeah, me, too. You may be losing a sister, but you’ll never lose your friend.”
“Thank goodness. Keep in touch, okay?”
“Absolutely. Let me give you my mother’s phone number and you already have my cell phone. Who knows how long I’ll have that?”
“Be sure to see a lawyer as soon as you get up there.”
“I will. First thing Monday I’ll make an appointment with one. And—Carina, let’s don’t tell your folks just yet.”
“Wouldn’t dream of it. This is your business. I never discuss it.”
Marisa sounded choked up when she said, “Thank you. Take care now,” and hung up.
Carina loved her brother dearly but realized as she got older that neither he nor Benito deserved the pedestals she’d placed them on when she was a child. What she wanted to do was to take a bat to Alfredo and knock some sense into him. He loved his kids. She knew that. And he truly loved Marisa…or he had at one time.
She was glad that her affair with Jude was clearly defined. She would always have her music and fond memories without getting her heart broken.
“Friday night at the Crazy Eights once again,” Carina said when the music greeted them as they pulled into the parking lot. “I forgot my earplugs!”
He patted his pocket. “I didn’t.” They both grinned at each other.
Carina had gone shopping that afternoon and wore what looked like the uniform of the rest of the patrons—tight jeans and Western-style shirt—but she balked at wearing boots. The shoes she’d chosen were low-heeled and comfortable.
There were no available tables. Jude found an empty spot against the wall and held Carina in front of him, his arms around her waist. After several minutes of watching for a table, Jude asked, “Do you want to dance?” in her ear.
She nodded. “Might as well.”
They danced several dances before they went to the bar for something to drink. Tonight Carina chose a popular cola drink, which amused him.
“And here I thought I was going to have the pleasure of pouring you into bed again,” he said, toasting her with his beer.
“Not a chance. I want to be wide awake and fully aware any time I get you into my bedroom.”
He almost sprayed beer. Instead, he choked, coughed and tried to laugh all at the same time. “I never know what you’re going to say next.”
“Good. Keeps you off balance. I like that in a man.”
By midnight they were ready to go. Jude spent hours that night tenderly loving her, bringing her to the brink of satisfaction before starting over. When he finally moved to claim her, she felt liberated from reality. She soared in a new universe of sensual pleasure that she never wanted to end.
He waited for her to climax and then rolled over so that she was on top of him while he was still inside her. He sat her up, pulling her knees next to his sides and let her set the pace.
She felt such a sense of power and control as she moved seductively against him. When he could no longer stand her slow and teasing pace, he put his hands on her hips and moved her faster against him, his hips meeting hers in rapid strokes until they went over the edge together, floating in the sensual haze of satisfaction.
When Jude got up a few hours later, she roused and asked, “Why don’t you stay the night?”
“Some other time, I promise,” he said, reaching for his pants. “I’d like to see you tonight, if it’s all right. However, I’ll be late getting here. So if you’d rather forget about it, I understand.”
“No, that’s all right. I’d like you to come. So. You have another date earlier in the evening.”
He pulled his shirt over his head before answering. “No. It’s nothing like that. I have some business that needs to be completed. I’ll tell you all about it when I get back here.” He leaned over and gave her a long, tender and very loving kiss. When he straightened, he said, “Get some rest.”
He walked out of the room without looking back.
Ten
The next day, each agent took his or her turn keeping watch over the Patterson warehouse. Hal had been inside enough that he could draw a map of the place and where inventory sat.
They needed to get inside not only before the shipment arrived but before the brothers arrived.
The four of them sat in a rented van and watched as workers left when their shift ended. A half hour later, the two brothers came outside and went to their cars.
“What do you think?” Hal asked. “According to my count, all the hired help has left.”
“If you’re wrong, we blow the bust,” John reminded him.
“Hell, I know that!”
Ruth said calmly, “We’re all on edge, guys. We know just how important this is. Don’t take your nerves out on everybody else, okay?”
“What’s the deal with Davies and Sullivan?” Jude asked.
John answered. “I alerted Sam that we’ve got the proof they accepted bribes. He has agents from the Virginia office standing by to make certain they don’t skip out of town. He understands that we want in on the arrest.”
“Hal,” Jude said. “You know the interior of the building best. Check it out. If it’s clear, signal. If you run into anybody, give them your homeless story and get the hell out of there.”
Hal pulled on the coveralls that hid his regular clothes. They were stained and dirty. He’d let his hair grow out a little these last several weeks and he hadn’t shaved in a couple of days. He was good at what he did and Jude had no doubt he could protect himself in the event he discovered someone was still inside the warehouse.
Twenty minutes later, Hal signaled an all clear. The rest of them slipped inside the warehouse and found places to hide until the truck arrived. It was going to be a long night. Waiting was always the worst when adrenaline kept pumping. Agents had to deal with the fear factor on a regular basis and each had his or her way of doing so.
Jude sat with his back against a wall. He was blocked from view on three sides and yet he had a clear view of the door to the loading dock. He blanked out of his mind everything but the job he had to do. The assignment could end tonight…successfully if the cocaine was actually delivered and unsuccessfully if there was nothing there and they were spotted.
He leaned his head against the wall, closed his eyes and waited.
“Benito! I wasn’t expecting to see you here tonight,” Al said, his voice echoing in the vast warehouse later that night. “I figured you’d be home sound asleep.”
Jude and the other three agents watched and listened from the deep shadows.
“Yeah, I went to bed, but couldn’t sleep. I figured I’d come down and wait with you.”
Al looked at his watch. “The driver reported in once he cleared the border. If he didn’t have any problems, he should be arriving at any time.”
Jude felt his gut tighten when the rumbling of a semi announced that the merchandise had arrived.
Showtime.
He watched the trailer being unloaded. Hal had described the furniture in detail. He was a hell of an agent and deserved a promotion. Al paid the driver and waved him off before he lowered the wide door to the do
ck.
Without a word, the brothers carefully uncrated and unpacked each piece of furniture, pulling bags of cocaine from several of them. They worked steadily until they’d filled a good-size trash bag with dope. Jude waited until Al picked up the bag, ready to leave, before he stepped out of his hiding place with his hands behind him.
“How’s it going, guys?” he asked. “No rest for the wicked, eh? Or is it no rest for the weary?”
Ben stared at him as though seeing a ghost. Al spun around and said, “What the hell are you doing here? And where were you?”
Jude nodded to where he’d been hidden without taking his eyes off Al. “Same thing you are, I’d imagine.” He continued to walk toward Al while speaking. When he stopped, he dropped his arms, holding his pistol in one hand, his ID and badge out for Al to inspect.
“NSA! What’s going on here?”
Ben looked over Al’s shoulder at the ID and then at Jude. “You’re a government agent?” he asked, sounding shocked. “Boy, they must be scraping the bottom of the barrel if they hired you.”
Jude signaled the others who stepped into the light and surrounded the men. Ruth began to tell them their rights.
“Maybe you’ll be a little more impressed with these agents,” he said, and turned away. “Let’s get them in the van and down to federal headquarters. Make certain that under no circumstances are they to leave. We’ll ask the judge on Monday not to offer bond. They’re definite flight risks.”
Hal and Ruth handcuffed and leg-shackled the brothers while John moved the van to the exit door. The four agents helped the Pattersons to navigate the steps from the office door without falling.
Once inside the van, Hal contacted the two men watching Davies and Sullivan. He reported a successful bust and told them that he, Ruth and John would be there within the hour.
They took the Pattersons to the federal building and booked them. Since no one in the local area had been notified of the impending raid, there were several shocked expressions when the Patterson brothers showed up in custody.
As soon as his part was done, Jude went outside where he’d left his car earlier and drove to Carina’s. It was now two o’clock in the morning.
Carina roused slowly to the sound of repeated knocking. She’d fallen asleep on the couch waiting for Jude. She jumped up and ran to the door. “Jude?”
“Yeah. It’s me.”
She glanced at the time and opened the door. “I didn’t expect you to be this la—” She stopped talking as soon as she saw him.
He wore a suit with the collar open and he looked grim. “What’s wrong? What happened?” she asked as he stepped inside.
“Would you mind making some coffee? I’ll explain everything to you.”
She turned away and made coffee. When she turned back he sat across the kitchen bar from her. He’d removed his coat. He wore a shoulder holster.
“Wha—? Why are you—?”
He flipped open a small wallet and slid it in front of her. She picked it up and studied the badge and ID card. “You work for the National Security Agency?” she asked in wonder.
He nodded. “This is the first time that I could tell you.”
“Because you’ve been working on a case?”
“That’s right. We finished our part of it tonight.”
She blinked in confusion. “Who are we?”
“Three other agents I’ve been working with.”
“Oh.” She turned away and poured them both coffee, carried the cups around the bar and sat next to him. “Wow. This is really a shock. I don’t know what to say.”
“You don’t have to say anything. I’d just appreciate it if you’d hear me out.”
“Certainly. I mean, if you were working on a big case you probably weren’t allowed to talk about it.”
He nodded. “Exactly.”
She smiled. “But now that it’s over you can tell me. Thank you for being so up-front with me.” She wondered why he looked grimmer now that he’d told her the truth.
“At the moment I’m not working for the NSA. I was loaned to the Drug Enforcement Administration…the DEA.” He drank some coffee. “There’s been a heavy flow of cocaine coming up from Mexico to San Antonio for distribution for some time now. It had to be stopped.”
“It’s truly evil, I know,” she replied. “The papers are full of stories about the number of people addicted to drugs. And the children! What kind of evil person would sell to grade-school children and teenagers?”
“Greed is a powerful motive, sometimes. It’s hard to predict who will fall prey to the need for money. One of the agents working on this case last year was killed. We think it’s because he found out how the stuff was getting into the country and another agent who’d been bribed killed him or set him up to be killed. That’s why I was brought in. My training has been in covert operations, although I haven’t done that kind of work for a while. The DEA office in D.C. discovered that I’m a native Texan and they decided to use me because no one in the local DEA office would know I was a government agent.”
“That makes sense.” She leaned over and kissed him. “But it’s over now. Does this mean you’ll actually stay in bed this time instead of rushing away?” she teased. She stroked the hand that held his cup. “This must have been very stressful for you.” She paused, and said, “So you do have a job and some ambition. Not that it mattered to me but Al harped on your playboy image. He’s really going to be surprised.”
He was, believe me. Out loud, Jude said, “There’s something else you need to know.”
“Okay, and then I want to go to bed. It’s the middle of the night, you know. We can discuss all of this tomorrow.” She smiled. “So you really are Superman beneath your Clark Kent exterior. How exciting.”
He flinched as though she had slapped him.
“Your fiancé didn’t have anyone with him when he was forced off the road and killed.”
That was the last thing she would have guessed he had to tell her. Danny was alone? Then why would her brothers tell her— Wait a minute. “You mean someone else caused the accident?”
“Yeah. I think we’ll know who it was in the coming weeks.”
“Oh, no! Are you saying that Danny was part of a smuggling operation? I can’t believe that he would— But then, how do you know who will succumb to the temptation?”
“He wasn’t a part of the smuggling. He found out who was and it got him killed.”
Tears filled her eyes. “Instead of cheating on me he was trying to do the right thing.”
“That’s what we think, yes. At least, the smugglers didn’t want to take any chances he’d talk.”
“Do you know who was behind all this?”
“Yes.” He turned and took her hand. She felt cold and her hand trembled and he knew that hearing about Dan had been a tremendous shock to her. “Here, you’re cold. Let’s get you into bed.”
“Great. Now you want to go to bed after dropping that little bombshell on me.” She tried to laugh but her voice shook too much.
He led her into the bedroom and searched her closet until he found a fleece-lined robe stuck in the far back. He pulled it out and put it around her.
“Thanks,” she said through chattering teeth. “I don’t know what’s the matter with me.”
“You’ve gone into shock and I’m so sorry to have caused it. I thought you needed to know the truth.”
“Oh. Well. You couldn’t know.” She pulled him toward the bed and sat down. He sat and put his arms around her.
“Let me make you some hot tea.”
“No, that’s okay. You holding me is all that I need at the moment.” She laid her head on his chest. He squeezed his eyes shut and tried to swallow around the large lump that had formed in his throat.
She sighed after a while and sat up. “Thank you for telling me about Danny. You could have let me continue to believe that he’d been cheating on me, but you didn’t. I’m sorry I didn’t handle the news better.”
&
nbsp; “Don’t apologize. None of this is your fault.”
“I don’t understand why my brothers would make up lies about him, though. I’m going over to Al’s in the morning and demand an answer.”
“You don’t need to, Carina. I can tell you. Your brothers were arrested and taken into custody tonight. They were caught with a shipment of cocaine that arrived from Mexico. The evidence is irrefutable.”
She stared at him blankly. “My brothers? You arrested my brothers?”
He nodded.
She straightened, then stood. “For smuggling? You’ve got to be kidding. If this is some kind of a joke I don’t find it funny! Al and Ben would never— They couldn’t be— I mean, this is unbelievable.” She sat down again like a marionette whose strings had been cut. Slowly she turned her head and looked at him. “You saw them with it?”
He nodded.
“Did you know what they were doing when you came here?”
“We were fairly certain, but without evidence we couldn’t stop them.”
“So you came to San Antonio to get evidence. You said that earlier. Your purpose for living here was to catch my brothers smuggling.”
She spoke calmly. Too calmly. He had known she’d take this news hard, but he’d wanted to be the one to tell her exactly what had happened, rather than for her to hear some form of the story from someone else or read about the arrest in the local paper.
“As I mentioned, several of us have been working on this assignment.”
Her color had returned for a while, but now her skin looked paper-white. Her stark gaze convicted him.” That’s why you’ve been seeing me, isn’t it? You’ve been gathering evidence against my family while pretending to be interested in me.”
“I didn’t have to pretend interest, Carina. You fascinated me from the moment I met you. Regardless of my assignment, I would have wanted to get to know you better.”
“Ah. Wanted to. But you wouldn’t have asked me out if my name hadn’t been Patterson.”
“I’m not going to lie to you, Carina.”
“Really? That would certainly be different.” She stood. “I think you need to leave, unless you have another confession to make. If that’s the case, tell me and go.” She looked at her watch. “I need to go to my parents so I’ll be there when they wake up. I need to prepare them as well as I can.” Her face crumpled for a moment. She bit her bottom lip until she got some control over her emotions. “Sara’s pregnant. What’s this going to do to her and Beth? And Marisa?” A tear escaped. “She and the children left for Dallas.”
Double Identity Page 10
