by Hart, Gemma
I sighed in relief as I took a moment in the still car.
“Tomorrow. Original drop point. Same time.”
That’s all Agent Truman had said when I had caught him in his offices. I had had to do careful guesswork to figure out where this location was. I had debated called Marco to warn him but couldn’t risk it. With the FBI and Roy Desmond this chummy, who knew who was keeping tabs on Marco’s phone.
Instead I had to deduce that ‘original drop point’ meant the drop point from our mission—which would be the hangar. That had been referred to on occasion as the drop point.
Throwing up every prayer that I would be right, I had gotten into my car and had driven to the location. Four miles away from the abandoned hangar was a small town.
Actually, town was a generous word. It was really just a gas stop with a few eateries dotted around. The only draw of this gas stop was that it was a required point to pass to get to the hangar.
Parking my car carefully between a diner and the gas station, I had settled myself into stakeout mode.
I knew whatever meeting they were going to have, it would be at night. I just didn’t know when at night.
So I had sat in my car, waiting, hoping that I was right.
The relief I felt when I saw Roy Desmond’s Range Rover pass by me was indescribable. It was all the confirmation I needed that I was right.
I debated whether I should follow him right then but I decided to hold back. Marco wasn’t with him, which meant that another car would be coming. That’s when I could follow and hopefully rescue him.
It was a nerve-racking mission. This was harder than the original Desmond mission in many ways. Because this time around, I had nobody I could trust to be on my side. And being rogue from the Bureau meant I had no idea how many eyes they had on Marco and Roy.
Careful was an understatement in what I had to be.
But here I was now, at the hangar.
I had no idea what I would do but I had tried my best to prepare for the worst. Making sure I was ready, I carefully stepped out of the car. Hugging the shadows of the area, I reached the back entrance door.
Luckily, because of its aged and warped shape, it hadn’t shut all the way when Marco had last entered.
Wedging a finger in between the door and the jamb, I carefully eased it open, not wanting any squeaking to notify my arrival. Once inside, I stayed hunched down, stepping slowly and methodically down the hall.
I could hear the echoes of voices from within.
Having already been here once before, I knew I couldn’t just walk out into the main interior. They would immediately see me. And putting myself in danger like that could very well put Marco in greater danger. I paused halfway down the hall, breathing shallowly.
I looked around the space. It was quite dim since the only light bulb that still functioned gave off as much light as the dark side of the moon. I squinted trying to see if there was any other way to the main hangar.
Then my eye caught sight of something. Instead of the corrugated steel of the hallway, I saw something softer and floppier. Carefully scooching towards it, I poked it. It was limp cardboard.
With feather light touches, I reached towards the cardboard to see how much of it there was and what it was doing there.
Through gentle groping, I could tell that the cardboard was still attached together as a box. I reached towards the edges of the box and felt cool air and the sharp clean edge of steel.
Ah ha.
So there was some kind of hole in the hallway walls and someone had thought to cover it with some boxes. But how many boxes?
I remembered last time that I had noticed some discarded old boxes in the corner but I didn’t remember if there had been enough to cover a whole person.
But there was no other way. It was either this or go through the main entrance. And that was definitely not possible. Not if I wanted to keep everyone (or close to everyone) alive.
Carefully, I shifted the cardboard with my fingers. Luckily, it was empty and moved without making so much as a whisper. Looking through the sizeable hole, I saw the shadows of other boxes. They were stacked haphazardly together and looked like they would blow over with one single breath. But they were high enough for me to possibly crouch behind.
“I worried because I was pretty sure it hadn’t worked. The girl they had sent had a face, sure, but she couldn’t seduce a tree if she tried. Clumsy as fuck.”
Pushing the cardboard box away from the hole, I could now hear Roy’s gravelly voice clearly. Another wave of shaking adrenaline hit me. This was such a long shot to be here. I was literally in between two of the most dangerous men in America. What chance did I have to save one and take down the other?
But swallowing my nerves and forcing my knees to quit knocking, I carefully pushed the cardboard box to the side, revealing the whole fully. It was just big enough for me to crawl through.
With painstakingly slow movements, I crawled through the hole. Holding my breath, I inched my way forward till I was right up against the boxes. I kneeled to make sure I had complete balance.
Once in position, I searched for any openings that would give me a sight into what was happening.
To the right of me, I found a box with a torn corner. It allowed me to carefully peek through, giving me a slightly angled view of the hangar interior.
I saw Roy Desmond clearly in front of me. His jowly face and hooded eyes, just as threatening as ever, were focused on his son. Shifting carefully, I saw the profile of Marco to my left. I couldn’t see all of him from the angle that I was at but I saw enough of him to notice how taut his jaw was and his clenching fists.
“We can strike a happy deal,” Roy said, his weight leaning back on his heels. “You stay in this location. Within an hour, I can have several FBI agents here. Go quietly with them. Or don’t, actually. I don’t really care. Just as long as you end up being taken into custody.”
Oh god. He really intended to go through with this plan. I knew Agent Hadfield and Truman were probably on standby. Anger burst through my veins at the thought of those two disgusting cowards that called themselves agents. Because of their disloyalty to justice, Marco was now in danger.
“Then what?” Marco said, his low voice rumbling through the hangar.
“Then let the legal system take over,” Roy answered, giving a simple shrug. “My guess is, considering you’re the son of the Desmond Family, you’ll end up with several life sentences. It’d be hard to get out with any jail time even with the best of lawyers and you won’t be having any of those in your corner this time.”
I tried to scan carefully through my little hole. I hadn’t seen any guards posted outside and there didn’t seem to be any inside either. How was Roy planning to make Marco comply? He couldn’t possibly be thinking of physically overpowering him. Marco was built like a Spartan warrior. There was no way that was even a contest.
“And I’m supposed to just agree to this, am I?” Marco asked dryly, echoing my own thoughts.
“Well,” Roy started, pursing his lips, “I would think you would after I told you that if you don’t comply, I will send a text to someone in London. It’s already all written out.” He pulled out his cellphone, the screen bright with a short text. “And before you could even get your gun out, Jamie will have a bullet through his head.”
My heart stopped.
He couldn’t be serious. He was gambling with one son’s life in order to end another son’s?
This man was a monster. No, there was no accurate enough word to describe the kind of being that Roy Desmond was.
I could feel Roy’s words reverberating through the air. Marco’s entire body was rigid. His tall powerful frame was locked in internal combat as he tried to figure out how he could possibly win.
But there was no way. Nobody would consider Roy Desmond a bluffer. Marco knew that best. If he were to not comply, Jamie would be dead within minutes.
I took in a deep breath. This was why I had come.
Carefully, I reached towards the back of my waistband and slowly pulled out my .45.
As a trainee for the Bureau, we had all been issued firearms and given brief classes on gun safety and usage. As soon as those classes had ended and I had been rejected from field ops, I had carefully put away my gun in a corner of my house, sure that I would never need it again.
Pulling the gun forward, I made sure that it was cocked. I had cocked it out by the car, afraid the tiny noise of the hammer would echo within the cavernous hangar.
With my heart pounding in my throat, I carefully shifted my body so I could aim through the tiny hole. I knew this was a long shot. At best, I could wound him to incapacitate him momentarily. Then hopefully by then, Marco will have his gun out, ready to shoot.
Marco sighed. He knew he was beat. This was the end for him.
Not if I had anything to say about it.
I took a deep breath. I slowly exhaled. I had one chance. If I missed him or barely wing him, Marco and I were both dead.
You can do it, Margot. Just breathe and squeeze.
And after another breath, I pulled the trigger.
“Gahh!...the fuck—” Roy cried as he was knocked onto his back. The whole hangar shook with the weight of his fall. Almost immediately a dark black pool of blood began haloing around him.
I immediately stood up, knocking over the boxes. By the time I was up, Marco had pulled out his gun and was pointing it straight at me.
“What the hell are you doing here!” he cried, his eyes wide with surprise.
My body shook from head to toe from everything that had just happened in the last minute. I felt like some kind of crazed energy had taken over me and I couldn’t stop shaking.
Marco lowered his gun and I stepped towards him. But just before I reached him, my knees gave out and I fell into his arms. Strong, steely arms easily braced me and held me against his hard chest.
“What are you doing here?” he asked again, this time his mouth against my temple, fiercely kissing me.
I could tell he was just as shaken by the whole ordeal as I was. After all, he had been just a breath away from possibly losing his brother or his entire life.
“I…” I started, my lips feeling numb. “I came to help. I found about t-the FBI deal. It was a s-setup.” My teeth were chattering to the point of pain. It was shock. I knew it was shock but knowing it didn’t help it stop any faster.
Marco tipped my chin up and took my lips roughly. “You are an idiot,” he breathed against my lips. “A goddamn idiot.” But before I could respond, he took my lips again, crushing me. His powerful tongue forced his way into my mouth, tasting me, owning me.
In the foggy haze of shock and love and arousal, I heard a tiny click echo through the air.
And before I could take another breath, Marco threw me to the side, stepped in front of me and fired three shots with frightening accuracy.
The gun flopped from Roy’s dead hand. I looked over my shoulder and saw him now crumpled on his side. It looked like my bullet had hit him near his collarbone. His entire shirtfront was soaked maroon.
It hadn’t been enough to take him out though. I’m sure a lot of that fat helped protect him as well. He had reached for his gun but Marco had been faster. Two shots to the chest and one to the head, perfectly shot between his eyes.
Lowering his gun slowly, Marco paused, waiting to make sure that was the end of Roy Desmond. I was sure no one could survive a bullet directly to the head like that.
After a few seconds, Marco quickly walked forward. With dispassionate ease, he flipped open Roy’s blood soaked jacket and reached into his pant pocket. He pulled out the cell phone that he had taunted him with. Throwing it on the ground, Marco stepped on it, crushing it instantly.
Too much in a daze and feeling like I was in a dream, I loosely felt Marco’s arms around me as he helped me to my feet and out towards his car. He opened my door and settled me into my seat before climbing into his own.
Just as he started the car and began driving away, the reality of the situation hit me.
“Where are we going?” I asked, looking over at him. His hand gripped the wheel confidently and he drove with a purpose.
He looked over at me, those black eyes dark with love and passion.
“I owe my life to you,” he said.
How many countless times had he saved me before? “Consider a debt repaid,” I said shyly, some feeling returning to my lips.
Marco lips curled into a smile that made my entire body warm up. The shaking slowly eased.
“Where are we going?” I asked again. Where could we go? We had just killed the head of the Desmond Family. The FBI would know who did it. We would be hunted by both sides.
Marco reached out and wrapped his hand around my own smaller and colder one.
“Halle,” he said, “I have a place. I have a plan. We’re going far away and we’ll probably never come back here.” He paused before looking over at me. “Will you come with me?”
My heart beat with the joy of love and relief. “Always,” I said softly. “Always and forever.”
Chapter Twenty Seven
FBI Los Angeles Headquarters
Captain Martin Hamish threw down the file on his desk in disgust. From under his bushy blonde brows, he glared at the two agents who sat sheepishly in front of him.
“Well, congratulations, boys,” he said sarcastically in a loud, broad Boston accent. “You done fucked it up real good this time!”
Agent Hadfield and Agent Truman winced at their Captain’s loud reprimand.
“To think how you two came at me with a plan that was ‘planned out to the minute’ and ‘worth the gamble for the gain,’” Captain Hamish said, his voice dripping with disparagement. “You two dimwits aren’t even worth half an agent!”
Though the Captain wasn’t a particularly tall man, he seemed gargantuan as he stood behind his desk staring down his two agents.
“We did get the Juarez Family,” Agent Truman offered. “And the publicity of Roy Desmond’s death has already brought in great support to the FBI—”
“Oh? Has it?” Captain Hamish interrupted. “Because I think all that warm and fuzzy support lasted all of ten minutes in the news cycle once they realized that Roy Desmond’s death was a freakish and isolated incident that also coincided with the only heir apparent to the Desmond Mafia going missing!” He banged his fist hard on the table, making nearly everything on it shake and rattle.
“I just finished watching a piece on speculation of how the Desmond Family will fracture and what that will mean for the safety of America,” Captain Hamish said, his voice lowering into a more ominous tone. “They were right in saying that the fracturing of such a large empire could become a disastrous mess as thugs fight for territory and space and create smaller networks and clans. To quote the lovely reporter, ‘This could possibly be the birth of a new crime wave.’”
The Captain’s face turned red as he shouted, “Now tell me again how there’s great fucking support for the FBI!”
Agent Truman winced and Agent Hadfield lowered his head.
“This has got to be one of the biggest fuck ups that has happened under my command,” Captain Hamish said, almost to himself. He shook his head, clearly overwhelmed by the situation. “How could you have let it fall apart so badly?”
“Sir, we hadn’t anticipated Roy Desmond’s killing,” Agent Hadfield argued. “Especially not by Marco Desmond, who we suspect did it.”
“Of course no one expected it!” Captain Hamish exploded. “Who would’ve expected Roy and Marco Desmond to be dueling out in the middle of the goddamn California desert?”
Agent Truman coughed to cover up his partner’s blunder. Agent Hadfield turned away, eyes darting nervously around. It was difficult not to keep blurting out ridiculous statements when they were so nervous.
“So Marco Desmond is now missing. And it looks like it’s now been over,” Captain Hamish checked a file, “five days
. So I’m going to say that that man is as good as gone from this country and our jurisdiction now.”
Captain Hamish flipped through the file’s innards. He pointed a name. “And this agent you had recruited for the mission, Agent Halle Margot. Apparently she’s gone missing as well.”
He raised a brow at the two men in front of him.
“We, uh,” Agent Truman coughed. “We think that she is probably with Desmond.”
“Oh you think? Of course she’s with Desmond, you fucktard,” Captain Hamish said almost with no rancor. He seemed too exhausted to yell anymore at his incompetent agents. He was being swamped left and right from calls from all the way up to the federal government and all the way down to trashy gossip news sites.
