Expired Game (Last Chance County Book 5)

by Lisa Phillips

  “I don’t know you, right? We haven’t met before.” She didn’t think they had. Jess made mistakes like anyone. Who knew what some of the people in town had decided about her from just seeing her once, or misconstruing something she said. Taking it out of context.

  Sally’s eyes narrowed. “I know who you are.”

  O-kay. “And the reason you think it’s okay to bad-mouth me online is....?”

  “It’s the truth. Sometimes the truth hurts.” She lifted her chin, her gaze hard. “Deal with it.”

  Jess grinned. “Deal with it?”

  “Are you laughing at me?” Sally stood, pushing her chair back into the walkway. “You think you can do whatever you want. All you cops do. Well, your boss will be hearing about this. I’m going straight to the mayor. You’ll probably get fired.”

  She brushed past Jess and clipped her arm in the process. Definitely on purpose. Sally strode to the door and hauled it open. Jess was right behind her. She cast one glance back at Ted, still busy. He would be fine for a few minutes. This was important.

  Sally started, but kept walking. “This is harassment. I should have known.”

  “That I’d follow you so I can state my case to the mayor?” That would be a hit or miss. Although Conroy tried, the Mayor didn’t always throw his hat in with the police department. Despite the fact they were on the same team, one that also included all the civilians living in Last Chance, there could sometimes be contentions.

  At the end of the hall, she stepped out into the front-facing area of the bank. Sally started to walk faster on her tiny heels, making a beeline for the other side of the room as though trying to escape this whole situation. She was the one who’d created it. Was Jess supposed to just back off when someone wanted to post hateful words about her on the internet?

  Sure, she couldn’t control what people posted. Or others’ opinions. Trolls trashed people online every day—even strangers—tearing them apart because of a disagreement.

  It was ugly, but she’d never thought it would happen to her.

  The front doors of the bank flew open and four men poured in. They wore gray overalls and black ski masks and carried automatic weapons.

  Jess reached for her gun, unsnapping the clip that held it secure.

  Sally grasped Jess’s weapon and kicked the back of her knee in one fell swoop before Jess could pull her gun out herself. Pain ricocheted down her leg as she fell to one knee. When Jess looked up, Sally had the gun pointed right at her face.

  “I wouldn’t want you to get me killed too.”

  Four

  The second she left the office, Ted clicked through to the internet site. Not that he was hiding anything from Jess…okay, he was hiding this from Jess. But he didn’t want her in here, just in case he actually found something. She could read him. Most of the time he liked that, but the fact was sometimes it wasn’t handy. Like right now.

  He sighed, whispering to himself, “She can’t know.”

  One of these days, he would be found out. Someone would discover one of the many things he’d kept to himself. Since the day the previous chief, Jess’s grandfather, had hired him, he’d promised to sever all contact with his father.

  Then he’d been ordered to find the old man.

  Neither Conroy nor Ted’s brother Dean needed to know Ted had been aware of his father’s location this entire time. After all, he wasn’t interested in being caught unawares by his dad showing up unannounced.

  Ted planned to split town before that happened.

  Now that his dad had been arrested, Ted could finally breathe. He didn’t need to check on his father’s location. The FBI were the ones who knew where he was.

  He’d found the link embedded in the wider bank network. It hadn’t taken long to look through what the bank manager had given him. After all, there had been barely anything on the flash drive or in Nigelson’s files. So what if the wider network wasn’t listed on the warrant? That was bank business, and he wasn’t getting into their transactions or records. The former manager’s files had been completely sanitized of anything “sensitive” relating to the bank and its customers.

  This website was nothing related to the bank. It just happened to be here. Now that he’d found this, buried in the network server, it was clear Nigelson had conducted his other business at work, though it was…extra-curricular. He hadn’t even tried to hide it.

  None of what Ted found now would be admissible in court. It may not even relate to the case, considering it might have been planted on the database—or added to it—after Silas Nigelson was killed.

  So who put it here?

  While the front page loaded, he waited. Upon signing in, he would then be taken to a database.

  The title and image that loaded made his stomach roil. But that wasn’t the whole of what sickened him about this business. Ted immediately recognized the construction of the database. His father had paid him to build this particular program. His own two hands had put this system together. Not so it could be handed off to a local crime boss and used to sell what it was peddling right now. No, Ted had been sold a line about humanitarian efforts.

  Then again, everything his father had ever said had been a lie.

  But using something Ted put together for this? Well, he shouldn’t be surprised West had his hands on it now. If he was honest with himself, he should have guessed all along given the connection between Pierce Cartwright and the founders of Last Chance. But for the way his father had manipulated Ted for years, he had been so twisted up he’d never even thought to be skeptical about what was happening below the surface line he’d been fed.

  For his self-preservation. Both because he hadn’t wanted to know, and because he’d been threatened. The lives of his brother and his friends and the people of Last Chance, put at risk because Ted decided to rock the apple cart as it were.

  “Hey, you can’t look at that stuff on bank computers!” The woman strode over. She was probably in her fifties and looked like a Sunday school teacher at her decently-paid job. “That’s just not right. We have firewalls.” She waved an arm, gold bracelets jingling. “Get rid of it. Gross!”

  She reached for the mouse. The way Jess had done with that assistant woman.

  Ted didn’t touch her, but he got his hand between hers and the mouse. “Whoa. Hold up one second, and I’ll tell you this is a police investigation.” He showed her his ID badge. “I’m Ted Cartwright. This is for a case.”

  “This?” She pointed at the screen, clearly not convinced. The look of disgust on her face matched how he also felt about this whole thing.

  The business itself, and whoever was behind it. And his part in it, if he was going to be honest. Ted had tried desperately over the years to let go of the guilt and shame of all his father had forced and manipulated him into doing. Now all his guilt and shame were plain to see, reflected on this woman’s face—her name tag read Barbara.

  “I’m sorry, Barbara, but yes.” He looked at the screen. “I’ll minimize it and—”

  “I can’t believe you’re looking at something like that. Cops are nasty, apparently.”

  “It’s part of the job. Doesn’t mean I like it.” He hoped she’d understand. That, or realize it had nothing to do with him ogling the female form. “I won’t be long, and then I’ll be out of here. I just need to make sure I have everything relevant to the police investigation.”

  “Silas.” She muttered the bank manager’s name, then frowned. “Is that Sally?”

  Ted blinked.

  “I mean,” Sunday school lady continued, “Now that I can see past the whole underwear thing to get a look at her face, it does kind of look like Sally.” She pointed at the screen—the woman on the home page.

  Ted hadn’t looked much past registering that she wore lacy nightwear. Now he focused on her face. Barbara might be right. It did kind of look like Sally.

  Ted asked, “How well do you know her?”

  “Not this well.” Barbara winced. “Yikes. But s
he’s only worked here for a few days. She started last week.”

  “Ma’am.” He didn’t need her getting in the middle of this. Not any more than she already was. “Can you please find my partner and ask her to come back here?”

  Where had Jess gone anyway? She’d been bearing down on Sally, doing her thing by fighting crime single handedly—or a woman bad mouthing her. He sighed. Should have brought a radio. If he had, he’d be able to have the dispatcher radio her immediately to get back here instead of calling Bill on this stranger’s phone to ask that favor.

  Sally might be involved in something other than assisting the new bank manager.

  Ted inserted his own flash drive into the port on the tower by his leg and started copying the database so he could go through the programming code later. Figure out how long this had been going on. Then he would report to Conroy what he’d found—provided it was relevant to the case.

  The woman huffed.

  Ted didn’t have time. He needed to finish this.

  “Please. Just go and find my partner. She left with Sally.” The second he said it, Ted wondered if that meant Jess might be in danger at this moment. He dismissed that idea as soon as he thought of it. She could take care of herself, and Jess was the first person who would tell anyone who asked that exact thing.

  Still, just to be safe, he sent a text to Basuto. There was cause to request backup, and enough had happened in Last Chance the previous few months that he wasn’t about to risk anyone getting hurt. Not if he could help it.

  Barbara muttered a comment but walked away. Ted looked around to check and see if anyone else was staring at his computer screen. When he was satisfied no one else cared and that the few people in here were occupied with looking at their own business, he pulled his flash drive out and headed to the Command Prompt window. From here, he’d be able to find out which terminal put the database on the network.

  He would also be able to remove it.

  No one would ever know his involvement in this case. Or what was turning out to be a connection he’d never seen before.

  Just the idea of having his name—his programming signature—on it made him want to pick up this monitor and throw it across the room. But what would getting into a rage serve to do? It wouldn’t help him think clearly. Right now, answers were what he needed. Not an emotional reaction.

  Jess had no idea what he was dealing with. She didn’t want to know even though she had asked him. He could tell she liked the idea of them opening up to each other more—deepening their relationship. But the surface-level friendship they had going on was only serving her so far. She didn’t have to give up her independence for anyone else. She didn’t have to sacrifice to be with him.

  Even if they started dating officially, he still didn’t think she could ease up on her dogged determination to get to the bottom of each and every dangerous situation involving an innocent person. The woman simply didn’t sleep if a missing person’s case came across her desk. Especially if it was a woman or a child.

  He was all-in to help. But he knew his limitations.

  His weaknesses.

  She would sweep him along for the ride, or he could disembark. They’d go their separate ways. Either way, she’d sleep well knowing she’d done everything she could for the people who needed help. And not once would she admit what there was in her past that drove her to it.

  Ted had read her NYPD file, but too much of her undercover work hadn’t been reported. Who knew which person she’d lost while on duty impacted her most? She didn’t let go of her emotions. Not ever.

  Ted, on the other hand, couldn’t risk opening up about anything. Because once she found out, his whole life would be over. All he’d worked for since her grandfather hired him would be gone.

  He would lose everything.

  Which was why he was tempted to simply delete the whole site. Or any record of it on this system.

  If he only took it off this local network, would the truth come out later?

  Ted worked for the police department. Can you really betray everything you stand for? His finger hovered over the mouse button, and he chewed on his bottom lip.

  Delete.

  One button and he’d be free of this. He could solve Jess’s problem and bring the operation down with the loss of their system. And he could solve his own problems at the same time.

  His finger continued to hover.

  Just one click.

  “I don’t think I’m going out there.” Sunday school lady rushed back in, breathy. “There are men out in the foyer. With guns. And they’re not here for good reason.” She raced to a desk and reached to press a button under the counter.

  A gunshot blasted.

  The woman’s body jerked and red blossomed on her sweater. A second later, she fell to the ground.

  “She hit the panic button.” A gunman standing by the door turned to look behind him down the hall. He swore. “She got to it.”

  Out of sight, someone else exclaimed loudly.

  Ted shifted. Ouch. He was on the floor. His fingers swiped through a collection of dust and dirt under the same desk he’d been sitting at only a second ago. When had he hit the ground?

  He couldn’t tear his gaze from the woman on the floor, blood pooling around her body.

  Ted pulled in a ragged breath and reached for his smartwatch to call for help.

  Where was Jess?

  Five

  “You picked a bad day to rob this bank.”

  The closest man hauled Jess to her feet while Sally held the gun on her. Jess glanced at the bank manager’s assistant. “An inside job. It’s a classic for a reason.”

  “Please let me shoot her.” Sally didn’t take her focus from Jess.

  The man still holding her arm shook his head. “Not here.”

  So he was in charge. Sally was an underling who took orders. Also, they planned to kill her. Or, at least, they weren’t opposed to it.

  Of the three men who’d entered behind him, one moved across the room. He knew where he was going. The money guy? The other two fanned out, yelling at the customers and staff members. In just a matter of seconds, everyone was on the ground and ordered to turn over their cell phones.

  “Won’t be long before the cops show up.”

  His eyes flashed, the rest of his face covered by the ski mask. “Guess we’ll have to be quick then.” He shoved her around and then stuck the gun in her back. “Hands up. Isn’t that what y’all say?” He jabbed at her spine with the barrel of his weapon.

  Jess stepped forward. Sally was close enough that Jess could have reached out and grabbed her gun back. The one pointed at her spine stopped her though. Any move she made, he’d shoot her in the back.

  Not here.

  What was their plan?

  Were they reacting to her presence, surprised she was here after casing the bank for days to find the best time to rob it? Or did they know already that she was going to be here?

  Whichever it was, Jess had no intention of letting them know Ted was here. She would do whatever it took to keep it a secret.

  She spread her fingers as she walked. “No one needs to get hurt.” She pointed at the customers and staff, now rounded up into a group of five sitting beside the counter in a huddle on the floor. “You can let these people leave now. I’m not trying to toot my own horn, but I’m a pretty valuable hostage. Things go sideways, I carry weight. You know?”

  She was waffling. Also, she didn’t want things to go sideways.

  Since no one said anything, she continued, “Let these people go. There will be fewer variables that way, and if someone innocent gets hurt, you’ll be in more trouble than you need to be.”

  Plus, one of them could call the PD. If no one had already.

  He chuckled.

  “I’m a cop. I have to at least try to save the innocent people you’re terrorizing.”

  “Yeah, that’s what I am. A terrorist.” He still sounded amused. “Isn’t everyone a terrorist these days
?”

  Jess didn’t figure he needed an answer. “Where are we going?”

  Sally was the one who said, “That other hall over there.”

  The gun jabbed her back.

  Jess gritted her teeth. “I think you should consider letting those people go.” She didn’t want to see anyone hurt, but being forced to leave, knowing innocent people were being hurt might be just as bad. She slowed her step and spoke over her shoulder, even though two guns were pointed at her. “Please, let them go.”

  Sally snorted. “Wow, bleeding heart much.”

  “They have nothing to do with this. Take the money and go. No one needs to get hurt.”

  The blow came out of nowhere.

  “You were saying?”

  On hands and knees, Jess breathed through the pain that cut like a blowtorch through her skull. She worked her jaw side to side and blew out a long breath. Ouch. He’d slammed the butt of his gun against her temple. Faster than she’d been able to react to the blow.

  Sally lifted her foot. Jess twisted and caught the kick, bracing against it. But the heel of Sally’s pump jabbed into her abdomen. She blew out the breath. Not nearly as much force as the blow to her head.

  Sally thought it was hilarious though.

  Jess ignored the pain in her head and her side, rocked back on her feet, and stood up. Teeth gritted.

  “Now move.”

  She strode forward, hands raised again. To a hall she’d never been down before. Sally opened the door to a storage closet and shoved Jess in.

  The gunman said, “I’ll go round up the stragglers.”

  He wandered off, leaving Sally alone at the door of the closet. Jess stood beside one of those huge, yellow mop buckets, one side containing dark gray water.

  Sally stared at her, still holding the gun.

  Jess lifted her chin. “What?”

  Didn’t she have people to terrorize? Once Sally shut the door, Jess could get to work figuring a way out of this.

  Until then? There wasn’t much she could do that wouldn’t result in her getting shot for her troubles. Jess’s whole body tensed. She swayed slightly as pain rolled through her head. It was like the world’s worst migraine—and she knew exactly what those felt like.