Four Seconds to Lose: A Novel

by K. A. Tucker

  How they threatened me. How they aimed a gun at my head. At Nate’s head.

  John was right. They came looking for the money that my dad rightfully accused me of stealing while trying in vain to save himself. Apparently they had been waiting in the shadows, knowing they could demand an exorbitant interest rate if they let me live to win a few fights first.

  I wasn’t going to give those assholes a dime, so I truly had only two choices in that moment: fight or die.

  Nate knew . . . as soon as he saw my hands flex by my sides, he knew to dive for cover.

  They might have had a chance of surviving, had I not seen the bloody crime scene photos, read the graphic reports.

  Had I not known what they did to Lizzy.

  I called John right away. He instructed me to go home, shut my mouth, and he’d take care of it. I guess he did, because he never uttered a word to me about it again.

  “I guess someone finally fought back,” I answer, the hoarseness in my voice impossible to smooth.

  “Yes . . . someone did.” He scratches his chin as if pondering his next words, though I know damn well he already had this conversation planned out. “I heard they closed that case. Maybe, with the right anonymous tip, they’d reopen it?”

  Dan said Sam was a smart guy. I see the evidence of that now. He may not know definitively what happened, but it’s not hard to paint a picture with my face at the center of it.

  “It’d be a shame to lose everything you’ve worked so hard to build here.”

  I want to reach out and choke the life out of this manipulative asshole. “What do you want?” I snap.

  “I want my daughter back and I think you know where she is.” All fluffiness in his voice has vanished.

  “Well, I don’t, so I’m of no use to you.” Dumping the last of my drink in my mouth, I stand. “If you’ll excuse me.”

  He jumps to his feet, and I can tell he’s struggling to keep his composure. I know this kind of guy. He’s not used to having people walk away without his dismissal. “You have a good club here. A lot of nice-looking girls,” he muses, his eyes roaming the floor. To Cherry . . . to Hannah . . . to Mercy . . . to half a dozen other dancers. “I hear you like to keep them safe.” Holding out a card with a phone number on it, he asks, “If you hear from Charlie, I’d suggest you call this number. And very soon.”

  I glare at it, silently willing it to burst into flames, but don’t take it.

  Finally, he places it on the table and I watch him stroll out.

  I’m not stupid. I know what that offhand comment was.

  It was a threat.

  The rage fires through my body like nerve synapses, making my decision for me.

  ■ ■ ■

  “You sure you want to do this?” Nate asks from beside me as we head toward the flashing neon lights, a beacon for the city’s perverts.

  I heave a sigh. “No, but I don’t see any other choice.”

  “He’s not going to like us showing up here,” Nate mutters, but then his face splits into a grin. I have a feeling Nate wouldn’t mind getting into a fight tonight. All this mess with Charlie has made me miserable, which in turn has made him irritable.

  Sin City is almost double the size of Penny’s. It’s full of naked women, flat screens, and more private rooms than some motels. Each table comes equipped with a small monitor, where you can watch intro videos of each dancer. All in all, Rick does well for himself.

  We skip the line and walk straight to the door. A big bouncer with a goatee removes the black rope and lets us pass with a wary expression. He knows exactly who we are. He came to Penny’s, looking for a job, four years ago. I almost hired him, until John found out that he has ties to a known drug dealer, who in turn has ties to the cartel. It doesn’t take a genius to figure out that I’d be inviting the cartel into Penny’s by hiring him. It’s also not surprising that he’s now the head bouncer at Sin City and that members of the cartel are known to frequent here on occasion.

  Thanks to a few tips from my connections, I know that the man I want to talk to is here tonight.

  While the bouncer may have let us in, he also made sure to flag us to Rick immediately. The hairy fuck is waiting for us as we step into the club, his arms folded over his chest. Even when the guy makes an effort to look presentable, he doesn’t. His dress shirt is wrinkled and hanging out over a pair of ill-fitting pants, which have a prominent yellow stain on the lap.

  “Coming for some real ass?” He smirks. “Or to steal more of my talent?” He’s obviously still bitter about losing China to me. If he knew that I let her go, I don’t doubt he’d try to pull her in again.

  “Rick,” is all I can manage in greeting.

  He sneers at me but keeps his distance. After the last time we met—in my club, when he called me a pimp and I broke his nose and knocked four of his teeth out—he knows better than to get too close.

  Nate leans over to murmur, “I don’t see him out here.”

  Dammit . . . that means I have to ask for help from Rick the Prick. “I need to see Mendez.”

  A scowl hits Rick’s face and I can’t help but think it’s an improvement. “He’s not here.”

  I don’t have time for this. “Yeah, he is. So is it the champagne room or one of the private rooms?” Rick’s mouth tightens but he remains silent. “Or do I make sure the cops crawl so far up your ass that you can’t walk straight for a month?” The club was raided once before, but Rick has enough money and sense to hire good lawyers. Somehow, they couldn’t find any really damning evidence to shut him down permanently, which makes me think he’s not as stupid as he looks.

  Swallowing hard, he mutters, “What do you need with him?”

  “He’s cute. I thought we could date,” I throw back. Rick is the last person I’d ever trust with the truth.

  After a long pause, Rick turns and, with a reluctant wave, leads us into Sin City’s champagne room—a large suite decorated in floor-to-ceiling black. Black walls, black leather couches, black carpet. The only hint of color is the silver molding along the walls and trim on the couch cushions, and a few metal statues lining a bookshelf.

  Three men sit around the oversized sectional couch, paired with girls in various states of undress, all of whom could stand to gain ten pounds. Off to one corner, a blond is on her knees, “earning her money” with a fourth guy.

  I’m seconds away from knocking Rick’s false teeth out for allowing that. But doing so won’t help my cause so I remain still, fists glued to my sides, as he lumbers over to a Hispanic man with short, dark hair and pockmarks over his cheeks. The voluptuous and naked Asian girl on his lap—who can’t possibly be legal and whose eyes are glazed over in that doped-up way—doesn’t even slow her grind as Rick leans in to whisper what I’d assume are introductions. My stomach instinctively tightens.

  I can’t believe I’ve stooped to this level, but . . . fuck it. This is what they do. I’m merely helping to speed things up.

  Cold black eyes narrow as they settle first on me, and then on Nate. He’s obviously not impressed, but his curiosity has been piqued. “Out,” he instructs, giving his girl a light slap across the ass as she shifts off of his lap. The other girls quickly pull their scant clothing back on and scurry out. “You too,” he orders, jerking his chin at Rick, and I can’t help but smile.

  No one trusts Rick.

  When the room is empty, two guys come over to search both Nate and me, stripping us of our guns.

  “What do I owe this surprise visit to?” Mendez asks, leaning back into the couch as if completely at ease. The repetitive twitching of his foot tells me otherwise.

  I tilt my head toward the camera.

  “Rick knows better.” But after a moment’s pause, he nods in assent and waves a hand to the guy on my left. Within seconds, the camera lens has been smashed. “I don’t know why he even keeps tho
se in here.” He gestures to the chair positioned across the coffee table, facing him.

  I take the proffered seat, while Nate stands back. He never sits. It makes him feel vulnerable and, in this situation, where all of these guys certainly have guns and are eyeing his looming figure suspiciously, we are vulnerable.

  “So, the famous Cain Ford,” Mendez begins, settling his arms behind his head. “My cousin watched you fight once, years ago, in L.A.”

  “Yeah?” I throw one arm over the back of my chair as I lean back. It’s my own version of feigning relaxation. I may not be afraid but I’m no idiot. I’m sitting face-to-face with a cartel member, about to ask him for help. There’s nothing safe or smart about what I’m doing. “Did he win any money?”

  “No, he bet against you and he lost.”

  “I could have told him not to do that.”

  Mendez’s low chuckle fills the room, the casual banter dispersing some of the tension. “Why are you here?”

  I assume I have only minutes with him before we’re kicked out, so I get right to it. “There is a man by the name of—”

  “Haven’t heard of him.”

  I don’t let his abrupt cutoff deter me. It’s probably wise that I don’t say Sam’s name out loud, anyway. “He’s been taking a substantial chunk out of your business lately.” There’s no need be more specific. I’m sure it’s all Mendez has been thinking about. The sudden fire in his eyes is confirmation of that. He recovers quickly, though. “My paving contracts?”

  I stifle my smile. They all have “legitimate” businesses in the forefront. Mendez will never admit to anything else. That’s fine. I can dance this little dance with him. “He’s in Miami right now. I don’t know for how long.” I reach into my shirt pocket and pull out the scrap of paper. On it is the code to locate the GPS that John affixed to the bottom side of Sam’s rental car. Next, I pull out the folded picture from my back pocket. With an odd sense of calm, I unfold and toss both pieces of paper onto the coffee table in front of me.

  Mendez’s brow furrows for a second but he doesn’t touch them.

  “Feds have been trying to nail him for years and they can’t,” I add slowly. “It’s like he’s untouchable.”

  And as long as he’s alive, Charlie will never be safe. There’s no chance of her ever coming back to me. I desperately want her back. I’ll do anything. Sell my club, walk away from what I do.

  Set the cartel up.

  That is, if Mendez takes the bait. I’m counting on his greed, his arrogance, his sense of entitlement.

  I finally see it.

  In those near-black eyes of his, the wheels begin churning. He knows what I’m expecting he’ll do with this information. “Why?” It’s a simple question. A fair one.

  I sure as hell won’t tell him why it matters to me. Information like that may cost me down the road. Standing, the only answer I give is, “Let’s just say that we’re both getting something out of this.”

  I walk out of Sin City, telling myself over and over again that I made the right decision.

  That there was no other choice.

  ■ ■ ■

  “Do I even want to know?”

  I push my front door closed behind Dan as he stalks into my condo. He’s never been here before. I’m guessing, by his overly calm tone, that he’s not looking for a tour.

  “I don’t know. Do you?” I ask.

  Dan stops halfway through the kitchen before spinning on his heels to settle shrewd eyes on me. “Sam Arnoni’s body was found in his hotel room this morning by a maid. Beheaded.”

  I force myself to take a sip of my coffee, trying to hide the wave of shock that just crashed into me.

  Twelve hours.

  I walked out of Sin City twelve hours ago. I’ve got to give Mendez credit. He doesn’t waste a second. The guy was probably on the phone with one of his “people” as soon as the door clicked shut behind me.

  “Are you sure?”

  Dan nods slowly. “I just left the hotel. Saw the body myself.”

  A prickle of guilt stirs inside me. “And no one else was hurt?”

  Still watching me closely, he says, “No. Looks like a professional hit.”

  Passing by Dan, I make my way to my living room to look out over the bay in a dreamlike state.

  Sam is actually . . . dead.

  And I helped kill him.

  “I’m . . . Did . . . ” Dan begins to ask and then stops abruptly. “You know what? I’d ask you if you knew he was in town, but I don’t think I even want to know that much.”

  “I was at Penny’s until five a.m. and then at the gym until eight. You can check surveillance if you don’t believe me. I’m not a professional hit man,” I mutter dryly, adding, “or a murderer.”

  “I know you’re not, Cain. And it’s definitely a cartel hit, by the signature.” We stand side by side in silence as we watch a sailboat pass by. It probably wouldn’t take much for Dan to find out that I had been to Sin City last night. He could probably also demand to see my surveillance footage to confirm that Sam was at Penny’s last night. If he truly wanted to know.

  “With Sam gone, Charlie’s free to come home, isn’t she?” Dan finally asks. I wonder where he’s going with this.

  “If she knew that he was dead. If she knew she wasn’t going to be arrested for anything, then . . . yeah, I supposed she could.” I sigh. Home. Would she consider Miami home? Would she want to come back? “I don’t know how to reach her, though. Do you think this will make the news?”

  His hand scratches his chin. “Local news for sure. Maybe New York. I’ll see what I can do. If she’s in some small town in Alaska, she’s not likely going to hear about this.” He smiles. “I know a guy who knows a guy . . . who knows a guy.”

  chapter forty-six

  ■ ■ ■

  CHARLIE

  “See? Doesn’t it look like he’s wearing mascara?”

  Berta has an obsession with a dark-haired reporter on our local news station.

  “He probably is,” I confirm as I count the money in my small waitress apron. On average, I’ll make fifty bucks a night in tips. Seventy, on a really good night, Berta has promised. If she knew what I used to do, and how much money I used to make in one night, she’d have a coronary.

  “And lipstick, too?” Her eyes squint as she studies the screen. “Yesterday, they were more peachy. Now they’re red. What kind of man wears red lipstick?”

  “The kind who deals with harsh lighting and high definition, I suppose.” I quickly begin filling the salt and pepper shakers. The dinner rush is over, but it’s homecoming weekend. Molly and Teena, the day-shift waitresses, are pulling doubles tonight in anticipation of a late rush.

  “Doug’s asking for you,” Teena whispers with a playful wink as she floats by, though it’s loud and raspy enough that half the diner probably heard her. Fortunately, the twenty-six-year-old mechanic is sitting in the far corner. Berta’s fantasy of marrying me off to her nephew was short-lived. She forced me to leave work for an hour last night to watch the parade with Doug.

  His smile reminds me of Ben—broad and dimpled. But he’s not an obnoxious ass like Ben. He also kind of looks like him, with his blond hair and strong jaw. And he’s polite. He was a perfect gentleman last night, walking me back to Becker’s before it closed, offering nothing more than a “good night” head dip as he strolled away.

  I wonder when this empty void inside my chest will shrink. It’s been a month, and some days I think it’s growing bigger. Isn’t time supposed to heal all wounds? Shouldn’t four weeks have given me some relief from the relentless pain and self-doubt?

  I hold on tightly to the belief that I did the right thing. Still, the same regretful longing slams into me the second I open my eyes from a fitful sleep, coiling itself through my thoughts to linger throughout the day. It haunts me throu
gh the night, leaving dark circles beneath my eyes that concealer can’t quite cover. It curbs my appetite, my body shedding weight it doesn’t have to spare.

  But the dreams . . . they are the worst. All variations of horror leading to the same outcome.

  Cain, disgusted with me.

  Cain, hurt by me.

  Cain insistent on helping me, because of the man he is.

  And ending up dead.

  No . . . I did the right thing. The same cruel fate that brought us together was bound to rip us apart. It was only a matter of time. I knew it all along and yet I fell hard, all the same.

  Berta’s raised voice pulls me from my thoughts. “See, Katie? I told you that you’re better off staying here instead of moving on to a big city.” Berta is convinced that I should settle down in Mobile, Alabama, and work with her until we’re both old and gray. “One of those movie-style drug murders. This time at a fancy hotel in Miami.”

  A cold shiver radiates from my chest as my eyes flash to the television, dreading . . . waiting . . . The reporter is going on and on, but the words aren’t truly processing. “Execution-style . . . cartel . . . turf war . . . heroin . . . drug dealer . . .”

  A picture flashes onto the screen.

  I bite back a gasp. It’s the man who took me to the park on Sundays, who hoisted me onto my horse, who cheered as I stood on the podiums for my medals, who shouted “encore” as I bowed onstage.

  Who used me as a pawn.

  Who turned me into a criminal.

  Who put me in danger.

  Who stole my life.

  My stepfather—the man who raised me—is dead.

  I can hear Berta talking somewhere in the distance, but her voice is blurred. I can feel her arm on my shoulder, half soothing, half trying to break my sudden daze as I stare at the screen, watching his name—“Big” Sam Arnoni—flash across the bottom.

  “Katie!”

  My eyes finally snap to Berta. She’s staring at me with a wrinkled forehead. Without checking, I know I have the eyes of every single person in the diner on me right now. The feel of them turns my ears hot with embarrassment. “I’m sorry!” I finally manage to get out with a weak giggle. “I thought that was my high school English teacher for a second.” I blow out a big gush of air, feigning relief. “That would have been weird.”