Expired Game (Last Chance County Book 5)

by Lisa Phillips

  He didn’t want to be dragged into this. “Look…” Ted had no idea how to explain. He glanced at Eric, who nodded. “Dean was on the phone with our father, and we traced his GPS. It led us here.”

  “So you kick the door in?” Basuto stared them all down. “Throw me on my face and cuff me when all I’m doing is watching TV?”

  Ted probably wouldn’t have thought that was too suspicious.

  Dean glanced at Special Agent Cullings. The knowing expression on the Special Agent’s face told Ted exactly which one of them had subdued Basuto. He figured Dean may even have argued or hesitated, allowing Eric to take the lead—if he hadn’t already been in that position.

  Whichever way it went down, the FBI agent seemed to not see a problem with what had happened. Eric said, “My orders are to bring in Pierce Cartwright by any means necessary. Or anyone associated with him. This is a serious situation with national security stakes. Pierce Cartwright will be brought in. By any means necessary.”

  “Well, clearly I’m not him. And he’s not here. Check.”

  Eric said, “We have.”

  Jenkins shifted. “I’ll take one more look.”

  “No snooping,” Basuto called after him as he watched Jenkins disappear out of sight. Then he glanced at Eric again. “Seriously? Raiding my house and cuffing me?”

  Ted understood his frustration and anger. But facts were facts. “This townhouse is leased to Leonard Orlando.” Basuto would recognize the name. The firefighter. One of the men who had chased Ted and Jess down that hill? They’d watched one man who wasn’t a firefighter go over the edge, probably to his death. Search and rescue crews hadn’t found anything, last he’d heard. The other man? Nowhere to be found.

  Was Leonard the one that should be implicated, or was it a real possibility Basuto was involved?

  The sergeant sighed. “I sublease from him. He and his wife decided to end their separation, and they’re trying to make it work again.”

  “And my dad?” Ted wanted an answer. If Basuto knew his father, he had to know. They all did.

  “Clearly this is a setup.” Basuto sighed, his arms still secured behind his back. “To keep us chasing our tails and the FBI occupied with busywork that will lead nowhere.”

  “That means Cartwright knew we’d double cross him.”

  Dean said, “Or he stays apprised of what the FBI is doing somehow.”

  Ted figured their raid of this townhouse had also likely been seen. By his father, at least, if not by West as well. “The GPS led us here. I doubt he has the tech to spoof that.”

  “I’m not working with him. Or for him. Or however that works.” Basuto’s expression pleaded for them to believe him. “I’m being set up.”

  “Let’s go talk it over with Conroy.” Eric stepped toward him. “But if you try anything, I’ll treat you as though you’re Pierce Cartwright’s right-hand man.”

  “Fine.” Basuto twisted so Eric could remove the cuffs.

  Jenkins returned to the room. Eric lifted his chin, and the Special Agent shook his head. Ted figured that exchange meant Jenkins hadn’t found anything. They led Basuto out, and he turned to Dean. “A setup? You think that’s what this is?”

  “I don’t think he was here.” Dean glanced around. “Or, maybe he was outside. Close enough the satellite couldn’t tell exactly—like when the Maps app thinks you’re in the river but you’re walking right next to it.”

  “It’s more accurate than that, but you’re right that there could be some margin for error.”

  “We still did the right thing.”

  Ted knew that. Their father was a dangerous fugitive. He was clever and inventive. The idea of seeing the old man again made everything inside him start to frost in pure terror. He wanted to run. Get as far away as fast as possible, so he’d never have to face any of this.

  What matters is what you do with the future. Not what happened in the past that you can no longer change.

  Jess had it right. He should’ve listened to her before instead of shutting her out.

  Ted pulled out his phone and dialed her number just to check in. He didn’t have to tell her he knew now that she was right. There were things he could change. There were things he had some control over, and others he had zero control over.

  Ted needed to work on what he could, and let Whoever was in control of the other stuff guide that. How do I do that, God? His Heavenly Father hadn’t been a huge factor—ever since Ted had converted and then essentially walked away from the whole thing. But if he wanted to figure out how to do this, God was probably the way to go. After all, the whole point was that He was the smarter one. The all-knowing Creator. Ted figured that meant He could be trusted.

  At least, he hoped that was true.

  Jess’s phone connected to the call.

  “Hello?” He frowned at his brother. “Jess, can you hear me?”

  After a brief rustle, the line went dead.

  Twenty-three

  “I’ll refill the popcorn bowl.” Jess swiped the empty bowl off the coffee table and stood, trying to remember where her phone was. A couple of texts weren’t worth checking right now. But if she got a call from someone in the PD, she’d answer it. Only so they could tell her they’d found Pierce Cartwright. Otherwise she would just continue to spend time with her sister, pretending everything was fine, and that this wasn’t about protective detail.

  The second she rounded the couch and Ellie couldn’t see her face any longer, Jess let her expression drop. Displeasure and probably exhaustion replaced the fake smile she reserved for mindless sitcoms. Jess much preferred drama or true crime. She didn’t need to pretend everything was fine while she was alone in the…

  A man stood in their kitchen.

  Jess froze at the doorway. She recognized him immediately from a recent national news article. Former CIA Director exposed for private war mongering. Kidnapping. Enhanced interrogation. Illegal operations. Money laundering.

  On the run.

  Probably armed and highly dangerous.

  “Pierce Cartwright.” Jess tried to decide whether to hug the bowl to her front or hurl it at the man standing by the back door. “Or is it Adrian West.”

  Pierce Cartwright was his birth name, and his name as Dean and Ted’s father. A name he’d signed when drafted into the Army, and the name sewn onto his fatigues while he served in Vietnam. A name belonging to the man who’d posed for a photo along with the other founders of Last Chance.

  More recently he’d used the name Adrian West to get the top job at the CIA.

  His expression tightened and then flashed, widening into his winning, conman smile. Amusement. Jess felt disdain in the pit of her stomach.

  She almost respected him for all he’d managed to achieve. After all, her undercover work often took her into circles like that. She knew what it took to talk her way into the inner sanctum. He’d managed to fool key players in government, fake a military service much more impressive than what he’d actually done, and be appointed by the President to the job of CIA director.

  She almost respected him.

  Instead, she cocked her hip and asked, “What are you doing here?”

  Jess heard her sister move behind her as she asked him the question. Hopefully Ellie was using her cell phone to call the police department. Or the FBI.

  Jess could throw the bowl, then race to the refrigerator and grab her gun from on top. It would be risky, though worth it if she could shoot him. He was closer to her weapon than she was. She might not have time to get across the room before he recovered from the bowl thrown at his head.

  He blinked, ending his study of her. Ellie was out of view. Jess knew that, because he was now only looking at her.

  Good. Her sister should stay out of sight until Ted and Dean’s father was gone.

  “You can call me Pierce.”

  Jess bit back a retort. Should she ask him how he managed to get in through a locked door? Why couldn’t he just answer the question of why he was her
e? Simply, so he’d understand her, she said, “Whatever. Just tell me what you want.”

  “So rude.”

  “You broke into my house. You want me to be accommodating?” Jess eyed the knife block. Or were the kitchen scissors closer?

  “Violent little thing, aren’t you?”

  “When it’s necessary.” All she needed to do was keep him here until the FBI showed up and took him into custody. She could try and subdue him, but all that was necessary was making sure he didn’t leave.

  Probably they were on their way right now.

  Should she try and arrest him? Sure, he was wily. He might get away, or she might get hurt. Or more hurt.

  But if she managed it, Jess would get the credit for catching a man who was currently the nation’s most wanted fugitive.

  “Just tell me what you want.”

  “And make it fast, because the FBI is on their way?” His expression still held that air of amusement.

  Behind her, she heard Ellie make a strangled sound. Her sister was listening. And was she really supposed to believe his flippant question meant he wasn’t worried if the feds were on their way? Jess wasn’t sure whether he believed she was able to contact them, or not. Or perhaps he simply wasn’t concerned over the FBI at all.

  Jess shrugged one shoulder, trying to pass this off as no big deal. Truth was, it could end up being one of the most important conversations of her life.

  If she managed to catch Pierce Cartwright personally, that would put her in a top-notch standing with the FBI. They might even ask her to join a task force. She could get a promotion or a sweet undercover assignment. Or both.

  Just the thought of that happening had her taking an involuntary half step forward. Then she caught herself. She was better than that. Better than giving away her intentions or letting her emotions rule her. Especially if she wanted to have any hope of getting usable intel from him.

  He continued that amused stare. “Maybe I just wanted to come by and see the women who have captured my sons’ attention.”

  “While they conveniently happen to be on an operation with the FBI, tracking your location to bring you in?”

  “Stuff happens.”

  Of course, that wasn’t what he’d said. But it was how she preferred to have heard it. “Listen, Pierce. Just say what you have to say, because you don’t have much time before the FBI bursts in and ends it all right here.”

  His lips curled, and his shoulders jerked in a silent chuckle. “I doubt that.” He lifted his phone and shook it. “Signal jammer. Nothing in or out. My son has built many devices for me and has written many programs over the years. They come in handy at times like this.”

  So no one was coming. Jess had to solve this herself? Fine. That was actually good to know, considering she didn’t need to waste time waiting for help to show when it never would. She just needed a plan. Then she was going to go for it.

  All she had to do was subdue him, and she would have the career she wanted.

  Not the life in Last Chance she’d settled for over the previous few years. The nationally recognized career she’d always wanted. Deep down. Respect. Recognition. Those things were so close it almost felt like she could reach out and grab them.

  Jess pitched the bowl at his head. It flew across the room, and she moved. Slid a knife from the butcher block. Rounded the island and rushed at him.

  He brought his arm up to block the bowl, swiping so it thunked off his forearm and hit the floor. He dropped the phone and the screen shattered.

  Jess slammed him against the door and held the knife to his neck. “Ellie?”

  “Yes?” Her sister sounded breathy. Nervous.

  “Get the phone. Shut it off, and then call Conroy.” She bit the words out, trying not to cry over how much her forearm hurt right now.

  She heard her sister move but didn’t shift her gaze from Pierce Cartwright. Ted’s father didn’t even twitch. If he did, he’d only get cut across his neck.

  His eyes flared. “You won’t kill me.”

  “Wanna bet?” She lifted her brows. “I’m sure the FBI won’t mind if you’re captured dead or alive. After all, an autopsy is cheaper than a federal court case that’s going to drag on for months.”

  “What do you want?”

  “In exchange for letting you go?” She nearly laughed. “You’re in no position to bargain.”

  “There’s always room for a deal.”

  That might have worked in the past, keeping him from getting arrested until his silver-haired years. It might’ve made it so he managed to escape federal custody after that. But he wouldn’t get away now.

  “So,” he said. “What do you want?”

  “Who is West?”

  His chest shook under the pressure of her forearm. “Just the world then, nothing small.”

  “I’ll put in a good word for you.”

  “I’m sure that’s untrue.” He studied her features. “He’ll never let you find out. In fact, he asked me to warn you about what happens to nosy little girls who don’t walk away.”

  “And I’m gonna pass a message back like this is middle school recess?”

  Never mind that she figured this had been his whole point in coming. He said it was to get a look at the women in his sons’ lives, but she’d figured that wasn’t it. Like he even cared? Like she and Ted were in an actual relationship?

  No, this made far more sense.

  West had sent him here on another errand. Pierce Cartwright was here to deliver a message from the man she was trying to find.

  “He’s got you, doesn’t he?” Jess needed to tread carefully, or he would shut down. “You had to come here. Risk capture, or me killing you, just to tell me what he said.” Or he would explode, and she’d be able to use the opportunity.

  He said nothing.

  “Why not just run instead of doing favors for West?”

  “I have my reasons.”

  “I’d love to hear them, but it occurs to me that I don’t care.”

  Again, he was silent.

  “Oh, how the mighty have fallen. From running the CIA, king of your domain, to this?” A trickle of blood accompanied her words, but she didn’t let up the pressure on his neck. If she did that, he would jump on it. “Ellie!”

  “Conroy is on his way.” Her sister’s voice shook.

  Probably with a team of officers in full SWAT gear and the same of FBI agents.

  Jess said, “Get my gun off the top of the fridge.”

  The skin around Pierce’s eyes flexed. Nervous? He should be. It didn’t much matter to Jess if she wound up killing him or not. They’d probably still give her a promotion.

  She heard her sister moving around and said, “Time’s running out. So tell me who he is. It’s your only leverage here.”

  He had to know there were a limited number of possible outcomes. Not many ways this could go down, and most of those ended with him either dead or back in FBI custody.

  Ellie said, “What am I supposed to do with this?”

  Jess wanted her to point it, loaded with the safety off, at the man she currently had pinned against the wall. But Ellie didn’t like guns at the best of times.

  His phone vibrated in his hand. They both heard it, but neither moved. Some kind of signal? Or it could be a way to get to West.

  “Give me the phone.”

  He said, “I’ve enjoyed this. Especially the parts where you considered yourself to be in control of the situation here.”

  Jess didn’t like the sound of that. “Hand the phone over and put your hands on your head. After that, I will allow you to turn around.” To her sister, she said, “Ellie, I’m gonna need cuffs.” Her sister knew where she kept them.

  Jess heard her move away. That was for the best. If she was forced to hurt Pierce Cartwright, Ellie didn’t need to see it. She wasn’t a cop. Ellie might have been through plenty in the last few months, but she hadn’t seen nearly the horrors that Jess had.

  “Nicole. That was her n
ame, wasn’t it?”

  Jess’s whole body flinched like she’d been struck. “How do you..?” The knife faltered.

  Pierce shoved her, both hands to her middle as he pushed her back. The corner of the phone dug into her ribs. Jess’s body nearly folded in two, and she hit the dining table but somehow managed to not go down.

  “As if you’ll ever be good enough for one of my sons.” As he spoke, he pulled out a cylinder from his jacket pocket.

  She knew what that was.

  Pierce Cartwright pulled the pin and tossed it, then raced out the kitchen door just as light and sound exploded in the room.

  Blinding her.

  Twenty-four

  The front door swung open just as Ted jumped out of the car. Jess came tearing out of the house at full speed, tripped off the front step, and fell. She landed in a sprawl, face first in the grass.

  “Jess!” He raced to her and landed on the grass beside her. Ted helped her turn over to a sitting position and took a look at her face. “What happened?”

  Jess’s eyes were glazed over, her face flushed and not quite able to focus on him. Her attention darted all over the place. “Where is he…where did he go?”

  “Who are you talking about? Was West here?”

  After she hadn’t answered the phone, they’d all piled into their vehicles and made their way here as quickly as possible. Even Special Agent Cullings. Though two of his colleagues had taken Sergeant Basuto back to the police station so they could talk more to him about what had happened.

  When she still hadn’t said anything, he prompted her. “Jess.”

  She shook her head. “Your dad was here.” Then she lifted two fingers and pressed them between her brows, at the top of her nose. “I think he threw a flashbang at me.”

  Conroy crouched to touch her shoulder. “Which direction did he go?”

  She shook her head again. “I don’t know.” Then paused to wince. “I need to stop shaking my head because it hurts.”

  Conroy straightened to his full height. “I’m going to get on the search.”

  Ted didn’t want to think about the fact his father could get away with this, or that he might be on the loose still. But he also had other priorities right now. He turned to his brother. “Can you take a look at her?”