Power Struggle

by Carolyn Arnold

  She turned to see Terry in the doorway holding up a large, hardside suitcase. The truth was, she didn’t know how to answer him. How long would they be staying with her and Troy? Probably not long, she supposed. Jim was cooperating for the time being, but he was strong-willed and likely wouldn’t want to turn his life or the girls’ lives upside down forever.

  “Should be fine,” she said, thinking they could always come back for more.

  “Point me in the direction you want me to go.”

  She looked across the room at Jim’s dresser and was thankful Terry was with her. She didn’t exactly want to be elbow-deep in her brother-in-law’s underwear drawer. She jerked her head in the direction of his dresser. “Why don’t you pack some stuff for Jim?”

  Terry didn’t say anything, just went and did what she’d asked.

  They moved from Chelsea and Jim’s room to the girls’ rooms, finished up packing, and headed out.

  Madison was staring at the house from the sidewalk, noting how dark and empty it was now. It hammered home the nightmare they were all living.

  “You all right?” Terry asked.

  “Not really.”

  “Come on, you’re not going to let a Russian Mafia hit man call the shots, are you?” Terry rallied around her. “Since when has Detective Madison Knight ever backed down?”

  She met his eyes, fire burning in her belly. “You’re right.”

  “Of course, I’m right. You beat the asshole once. What’s a second time?”

  She couldn’t help but give a brief smile. “We figure out where he’s holed up, we rescue Chelsea, and we take the bastard down.”

  “That’s my partner!” Terry whooped, wrapped an arm around Madison’s shoulder and guided her back to the car.

  -

  CHAPTER

  34

  SERGEANT WINSTON WAS COMING DOWN the hall toward her. “How are you holding up?”

  She understood people’s need to ask, but she couldn’t give any real thought to the answer or she’d crumble. “I’m fine.”

  “Any leads as to where she might be?” he asked.

  She shook her head.

  “How’s Bates’s murder investigation going? Do you need me to assign it to someone else?”

  “No.” She’d blurted it out rather fast, and the sergeant’s eyes flashed with skepticism before he held up his hands in acquiescence.

  “All right, then. As long as you think you can handle that on top of your missing sister.”

  “She isn’t missing,” Madison bit out. “She’s been abducted.”

  Winston’s face flushed, and he remained quiet for a few beats. “And what about that girl, Yasmine Stone? I’m thinking I should put Stanford and Sovereign on it.”

  “No. She’s connected to Bates and Constantine.”

  “Why is this the first time I’m hearing about this?” Winston let his gaze trail to Terry.

  “There’s been a lot going—”

  Winston held up a hand to silence Terry. “I’ve never been a fan of excuses.” He left them there and entered the conference room.

  “I can’t believe that man sometimes,” Madison grumbled.

  “Just let it go. You know how he gets when he’s not kept up to speed.”

  “I know how he gets all right.” She balled her fists and squeezed them to release some tension and then joined everyone else in the room.

  Detective-grade officers were in there, including the men from Troy’s SWAT team, along with sergeants from other divisions. Troy wasn’t here, though, because she’d begged him to stay home with her family. Officers were also posted in front of Troy’s house and on the block behind it, just to ensure that there was no way for Constantine to gain access.

  “Sorry to hear about your sister,” Nick said.

  “Yeah, sorry,” another detective added.

  She nodded in acknowledgment to everyone there. In doing so, she noticed that her ex, Toby Sovereign, and his partner, Lou Stanford, Cynthia’s fiancé, weren’t in the room. They must have been called to a case.

  “If you would all take your seats,” Winston began.

  The door opened, and Andrea came in. She beelined for Madison and stopped short of hugging her, though Madison sensed she wanted to. But this was a professional setting and Andrea was nothing if not a professional—and immaculate. Even now at eight at night, she was dressed in a black business suit with a white blouse. The suit appeared to be freshly pressed as if it hadn’t already been through a workday. Her hair was pulled back, not a strand out of place.

  “I’ve been in meetings and just heard. How are you?” Andrea asked.

  “Fine.”

  Andrea was peering into Madison’s eyes, reading them with a skill her brother had down all too well. It obviously ran in their family.

  Madison could feel everyone watching them. “We’ll talk later.” She barely brushed the chief’s elbow as she walked to the table. She took a seat next to Terry near the front. Andrea sat on Madison’s other side.

  “All right, now that everyone is here,” Winston began, “let’s get started. We know that Constantine Romanov, a known hit man for the Russian Mafia, has returned to Stiles and has threatened one of our own.”

  While everyone’s attention had shifted from Madison to Winston, who was pacing in front of a whiteboard, it returned to her with Winston’s introductory words.

  “Most of us in this room have been diligently working to find his whereabouts, and so far, haven’t had any luck. But we need to push ourselves even more.” Winston paused. “Detective Knight’s sister has gone missing, and it’s believed that Romanov has taken her.”

  “It’s more than a belief,” Madison snapped back and shrunk under Winston’s glare. She composed herself and continued. “We have an eyewitness who saw him with my sister.”

  “When and where was this?” Nick asked.

  She named the gas station and the intersection. “Warrants will be processed for their surveillance footage.” Madison cleared her throat. “We know that when they left the gas station, they headed south.”

  “That leads to the rural area surrounding Stiles,” Nick said, even though everyone in the room already knew that.

  “That’s right,” Madison confirmed. “And all this happened at eight thirty this morning, which is also when her phone went offline.”

  “We need to dig deeper, harder, longer,” Winston said, taking charge again. “There’s something that we’re obviously missing. I want teams in place outside residences of known Mafia members and associates, as well as their business fronts.”

  “And you should know by now that it’s believed that Constantine is either acting under the direction of a power player other than Dimitre Petrov or—” her stomach clenched and breathing became difficult “—or he’s gone rogue.”

  Questions filled the room.

  “Gone rogue? What are we supposed to do in that case?”

  “How are we supposed to find him without any leads?”

  They drove home the dire possibility that they wouldn’t find Constantine unless he wanted to be found.

  “Quiet!” Winston roared.

  The room hushed instantly.

  “We will find him and get Madison’s sister back. It doesn’t matter if this guy is working on his own or backed by an army, we’re Stiles PD.” He went quiet for a few seconds. “Did everyone hear me?”

  “Hell yes!” Nick cried out, and he was joined by several others expressing the same sentiment.

  “Now get out of here and get to work. And remember, no one acts without running it past their superior, and we need to carry out our surveillance as discreetly as possible. There’s a civilian’s life at risk here, and we don’t need to encourage anyone’s trigger finger.”

  People started getting up, and chair legs scraped
along the floor. Andrea turned to Madison with wet eyes.

  “What is it?” Madison asked.

  Andrea addressed the people who were still in the room. “Could you all excuse us, please?”

  Terry remained in his seat, and Andrea gestured over Madison’s shoulder at him.

  “You too, please.”

  “Oh, okay.” Terry got up and said to Madison, “I’ll be at our desks. Want a coffee?”

  “Sure,” she said without thinking it through. Bullpen coffee was deadly. But maybe tonight, it was just a matter of it being caffeine.

  “You got it.” Terry left.

  Winston was the last out of the room. The second the door closed behind him, Andrea flung her arms around Madison.

  “I’m so sorry this is happening to you,” she said, drawing back. “This is the sort of reward you get for being good at your job, I guess. A madman with an obsession with revenge.”

  “Any way of sending it back?” Madison teased, but any attempt at joviality fell short.

  Andrea fidgeted with her fingers, and the silence that was mounting between them brought a chasm of uncertainty. There was something the chief clearly didn’t want to say, and Madison could only think of one thing that could be right now.

  “You don’t want me investigating this.” When Andrea remained quiet, Madison’s suspicion knotted her gut. “You’re benching me?”

  Andrea licked her lips and let the silence ride out for what felt like forever. “Only from this aspect,” she eventually said.

  “Only this aspect?” Madison exclaimed. “She’s my sister, Andrea. My flesh and blood.” Her plea didn’t seem to be making any sort of impact if Andrea’s resolved expression was any indication. “What if it was Troy?” she spat.

  “No,” Andrea said. “Don’t do that.”

  “Would you just sit back and do nothing?” Madison continued pressing. “I bet no one could tell you to lie low, to stay out of it.”

  “Madison, please.” While the words alone could come across as a loving plea, it was in their delivery that Madison knew there would be no swaying the chief on this matter.

  “Are you taking me off the murder investigations, too? Bates’s and Yasmine’s?”

  “Not at this time.”

  Madison gritted her teeth. “What’s that supposed to mean?”

  “Just that, Madison. I’m giving you more leeway here than I would anyone else.” Andrea stood up and braced herself on the back of the chair. “Don’t you realize that?” It was obvious she never intended it as a real question. “I just don’t want you to wind up hurt.”

  “Fine.” Madison got up and left the room.

  How could Andrea expect her to just stay off the investigation into her sister’s whereabouts when the only key to getting Chelsea back would likely involve her direct violation of that directive? As much as she respected Andrea and loved her like a sister, she’d go behind her back if she had to.

  -

  CHAPTER

  35

  MADISON STORMED OUT OF THE conference room and met up with Terry. Coffee was in a mug on her desk. He was holding one to his mouth. He lowered it when he saw her.

  “What’s wrong?” he asked.

  “I’ve been removed from investigating my sister’s abduction.”

  “You’ve what?” Terry jolted as he got up, spilling coffee over the edge of his cup. “The chief?”

  “Yeah… I can’t believe this.” She punched one hand into the palm of the other. “I can’t imagine her standing on the sidelines if something happened to Troy.”

  “But she ordered you to—”

  “Yes, Terry, and she wasn’t changing her mind about it.”

  “What about the murder cases?”

  “I’m still fine to work those.” She scoffed.

  “Well, then you work those. Maybe something there will provide a clue to Constantine’s whereabouts.”

  She angled her head. “If so, it should have turned up by now.”

  “You know that’s not true. Berger & Stein has fifty board members alone. We have their client list, too.”

  “Which is already being combed through.”

  “Right. The emphasis on being. There’s still something we could uncover.”

  “We?” She eyed him skeptically. “You weren’t taken off my sister’s case. I want you all over it.”

  Terry opened his mouth, then closed it.

  “What?” she pressed.

  “Others have the surveillance of the known Mafia members and associates covered. Let’s see what we can find with the murder cases.”

  She held eye contact with her partner. “All right,” she said, but the moment she was out of there, she’d be calling Troy and getting him to work on changing his sister’s mind.

  For the next two and a half hours, they read background reports and analyzed them. Nothing was sticking out on its own or even when tidbits of curiosity had them detouring. She bowed out at eleven thirty and headed to the airport to get her parents.

  Another joyous moment…

  She called Troy from her Mazda, and he answered before the first ring died.

  “How did it go?” he blurted out.

  “Not good.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Your sister took me off my sister’s abduction case,” she ground out. “I need you to talk to her and make her see how—” She stopped talking, getting the feeling he wasn’t listening. “Troy?”

  “I know what you’re going to say.”

  “Then you’ll do it? You’ll call her and talk her out of this? I need to—”

  “I won’t.”

  “You won’t?” she spat. Her earlobes heated and her chest burned with anger.

  The line stayed silent for a few beats.

  “Troy,” she pressed.

  “This guy is set on killing you, Madison,” Troy said, striking her with the brutal truth. “If you’re out there looking for your sister, he’ll get you in his sights.”

  “It might be the only way to get her back,” she pleaded hysterically. “Why doesn’t anyone understand this? Everyone knows he’s after me!”

  “If there comes a time when it’s you for your sister’s life—”

  “She better let me do my job, Troy.” Heat saturated every word.

  Troy remained silent for a moment. “Do you not realize how much you mean to me?” he asked. He was clearly trying to tread carefully, but it enraged her.

  “You can’t compare my life to Chelsea’s. She’s a wife, a mother, she’s—” Emotion balled in her throat.

  “It doesn’t make her life more valuable than yours.”

  “It—”

  “You’re both important, and you’re both loved by the people in your lives,” Troy said, attempting to smooth things over. And on a small scale, it worked.

  She let her eyes drift to the clock on the dash. It was eleven forty-five. “I’ve gotta go. Mom and Dad will be deplaning soon.”

  “I love you, Madison,” he said.

  “I know you do.” She hung up and gripped the phone. She hadn’t said the words back, and she regretted it instantly. She considered dialing him right away for that express purpose, but she didn’t. Instead, she got out of her car and went inside the small Stiles airport. As she entered, she heard the rumble of a jet and figured it was likely her parents’ flight.

  She paced the baggage claim area, her mind racing as she tried to figure out how she was going to tell them about Chelsea. The conversation she’d had with Troy shook her, but it was more in regard to what she believed about herself than anything—how she devalued her life because she wasn’t married with kids. But that thinking and measure of self-worth had been encouraged by her mother. Most times she spoke with the woman there was some mention of Madison’s love life
or job. And right now, Madison wouldn’t blame her mother for verbally attacking her. It was because of her job, her obsession with finding justice, that they were in this mess in the first place.

  People started filtering into baggage claim, and her mom and dad were near the front of the crowd. Her mom saw her and elbowed her husband. He smiled at Madison, but her mom didn’t. Of course, Madison had given up expecting any fanfare upon her mother seeing her a long time ago. She couldn’t ever remember receiving a big overhead wave and exuberant grin. The best she’d usually get was a wave and a scowl indicating, I’m over here. Hurry up.

  Madison approached them and offered to take a bag from her mother, who had a large carry-on slung over one shoulder and her purse on the other. She was also pushing a wheeled suitcase, and her dad had one, too.

  “I’ve got it, Madison.” Her mother stepped back.

  Madison held her hands up in surrender and turned her attention to her father. “Hey, Dad,” she said, hugging him.

  “Glad to see you’re okay, honey,” he said pleasantly and patted her on the back.

  The hug was brief but sincere, and between that and his kind words, it had tears springing to her eyes. She turned away hoping that her mother wouldn’t notice.

  “What’s wrong?”

  Too late…

  The sooner she told them about Chelsea, the better. She couldn’t very well wait until they got to Troy’s. Maybe it was best to handle this how she did when giving notice to next of kin—directly and succinctly. “Why don’t we sit down…”

  “Oh no. What is it?” Her mother’s face paled. “I can read you, and I see it all over your face that something is wrong.”

  How Madison wished she could assure her that everything was fine. “Let’s just sit down. We could get a coffee.”

  “It’s just after midnight. If I drink one now, I’ll be up all night,” her dad said.

  Once they heard what Madison had to say, sleep probably wouldn’t be coming anyhow.

  “Madison,” her mother said in her demanding tone.

  A man was trying to get by, and Madison had to guide her mother to step aside and let him pass.