The Deception

by Kat Martin

  “Drug trafficking?”

  “Sex trafficking, honey. Organized crime. Young girls are smuggled in from other countries or picked up off the street. They get them hooked on drugs, get them to service their customers in exchange for satisfying their drug habit.”

  The color washed out of her face. “You aren’t saying these women are locked up somewhere and held against their will?”

  He inwardly cursed. He hated this, hated having to tell her. “They can be. Mostly they stay because they’re addicts. They need drugs, and they don’t have anywhere else to get them.”

  Kate slumped back in her chair. “Oh, my God. I didn’t put it together. You’re saying she could have been kidnapped right off the street. That it wasn’t her choice.”

  “We don’t know that’s what happened. Not for sure.”

  “But it could be.” A trembly breath whispered out. “Just when I think this can’t get any worse, it does.” She pushed her hair back from her face. “So you think she was being used in some sex trafficking ring, but since she came here from somewhere else, you don’t think the ring is in Dallas.”

  “That’s about it. Benson doesn’t believe it’s here, and Holly and Eli both said Tina came from out of town. She’d only been in Dallas a few weeks.”

  Kate closed her eyes. Jase could almost see her mind spinning through possibilities.

  “She was being held prisoner,” she said, working through the theory. “Forced to do sex acts for drugs. Somehow she managed to escape. She comes to Dallas because her older sister is here, but she wants to get clean before she makes contact.”

  He helped her spin out the thread. “She probably believed she was safe. As long as she didn’t go to the police, she figured she’d be okay.”

  “But she was wrong,” Kate said.

  “She didn’t talk—she was afraid to. But she knew too much so they couldn’t let her live.”

  Kate shoved up from her chair, sending it scraping across the floor. “Oh, God, Jase.”

  He stood up, too, pulled her against him and felt her tremble. “Let me take over, baby. Let me handle things from here on out.”

  Kate jerked out of his arms. “No way in hell! I won’t rest until we find them. I won’t have a moment’s peace until I see every one of those rotten bastards behind bars—or dead.”

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR

  Kate sat back down at the kitchen table. After a couple of deep breaths, she managed to crush her emotions and bring her temper down from boiling to simmer. A thousand scenarios rolled through her head. None of them good.

  When her sister had run away, their mother had never given up hope. But after the first year of searching, Kate had secretly begun to think her father was right and her sister was dead. Thousands of people were reported missing every year. Undoubtedly a number of them were killed in some sort of accident, others fell victim to murderers, particularly kids and young girls like Chrissy.

  Eventually, the police had given up the search. Even the private detective her father had hired thought it was time to quit. Kate had continued to check Chrissy’s social media, hoping something would turn up, but nothing was ever posted on any of her sites again. Kate had forced herself to move on.

  Now she was faced with the possibility that her sister had been held prisoner, unable to get back home. Forced into a life of drugs and prostitution.

  Kate was determined to find out. She wanted justice for Chrissy. Even more, she intended to do everything in her power to keep other women from suffering the same terrible fate.

  She glanced up at the sound of Jason’s cell ringing. He plucked it up off the table, checked the screen and pressed the phone against his ear.

  “Hey, Tab. I’ve been hoping to hear from you.” Jase nodded at something she said. “Hold on. I’m with Kate. She’ll want to hear this. Let me put you on speaker.” He set the phone down on the kitchen table.

  “Hi, Tabby,” Kate said.

  “Hi, Kate. I haven’t forgotten you two. I tried like crazy to track the place Tina’s disposable phone was last used, working backward from the number on her website, but the phone pinged all over Eastern Europe. I haven’t figured out how to get past the wall that’s blocking the info, but I’ve got a couple of new ideas I want to try before I give up.”

  “Tell her what you found, Tab,” Jase impatiently urged.

  “After you guys were here, I set up an alert, anything related to a tattoo like the one on Tina’s neck. I got a hit this morning. A young woman in San Antonio turned up dead.”

  Kate’s stomach knotted.

  “Where’d the info come from?” Jase asked.

  “Got a gamer friend who works in the ME’s office. He happened to notice the alert. When the body came in, he let me know.”

  “Same color, same location behind the left ear?”

  “Yup.”

  “Tab, you’re the best. I owe you.”

  “Yes, you do,” Tabby said. “Don’t worry. I’ll figure a way to collect. Keep him out of trouble, Kate.” Tabby ended the call.

  “Another woman is dead,” Kate said.

  “That’s right.”

  “You think San Antonio is where my sister was before she came here?”

  “I don’t know, but it’s the best lead we’ve got. I know some people down there. I need to make some calls, get a few things lined up. Pack an overnight bag in case we need to stay. We can leave as soon as you’re ready.”

  Jase didn’t ask if she wanted to go. Maybe he had finally accepted that she was in this until it was over.

  Kate hurried out of the kitchen, down the hall to her bedroom. They were on their way to San Antonio. Determination stirred inside her. She had no idea what they would find when they got there.

  Except for another dead girl.

  * * *

  It didn’t take long for Kate to shower and dress, then pack an overnight bag. She found Jason pacing impatiently in the living room. Though the view of the city was fantastic, he never stood in front of the windows. Fear of heights? She was pretty sure Hawk Maddox wasn’t afraid of anything.

  “I need to stop by my place to change and pick up some gear before we head out,” he said. “We’ll hit the drive-thru on the way, grab a breakfast sandwich or something. Then we’ll head for the airport.”

  “We’re flying?”

  “Helluva lot faster.”

  They had almost reached the front door when the intercom buzzed. Kate recognized the lobby guard’s voice, reached over and answered. “I was just leaving, Gordy. What is it?”

  “Mr. Bradley’s here to see you. Shall I send him up?”

  She flicked a glance at Jase. His jaw was set, his features tight. He didn’t like Andrew Bradley. Not for the first time, Kate wondered what she had ever seen in the man.

  “I’m on my way out the door, Gordy. Tell him he’ll have to call me later.”

  “Will do, Ms. Gallagher.”

  Jase pulled open the door and they made their way down to the parking garage.

  Unfortunately, Andrew was waiting. He probably still had a parking pass. He smiled when she stepped out of the elevator, spotted Jason, and his smile melted away. “Still keeping bad company, I see.”

  Jase took a step toward him, but Kate set a hand on his chest. “Let it go, Jase. Give me a minute, will you? I’ll be right there.”

  His jaw clenched. “If that’s the way you want it.” Grabbing her overnight bag, he strode off toward the Yukon.

  Dammit. Men. Especially the macho variety. She turned to Andrew, who was staring daggers at Jason’s broad back. In his usual expensively tailored three-piece suit, his hair freshly trimmed, Andrew looked good. Maybe it was his always-perfect looks that had fooled her.

  Kate glanced up at him. “I’m sorry, Andrew, I don’t have time to talk. I’m heading out of town for a couple
of days.”

  “I came by to tell you how sorry I am for missing your sister’s funeral. I didn’t find out until it was over. You should have called me, Kate. I would have been there for you.”

  She hadn’t wanted him there or anywhere near her. “We’re over, Andrew. You don’t seem to get that even though it was your idea.”

  He ignored the remark and glanced over to where Jason leaned against the Yukon, his arms crossed over his chest.

  Andrew cocked a dark eyebrow. “So that’s the way it is. You’re sleeping with him. I can’t believe you’re involved with a guy like that.”

  Irritation trickled through her. “A guy like what, Andrew? Jason’s smart, he’s interesting and he’s always there when I need him. Unlike you, he’s not a control freak.” Well, not exactly. “And I don’t have to pretend to be someone else when I’m with him—he likes me the way I am.”

  “I liked you the way you were. We enjoyed the same things. Had the same goals. We were perfect together.”

  “Then why did you end things?”

  “Because I wanted to be sure it was right. Now that I’ve had time to figure it out, I realize what I gave up. Get rid of him, Kate. Give me a chance to make things right.”

  “Sorry, not interested. Find someone else.” She started to walk away, but Andrew caught her arm.

  “I’ve got a job for you. You’ve heard of Solerno Engineering? Stan Weiner, the CEO, happened to mention they’re having some internal problems and need to hire a management consulting firm to help them figure things out. I told him you were the best in Dallas. Stan checked into it and he wants to hire you.”

  It was a major deal. It would make her company a lot of money, which Andrew surely knew. “At the moment, I’m involved in something, but I’ll give him a call, see if we can work something out.”

  “He needs you now, Kate. He won’t be willing to wait.”

  She studied his face, didn’t miss the cunning she had overlooked before. How had she been so blind? “I think I’m beginning to understand why you’re so determined we should get back together. You think, with your help, Gallagher and Company can make some very serious bucks. Which, if we were married, would also make you some very serious bucks.”

  “There’s nothing wrong with ambition, Kate. Not when it’s good for both of us.”

  She looked up just then to see Jason striding toward her. Clearly he was tired of waiting.

  “You coming with me or staying with him?”

  She didn’t have to think twice. “I’m coming with you. Let’s go.”

  Some of the tension drained from his shoulders as she took his arm and let him lead her over to the Yukon. Jason opened the passenger door, and Kate settled herself inside. He didn’t say anything as he drove out of the garage, but the set of his jaw said his temper was still running hot.

  “Let’s get something straight.” His big hands gripped the wheel a little too tightly. “You’re either with him—or you’re with me. You can’t have it both ways.”

  “Andrew had a business opportunity for me. It could be worth a lot of money.”

  “Yeah?” He flicked her a sideways glance. “And what’s he expect from you in return?”

  If he didn’t look so serious, Kate might have smiled. “Nothing I’m willing to give.” She couldn’t remember the last time a man had been jealous of her. It felt kind of good.

  “I don’t like him sniffing after you,” Jason grumbled.

  “I’m surprised you care. You don’t seem like the jealous type.”

  “I don’t share, Kate.”

  She caught his gaze and held it. “Neither do I.”

  His shoulders relaxed. She figured that meant they had just struck a deal. Kate felt oddly relieved.

  “I don’t like him,” Jase said. “You deserve a lot better than a dick like that.”

  She wondered what he’d say if she asked if he was interested in the position, but she had a feeling she knew the answer. Once the case was solved, Jason would be moving on. Since there was no point thinking about it, Kate settled back in her seat.

  The atmosphere in the Yukon improved even more after they’d driven through the local McDonald’s and picked up breakfast goodies. Both of them were hungry. They carried warm bags of sausage-and-egg biscuits into Jason’s town house. The delicious aroma surrounded them as they sat down to eat.

  Kate glanced around the sunny kitchen. She had liked his place before. Now she was struck by how cozy it was, somehow snug and warm, a contrast to her open, sparsely furnished, modern apartment, which had a tendency to feel slightly cold.

  Jase had showered at her place earlier that morning. When they finished the meal, he went upstairs to change, came back down in crisp blue jeans and a short-sleeved white Western shirt with pearl snaps on the front. He was wearing his usual scuffed brown boots, instead of the shiny black lizard boots he’d worn to the funeral.

  They headed back to the garage to load his gear into the Yukon.

  “What’s in the bag?” Kate asked as he stowed a heavy black canvas satchel in the back and slammed the lift gate.

  “We don’t know what we’re heading into. Better to be prepared.”

  Weapons then. She wasn’t surprised, yet worry filtered through her. She thought of the night she had gone with him and Bran Garrett to Eli Zepeda’s, thought of the shooting in Waco. Danger could be waiting in San Antonio.

  She was glad to be facing it with Hawk Maddox.

  CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE

  Jase had a dark blue Mustang rental car waiting when he landed the Cessna at a small private airport not far from San Antonio International. Once he had the plane tied down, they drove to the northwest side of town for the meeting Dr. Jerry Maxwell had arranged at the Bexar County Medical Examiner’s office.

  Since you never burned a source, Jase didn’t mention Tabby’s friend in the ME’s office, the guy who had called with the intel.

  It took less than twenty minutes to drive from the airport via I-410 west to Louis Pasteur Drive, wind through the maze of buildings and make their way inside the multistoried structure.

  As they approached the front desk, Jase flashed Kate a glance full of concern. Coming here had to be painful for her. He remembered the day she had gone to the medical examiner’s office to identify her sister’s body, ended up drunk at the Sagebrush Saloon and cried on his shoulder.

  He opened his mouth to ask if she wanted to wait outside, but before a word came out, she just shook her head. “Don’t even go there.”

  How the hell did she always seem to know what he was thinking? “Fine.” Didn’t really matter. He’d known what her answer would be. He needed to accept she wasn’t backing down no matter what.

  They stopped at the front desk to check in. Jase gave the blonde woman behind the counter his name.

  The woman smiled. “Dr. Chow left word for you to come straight back.”

  Dr. Maryann Chow was waiting when they walked into her office. A thin woman with high cheekbones and glossy black hair pulled into a tight knot at the back of her neck greeted them.

  “You’re Jason Maddox?” she asked.

  “That’s right. This is Kate Gallagher.”

  “It’s nice to meet you.” The woman extended a smooth, long-fingered hand. “Dr. Maxwell gave me both your names and a little background on the case you’re working. He also sent me the autopsy file of the first victim. Since the cases may be connected, I’ve been expecting to hear from the Dallas police.”

  “They’re pretty busy right now,” Jase said, giving the cops an excuse that also explained why the ME should cooperate with him. “That’s the reason we’re following up.”

  “Jerry said you would probably want to take a look at the victim.”

  Jase didn’t glance at Kate. He was making an executive decision. He knew the pain she would suffer w
hen she saw that dead girl and thought of her sister. He could protect her from that. If she didn’t like it, too bad.

  “I’d like to see her, yes. Ms. Gallagher is going to wait here.”

  Kate looked up at him but, amazingly, didn’t argue. Smart girl. This was one argument she wasn’t going to win.

  “We’ll go over the file after we’re finished,” Dr. Chow said kindly to Kate.

  Jase followed the doctor out of the office, down to the morgue. Inside the sterile, white-walled chamber, the woman walked over to a bank of stainless refrigerator doors, found the one she was looking for, and pulled it open.

  Rolling out a stainless-steel table, she drew back a sterile white sheet to reveal a waxy, doll-like figure with plain brown, shoulder-length hair. There were bruises on her neck and torso.

  “There was no DNA match,” the doctor said. “At this point, we haven’t been able to identify the victim. We’re running facial recognition but nothing has popped so far.”

  “Cause of death?”

  “Strangulation.”

  His gaze went to the bruises on her neck and the ligature marks on her hands and wrists. The doctor moved the head so he could see the lipstick tattoo.

  “Same as the other victim?” Dr. Chow asked.

  “The tat’s the same, location’s the same, behind her left ear. Ligature marks on both victims. Different cause of death.”

  She nodded. “Yes, I saw that in the file Dr. Maxwell sent.” She pulled the sheet back up, covering the ghostly face and thin body, and rolled the drawer closed. It latched with a sharp click that sent chills down Jase’s spine.

  “We’ll go over the details when we’re back in my office.”

  He nodded. Kate would want to hear, and the cold, antiseptic room made his skin crawl.

  When the doctor opened the door to her office, Kate stood up from the chair she perched on in front of the desk. “Was it...was she another victim?”

  “Looks like it,” Jase said, closing the door behind him. Dr. Chow sat down, and Jase sat down next to Kate.

  The doctor studied the file on her computer screen. “Our Jane Doe was approximately nineteen years old. As I said, cause of death was strangulation, in this case by compression with an object, something like a metal rod or a length of wood pressed across the throat.”