by Sheila Kell
CHAPTER TWENTY
The winds howled outside, the snow blew in all directions. The quiet, cozy hotel room provided AJ and Megan with a short reprieve from reality. Looking out the window, he took note of every vehicle that departed and arrived during the night. He didn’t see them, but he knew his brother and sister-in-law took turns watching the hotel, providing them with an extra level of security.
That had been the only reason he’d allowed himself and Megan the sexual diversion. He wouldn’t put her life at risk just to get some. Even if that some came from her.
He needed to be out there. On the streets. Not holed up here with a woman who had the girl next door look during the day, but was a tigress at night. The perfect combination in his book.
The air crackled the moment she stepped into the room. Her light, fruity scented perfume drifted his way, and he felt himself stir. Damn. Normally he would have tired of a woman already. This had to be the shittiest time in his life to be attracted to a good woman. A woman he could see a life with, but could never have it.
More weight added itself to his already heavy heart. But she was his for now.
“I really like this hair color. It’s fun.”
He didn’t turn around. “It looks good on you. But so did your natural color.” Hell, with her, blonde or auburn worked for him. He imagined anything would work. As long it was hers.
“Is it okay to use the laundry room? Everything I have is dirty. I’ve already worn this sweater and jeans.”
The thought of her with no underwear shot desire to his already aching groin. “As long as I’m with you.” A snapshot of taking her on top of the washing machine flashed in his mind. He dropped his head and sighed. They had to leave soon.
“Okay. Where’s the newspaper?”
He turned and pointed to the desk, waiting to see her face. Her excitement and joy when she saw her article on the front page brought short bursts of lightness to his dark world.
The public loved her. Her story would excite them and then have them fearing for her life. She bumped herself back to the main story on the national news.
Reading the article, she absently picked up the cup he’d placed before her and took a drink, her eyes never leaving the newspaper.
He chuckled.
“I can’t believe it. Front page again, above the fold.” She turned that bright smile his way. Something shifted inside him. If only things could have been different. If only.
“You’re big news, my little dove. Of course, they’d put your message on the front page. They love you and are happy you’re alive.”
She frowned. “I don’t know what I’ll do next. My sources haven’t found anything new.”
“How about some breakfast? Scrambled eggs and bacon?”
“You don’t have to cook. I can do it.”
He removed the items from the refrigerator and set them on the counter. “You cook lunch and dinner. It’s the least that I can do.”
He didn’t understand why he hadn’t told her that he could help with her next article. He couldn’t wrap his mind around why he worried what Magic Shop would do to her if she wrote any more. They were already trying to kill her. And with her tenacity, keeping her alive will be harder than he ever imagined.
Guilt settled in his stomach. His selfishness of keeping her with him could mean her life. He would do everything he could to protect her. She deserved that from him.
“Breakfast is ready,” he called to her.
She sauntered to the table and sat. “Mm, this looks good. Thank you.”
He cleared his throat. “It’s time for me to help you with Magic Shop.”
Megan gasped and looked at him. “Really?”
AJ stopped his fork midway to his mouth. “Yeah. Really.”
“Oh my God! You probably know so much.” She almost bounced out of the chair with excitement.
Making her happy drove a rush of warmth unlike any he’d ever known through his veins creating a lightheadedness that relaxed his muscles beginning with his head and sliding down to his toes. This woman caused more emotions in him then he thought possible.
“I can’t wait to hear what information you have.” She pushed her plate away. “Do you know the bosses?”
She started to rise from the table.
“Sit and eat,” he commanded. “We’ll talk when we’re finished.”
She pulled her plate back to her and pushed her eggs around. He held back a smile. Patience was not one of her virtues.
“What made you change your mind?”
He swallowed and thought for a moment about how to explain it to her without her overzealousness taking flight. “It’s time to begin disrupting his business.” She’d only have small stuff to work with until it was time to initiate his plan.
“You know the police won’t do anything about them.”
“You of all people should know the power of the press. With enough coverage and pressure, they’ll have to do something. They won’t take the Magician down. But that’s okay, we will.” He’d resolved himself to a ‘we’ instead of an ‘I’.
“Yes, we will” She nodded.
He pushed the lump blocking his throat down. He had to try. “Megan, I’m not sure the payment for doing this is worth avenging your brother. If you’re on the street, there’s a chance they’ll kill you. Being dead won’t help you find your brother’s killer. I can do this alone. I can still take you to my brother’s home where it’s safe.”
She jumped up from the table and knocked over her chair, the sound ricocheting around the hotel room. “Are you kidding me? I may have started this for my brother, but I’m doing this for me now. They tried to kill me, AJ! They are still trying to kill me. There’s no way I’m walking away. If you don’t want me with you, then let me know now.”
Oh, he wanted her with him. He studied her. He had to take her with him to keep her safe. She’d never make it on her own. She’d already proven that when she hadn’t listened to him about reporting what she’d witnessed to the police.
“Okay then. Let’s get started.”
Megan spread her photos and notes over the clean table.
“Tell me what you know,” he urged.
“I spent most of the last month getting information from my sources. They’re not part of Magic Shop, so information was limited. They gave me names and helped me understand how things on the drug side were run. I thought I could expose the head of the organization straight away. I just can’t fathom that no one knows who he is. I wonder if even his bosses know who he is.”
She glanced at him as if gauging his reaction. “Anyway, it wasn’t until recently that I realized I had to start one layer at a time, beginning with the street dealers while Victoria tackled the prostitution side. We’ve yet to find an overlap.”
The thought of her in that neighborhood, especially at night, without protection, shot a ball of anger surging forward. “Do you know how dangerous that was? Walking around was one thing, but they wouldn’t have hesitated to kill you had they caught you taking pictures.”
Megan huffed. “I can take a photo without someone knowing it. No one bothered me.”
“That’s because they were told to avoid you. They wanted to stay out of the newspaper. It’s the same with the other reporter except she’s not running around snapping pictures and printing articles. She’s just being nosy.”
“Humph. Well, I know they layer things. I received a tip from a source and found Keyshawn dealing in the open. By the way, he’s not very happy with me.”
AJ chuckled. “Of course, he’s not. You put him out of business for a while. If he’s not selling, he’s not getting paid. He had to hide out from the police too. Even corrupt police officers will arrest street dealers from time to time, to make it look like they’re doing something. Street dealers are expendable.”
She
rolled her eyes. “He called me with a death threat.”
AJ’s back snapped straight. “What do you mean death threat? Why didn’t you tell me about it?” He knew Keyshawn had been pissed, but AJ hadn’t expected him to take it that far. Dealers weren’t supposed to touch reporters. That was a job only for enforcers.
“I did tell you when you came to my house that I had a death threat. I just never said who it was from. And it could have been the councilman’s office. It doesn’t matter now since we’re on the run for our lives anyway.”
Valid point. What the hell kind of profession did she have? Did all reporters live with death threats?
“I’m sorry. I didn’t pay attention. My mind had been diverted to other things.” He flashed a half-smile and a wink.
Pink crept up her neck to her cheeks. So damn adorable.
Shifting in the chair, she took a minute before responding. “Well, good riddance to him. I know his boss is Jimmy, but I haven’t been able to locate him. I thought following the dealer might lead me to him, but then you got to Keyshawn and, well, you know.”
He’d stood there while Hank delivered Magic Shop punishment. Things began sliding downhill for her from there. His visit, her observing a murder, his kidnapping her, her being shot at. She couldn’t say she hadn’t had a few interesting days.
She frowned. “My sources couldn’t help me find him.”
“Unless they’re a dealer, they probably wouldn’t know where to find him. He’s good at keeping a low profile.” He cleared his throat. “Jimmy is an escaped convict. His real name is Hugh Brown. He paid to be broken out of a New Mexico prison a few years ago.”
Her hand covered her mouth on a gasp. “What? An escaped convict. Why hasn’t anyone arrested him?”
It always sounded so easy. Just arrest him. Little did she know.
“After the initial prison break, the convict’s photo is plastered on the news, but the story eventually fades and people forget. Plus, Jimmy is far away from home and under the Magician’s protection so even if anyone suspected he was Hugh Brown, they wouldn’t open their mouths about it.”
“How do you know all of this?”
“I make it my business to know everything about those I’m working with.”
“This would bring him off the street and get him arrested. We should call the FBI or the U.S. marshals and let them know that he’s here.”
“That’s the plan. We need him for our plan so that means you can’t print this story, yet. Otherwise, we’ll never find him when we need him. We’re not ready for him to get picked up.”
“What is our plan?”
“Later.” He hated to flatten the hope floating in her eyes but it had to be done.
“Dang it, AJ! You said you’d share with me.”
Angry yet not cursing made her the most precious woman in his eyes. “I am. Just not our plan yet. We’ll go through that soon enough.”
Wheels turned but he couldn’t figure out where her thoughts were headed. Too many expressions flashed across her face.
Surprising him, she nodded. “May I at least expose him as part of the drug ring? I won’t use his photo.”
He sighed. He knew she’d have a tough time handling this. “Not yet. He could go underground. I want him arrested when the right time comes. Now, what else do you know?”
She narrowed her eyes and him before she turned back to the table. “At first I thought the Magician might be a policeman, but now I’m not sure.”
AJ raised an eyebrow. “What makes you say that?”
“Well, why stay in a dangerous job if you’re wealthy and powerful?”
“The rush? The power? Remember firemen who become arsonists? There are many reasons he might stay.”
“Yeah. Well, I think he’s a businessman.”
“Interesting. What else do you know?”
“That’s about it. I told you I hadn’t been working it long.”
He held his hands up. “That’s okay.”
“I have these photos.” She gestured to the ones scattered on the table.
“You have many dealers here.” He picked up a photo and whistled. “You did well, Megan. This is a top man. Carl Smith runs the entire drug ring. He’s an escaped convict also. His real name is George Savage, escaped from Nevada. The crime boss has a soft spot for escaped convicts.”
“Is that a photo of him?” She attempted to snatch the photo from him.
“He’s right here with Jimmy.” AJ set the photo on the table and turned it to face her. It was the same photo he’d seen earlier with three bosses. He pointed out Carl.
She bit her bottom lip.
That made him want to take it in his mouth and…He cleared his throat to halt his wayward thoughts.
“Do you know who the third man is?”
He shrugged. “I have a hunch.” Of course he knew but refused to tell her at this point. Paul White is the boss of the prison break team. If AJ told her, she’d connect the dots.
“How will we find out who he is?” She picked up the photo. “This is one of the photos my contacts haven’t seen. They might be able to help. Oh, do you think he’s the one that runs prostitution? I showed it to Victoria but she hadn’t seen any of them. She took copies to her sources though. Just in case.”
Shit. This Victoria had best watch her back if she shows that photo around. “First, you need to tell your friend to keep that photo secret. If she shows it around she’ll be in the same situation as you are.”
Megan’s eyes widened and she nodded.
“I think my informants should see the photos first.” Only a handful of people knew Paul and his standing in the organization. They weren’t people on the street but one of her damned sources already knew too much. Who’s to say he might by chance know about this boss? No. He couldn’t know about the prison escapes, or he’d have already informed Megan. Paul had best not frequent the brothels.
“But we have to see them in order to show these to them.”
“Remember I said at some point we would hit the street. That time is almost here.”
Her eyes glittered with apprehension. It speared his busted heart.
“Do you think we can do it and stay alive?”
He sure hoped so. “I’ll keep you safe.”
Safe or not, he had to get on the streets if he wanted to end this and busting up the next prison break was an important part of his plan. He needed the Magician angry with all of his advisors at once and AJ only had one shot at getting to Paul.
Based on what AJ had learned, the organization’s boss handled problems with his advisors face-to-face. Damian thought he’d been impressing AJ by telling him that he knew the boss and various little things that had been stored away. If they could fuck things up enough, the Magician would call several meetings or one large one with his advisors. According to the ex-chief enforcer, that was the only time they saw their boss. Didn’t matter. AJ would be there whether it was one or many meetings.
“So, basically I have no story. We have to keep our information quiet in order to bring them to justice later. This sucks.” She crossed her arms across her chest.
He smiled. Was that a pout? No, but it got his blood running faster.
“You do have something. You have two enforcers with a dealer in action. Get the enforcers’ names and photos out and we cripple them. It’ll take away some of the heat off our backs” He grinned. “They are a little understaffed right now.”
She straightened. “Oh. Are they the ones after us? What about others?”
“Yeah, they’re the ones after us. There are rules for Magic Shop and one is that Damian and his group take care of problems. Anyone taking it upon themselves is dealt with harshly.”
AJ picked up another photo and handed it to her.
Looking at the photo, she smiled proudly. “I have them
in several photos. They just hung out a lot so I disregarded them.”
“I have an informant who observed them to be the last people seen with Carlos Martinez, the dealer who disappeared two weeks ago. They were also the last people seen with Treyvon Stewart, who disappeared last week.” AJ shrugged. “Disappearances happen all of the time for one reason or another. One may have nothing to do with the other, but you can have people start to question things while doing us a favor.”
She beamed at him. Good. He’d provided her with enough to hold her over until it became time to tear those assholes apart.
“You have other dealers in there you can expose. The more you break these little things the next couple of days, the better.” He shifted through the photos and pointed at several people providing her with their names.
“What about for Victoria? Would any of these help her?”
He shook his head. “No, and I only have a little information on that front to help her start poking the bear also. We’ll need her for everything to work, but I don’t want you sharing anything with her except what she needs for her story.”
“But we’ll need to bring our stories together.”
AJ stood, pulled the phone from his pocket and handed it to her. “And you will. When the times comes. You can use the burner phone to confirm anything with your sources. You’ll have to trust me on what my sources know. Let them have the new number and return it to me when you’re done.”
She absentmindedly nodded. She’d already started dialing. He’d lose her for most of the day now.
* * * * *
“Are you sure you want to bring her down there?”
“I don’t have much choice. If I’m going to do this, I have to get out there. I can’t leave her alone either.” AJ had been reviewing his plan with Jesse, soliciting his feedback. AJ hid in the bathroom so Megan wouldn’t overhear him.
“I think it’s risky, very risky. I’m not sure I’d do it, even with Kate. Listen, baby brother, things don’t look good. I’ve used every FBI contact I can and the answer is still the same. You must make a choice. Turn her over to the FBI or become wanted for kidnapping a material witness in a major murder investigation. If you can get here, I can buy time until we solve this. I’d hate to see you as a fugitive.”
