His men followed in tow.
She didn’t give a damn what happened to Damien. “Carter, where is Keisha?”
“She’s fine,” Carter said as he took several steps toward her.
“That’s good to know, but I thought she would be here,” Lana stated.
“We made such a sweet little girl, didn’t we?” His voice was laced with a small hint of venom. It was faint, but she caught it. Something was wrong.
Lana kept quiet.
“I want everyone out except Hugo,” Carter said.
All four of the guys walked out of the warehouse. Hugo walked to Carter. “She had this with her.” He gave Carter her gun.
“Aw. Still sentimental. Where’s the other one?” Carter asked.
“In the car,” she answered.
Carter nodded as he looked at her. “It’s funny how children evolve when they are growing up. When I first saw her face to face, I thought she had your eyes.”
Lana’s stomach sank to the floor. Oh no.
“Then I noticed some signs of blue. Just a little. You really got to look close, but it’s there.”
She swallowed. “Carter, where is she?”
He tilted his head at her. “Well, she didn’t get it from my side of the family, that’s for damn sure.” His hand shot out and put her upper arm in a vice grip.
“Leave her alone!” Damien struggled out.
“Why did you lie to me? Why did you let me think—?”
“I was afraid you would kill her if she wasn’t yours,” she blurted out.
He released her like her skin burned him. “I know I can be a ruthless bastard, but do you really think I got it in me to kill a three-year-old whether she was my kid or not?”
She had insulted him. “I’m sorry. I . . . I didn’t know,” she whispered. “I . . .”
Hugo didn’t look overly surprised.
Carter took a few steps away from her. Then he turned around to face her again. “I take it from what the doc told us and from reading this,” he said as he pulled her diary from the back of his waistband. “That he isn’t the father either.”
Her lips parted. Damien had to have taken her diary when he took the gun out of her drawer. She felt naked and exposed.
Damien looked at her with his one good eye. “I don’t care. I never cared. I love her.”
“How touching, but she doesn’t need two fathers,” Carter said.
“You can’t just kill me out right!” Damien shouted. “I’ll be missed. You’ll never get away with it.”
“I suspect the cops are looking for you, but they’ll give up after a while,” Hugo said. “Too bad. If you would have just gotten on a plane and not dallied around, you would be halfway to Europe by now.”
“I wasn’t dallying. I was trying to find my family,” Damien said defensively. Then his upper lip curled into a sneer. “You know what? I don’t have to explain anything to you. What for? You already made your intentions clear.”
Hugo shook his head at him.
“I could live with raising another man’s child. Hell, it would have been the icing on the cake to have that idiot’s daughter calling me daddy,” Carter began with hostility. “But what I can’t live with is you being in love with him.” He tossed the diary to her. “Every time I fuck you, I’ll wonder if you’re thinking about him.”
She’d rather die than sleep with Carter again.
“How about you, Doc?” Carter asked. “I never thought I’d say this, but looks like you and me got the same problem. That damn Alec Peterson has been a thorn in both our sides.”
Damien glared at her. He was hurt and angry. It was obvious that he read her journal. She had cheated on him.
“Go ahead, Doc,” Carter invited as he approached Damien. “Let it out. We’re not going to judge. Despite that needle you stuck her with, you deserve a little something.”
“I was wrong to use you as a guinea pig without your knowledge,” Damien began as blood drooled out of his mouth. “But I did what I could to make it up to you. I busted my ass to become one of the best neurosurgeons in the country to provide for you and Keisha. So you could buy anything your heart desired. And you sleep with another man! It would have been easier to swallow if I thought you did it out of revenge for giving you Memrose, but–”
“Hold on!” Lana said angrily. “I’ll be damned if you’re going to sit your bloody ass there and make me out to be the villain in this. Both of you! Damien, you stole my entire existence, then you gave me a fake life being your wife, cook, and maid. It wasn’t until recently that I had gotten some freedom from that. And as for me sleeping with another man, maybe it wouldn’t have happened if you didn’t screw me like I was a blow-up doll!”
“Damn!” Hugo shouted with amusement.
“And you, Carter,” she began. “I loved you the best I could, and it still wasn’t enough for you. You whored around with other women behind my back. And when I had the nerve to say something about it, you hit me! And yes, I knew you were a crooked, drug-peddling thief, but you crossed the line when you let your homies sell drugs to eleven-year-olds and scam vulnerable old people out of their money, and wanting me to turn into your own personal hit woman to do your bidding. Oh, and I’m convinced that you got underage girls working in your whorehouses! It’s one thing to be ruthless in business. It’s another when you’re a sick—"
“Careful, Lana,” Carter warned in a menacing tone. “Let’s not get carried away, or little Keisha will grow up without a mommy.”
That’s when she saw Carter’s true intentions. No matter how many times she would say that she loved him, he would never believe it. Not after reading her journal. Damien wasn’t the only one in danger of losing his life. Unless Lana did something, she wasn’t going to leave the docks alive, and Carter would take Keisha back to New York to groom her to become a part of his organization. Throwing the FBI tracking device away had been a big mistake.
“But,” she began calmly. “I think we can get past that. There was a time that I loved you more than him. That’s why I left him all those years ago to be with you.” She started pacing back and forth. Whatever he wanted to hear, she would say it. She was trying to buy time and distract Hugo. She didn’t know where Carter’s goons had gone, but the only time she could make a move was now before he decided to shoot her.
“So, you think you can get over this guy?” Carter asked. “You wrote some deep shit, baby. Hell, things go on in your head I had no idea about.”
“I believe I can. You can be a charming guy when you put your mind to it.”
Hugo turned to look at Carter.
Lana quickly knelt on one knee.
“Carter, we ain’t got time for thi—” A single shot rang out like a cannon in the warehouse. Hugo had stopped talking because Lana had shot him in the side of the head with the small handgun she had hidden under her pants leg next to her ankle. She had bought the piece at the gun store today along with a bulletproof vest for herself.
“No!” Carter yelled as he reached into his inner jacket pocket.
Lana aimed at him and fired.
Carter moved faster than she had ever seen him move. The bullet hit the steel shelving behind Damien.
“Jesus!” Damien cried as he wiggled his arms frantically.
She ducked behind a small steel container that wasn’t far.
Carter fired off a shot. It bounced off the container. “You killed my cousin, you fuckin’ bitch!”
She knew he would be upset about it, but she thought she would be able to cap him in the shoulder before he could do anything about it.
“FBI! Drop the weapon, Carter!” a man yelled.
Alec. Lana peeked out from behind the container.
Alec was standing in the doorway with Bruce behind him, guns at the ready. Carter fired off multiple rounds, making the agents hit the ground. Lana screamed with terror as Carter quickly moved to the back door, laying down shots all the way.
Chapter 46
The
agents had split up into pairs to search the dock. The conversation with Blanchette had played in his mind as he and Bruce handcuffed Carter’s goons to a pole outside.
“You boys got your marching orders,” Blanchette said. “Let’s do it.”
They started breaking out of the huddle.
“Peterson, let me talk to you for a second,” Blanchette said.
Bruce had backed up and waited.
Blanchette leaned against a black SUV. “I overheard two of the guys whispering while we were setting up at the hospital. Is there something I need to know?”
Alec looked down at the ground. “I . . . Sir, we got the call from the other team that they found the girl with a guard leaving the country club before we got to the marina.”
“I know. But were you going to say anything to me at all?”
He squared his shoulders. “No, sir,” he mumbled.
Blanchette looked amused. “Hell, I can’t say I blame you. Procedure calls for agents who have a personal stake in cases to be removed. But the girl is safe now and at the offices, so . . . why not let you stay on? It’s not like we’ll put it in the report. We can say that you didn’t know until after the fact if it comes up in court. The guys will back it up. Half of them are fathers themselves.”
“Thank you, sir.”
“Just don’t make me regret it, Special Agent Peterson.”
“I won’t, sir.”
Alec and Bruce scrambled to their feet.
“Are you hit?” Bruce asked.
“No,” Alec said.
“He went out the back . . . to the dock,” Lana yelled as she pointed.
Alec started running to the door. He had no idea if Bruce was behind him or not. He could hear the swish of the ocean waves as he approached the open dock door.
The way was clear until a four-by-four came careening toward him in the doorway. He saw it in time and ducked.
Carter growled with irritation. “I’m getting rid of you once and for all!” He started taking long, hard swings at Alec.
Alec kept ducking and dodging the swings.
A low, almost maniacal chuckle escaped from Carter. “It’s not over, Alec. I’ll get off. And you’ll be dead, so you won’t be able to stop it. Then I’m going to take your daughter, raise her, and make her one of my top whores.”
Alec’s control snapped as he lunged forward, knocking Carter on the planks of the dock. Carter kneed him between the legs, delivering a sharp pain that made Alec’s eyes water. He pushed Alec off him and struggled to stand. Alec was able to recover long enough to punch him in the gut. Carter grunted as he grabbed Alec’s hair. Alec hit him in the same spot again. Carter backhanded Alec in the face. Alec lunged at Carter again.
****
Lana, Bruce, two cops who were holding Damien up, and twenty FBI agents watched as they fought.
“I can’t believe you are not going to stop this!” Neil Rolls roared.
“How can I?” Blanchette asked. “I’ve got three daughters of my own.”
“Yeah, didn’t you hear what that lowlife said about putting his daughter out on the ho stroll?” an agent said with simmering anger.
Lana clutched her journal to her chest as she watched with distress.
“Blanchette,” Rolls said as he continued to watch the fight. “If this goes left, it’s on you. I’m not taking a hit for this one.” The assistant special agent in charge turned around and squeezed through the gawking crowd.
It seemed like Alec had finally recovered from that nasty kick in the crotch. Next thing Lana knew, he delivered a spinning heel kick to Carter’s chest. Carter stumbled backwards and finally fell on the ground. Alec mounted him and started pummeling him with punches.
“You boys better get in there,” Blanchette said. “We don’t want Peterson to kill him.”
Before the men could move, Carter delivered a sharp blow to Alec’s side that made him yell out in pain. When Carter removed his hand, he had something in it.
“I think he just stabbed him,” Lana said with horror.
Carter kicked his legs up to get Alec off him.
“I thought you guys were going to stop this?” Lana whined. This was going too far, and Alec was injured.
The men were on their feet now.
“Not yet,” Bruce said.
Carter waved the weapon menacingly at Alec.
He kicked the knife out of Carter’s hand and grabbed his arm. Taking the arm in both hands, Alec quickly bent it in half like a ruler. Lana had never heard Carter make such a sound. If she closed her eyes, she would have sworn it was a bear being attacked by a pack of coyotes.
Alec held onto Carter as he started kneeing him in his abdomen.
“All right, get in there,” Blanchette ordered harshly.
Bruce and four other guys started to run over to them. Before they reached Alec and Carter, the flooring gave away. Alec and Carter fell ten feet into the ocean.
Lana screamed Alec’s name.
“Good God,” Damien said.
“Christ!” an agent behind her shouted.
“Radio a dive team!” Blanchette ordered as everyone rushed over to the broken side of the dock.
Bruce was kicking his shoes off. He had already removed his gun and vest.
“No, Styles!” Blanchette yelled.
Either Bruce didn’t hear him or ignored him because he dived into the swift water. Ten guys broke out flashlights and shined them down below.
They didn’t hear anything but the splashing of the waves.
“Shit,” an agent mumbled.
After a few minutes, they heard loud splashing a few feet away from the hole. Someone was coughing.
A few agents jogged toward the sound.
“Well?” Blanchette inquired.
“I see two guys climbing the dock ladder.”
Lana waited with bated breath. It seemed like it took them forever to climb back up to them.
Alec was first. He was sucking wind as he crawled on the deck. Lana rushed over to him. Bruce was pulling himself up.
“Where’s Carter?” Blanchette asked as he came over.
“Dead,” Alec heaved out.
“How did that happen?” Blanchette asked.
Lana placed her hand on Alec’s wet shoulder.
“We . . . were struggling in the water. Still fighting. He was trying to drown me. I drowned him . . . first,” Alec explained.
“Are you sure he’s dead?” an agent asked.
“As a . . . doornail,” Bruce heaved out as he crawled next to the Alec and sat down.
Alec placed his hand over his wound. “I cuffed his wrist to . . . the lower step on the ladder.”
“We’ll let the dive team fish him out,” Blanchette said with disgust.
“He needs an ambulance,” Lana said.
“One is on the way,” an agent said. “The cops called it in when they got a look at Damien Miles.”
Chapter 47
Everyone had made their way back to the front of Sam’s Fishing House. Carter’s goons had been caught and rounded up. The FBI had taken Lana’s gun that she had shot Hugo with and the one that he had taken from her earlier.
Alec told Lana that Keisha had been recovered and was waiting for her at the FBI office while the EMTs were attending to him. She had never been so relieved in her life.
“Are you sure you’re all right?” Lana asked.
“Yeah, just a little woozy,” Alec said.
“He lost a lot of blood in the water,” an EMT stated. “We really should get him to the hospital for a pint or two of blood, stitches, and he needs to get a prescription for antibiotics. He could get an infection from swimming around in the ocean.”
“It wasn’t planned, I assure you,” Alec said.
Lana kissed his cheek. His clothes and hair were still wet, but his face was dry.
“Mrs. Miles,” an officer said as he approached the ambulance.
“Yes?”
“Your husband wants to see you. H
e won’t let the EMTs do anymore treatment on him until he sees you.”
“Ugh,” she groaned. “Doctors make the worst patients.”
“I’ll go with you,” Alec said. He kissed her on the temple.
“You really shouldn’t be moving around a lot,” the EMT said.
“I don’t have to go far,” Alec said as he stood. “I’ll be right back.”
The officer walked them over to the other ambulance that Damien was standing in front of. He gawked at them as they approached.
“You better stand here for a moment. I don’t know if he will like you shadowing me that closely,” Lana said. “It’s best to keep him calm.”
“Not a problem.”
Lana walked over to Damien.
“Layla, I . . . I know I’ve done a bad thing. I didn’t mean to shoot Corey.”
“I know,” she said. It really didn’t matter to her if he meant to do it or not. He did it. That’s all Lacey, Corey, and the police cared about.
“The FBI told me that Keisha was okay.”
“She is. I haven’t spoken to her, but I trust that she’s safe and sound. They wouldn’t lie about something like this.”
“No. And talking about lying . . . I . . . I’m sorry about lying about your past. About everything.”
Lana looked away from him. “Sorry isn’t always good enough, Damien.”
“I know. That’s why I’m willing to go to couples therapy.”
“What?”
“Yes, whatever it takes to make things right . . . to make our marriage work again. I love you, Layla, Lana, or whatever you want to call yourself. I don’t care what your name is. I . . . love you and Keisha. We’re a family.” His eyes were soft, vulnerable, and desperate. He truly wanted her to stay with him.
After everything he had done to her and her friends, she couldn’t even entertain the notion. “Damien, you have to answer for more than shooting Corey. What you did to me was–”
“Unethical,” he completed for her. “Horrible, disgusting. I heard you in the warehouse. I hurt you badly, and I betrayed your trust, but if you give me another chance, I can make it right.”
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