by Cara Putman
“What is on it?”
“A list of my operatives inside the United States. For a country that prides itself on ethical behavior, it is easy to bribe officials to look the other way. A border patrol agent here. An ICE agent there. Even your lauded FBI. If the data is released it will cripple my empire. I will have it.”
Hayden nodded, but she also understood that the moment she gave him the device she didn’t have, she and Jorge would die. Maybe she could stall him.
“Do you mean a flash drive?” Maybe she could find one in her purse, though she had a stripped-down purse since she hadn’t expected to need a Mary Poppins trick to pull the perfect item from her bag.
She prayed one was in her bag as she waited for his response. The big, silent guy never moved from his spot on the other side of the SUV. There was nowhere to go. No way to grab Jorge and disappear before they were both killed. There was no use yelling as no one else was around.
“Where is it?” His gun was pointed at her, and she couldn’t think around the knowledge that he was willing to use it effectively.
She held up her hands. “I didn’t know what you meant.” She gestured toward her purse. “I may have the one you mean. It was all I brought from my job at Elliott & Johnson.” There was nothing on the flash drive that she could use if she were dead. And if it bought her time to stay alive, then she’d sacrifice the files, glad she’d downloaded the flash drive’s contents to the computer in the new office. “Can I dig it out?”
He waved the gun her direction.
“Okay.” She opened the bag. How long could she stretch out rummaging through its contents? It would have been easier with her bigger bag. Slowly she pulled out each item and then set it on the seat. “It’s got to be in here.” Please, God. Sweat slipped down the small of her back as her hands trembled. Where was it? “It’s . . . it’s not here.”
He yanked her arm, ramming her into the door. “Do not play with me.” Spittle flew onto her face and she tried to keep her back straight when she wanted to cower. “Where is it?” He placed the barrel of the gun on her forehead.
“Let me check the side pocket.”
He eased back one foot. “Find. It.”
Each word sounded like the pulling back of a hammer on a gun. Her hands trembled so that she fumbled the bag on the seat. “Jorge, I’m so sorry.” Then her fingers closed on it. “Here.” She yanked it out and then tossed it behind his SUV. She had to get him away from her.
He backhanded her with his gun across the face and she slumped against the vehicle as he nodded to the man on the other side of the SUV. “Get it.”
The man recovered the small drive. “Got it.” His accent was heavy, but he didn’t step nearer to his boss.
A vehicle pulled into the parking lot, but Hayden didn’t dare look at it, afraid that even one second of diverted attention would be the one he chose to kill her.
“Is there a problem, folks?”
“No problem, officer.” Rodriguez spun and shot him.
In that same instance, the sidekick turned and fired two shots into his boss. Then he placed the gun on the ground, walked two steps away and sat on the ground, his hands on his head.
Another vehicle pulled into the parking lot, tires squealing. Hayden couldn’t tear her eyes from the man on the ground, then she looked at the boss’s body and kicked his gun away in case he managed to survive the two chest shots.
“Hayden!”
“Andrew?”
He ran toward her, leaving his car door open, engine running. He slowed as another police car pulled into the parking lot. “Detective Harlan, we’re going to need some ambulances. There’s one officer down and probably two dead or seriously injured.” He turned to the officers piling from vehicles with their guns drawn. “I have Detective Harlan with the Alexandria City police on the phone. Would anyone like to verify that?”
An officer scuttled toward him, took the phone, asked a question, listened a moment, and then nodded. At the same time more officers hurried toward the man sitting on the ground.
Hayden sank to the edge of the SUV, all strength seeping from her body.
CHAPTER 53
SUNDAY, APRIL 23
Andrew stood in front of the town house, another bouquet of flowers in his hands.
Why Lilith had decided his cartooning needed to be public he might never know. But while he’d been so sure the revelation of his second career would affect his father’s political future, that was nothing compared to the shocking revelations that were coming one after the other. The revelations about the LD’s role in the murder and cover-up were startling in their brazenness.
Apparently the Rodriguez cartel had taken the information that she used drugs recreationally in college and kept it from her background search, earning her lifelong allegiance. Couple that with a woman who believed she wasn’t paid what she was worth, and it gave them easy leverage. She’d taken Rodriguez’s calls for five years, accepting the slow escalation until the cartel needed access to Miguel, and she’d used her position to lean on others. Director Snowden had been eager to make the murder disappear, and followed her instructions.
Right now, Andrew wanted to forget the last days and the terror he’d felt when he’d realized Hayden was in the line of fire and there was nothing he could do to get to her in time. When all he could do was pray that somehow the cavalry would arrive before she was dead. Even that hope had faltered when he’d seen the first responding officer on the ground beside his vehicle.
Then when it was over he had stayed next to Hayden and Jorge as Hayden answered question after question. Somehow she had held on and kept Jorge safe. Then he’d spent time with Jorge, giving him space to talk or forget.
Now he had another agenda. One he hoped Hayden approved of.
“Are you going to stand there all night staring at the door or come in?” Emilie stood there, the door somehow open, laughing at him.
“Getting ready to knock.”
Emilie stepped back and made room for him to enter. “Those for me?” At his frown, she laughed again, the sound he’d loved since they were kids. “Just teasing.” She walked the few steps to the stairs. “Hayden, you’ve got company.”
“I’m not up for any.”
“Trust me, you are for this kind.”
Andrew could track Hayden’s progress across the second floor by the steps she took. “She okay?”
“She’ll be fine. She’s made of tough stuff.”
He’d certainly seen evidence of that last night. But he’d also held her as she wept when the stress was over and Jorge had been delivered to his relieved mom. She’d stopped being strong for everyone and allowed him to be strong for her. In that moment, he knew with every muscle in his being that he loved her and wanted to protect her the rest of his life. Now as she came down the stairs, her eyes lighting when she saw him, he handed the flowers to Emilie and hurried to meet Hayden at the bottom of the stairs.
She paused on the last step, and he closed the space between them, took her face in his hands and scanned it over and over, wanting to assure himself she was okay. The welt that was forming across her cheek incensed him. “Did he hurt you anywhere else?”
“No.” The word trembled in the air between them.
He gently rubbed a finger along the bruise, and then leaned in and kissed her.
“I love you, Hayden McCarthy.”
“I’ll just leave these on the counter.” Emilie had the audacity to wink as she walked by. “Sounds like y’all have stuff to discuss.”
Hayden stiffened, but then he kissed her again. He’d never willingly let go of her again.
Hayden wanted to cling to Andrew, the solidness and firmness of him. She’d recognized it the moment he’d arrived at Roosevelt Island, and drawn strength from him as she answered so many questions. When Detective Harlan had arrived, things had streamlined a bit. Today she’d wanted to pull the covers over her head and hide, but the revelations and questions kept coming. Now she fully e
xpected a call from the Department of Justice. Frankly, if they didn’t call her, she’d call them Monday. Between Lilith’s involvement and Daniel Rodriguez’s fingerprints dotting his son’s death, her mind was spinning. It seemed that while a grieving mother simply wanted to know what happened, the father behind it all wanted to know exactly what the government knew. But Gerard hadn’t cooperated, and Rodriguez had taken care of him.
But now, here, in this moment, she wanted to sink into the comfort that Andrew was here and he cared. Wait a minute.
“What did you say?”
“I love you, Hayden McCarthy, beautiful woman with the brain that never quite turns off.” His breath warmed her as he spoke, then he leaned in for another kiss, one that had her melting into his arms.
“Did you come by to tell me that?” She couldn’t resist tugging him closer as he began to pull away.
He tipped his forehead until it touched hers. “Hayden, don’t ever do something like yesterday again. My heart can’t take it.”
“I couldn’t let her take Jorge.” She shuddered at what could have happened. Then a thought hit her. “Did Jorge tell you about the flash drive?”
“Yep. Turns out it was at my condo all along.”
“Wait a minute. I’m confused.”
He shook his head and led her to the matching chairs. “Seems Miguel was smarter than anyone gave him credit for. He knew he couldn’t come to the United States legally because of his father’s cartel. There was plausible deniability for Jorge and his mom, but not for Miguel. So he took matters into his own hands and downloaded a list of federal and state law enforcement who were on his dad’s payroll. Then he gave the flash drive to Jorge to bring north. When they reunited here, Miguel planned to take that information to the feds to negotiate for his citizenship.”
Hayden sank against the chair’s back. “Wow. What an elaborate plan.”
“There’s more. Jorge knew the device was important, but not what was on it. But when the big guy started showing up, he decided he had to do something with the flash drive to get it out of his place. But he wasn’t sure who to trust. So one day when I had Zeus with the New Beginnings kids, he slid the device into a slit in Zeus’s shock collar. I don’t take it off Zeus even though I don’t use it, so I didn’t notice it.”
“So while I was frantically digging through my purse looking for a decoy . . .”
“Zeus had it all along.”
“Who has it now?”
“The appropriate agencies.” Andrew grabbed the flowers from the counter where Emilie had placed them. “These are for you. Thank you for keeping yourself and Jorge alive.”
“Thank you.” Hayden buried her face in the bouquet of Gerbera daisies. “When Rodriguez shot Lilith, I thought it was all over.”
“But you stalled long enough for help to arrive.”
“I’m just glad you thought to track Lilith’s work phone.”
“One advantage of being a senator’s son is that sometimes you can make things happen.”
“Just never forget me while you’re doing them.”
He grabbed her hand and pulled her back into his arms. “Never.”
And as she nestled against him, Hayden believed it was possible a woman like her could find a happily-ever-after. If only she could create one for Miguel’s family.
CHAPTER 54
MONDAY, APRIL 24
The Court of Federal Claims building loomed in front of Hayden as she stepped from the Metro and walked across Lafayette Square. The towering brick building had been Hayden’s home away from home the year of her clerkship, but now its facade felt imposing and intimidating. She slowed her steps to match Maricel’s slower pace. The woman’s steps had dragged as they left the cool depths of the Metro and stepped into the sunlight. They lagged even more as they climbed the stairs to the building.
“It’ll be fine.” Hayden tried to assure her client of a truth she wasn’t sure even she believed. The call from the Department of Justice had never arrived, so Hayden felt she entered the court for the hearing blind.
“This will not bring Miguel back.”
“No, but maybe we can help ensure there aren’t more Miguels.”
The woman nodded but remained silent through the security scans and the elevator ride. Hayden led her to the third-floor courtroom, where she was surprised to find Emilie waiting in the back row. “What are you doing here?”
“Needed to see the end to this chapter.” Her roommate was slowly recovering from the car accident, and hadn’t fully returned to work. She’d muttered something about needing time to evaluate her options.
“Here’s hoping it’s a good ending or beginning.”
“I’m voting for a happily-ever-after.”
Hayden smiled as she led Maricel to the plaintiff’s table, though she wasn’t sure a happy ending was possible. Not this time.
Two suited men stood at the defendant’s table and slowly approached Hayden. The older of the two stuck out his hand. “Ms. McCarthy, the woman of the hour.”
“You are?”
“Johnson Talbott, with the DOJ.”
Hayden shook his hand. “Have there been any developments over the weekend?”
“A woman who cuts to the chase. I like that.” He gestured to the chairs. “Why don’t you have a seat?”
Once they were settled, the younger attorney adjusted his glasses and then leaned forward. “The man who killed Rodriguez . . .”
“And saved Jorge Rodriguez and me.”
“Yes, he has been talking. Seems that he’s provided a lot of information about what the federal government did and did not know about Miguel Rodriguez’s death. We’ve been given authority to proffer a settlement.”
Hayden sat up and looked at Maricel. The woman looked like she wasn’t paying any attention to them, but Hayden sensed she understood every word. “It will have to be a good one for my client to be interested. She’s lost her son.”
“Yes, we know.” Talbott nodded, taking control of the discussion. “With this young man’s testimony, we’ll catch more members of the cartel.”
“And with the flash drive of evidence Miguel and Jorge brought here . . .”
“We’ll be able to prosecute some corrupt officers.” He turned to Maricel. “Ma’am, you can rest assured the FBI and Department of Justice have already launched a joint investigation to ensure this information brings as many as possible to justice.”
She nodded, but didn’t speak.
“What safeguards will ICE put in place to make sure this doesn’t happen in another juvenile detention facility?”
“There’s already a full review of security policies in place. That started with Miguel’s death. And Director Snowden is under investigation. If he participated in the cover-up as we believe, he will likely get jail time as well.”
Hayden nodded. “What about the people in the facility who tried to expose the murder?”
“As long as they weren’t involved, they will be immune from prosecution. Frankly, we need the facility open, which means we need them there, working with detainees.”
“How will my client be compensated?”
The younger of the two attorneys took over again. “You know it’s highly unlikely that this case would have made it past our motion to dismiss. However, the government acknowledges that the young man was murdered on our watch. We are willing to pay a settlement to Mrs. Rodriguez, in exchange for an agreement from her to never talk about this case or settlement with anyone.” He named a number and sat back.
“I will need to discuss this with my client.”
“Of course. We’ve got ten minutes until the judge arrives. We’ll need an indication of your answer then.”
Hayden nodded again, and watched until they’d left the room. Then she turned to Maricel. “Did you understand what they said?”
“Yes. The government will pay me for Miguel’s death.” Two tears rolled down the woman’s cheeks.
Hayden reached out and took her h
ands. “I know it won’t bring Miguel back.”
“But the government will admit its fault.”
“Yes, as long as you agree to keep the settlement confidential.”
Maricel frowned. “What does that mean?”
“That you’ll never speak of it. No one will ever know the government paid you.”
“But it will be enough to take care of Jorge and me. And to pay you.”
“Yes.” The thought of having some money to start over with was a huge blessing, but she couldn’t take it unless her client agreed, and that was a decision only Maricel could make. “There are many things we must agree on, but I don’t think you’d get more at trial. And there’s a risk we’d lose.”
“This has never been about the money.” More tears coursed down Maricel’s cheeks.
“I know.”
“I want the government to acknowledge to me it is sorry for allowing Miguel’s death. If they will do that in a letter with the money, I will agree.” She wiped one of her cheeks with the back of her hand. “I also want them to pay your regular hourly rate and fees. That must be separate.”
“I can ask.”
“Do. And if they agree, you may tell them we have an agreement.”
The men were waiting to pounce the moment Hayden stepped out of the room. “She agrees, with a few conditions of her own that you should find reasonable.”
Ten minutes later when they reentered the courtroom, they had the outlines of an agreement. The bailiff called, “All rise.”
Judge Devers swept into the room and settled behind the bench. “Counsel. Am I to understand that we have a settlement?” She looked to the government’s attorneys, then to Hayden.
Hayden rose to her feet. “Your Honor, if I may.”
“Proceed.”
“The Department of Justice presented my client with the outlines of a settlement agreement fiften minutes ago. We’ve since fleshed out a bare bones agreement. However, I would ask this court to supervise the settlement.”
