“Right. We’ll take care of it. Can your sister come in and give us a statement?”
“Now?”
“The sooner the better.”
“I’ll give you mine.” She fished her cell phone out of her purse. “Maddy, how soon can you get to headquarters and fill out a statement?”
“Can’t it wait?”
“No. Chief Hamilton wants both our statements before I can get my warrant.”
“I’m on my way. I have the papers from CPS. Ten minutes.”
It took less than ten. Maddy’s hand was steady as she filled out the necessary paperwork.
“I’m going to get the girls,” she told Gina. “How soon can you be there?”
It was obvious Maddy wouldn’t or couldn’t wait to see Elton behind bars. Neither could Gina.
They turned their gaze on the chief. His ear was to the phone.
When he hung up he looked at them. “What are you waiting for? The warrant will be ready in five minutes. Do you need an officer to go with you?”
“CPS is sending one with me,” Maddy said as she looked at her watch. “I can’t wait any longer. The girls will be home soon.”
“I’m right behind you, Maddy. Wait until I get there.”
Maddy looked at her sister. “You know I can’t. It looks as if it might rain. The girls will have to go inside.” Her mouth turned grim. “He won’t touch them again. Not if I can stop him.”
Gina had no doubt Maddy meant every word.
Chapter Twenty-Two
Darin left Douglas’ office and headed back to headquarters. There were mountains of paperwork to fill out, so he might just as well get it over with. Then he would take a few days off for real, maybe go to the ranch and help Donovan. Some good hard ranch work would clear his head.
At least Gina wouldn’t be at headquarters. She had her own papers to complete for IA. As well organized as she was, they were probably already filed. She was free to go back to Dallas. It wasn’t likely he would see her again.
The thought sent his stomach lurching.
When he walked into the squad room his squad members came to greet him. “How could this happen? We’re still in shock. We can’t believe Melanie shot Hunter, was a mole, and sleeping with the captain to get information. How could we have missed it?”
Darin had never seen Dwanda in such a state. He understood. It was a personal affront. They’d all liked the turncoat. They’d trusted her—depended on her like they did the others.
“She fooled all of us, Dwanda. Don’t take it personally.”
“We can’t help it,” Leya said, her eyes glazed with tears. “What kind of cops are we if we didn’t see this?
“I don’t know what to say. I was as hoodwinked as the rest of you. But we’ll go on, do our work, and eventually get over it.”
“We should celebrate,” Hank put in. “It isn’t every day two drug cartels are taken down.”
“You guys did a great job. Thanks for getting there in time to save our ass,” Darin told them. “I wouldn’t be here if you hadn’t come in when you did. Ramiro threatened to kill everyone.”
“I want to know one thing.” Joe Lenox stood in front of Darin with a frown on his face, a look of disappointment in his eyes. “Why didn’t I know about this? Why wasn’t I included in the takedown? Didn’t you trust me?”
Darin had known this was coming and had clued the chief in as to how he’d handle it. Thank goodness or he’d be in deep shit with Joe otherwise.
He shrugged as if it was nothing of importance. “Chief Hamilton chose the squad members and told us to keep it quiet. We were following orders. We still are. If word ever got out that Gina and I were undercover, we could end up with great big bulls-eyes on our backs.”
Joe exploded. “You didn’t have to worry about us. What I want to know is why I wasn’t included in the biggest bust we’ve ever had.”
Darin apologized. “When I asked the chief that question, he said he suspected Melanie wasn’t who she said she was. You were her partner. He didn’t want her getting suspicious. Of course, he didn’t tell me any of this until after the arrests. Sorry,”
“Next time, I’d damn well better have a partner we can trust.”
“By the way,” Darin asked. “What did you do when you got a text that couldn’t have made sense to you?” It bothered him knowing the innocent person might call the captain and if the captain were part of this the whole thing would be blown. Since that didn’t happen he wanted to know what Joe thought.
“I blew it off. I get lots of text messages meant for someone else. I didn’t think anything of it.”
“Thank God,” Darin breathed. “And the rest of you?”
“We called Peavy,” Dwanda said. “He clued us in and told us the operation was ready to roll.”
“Where’s Gina?” Hank asked. “She should be here. We can at least have coffee and donuts to celebrate.”
They didn’t know. Which was good. But how would they take it once they did? “We won’t see Gina again. Her job is done.”
“What do you mean?” Dwanda asked, crossing her arms over her chest as she waited for an answer.
The team circled around him, questions in their eyes. “Gina is undercover IA.”
“What?” Dwanda asked, her eyebrows arched in surprise.
“You’re kidding, right?” Leya’s dark complexion flushed a shade darker.
“Should have known,” Ernie said. “She was too good to be true.”
“Another shocker,” Joe growled. “Why am I not surprised?”
Hank’s face paled. Undoubtedly, he was the most surprised of all.
“What do you mean by too good to be true?” Darin asked Ernie.
“She walked in and was assigned as your partner immediately. Maybe we should have known then this wasn’t a normal assignment.”
“Don’t see how,” Dwanda argued. “Been done before.” She turned to Darin. “Who was she investigating?”
“Everyone,” he said. “Me in particular since I was found unconscious beside Hunter’s body.”
“I’ll be damned,” Hank said. “Maddy knew all along and didn’t say a word.”
“It explains why Gina sought each one of us out, as if she wanted to make friends,” Leya said with a trace of bitterness in her voice.
“We should be angry,” Dwanda said.
“You’re not?” Darin asked. Because his anger had escalated as they talked. Gina had investigated them all.
A thought hit him like a kick to the solar plexus. Didn’t he do the same when he suspected a mole? Not only had he investigated every one of them, he’d had Max’s computer guru do the same. What goes around…
He ran a hand over his face. “I have to tell you guys something.”
They waited. “I wanted to find Hunter’s killer even more than you.” He held up his hand. “Yes. I know, but I was his partner. We were friends. I knew for a while before he was killed he suspected something was going on. He pursued it on his own, which he shouldn’t have. I came across some info he’d hidden that told me he suspected a mole. I talked to Gina about it because she was the only one who wasn’t here when he was killed.” He looked at each of them, begging them to understand. “I figured there had to be an inside man.”
“You thought it was one of us?” Dwanda demanded, her dark face a mask of disapproval.
“I honestly didn’t know. With Gina’s help we investigated each of you. I didn’t know she had already finished her own investigation.”
“I don’t believe this!” Hank said, a hurt look in his eyes. “I thought you trusted us.”
“Before Hunter’s death, I trusted every member of the squad. Understand where I was coming from. I wanted my partner’s killer. I figured one of the cartels was involved, and someone had to be feeding them information.” He looked each of them in the eye. “As it turned out I was right. As hard as it is to digest, Melanie gathered what information we had, got the rest from Captain Wells, then fed the
information to Chavizi.”
Dwanda laughed dryly. “So what did you find? That my family lives from paycheck to paycheck? That Hank sells junk on e-Bay? That Leya helps her family and is always broke? That Ernie and his wife both work to make ends meet? Hell, we could have told you if you’d asked.”
Everyone relaxed. Scowls turned to smiles.
“I’m sorry,” Darin said. “I had to be sure.”
“Hey.” Hank hit him on the shoulder. “We understand. But Gina? She sure fooled us.”
“She had a job to do, too,” Leya reminded them. “We’re just glad it’s over. We’re in the clear, the bad guys are in jail, and all is right with the world.”
They returned to their work. Darin pulled Leya aside. “What about your cousin? He wasn’t taken in the raid. Have you heard from him?”
“Oh, yeah. He got sick last night. Course, I helped a little. After I got the text and knew the sting was going down, I put four of those chocolate laxative pills in his coffee.” She chuckled. “Told him it was coffee-chocolat. Boy believes everything I tell him. I think Chavizi’s downfall, along with Ramiro’s, scared him into giving up the drug business.”
“I hope for his sake you’re right.”
“So do I.” She turned back to her work.
Darin sat at his desk. His squad members weren’t upset at him or at Gina as they very well could be. So why had it torn him up when he found out Gina was undercover IA and had lied to him?
Because he had fallen in love.
She cared for him, otherwise she wouldn’t have told him about her past or kissed him so passionately.
His firm belief had always been that love and trust were a package. You couldn’t have one without the other. Now he knew there were times when you had to take events on faith.
Unable to concentrate on his work, he shoved it aside. It would have to wait. He dialed Gina’s cell phone. No answer. Nor was there an answer at the apartment.
He was out of his chair and out the door before he could change his mind.
He detoured by Chief Hamilton’s office.
Hamilton waved him in. “Gina did her job, Callahan. And did it well. Don’t hold the fact she was undercover IA against her. She’s to be commended.”
“I agree,” Darin said. “Do you know where she is?” Surely, she hadn’t headed back to Dallas this soon.
Hamilton looked at his watch. “She’s probably with her sister. One is going to make an arrest, the other is going to rescue a couple of young girls from the hands of someone who sounds like a monster.”
Darin’s mouth went dry. “What are you talking about?”
Chief Hamilton looked at Darin closely. “Not your problem. I’m quite sure Detective Carlson can take care of it by herself.”
“Tell me what’s going on.” Could she have possibly found her stepfather? It didn’t seem possible, but who else if both sisters were involved? It was obvious the chief wasn’t going to tell him a thing. Darin leaned over the desk, got in the chief’s face. “Is she going after a guy by the name of Elton Griffin?”
When the chief nodded, something inside Darin exploded. He couldn’t let her go in there alone. What if the creep had a weapon? What if Gina got hurt? Darin wanted to kick himself from here into next month for being such a hard ass. “Where?” he demanded.
Seeing the look in Darin’s eyes, Chief Hamilton scrawled the address on a piece of paper and handed it to him.
Darin wasted no time. He was in his truck and roaring down the freeway in minutes. Rain pelted the windshield, splashed up from his tires. He put the wipers on high, leaned over the steering wheel, and prayed he got to Gina before she tackled this alone.
****
Gina parked her car behind Maddy’s and ran to the door. She remembered how clever Elton was, how he could convince anyone of his innocence. Even her mother. If he convinced the cop with Maddy, there had been an error, would he follow through? Let Maddy take the girls? Let Elton go?
Gina’s heart felt as if it might leave her chest. She remembered all the times she and Maddy had dodged Elton’s groping hands. The same familiar sick feeling washed over her now and made her weak.
I’m not a kid. I’m a grown woman with a badge. I’m going to arrest the bastard whose actions shaded Maddy’s life and mine. He’ll finally get what he deserves.
Placing a hand on the gun at her hip, she walked to the door, opened it, and stepped inside.
Voices. She followed them to the back of the house and into the large, family sized kitchen.
Through the open door she saw Maddy, an officer, Elton, and the girls. Dear God. The oldest girl had a gun and it was pointed at Elton. The sick feeling when she saw his face went deep into her bones.
Gina put a rein on her first impulse, which was to throw herself into the room with gun drawn. Instead, she watched and listened. Turning on her phone she videoed every word and action. Like her sister, Gina would do all she could to help the girls. But a gun? Where the hell did she get it? Her gaze flew to Elton. His face was flushed, his shirt hung partly out of his pants. Both sisters had seen the same look on his face when he was either chasing or had caught one of them. An eager, flushed look that told them he was older and bigger than they were and ready to have his way.
Gina fought the urge to take out her gun and pull the trigger.
The officer standing to the right of the door reached for his gun. She edged next him. “Officer Carlson on the scene,” she whispered. “I’ll handle this.”
“Officer Carpenter,” he replied as he released his gun.
“No matter what happens, don’t you dare hurt the children,” Gina hissed.
“Where the hell did you get the gun?” Elton said with a confidence that, under the circumstances, Gina thought stupid. He moved toward the dark-haired girl.
“Stop!” the child warned. “I’ll shoot.”
Seeing the look in her eyes, Elton obeyed. “Carrie, sweetheart, give me the gun. We’ll talk about it.”
“I don’t think so,” Maddy said calmly. She turned to the child. “Are you Carrie?”
The girl nodded, but kept her eyes and the gun on Elton. Her hands were only a little unsteady.
“I’m here to help you. Elton will never hurt you again. I promise.”
“My name is Jonathan Fazio, not Elton.”
“You’re a lying bastard, Elton Griffin.”
“How did you know my name?” Elton swung on her.
“Don’t recognize me? I’ll never forget you.”
“What?”
“Maddy Carlson. I remember clearly the day you raped me.”
The look of surprise on his face did Gina’s heart good. He’d gotten away with his crimes for years. It was time to stop him. Forever
“Your bitch sister hit me over the head with a baseball bat,” he whined.
I should have killed him then, Gina thought.
“Too bad she didn’t hit you harder.”
He started toward Maddy, hatred in his eyes.
“Stop,” Carrie warned. “I’ll shoot if I have to.”
“So will I,” Officer Carpenter warned, his warning aimed at Elton.
For a second, the child’s gaze went to the cop. “Did you come to arrest him?”
“We came to take you girls into protective custody,” Maddy explained gently.
“Not until he goes to jail,” Carrie said, a determined look on her face.
“How old are you, Carrie?” Maddy asked.
“Fourteen. My sister just turned thirteen. He hurts her more than me.”
“Where did you get the gun?”
“Mom bought it.”
“When? She didn’t tell me,” Elton sputtered.
“We told her what you were doing,” Carrie said. “She bought the gun because she was going to make you go away.”
Elton’s face hardened. “She wouldn’t.”
“She picked up the gun yesterday. She was going to confront you tonight. We told her we would be oka
y—told her we’d stay outside until she got home from work. Only it started raining and you made us come inside.” She glared at him. “Then you started in again.” Her hand tightened on the gun. “I should kill you. Then you’d never hurt anyone ever again.”
“You don’t have to,” Maddy said quietly. “Give me the gun. We’ll make sure Elton goes to jail.”
Gina wanted to get closer, but it might frighten the girl. As hard as it was, she stayed put.
Maddy managed to edge a few inches toward Carrie. “Is Elton your father or your stepfather?” she asked.
Carrie huffed, “Stepfather.” Tears filled her eyes. “Our dad died. He would never hurt us.”
“Elton hurt me and my sister,” Maddy explained. “I promise he’ll never touch you again.”
“Are you sure?” For the first time, the gun wobbled.
Maddy crept closer. Gina knew her sister wanted to get her hands on the gun.
Careful, she thought.
Suddenly, Elton lunged toward them.
“Stop!” Gina screamed. Her gun was in her hand though she didn’t remember taking it from the holster. “You’re under arrest.”
Elton ignored the warning as he reached for the gun in Carrie’s hand. At the same time, Maddy grabbed the girl and pushed her to the floor.
A loud explosion rocked the room.
Chapter Twenty-Three
Darin slammed on his brakes, slid to a stop inches behind Gina’s car. He was out of the truck and on the porch in seconds.
But not soon enough.
A gunshot rang out.
The door was unlocked. His heart jumping out of his chest, he ran inside until he found them. Was he too late?
A police officer held a gun on a man who had to be Elton Griffin.
Darin’s gaze found Gina. She was sitting on the floor, her sister beside her. They had their arms around two young girls, murmuring to them in soft voices. A gun lay on the floor next to them.
Gina looked to be all right. He saw no blood. His sense of relief was so great his legs almost buckled.
What if he had lost her?
He knew right then he couldn’t live without her.
“Are you okay?” He knelt beside her and looked into her eyes, where he saw grief and sorrow, relief and anger.
Promise Renewed Page 21
