“I’m here, Davis,” I tell him. I can hear the frustration in my voice.
“Why? What are you doing?”
“Saving some other woman’s life. Why the hell did you leave me out of this, Davis? Were you just going to let Lazinski sell someone in my place?” I know I’m shouting, but I’m angry.
There’s a hesitation. I’ve shocked him.
He sighs loudly. “Britney, don’t do this. Let us handle it.”
“You sound like a parrot this morning. All of you. I’m not an actual child, Davis. I’m a grown woman. I can’t believe you kept me in the dark on what was happening.”
“You heard me on the phone this morning, didn’t you?”
“Yes.” I owe him nothing else. He can be mad at me for eavesdropping later. If I live through this and feel like I’m not too angry to face him again, he can spank my ass all night long, but I’m not going to sit back and watch cartoons while someone else is sold in my place.
“Britney…” His voice is calmer. He’s trying to reason with me. “Let Gordon take you somewhere safe. Several people are working on this. We’re going to do everything in our power to catch Lazinski in the act and arrest everyone involved, but we can’t do our jobs if we have to worry about you too.”
“You’re going to have to find a way, Davis. Because I’m in this too. Gordon is taking me to Lazinski. He’ll tell him he found me. Your men can follow us or whatever you had planned.”
“No. Britney. Absolutely not. You’re not going within a mile of that fucking piece of shit.”
“Davis, I’m not asking for permission. You need me. Gordon needs me. This is important. If Lazinski gets away with selling this poor woman, he’ll just do it again and again. It has to stop. Now. Today.”
“It could work,” Gordon adds. “I know it’s not ideal, but I’ll be able to call in backup and have Lazinski followed. I can put a tracking device on Britney so we don’t lose her.”
“Jesus,” Davis shouts. “This is fucking crazy.”
“It is what it is, Davis. I’m doing it. So, get over yourself, call your boss, and fucking find me.”
“Fuck.” There’s a moment of silence before Davis speaks again. “Shepherd, take me off speaker. Give the phone to Britney.”
Gordon flinches, but does it anyway, handing me the phone.
I bring it to my ear. “I’m here, Davis.” I try to soothe him with my voice.
“Sweetie, please, for the love of God, don’t do this. You’re giving me a heart attack.”
“There are no other options, and you know it. Ask yourself this, Davis. If you didn’t know me like you do, would you feel as adamant about not letting me do this?”
He sighs. “Doesn’t matter. I do know you. You’re my life, Britney. I’m in love with you.”
My heart clenches at the desperation in his voice. I want to return the words, but I can’t. Not in front of Gordon. Not now. If I live through this day, then I’ll tell him what he wants to hear. I lower my voice. “I know, and you have to trust that I’ll be fine. Pretend you’ve never met me and do your job like you would if I were a stranger.”
“Sweet girl…”
“I know.” I don’t want to lose my resolve. “I’ve got to go. Find me.” I end the call and hand the phone back to Gordon.
We’re at a light and he’s staring at me. “I honestly didn’t even know you were hiding at his place.”
I smile. “Yeah.”
“You’re in love with him.”
“Yeah.” I smile again. Might as well have said those words directly to Davis. Gordon is astute.
He sighs. “Fuck. Okay. You need to listen to me. We don’t have much time. I’m afraid Lazinski is going to leave his house for the rendezvous point at any moment.”
“Tell me what you want me to do.”
Chapter 31
Britney
I palm the fob Gordon hands me and stick it in the pocket of my jeans. He’s leery and pissed that it’s the only tracking device he has on him. It’s small enough to fit in my pocket, but he says he would rather it be a watch or necklace or something less likely to be detected.
“We’re almost there,” he tells me, glancing at me with his brow furrowed for the hundredth time. “The place is surrounded and a dozen cops are on this plus several people from Black Blade Protection.”
“I know.” I assume that’s the name of Davis’s agency. He’s never told me the actual name.
“We need him to take you to the rendezvous point. It’s the only way to catch the buyer.”
“I know.” I turn to face him. “I’ll be fine, Gordon. I promise.”
He shakes his head and mutters, “I don’t like it and Davis is going to fucking kill me.”
“He won’t. I’ll talk to him.”
He smirks and I know he’s thinking I’ll only be able to talk to him if I’m not halfway to Saudi Arabia with my legs spread for a stranger who has purchased my innocence.
I try not to think about it. It won’t happen. I have to trust that the people following me won’t let it get that far.
As we pull up to the house I’ve never been to, a minivan is leaving the driveway. Gordon slows down and looks in the window. “Good. I think that’s his wife. Hopefully, the two people in the back are his daughters. He probably sent them out of the house.”
This doesn’t seem like the definition of good to me, but I don’t say anything.
Gordon pulls over to the side of the road several houses away from my former boss’s. He’s has gone over everything with me several times, but he does so one more time.
I roll my eyes. “I’ve got it, Gordon. I can do this.”
An SUV suddenly drives past us and pulls into Lazinski’s driveway. Gordon draws in a breath and holds it as we both watch to see what’s about to happen. I pray we aren’t too late.
The garage door goes up.
A man jumps down from the driver’s side and opens the back door of the SUV. He glances around and then yanks a young woman from the back seat.
I watch in horror as he drags her into the garage. The door goes back down. It all happens so fast that even I’m uncertain I seriously just witnessed my replacement. “Let’s go.” I’m anxious to stop this poor woman’s life from being ruined. Now.
Gordon grabs my hand and squeezes it. “Let’s wait a few moments.”
I jerk my gaze to him. “Are you crazy. Let’s go.”
He finally starts the engine and then says nothing as we pull into the driveway and casually exit the car. When we get to the front door, Lazinski opens it before we even knock. His expression is one of incredible shock.
“Look who I found,” Gordon says smiling.
“Hey,” I say. “Didn’t mean to scare you. I was really sick. I went to a friend’s house to stay.”
He stares at me for several seconds, his eyes wide. Finally, he backs up and motions for us to enter, his eyes scanning the street like he’s worried about the neighbors seeing us. “Come on in. Damn, woman, you scared me to death disappearing on me like that. I don’t like my girls to go missing.”
“Yeah. I wasn’t thinking. I had a high fever and was kind of delirious for a few days. I didn’t go back to my place until this morning. It was trashed. Someone broke in while I was gone. I couldn’t think who to call, so I called Gordon.” I ease farther into the foyer, my heart racing.
“I’m so glad you did.” He’s nervous and keeps glancing behind him. He’s still holding the front door open. He’s also sweating. I don’t like it. My nerves are frayed but I need to pull this off.
“Listen,” Gordon says, “I wanted you to know she was okay, but I’ve got a ton of errands to run. I told her I’d drop her here so she can make some calls and figure out what to do about her place. Can you help her out?”
“Of course.” Lazinski looks relieved. “I’ll take care of her. Don’t worry about a thing. Thank you for bringing her here. It was the right thing to do. I’ll see you at the club later tonight.�
��
“Yep.” Gordon backs out the door, waving. “See ya, Britney. Glad you called. Glad you’re feeling better.”
“Thank you for helping me out, Gordon. I didn’t know who else to call.”
I feel like I’m going to vomit. The moment the door closes, I jerk in my spot.
Lazinski wastes no time. He grabs my arm and pulls me through the house.
“I really appreciate you helping me,” I say, not pointing out that he’s hurting my arm.
When we reach the kitchen, he opens a door that leads to the basement and shouts down the stairs. “Jeff? Can you come up here? I need some help.”
I try not to shake too violently as I hear footsteps on the stairs and then a man appears. The one who just arrived in the SUV. He’s fucking huge. Bigger than Gordon or Davis. His eyes are wide, and he looks back and forth between me and my boss. “Shit. Is this her?”
“Yeah.” Lazinski jerks me forcefully to a chair. “Sit.”
He starts pacing.
“What are we going to do now?”
“Let me think,” Lazinski says.
“What’s going on?” I ask innocently.
“Shut up,” Lazinski shouts.
I wince. “Boss?”
“Just shut the fuck up for a minute.”
My heart beats wildly as he paces and the man named Jeff shuts the basement door and leans against it. “Back to plan A?” he asks.
“Obviously, but what the hell are we going to do with the other girl?”
I have to react. After all, as far as these guys know, I’m in the dark. “You’re scaring me. What other girl?”
“Shut up,” Lazinski shouts even louder, leaning into me.
I start to rise. “You’re obviously busy this morning. I’ll find someone else to help me with my apartment.”
Jeff sets a hand on my shoulder and shoves me back onto the chair before circling behind me and holding me in place with both hands next to my neck.
I fight him, but he’s much stronger than me. I start to cry. It’s not an emotion I’m feeling yet, but I force it. It’s what I would do if I were in the dark.
Lazinski stops pacing. “Go get the damn dress. We only have a few minutes before we need to leave.”
Jeff releases me and hurries back downstairs.
“Boss? You’re freaking me out.”
It’s like he didn’t even hear me. “Take off your clothes.”
Now I’m really freaked out. For real. If I remove my clothes, I’ll lose the fob.
“Hurry up. Either strip or I’ll do it for you.”
I need to buy some time. “Okay, but can I please use your bathroom first? I’m about to pee myself. I haven’t gone since I drank two cups of coffee.”
“Jesus.” He grabs my arm and yanks me from the chair, tugging me down the hallway. We reach a guest bathroom and he shoves me inside. “Hurry the fuck up, and come out naked.” As he shuts the door, he mumbles under his breath. “The last thing I need is for her to fucking pee herself.”
Chapter 32
Master Davis
“Please tell me she’s okay,” I shout when Shepherd finally calls me. I’m a block from Lazinski’s house.
“She was when I left her. I think Lazinski bought our story.”
“I don’t know if that’s good or bad at this point.” I’m furious with Shepherd for agreeing to this, though I realize my anger is probably unwarranted. It’s certainly true that I wouldn’t be this worked up if I weren’t in love with the woman we’re now using as bait to stop a human trafficking ring.
“I agree. I see you pulling up behind me.”
I park behind Shepherd and shift my gaze to the house. “Do we know how many people are inside?”
“Yes. Two people entered before I took Britney to the door. One of Lazinski’s men and a young woman. I assume she’s the replacement. Heat detectors tell us there are four people inside. Two are downstairs now.”
“Hang on…”
I hold my damn breath while I wait for Shepherd to speak again.
“Okay, one person came upstairs and then went back down. Gonna assume by the size, it’s a male. He’s returned. Looks like he’s in the kitchen. Another figure is in the hallway. One in what I assume is the guest bathroom.”
I don’t want to interrupt Shepherd, knowing he’s getting updates from another man hiding nearby. I won’t let him miss anything no matter how fucking frustrated and impotent I feel.
“Okay. The two figures joined the third in the kitchen. They are very close together.”
“The garage is opening,” I point out, stiffening.
“That’s good. Means they’re leaving. Now, all we have to do is follow.”
“And pray we don’t fucking lose her,” I grumble. My heart nearly stops as I finally see Britney. I only get a few seconds before she is shoved into the back seat of the SUV, but it’s long enough for bile to come to my throat. She’s gagged. Her hands are tied together in front of her. And she’s wearing a hideous, body-hugging red dress that’s more like a tube top that barely stretches over her breasts and butt.
Lazinski and the other man get in the front seat. The man I don’t know is driving.
“Fuck,” Gordon mutters.
“What now?” I shout. “Don’t fucking cuss and then stop talking.”
“That SUV is new to the scene. I don’t have a tracker on it. I bugged Lazinski’s car. It’s in the fucking garage.”
“So we goddamn follow the SUV and don’t lose it,” I shout.
Gordon pulls away from the side of the road. I follow.
“Well, fuck me,” he murmurs.
“What now?”
“I gave her a tracking device. It’s working. She’s moving.”
Thank God for that, but how long before they find it and toss it out the window? I keep my gaze on the SUV. My woman is in that vehicle. They better not have laid a hand on her. I’m seething with anger.
My cell phone buzzes and I glance down to see it’s Blade. “I’m gonna pull Blade into this call,” I tell Shepherd before adding him in.
“Blade, we’re on the move, following Lazinski. What have you found out?”
“I’m at the hangar we spoke about. A plane is indeed about to land here. I’ll stay here and keep an eye out. Hopefully, this is where you’re headed.”
I know Shepherd and Blade have spoken a few times. Blade is aware of the situation with Britney.
Shepherd jumps in. “The replacement woman is still in the house. My men are going in as soon as we clear the area.”
We follow the SUV as it rounds the corner. I hate that I’m going to have to rely on Shepherd to tell me where my woman is.
“The fob is moving. That’s a good sign. Hopefully, they won’t find the tracking device before they get to the destination,” Shepherd says.
Marginal relief makes me blow out a breath. I still can’t believe Britney pulled this stunt. It doesn’t matter that she’s right. I never would have agreed to let her do this. She knows that. That’s why she didn’t ask.
When I get my hands on her I’m going to be torn between hugging her so tightly that she can’t breathe or pulling her over my lap and spanking her sweet ass until she can’t sit. Both probably. In that order.
We stay a good distance away from the SUV as we travel through the neighborhood and then onto the highway.
Where are you taking my girl, Lazinski?
After a few minutes, Shepherd tells us, “They’re getting off at the next exit.”
Blade speaks next. “I’m at a hangar about a mile to the east of there.”
I say nothing. I’m gripping the steering wheel so hard it’s amazing it doesn’t break. I force myself to remain behind Shepherd.
Sure enough, the SUV leads us to the small hangar. We can’t all pull in. That would look suspicious. I pull off the road and hit the ground running without bothering to close my door. I scan the area constantly, looking for the best path that will get me close enough wit
hout being detected.
I have my cell phone in my pocket and my Bluetooth in my ear, so I can hear Blade and Shepherd discussing what Shepherd’s story will be when he reaches the hangar. There aren’t many people here. It’s small and private.
I also know there are a dozen agents on our heels as well as Spike, Dagger, and Mace. The guys from Black Blade. The only people I trust with my life. The only one of us not en route to nail this criminal ring is Cannon. He’s on an assignment out of town.
I’m breathing heavily as I approach, sticking to the ditch on one side of the road and the few bushes that give me some cover. I doubt anyone is watching people approach the hangar, but just in case.
At least I won’t have to deal with security. It’s far too small for that, which is why Lazinski is using it for an illegal human trafficking job.
About a dozen people are milling about when I reach the main building. The wide doors are open on all sides. It’s a Saturday. Anyone who keeps their plane here could be headed for a weekend outing.
I slide into the building and stay to the corners. It’s darker and there are enough pallets and planes for me to move around. Finally, I spot the SUV. I don’t see Britney anywhere. I hope she’s still inside the vehicle. If she’s already been moved to one of these planes, I’m fucked.
Lazinski gets out of the SUV. The other man climbs out of the driver’s side. He leaves his door open. I feel confident Britney is still in the SUV.
The two men walk toward the plane that’s on the tarmac as the door opens and two heavily armed guards in camo descend onto the tarmac.
“I’m pulling into the hangar now,” Shepherd tells me in my ear.
I don’t respond. He knows I won’t risk it.
I haven’t seen Blade yet, but I know he’s nearby somewhere. I don’t have time to look around. My focus is singular.
I half-listen as Shepherd tells someone he’s meeting a guy for flying lessons. The guy argues, but Shepherd is persuasive. Says there must be a misunderstanding. He knows it’s today. He can’t help it’s not on the flight schedule. Yada-yada. The guy leaves to make some calls.
Nurturing Britney (Surrender Book 7) Page 24
