Stolen

by Allison Brennan

  “That was on Kurt,” she snapped. “He should have known as soon as he went whistle-blower the FBI would be crawling all over the place. I only needed one more day—and that day has cost us two years of our lives.”

  “You should always have a backup plan.”

  “Really?” She stared at him. “And what’s your backup plan now, Sean? You think you can talk your way out of this?” She softened her tone. “It doesn’t have to be this way. I have the accounts. We can disappear together. It was eight-point-seven million two years ago. Think of how much money is in the accounts now.”

  “Depending on the interest rate, you’re probably looking at ten mill, take or leave.”

  “Ten million is a lot of money. We can disappear. We can go anywhere.”

  “Ten million is a drop in the bucket if you don’t want to be caught.”

  “I already have property waiting for me; I can live on the interest alone for the rest of my life.”

  She started typing again on the computer. She took out the book and logged in to a secure account. Granite Trust.

  She caught him looking and turned the computer away. “I should have known you’d try to manipulate me.”

  “I’m not doing anything.”

  “We were really good together.”

  “We had fun,” he said. “But that was a long time ago. Before I knew you were a killer.”

  “Isn’t that the pot calling the kettle black! I’ve followed your career for years. You’re certainly no saint.”

  “I never killed anyone in cold blood. Colton was our friend.”

  “Some friend you were. He worshiped you and you walked away. Who stayed? Hmm? Me.”

  “You killed Hunter.”

  She didn’t say anything.

  “Dammit, Skye! He didn’t do anything to anyone.”

  “You had him spying on me. His death is on you.”

  Skye went back to her laptop. Her hands were shaking. Was she angry or upset?

  Sean looked behind him again. The car was still there.

  He said, “This road goes on forever.” And it was slow. There were lights and stop signs. It was a residential and business area. “There has to be a faster way to go wherever we’re going.”

  “Shut up. This isn’t working.”

  “You must have typed wrong. Or maybe your lover Kurt took the money a long time ago.”

  “Don’t be ridiculous. He wouldn’t have gone through this elaborate and expensive plan if he had the accounts and the decoding key.” She’d obviously thought that might have been a possibility.

  She stared at the address book and slowly turned pages, rubbing them with her fingers. “This isn’t my book. It doesn’t feel right.”

  “And you can tell that after two years.”

  She pulled out a gun and put it at his head.

  “Pull over.”

  “Skye—”

  “Now!”

  The phone in his pocket vibrated once. He hoped that meant Noah had Lucy. He had to believe she was safe.

  Sean pulled the car over to the side of the road and slipped it into park.

  “Hands on the wheel!”

  He did as Skye ordered, waiting for the right time to attack.

  “I don’t know what you did, but this isn’t my book. I will kill you. After you hear your girlfriend die.”

  Sean used his right arm to push Skye’s gun hand up, toward the roof, and his left hand to reach over, grab her wrist, and disarm her. He turned her gun on her and said, “Get out.”

  “I hate you!”

  Sean saw movement on Skye’s side of the car. Jack? Suddenly Sean’s door opened. He turned his gun toward his attacker.

  Evan.

  Evan slammed Sean’s head into the steering wheel. Sean dropped the gun; Skye retrieved it. Evan slammed the front door shut, then got into the backseat. He put a gun to Sean’s head. “Drive or I kill you.”

  Sean wiped blood off his nose and glanced around. He saw a shadow disappear and wondered why Jack hadn’t helped him. Unless Lucy wasn’t safe yet.

  Sean put the car in drive. His nose was probably broken; it hurt like hell.

  Skye said, “Evan, thank you. I swear, I don’t know—”

  Evan turned the gun on Skye and shot her in the head. Sean was so startled that he swerved the car, sideswiping two parked vehicles.

  Evan had the gun aimed at the back of Sean’s head. “I had the car wired. I heard everything. In case you’re wondering, I acted on LeGrand’s orders.”

  Sean had no idea what was going on or who was in charge. He glanced in the rearview mirror but couldn’t see anything except Evan’s scowl.

  “Turn right here,” Evan ordered.

  Sean looked in the side mirrors. There might have been a truck following, but he couldn’t be sure.

  “If you’re looking for your buddy, I slashed his tires. You’re on your own. Turn left at the second light and it’s a straight shot down to the marina.”

  Evan reached over and took the pink book, now bloodied, from Skye’s lap. “If she’s right and this is fake, you’re going to be Kurt’s little lapdog. You’ll get him every dime you stole from him. We don’t care where it comes from. I know you can do it, and so does he.”

  “Fuck you.”

  “Tough guy.”

  The truck following them looked like the same one that followed them before. If Evan really did slash Jack’s tires, who was that?

  Crossing Brooklyn seemed to take forever. They finally emerged at the ocean, the change sudden and welcome.

  “Here,” Evan said. “Turn at the gate. Roll down your window carefully. The code is three-two-nine-eight.”

  Sean typed in the code and the gate rolled open.

  “Drive as far as you can on the dock, then turn off the car.”

  Sean did as Evan ordered.

  Evan was on his phone. “I have Rogan and the codes. Skye said there’s something wrong with the book before I shot her.”

  He listened, and Sean couldn’t hear what LeGrand said.

  Evan hung up and said, “Slowly get out of the car. I will shoot you if you do anything other than what I tell you.”

  Sean got out of the car slowly.

  “Keep your hands up,” Evan said as he got out of the back. “Now put them on the roof of the car.”

  Sean complied, discreetly glancing around to get his bearings. The icy wind from the Atlantic Ocean stung his arms and eyes, whipping the water up, dampening his skin. Evan cuffed him, then led him down the dock to the end.

  Sean couldn’t be sure, but he thought he saw a shadow moving along the dock parallel to them. If that was Jack, how was he going to get to this dock? Swim?

  Maybe it was his imagination.

  LeGrand stepped out onto the deck of a beautiful forty-two-foot cruiser named Rosebud. His face was red with rage. As soon as Sean was on the deck, LeGrand hit him. “Evan, take the boat out. Now, Sean Rogan, you will pay for stealing from me again.”

  LeGrand took the book from Evan as Evan went up to the small wheel room. LeGrand said, “You will find my money or I’ll kill you.”

  “Go ahead. I’m not working for you.”

  “I killed your brother; I killed your girlfriend; I will kill everyone you’ve ever known.”

  Sean had a moment of hesitation. He knew Duke was alive, but what if LeGrand had already killed Lucy?

  While LeGrand ranted, Sean pulled a small bobby pin from the pocket seam in his jeans and picked the lock on the handcuffs.

  “I want my money!” LeGrand hit Sean again, and he dropped the pin after one side sprang open.

  He swung his arm around and the free end of the handcuffs hit LeGrand square in the face. LeGrand fell to his knees. Sean ran to the other side of the deck, but Evan came down from the wheel house and hit him with a metal pole, then pointed his gun at Sean’s head.

  “Stupid fuck,” Evan said.

  Sean was on his knees. His chest burned, and he was certain he’d crack
ed or broken a rib. He couldn’t move if he wanted. He took a couple deep breaths and didn’t think his lung had been pierced.

  LeGrand came up behind him and kicked him to the deck.

  “We’ll get the money,” LeGrand told Evan, “without him.”

  Sean rolled over onto his back and looked at the gun in LeGrand’s hand. Then Sean looked up, at the top of the yacht, and saw Jack. Jack nodded once.

  Sean said to LeGrand, “Don’t look up.”

  LeGrand didn’t take the bait, but Evan did.

  Sean kicked Evan’s legs out from under him. Through the pain in Sean’s ribs, he fought Evan for the gun. A bullet flew by Sean; then the shadow that was Jack Kincaid jumped down a full story and tackled Kurt LeGrand to the ground.

  Sean disarmed Evan and held the gun on him. “Don’t move or I will kill you.”

  Evan lunged for Sean and Sean fired twice.

  Evan collapsed.

  Sean crawled over to where Jack was holding LeGrand and hitting him in the face.

  “Jack,” Sean said. “Stop.”

  Jack hit LeGrand once more, then dropped him. He was barely conscious.

  Floodlights lit up the docks and through a loudspeaker came Noah’s voice.

  “This is the FBI. You are surrounded. Put down your weapons.”

  Sean looked at Jack and started laughing.

  * * *

  Sean had no idea what happened at the docks after the FBI showed up. He’d been transported by ambulance to a hospital, Lucy by his side. He got X-rays and the doctor said two ribs were cracked, but not broken. Didn’t matter, they hurt like hell. He was taped up and ordered not to do anything strenuous. The doctor had wanted to keep him overnight because of his concussion, but Sean refused. It was already six in the morning, he didn’t want to stay an additional day. Still, they were running more tests and Sean had to wait in a bed, like an invalid.

  At least they let Lucy in.

  “Did you see your brother?” Sean asked.

  She nodded. “You don’t remember him helping you walk to the ambulance?”

  “Vaguely.” Once the adrenaline from the fight wore off, his brain had turned fuzzy.

  “Maybe you should stay overnight—”

  “No,” he said. “We’ll get a hotel. I need you, Lucy.”

  He leaned up to kiss her, wincing as his ribs protested.

  Lucy gently pushed him back down, sat on the edge of the bed, and kissed him. “Don’t move.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “You asked me that a dozen times already.”

  “Tell me again.”

  “I’m fine. Some bruises, nothing broken. I promise.”

  He sighed in relief. “I didn’t know if LeGrand had made good on his threat.”

  “He didn’t, he’s in prison, he will not be getting out.”

  “Evan?”

  “He’s dead. And you know about Skye?”

  Sean nodded. “I was in the car.”

  “I’m so sorry.” Lucy squeezed his hands.

  “She killed Hunter, or sent Evan to do it. She didn’t admit to killing him, but she didn’t deny it, either. And Colton—”

  “Noah said he’s out of surgery and in ICU. It’s touch and go, but the doctors think he’s going to make it.”

  “What am I supposed to tell him?” Sean wasn’t looking forward to explaining to Colton that he’d been working for the FBI.

  “The truth.”

  “It’s going to be hard. Colton was my best friend. I betrayed him.”

  “He will understand,” Lucy said. “You’ll make him understand.”

  “Unless he goes to prison.”

  “Do you think Rick will do that?”

  “He might not have a choice.”

  “Rick will be fair.”

  Noah walked into Sean’s semi-private room. “Rick will be fair about what?”

  Sean didn’t say anything. He didn’t want to talk about Colton with Noah, not now when he was raw and sore and still processing everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

  Lucy said, “Are you going to prosecute Colton?”

  “I don’t know, I’m not the U.S. attorney.”

  “Noah, please—just tell us what’s going on.”

  Noah sat at the foot of Sean’s bed. “We’ll talk to him. And depending on what he says and if he helps fill in some holes, he’ll probably not do any time.”

  Sean breathed easier.

  Noah continued, “You could help with that, Sean. Talk to him.”

  “He may not want to talk to me.”

  “I think you’re wrong about that. I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but it’s worth it.”

  Sean agreed. “When he’s out of the woods, I’ll see him.” He changed the subject. “I’m still a little fuzzy on some details.”

  “Probably the concussion,” Noah joked. “Maybe you should wait a day or two. We’re still processing a lot of evidence and information.”

  “Then just this—why did LeGrand have Deanna Brighton killed?”

  “To frame you.”

  “She was the mole?”

  “Steve Gannon was Paxton’s mole. Paxton feared you’d do what you did—review the tape he’d hired Colton to steal. So he had Gannon, whom he’s known for some time, partner with Brighton and feed her obsession with you. And she was obsessed—she had her home office dedicated to you.”

  “But—that doesn’t make sense,” Sean said. “Was Gannon also working for LeGrand?”

  “No. Gannon said Deanna had an informant close to Colton. Through phone records, we figured out it was Evan Weller. He called her twenty minutes before she was killed in your apartment.”

  “He sent her there to be murdered?”

  “She walked right into it. She didn’t call her partner, she wasn’t thinking like a cop. They planned to frame you for it. We have Duke’s statement—”

  “You also have a tape,” Sean said.

  “Excuse me?”

  “I have a camera in my apartment. It’s hidden in the kitchen cabinet and covers the door and most of the room. It sends the data to a cloud server. I’ll give you the account information so you can see exactly what happened.”

  Noah stared at him and Sean couldn’t read his expression. “I saw holes in the walls.”

  “Patched holes,” Sean corrected.

  Noah smiled. “You’re a bright guy.”

  “LeGrand said that they took my gun and were going to kill someone with it.”

  Noah shook his head. “Evan Weller had your gun on him. Maybe they were planning something, but it didn’t happen.”

  Lucy asked, “Did the Coast Guard apprehend the ship LeGrand was going to meet?”

  “Yes. I don’t know what’s going to come of it, unless we can find evidence that they planned on buying the bio-toxin. That part of the investigation has been completely taken over by Homeland, and I’m glad. It’ll be a headache I don’t need.”

  “And does Paxton walk away from this?” Sean asked.

  “No. Rick is working with him on his resignation. Prison—I’m not sure.”

  “But—” Lucy began before Noah cut her off.

  “We have evidence that Paxton and Joyce Bonner planned to taint prisoner vaccines with the mycotoxin, but when Sean stole the chip from Paxton, Bonner refused to help. She planned to destroyed the toxin, but made the mistake of threatening Paxton. That’s when he realized she had the tape of her husband’s murder.”

  “And you can’t put him in prison for murder?” Lucy said.

  “I think we can, but he’d go on trial for killing a man who abused his wife. Bonner has medical records from the time of her marriage showing repeated beatings and broken bones. Justified? Maybe. The vaccine scheme is more damaging to Paxton, but it hadn’t even been implemented.”

  “So that bastard is going to walk,” Sean said with a long sigh. “This was all for nothing.”

  “No,” Noah said. “He will not walk away free
. He’s agreed to resign from office. He’s facing serious charges. Whether the U.S. attorney works out a plea deal, I don’t know. That’s out of my hands. But he’s not going to be able to manipulate the system again.”

  “Well, Noah, it’s been fun,” Sean said, “but our Starsky and Hutch days are over.”

  “For the record, even though you drove me crazy half the time, I was glad you were with me. I never acknowledged how difficult going undercover was for you. I asked a lot, and you delivered, at great personal and professional risk. I’ll never forget it, Sean.”

  “I appreciate that,” Sean said sincerely. Then he smiled and said to Lucy, “See? I told you he was starting to like me.”

  Noah shook his head, but smiled. “Take care of him, Lucy. I might need his help again some day.”

  That was the best compliment the fed could have given Sean. He nodded to Noah, and watched him leave.

  “He’s a good man,” Sean said.

  “I agree. He has a lot of respect for you. You earned it.”

  “Do I have stories…” He smiled. “We’re alone at last. Too bad I’m in no shape to celebrate.”

  Lucy put her head on his shoulder, and he stroked her hair, surprised that his hand was shaking.

  “Sean?” Lucy sat up. “What is it?”

  “I can’t lose you.”

  “You won’t.”

  “I don’t know what to say to Duke. He came by earlier when I was kind of out of it—they gave me a shot of painkillers when they taped up my ribs. It made me kind of loopy.”

  “Sean—you’ll do what is right for you.”

  “Duke wants me back at RCK.”

  “You don’t want to go back?”

  “Would that bother you?”

  She stared at him, her eyebrows arched in surprise. “Why would it bother me?”

  “Patrick and Jack are both with RCK. It gives me semblance of normalcy. Validation for everything I do.”

  “Sean, all I care about is that you are happy. For so long you have done everything you can to please everyone else. Not just Duke, but Patrick, and Noah, and even me.”

  “I want to make you happy.”

  “Sweetheart, I know. And you do, always. If you stay with RCK, you need to do it because it’s where you belong. If you don’t think you belong there anymore, don’t stay for me, or Patrick, and especially not Duke. I never realized how much your choices in life came directly out of your relationship with your brother. So don’t let Duke factor into your decision.”