by Kat Martin
He had a couple of hours before the meeting he had set up when Castillo had returned his call. Jase showed Kate how to use an opponent’s own weight against him, how to take a fall without getting hurt, demonstrated how to go after the most vulnerable places on a man’s anatomy.
He didn’t like the gleam in Kate’s eyes when they practiced those particular moves.
They were both sweaty by the time they finished.
“Why don’t you go get a shower?” he said. “We’ll do some more work when we get back.”
If it didn’t kill him. Being that close to Kate, touching her, holding her. Damn. He had a set of blue balls that wouldn’t quit.
Half an hour later, they loaded into the Yukon for his meeting with Castillo. Until this was over he wasn’t letting Kate out of his sight.
“Where are we meeting him?” she asked as they rolled along the busy Houston streets.
Jase forced himself not to glance in her direction, to remember the way her skinny jeans hugged those long sexy legs and curved over her perfect ass. Remember how he’d felt wrapped around her when they had been practicing self-defense. The simple scoop-neck top she was wearing made him itch to cup her pretty breasts.
He forced his mind back on track. “Memorial Park,” he said, his voice a little husky. “I didn’t want anyone to see us or overhear our conversation. We have no idea where the threat might come from. And Tony’s a cop. All the more reason to keep the contact on the down low.”
Jase scrubbed a hand over the jaw he hadn’t bothered to shave again that morning. He was tired from the long drive and lack of sleep, impossible with Kate lying in bed on the other side of the wall. He’d wanted her all night. Ached with wanting her.
He had never felt this way about a woman, never felt this driving need, this constant desire just to be with her. He had a feeling he never would again.
But Kate was right. He couldn’t just sleep with her whenever it was convenient. It wouldn’t be right. Or fair. And he couldn’t offer her more than that. He lived a life of uncertainty. And even if Kate was seriously interested in a guy like him, which he doubted, sooner or later she would realize the mistake she had made.
He needed to keep his hands off her and his mind out of the gutter. Once this was over, he’d get out of her life for good.
In the meantime, they had work to do.
He turned into the park and wound his way along the lanes through the lush green landscape, tall pines and gnarled oaks. Dirt paths provided jogging trails, and there were ponds and creeks scattered around the park. When he reached the area where the meet was set, he kept driving just to be safe. He didn’t see anything but a string of bicycle riders and a handful of joggers, working up a sweat along the road.
Circling around, he drove back to the parking area. A brown unmarked police car sat in one of the spaces not far from an old Chevy minivan. A caravan of kids climbed out as Jase pulled into one of the empty spaces. He spotted Castillo sitting at a picnic table on the grass.
“Thanks for meeting us,” Jase said, shaking Castillo’s nut-brown hand. He was a good-looking guy, about six feet, with an athletic build and glossy black hair. “Tony, this is Kate Gallagher.”
“Good to meet you, Kate. Jase filled me in on what’s been happening and told me about your sister. I’m sorry for your loss.”
He had leveled with Castillo, taken a certain amount of risk, but they needed help. To get it, he had to trust someone.
“What can you tell us?” They sat side by side across from Castillo at a picnic table not far from the parking lot. A warm breeze rolled over the short green grass and rustled through the branches of the trees.
“You asked me about what they called the Easter Bunny raid. That was conducted by the sheriff’s department over a period of a couple of weeks back in April. Picked up twenty johns from various locations. The deputies were mostly focused on the men and whether the prostitutes picked up in the sting were being trafficked.”
“Were they?”
“Most of the women were older, been in the life for a while. A few young Mexican girls who’d crossed the border illegally. Nothing organized turned up. Nobody underage. Nobody being held against her will.”
Kate shifted on the wooden bench. “Were any of the women marked with a red lipstick tattoo?”
“Jason mentioned that on the phone. I checked. There was nothing noted in the arrest records. But about a month ago, we got a report of a woman missing from a homeless shelter. Odds were she’d wandered off somewhere, so there wasn’t much concern. Two weeks later, we found her body in a ditch. She’d been beaten to death. She had a lipstick tattoo on the side of her neck.”
“Kate’s sister had that mark, and there’s a dead woman in San Antonio who also has it. Word is both of them lived in Houston before they were killed.”
“So you think the homeless woman was being trafficked and escaped? They caught up with her and killed her?”
“I think that’s what happened to Kate’s sister, Christina.”
Kate leaned forward, catching Castillo’s attention. “Where was the woman’s body found?” A question that had proved useful before.
“Field off Interstate 10 out near Brookshire. Not much around there. After I talked to Jason this morning, I made a few calls. There’s a rumor on the street about an organization that’s set up shop somewhere in the Houston area. First I’ve heard of it, but I have a hunch they been in business awhile.”
“Trafficking?”
“Looks like it. They’re running women, marking them as their property. The people who work for them call that lipstick tat el beso de la muerte. The kiss of death. The men who own them are known as Los Besos. They’re bad hombres, Hawk.”
“We figured that out when they murdered Kate’s sister. The question is, how do we find them?”
Castillo looked at him hard. “A better question might be how do we stop them?”
CHAPTER THIRTY
The conversation went from bad to worse.
“One other thing,” Castillo said. “Last night, a call came in from the sheriff’s office in Wharton, young girl reported missing. Apparently, she’s been gone from home a couple of days. Stepdad convinced the mother she was just acting out. Sooner or later she’d come back on her own.”
“But she hasn’t.”
“Not yet.”
“How old is she?” Kate asked.
“Thirteen.”
Kate glanced away.
“Her name is Callie Spencer,” Castillo continued. “Only a child. As soon as I get back, I’ll text you a photo.”
“Do you...do you have any leads on what might have happened to her?” Kate asked.
“Her mother thinks she may have gone to Houston to see one of her girlfriends. Apparently, she and a girl named Penny Schweitzer were close when Penny’s parents lived in Wharton. We checked it out. Callie never showed up at the Schweitzer girl’s home. No phone call, nothing.”
“They ping her cell?” Jase asked.
“Last call was made from a tower along Highway 69, which supports the mother’s theory she was on her way to Houston.”
“I’d appreciate if you’d send me anything else you’ve got on the girl,” Jase said.
“I’ll send you everything we’ve got and keep you posted on anything new.”
From the park, Jase drove back to the apartment, making evasive maneuvers just to be sure no one followed—including Castillo. According to the detective, HPD hadn’t heard a whisper about a human trafficking ring in the Houston area. Jase couldn’t help wondering why.
Back at the apartment, he sat down in front of his laptop to do a little more digging.
“Hector said not to trust the police,” Kate said, walking up behind him. “Maybe someone in the department’s taking bribes to keep things quiet.”
“Yeah,
well, the more dead bodies pile up, the harder that’s going to be.”
“I can’t stop thinking about that young girl, Callie Spencer. Do you think it’s possible Los Besos kidnapped her?”
“She’s a runaway headed for Houston, so I suppose there’s a chance.”
Kate sighed. “I hope we can stop them before any more women die.”
Or anyone else, Jase thought, especially not him and Kate.
While Kate worked on her email and checked in with her office, Jase worked the internet. The file from Castillo showed up in his email, and Jase brought up the photo of the Spencer girl. Either the picture was old, or Callie looked even younger than her thirteen years. She was pretty, with the baby face of innocence, freckles across the bridge of her nose, long softly curling auburn hair and a fair complexion.
Callie Spencer was a pervert’s wet dream. She’d be worth a bundle to some lowlife who was into young girls.
“Oh, Jason, she looks so young.” Kate had returned to her place behind him. The scent of her soft perfume teased his senses and began to make him hard.
Inwardly he cursed. Damn, he wanted this case over and done, wanted Kate safe back home in Dallas. Safe from him and the temptation she posed.
Her cell phone chimed and she turned to answer it. At the smile on her face when the call ended, he came to his feet.
“What is it?”
“That was Holly. I went to see her at the hospital when her baby was born.” Her smile widened. “A beautiful little girl she named Angie.”
“Good for her,” Jase said, trying to ignore Kate’s wistful smile. There was a time he’d wanted kids, a family. Too late for him now. Just thinking about it made his chest feel tight.
“Holly called to ask if we were still looking for the men who killed Chrissy,” Kate said excitedly. “She said she’d thought of something that might help us.”
“We could sure use something.”
“Chrissy told Holly the women were locked in the back of an eighteen-wheeler and driven out to truck stops on the interstate. That’s where she was the night she escaped.”
Jase felt a rush like a tip coming in on a skip he was hunting. “All right, Holly!”
“Not pickups or minivans, Jase. They’re driving the women around in big diesel trucks. That has to be a lot easier for us to track down.”
“The only place you can hide an eighteen-wheeler is in plain sight. They’re taking the women to places the drivers hang out.”
“Like truck stops and rest areas. That’s where they find their clientele.”
“Yeah. Could also be places where a lot of deliveries are made.”
“Like the port.”
Jase nodded. “Port of Houston has trucks in and out all hours of the day and night.”
“So how do we find out which trucks are hauling women?”
His mind replayed the conversation he’d had with Tony Castillo. “They found the homeless woman’s body off I-10. Lot of truck stops along the interstate. We’re going to have to do some basic detective work.”
“Ask questions, you mean.”
“That’s right. If we get a lead, we’ll stake the place out, see what turns up.”
Kate grinned. “Just like in the movies.”
Not quite, Jase thought. A stakeout was about as much fun as watching a mushroom grow. But he didn’t say that. Maybe he could risk leaving Kate in the apartment. Might be the safest bet.
But what if it wasn’t?
He’d cross that bridge later. In the meantime, they would keep digging.
* * *
It was full dark when they arrived at the Flying J truck stop out I-10 near Brookshire, the closest fuel stop to where the homeless woman’s body had been found. The diesel pumps were all full, the yard lined with eighteen-wheelers of every year, make and color.
Like all travel facilities on the interstate, trucks arrived and departed round the clock. Long-haul truckers often slept in the back of their rigs. Facilities were provided for the drivers: bathrooms, showers, and a place to purchase food. Kate figured the men, often far from home, were the perfect candidates for female companionship.
“I’ll go in and wander around,” she said. “If I buy something, it’ll give me an excuse to ask a few questions.”
“Keep it on the down low. We don’t want word getting back to Los Besos.”
Kate nodded. “What about you?”
“I’m a guy. I’m going to see if anyone in there can help me get laid.”
Kate grinned. The way Jason looked—six foot four inches of solid male muscle, shadow of beard along his jaw, gorgeous blue eyes—half the female staff would likely volunteer.
They went inside separately. The main structure was a big stucco building with bathrooms for travelers in the back, and row after row of items up front to temp the unwary: packaged junk food, soft drinks and beer, coffee, hot dogs, even hot meals. Tourists, truckers and locals all wandered the aisles.
Kate meandered from row to row, finally stopped next to a clerk she spotted refilling shelves. “Is this place always this busy?”
The woman glanced up, older, dark brown hair, a little overweight. “It never stops. The people who own it must make a fortune.”
Kate chuckled. She looked through the items on the shelves as if she might be interested, picked up a souvenir stuffed Texas Ranger bear. “With this many people around, I imagine the place could be dangerous at night. I heard a woman’s body was found not far from here.”
“Yeah, I heard about that. Pretty uncommon for something like that to happen. Sheriff’s department does a good job of keeping an eye on things around here.”
Kate picked up the bear. “This is cute. I think I’ll take it.” Satisfied with the information she’d gotten, she went to pay for the bear, then headed back out to the Yukon. A few minutes later, Jase opened the door and slid in behind the wheel.
“Place looks legit. I don’t think Los Besos is working out of here.”
“I don’t, either. The clerk mentioned a strong police presence. She said the woman who was killed was something out of the ordinary.”
He cranked the engine. “Lot of truck stops along I-10.”
The drove farther west to a Love’s Travel Stop, which was also a bust. They stopped at a second Love’s, hit a Travel Plaza, then started back toward the city. They went into a second Flying J, then a TexMart Travel Center.
The TexMart wasn’t part of a big chain like the others, and something about it seemed a little off. There were just as many trucks parked in rows in the asphalt yard, but it wasn’t as brightly lit. The inside of the building was less orderly, with empty spaces on the shelves, the bathrooms neglected.
Since Jason was deep in conversation with the guy refilling the beer cooler, Kate decided to give him some space. She bought a cup of coffee and went back out to the Yukon.
She watched several trucks pull in and a couple of them fuel up and pull out. Nothing looked suspicious. Jason still hadn’t returned. She wished she could be a fly on the wall for the conversation he was having.
CHAPTER THIRTY-ONE
“Look, I’m not supposed to send anyone out there who wasn’t referred by a regular customer,” the clerk said.
“Dude, I got an old lady and three kids,” Jase said. “Only time I get any is when I’m on the road. One of the drivers mentioned this place. Said if I wanted some action, this is where I could find it.”
“But you said you don’t remember the guy’s name.”
“Joe something. Drives for one of the big moving companies.” Jase reached into his pocket and took out his wallet, pulled out a fifty-dollar bill. “Man, my old lady’s pregnant again. It’s been so long my balls are turning blue. Cut me a break, will you?”
The clerk was a slim guy in his late twenties with wheat blond hair and an unassuming f
ace. He studied the fifty, reached over and plucked it out of Jase’s hand. “Truck’s in tomorrow night around eleven. You need to know the password to get in.”
“What is it?”
“Firebird.”
Jase grinned. “Thanks, bro.” He looked down at the name tag pinned to the guy’s shirt. “I won’t forget this, Wally.”
The clerk just grunted. As Jase walked away, the smile slid from his face.
He climbed into the Yukon. “Truck’ll be here tomorrow night.” He clicked on his belt and pulled out onto the interstate.
“Are we going to call the police?”
The question he’d been considering. “It’s a risk. I trust Castillo, but he can’t make the bust alone. He’s got to bring in his superiors, and if one of them’s dirty, word will get back to Los Besos. If that happens, we’ll be in more danger than we are now.”
Kate sat back in her seat. “So what are we going to do?”
Jase rubbed a hand over his unshaven jaw. “If we don’t bust these guys tomorrow night, we might not get another chance.” There really was no decision to make. “I’ll call Castillo as soon as we get back to the apartment.”
Jase phoned the detective the minute he walked into the living room. “You need to leave Kate out of this,” he said. “Can you do that?”
“I’ll do my best,” Castillo said.
The detective called back the following morning. “The bust is set, but you need to be there. You’re the guy who was given the info. The arrests will go smoother if you’re there to play your part.”
“Don’t worry. I’ll be there.” Jase ended the call.
Convincing Kate to let him go without her was going to be the tricky part. He probably should have told her sooner, but he waited, hoping to avoid an argument. He knew he was in trouble when she walked out of the bedroom that night dressed completely in black, her thick blond curls pulled into a low ponytail.
“It’s going to take a while to drive to the TexMart,” she said. “If the truck is supposed to be there at eleven, shouldn’t we get going?”
“The cops will get there early enough to set up a perimeter. They’ll stay out of sight until the truck is in position and working the johns who show up.”
