Jacks Are Wild: An Out of Time Novel (Saving Time, Book 1)

by Martin, Monique

  Susan stubbed out her cigarette. “Tony heard when Bugsy Siegel built the Flamingo that he had an escape hatch put in. He even had a chauffeur-driven limousine waiting 24 hours a day for him down in the tunnels.”

  She smiled. “Ours isn’t quite that fancy.”

  Jack glanced around the room looking for secret doors. “You mean there’s a tunnel leading out of this place?”

  Susan nodded. “Upstairs.”

  Jack grinned. “What are we waiting for?”

  He took Susan’s hand and turned to start for the stairs, but Baxter blocked their way.

  “There’s just one problem,” Baxter said. “You’re not going to use it.”

  Jack pulled up short. What the hell was he talking about?

  Baxter took out his gun and pointed it at Jack’s chest. “I am.”

  Chapter Twenty-One

  “WHAT ARE YOU DOING?” Jack asked.

  Baxter shrugged. “I wasn’t sure how I was going to pull it off, but then you two put that show on tonight. I’d clap, but …” He looked at the gun in his hand.

  Jack’s chest tightened as realization slowly began to dawn. “Where’s Jepson?”

  “He won’t be coming.”

  “I don’t understand,” Susan said.

  Jack understood. He understood all too well. Like Elizabeth had said, the mob had men everywhere, even in the FBI.

  “Is Jepson in on it, too?”

  “In on what?” Susan asked. “I don’t understand what’s going on.”

  “No, he’s a regular Gang Buster. But a little slow on the uptake.” Baxter waved his gun toward Susan and gestured for her to sit on the sofa. Then looked back at Jack. “You, too.”

  Jack knew this was his chance. He turned away from Baxter and started to escort Susan to the sofa. As he did, he reached into his jacket pocket.

  “I wouldn’t,” Baxter said. “Nice and slow.”

  Jack clenched his jaw. For an instant he thought about taking his chance and drawing. He was quick. But Baxter was no fool. As Jack slowly turned around, he saw that Baxter’s gun wasn’t trained on him, but on Susan.

  Slowly, Jack reached into his pocket, eased out his gun and slid it across the floor to Baxter.

  Carefully, Baxter bent down and picked it up. He slipped it into his coat pocket.

  “Very good.”

  Jack kicked himself for not having seen it all sooner. For the second time in one mission, he’d managed to get himself held at gunpoint with no weapon. But this time Simon and Elizabeth weren’t going to pop in from the future and save his hide. And, he thought as he looked at a terrified Susan, it wasn’t just his life he’d screwed up.

  But they weren’t dead yet. And that made him wonder. Why? If Baxter wanted them dead, he could have lured them anywhere to kill them—out into the desert, any number of places.

  “Why here?” Jack asked.

  Baxter grinned, impressed. “The wheels are turning.”

  He motioned for them to sit down on the sofa again.

  Baxter moved around to the other side of the coffee table. “You know, it was a heck of a pickle. We knew we had to get rid of her, but just killing her would be sloppy. Get all sorts of attention my boss doesn’t want.”

  “Caifano?”

  Baxter laughed. “He’s just an errand boy like me. No, I got orders from higher up. Word got out that she was trouble. I was sent to find out how much and deal with it.”

  “You work for them?” Susan said.

  He shrugged. “Let’s just say, I subcontract on occasion.”

  “And so you came to see if she’d really talk?”

  Baxter nodded. “I did. Jepson as a partner was the perfect cover. He practically bleeds red, white, and blue. Justice and all that other crap. But getting rid of a casino owner’s wife,” he added with a tilt of his head. “That’s not easy. Or at least it wasn’t, until you came along.”

  Jack’s sinking feeling sunk a little deeper.

  “You can’t leave bodies lying around, but a man who thinks his wife is having an affair …” Baxter shrugged. “Crime of passion.”

  Jack put the pieces together. “That’s what you were whispering in Tony’s ear earlier, wasn’t it? You’re setting him up.”

  “Nice neat little frame job. He comes here, finds you two, and in a fit of jealous rage, kills you both.”

  “No one will believe it,” Jack said.

  “Oh, they’ll all believe it. After that show you three put on, you couldn’t have made my job easier than if you’d put a bow on it.”

  Jack mentally kicked himself. He’d played right into Baxter’s hand.

  “Tony wouldn’t do that,” Susan said. “He might be furious, but he would never …”

  “He won’t have to.” Baxter looked at his watch. “You’ll both be dead before he arrives.”

  Jack nodded toward Baxter’s gun. “If you fire that thing, people will hear.”

  Baxter grinned. “Unless something louder gets in the way.”

  Something pricked at the edge of Jack’s mind and then he remembered with a deep sinking feeling. “The fireworks.”

  “Ten minutes and counting.”

  ~~~

  Jack and Susan had barely been gone a minute when Elizabeth noticed Tony Santo was starting to look for his wife.

  She and Simon had kept an eye on him since the blow-up and they’d both racked their brains trying to think of a way to keep him at the party. They needed to buy Jack as much time as they could, but Santo was the king of this particular castle, and keeping him anywhere against his will was pretty much impossible.

  Just as she saw him heading for the exit, the music on the main stage stopped and fate intervened in the form of Rose Marie.

  She walked out on stage with a microphone to a round of applause.

  “I don’t know why they chose me to do this, must be my ravishing good looks,” she said as she primped her hair. “Or maybe because I was here when the Paradise opened. Not the Bible one, Marty; I’m old, but I’m not that old.”

  The crowd laughed and Rose Marie chuckled along with them. She shaded her eyes with her hand and scanned the crowd. “Now, where’s Tony? I mean, Mr. Santo. The Big Cheese. The Boss. The man who signs my checks!”

  A few in the crowd called out that he was over here. He was nearly at the door when the attention shifted to him.

  “There he is!” Rose Marie called out. “Let’s give him a round of applause. Come on up here, Tony!”

  Reluctantly, he made his way onto the stage. Rose Marie made him sit on a stool next to her as a big cake was rolled out onto the stage by some of the Garden of Eden showgirls.

  Rose Marie signaled the band. They dove right into the William Tell Overture and she led the singing of the Anniversary Song, which ended to a round of wild applause.

  “Thank you,” Tony said. “This is wonderful. Now, if you’d all like to go outside, we’ve got a spectacular show for you.”

  Rose Marie took the first piece of cake and held it up. “I’ll just take that.” She took a bite and then started for the edge of the stage. “Follow me folks!”

  ~~~

  Susan wrung her hands nervously and Jack tried to think of some way, any way, out of this. He couldn’t just sit there and do nothing. The clock was literally ticking. His eyes landed on the box of cigarettes and the heavy crystal lighter next to it.

  “You don’t mind if we smoke?” Jack asked. “Last cigarette and all.”

  Susan gasped. Jack put a comforting hand on hers, but kept his eyes on Baxter, who shrugged.

  “Suit yourself.” He sat down on the arm of the chair opposite them.

  It was a risk, but they were running out of time.

  Jack reached for the box of cigarettes and opened it. Once Baxter was sure there was nothing inside it other than cigarettes, he relaxed. He rested his gun hand on his thigh, just as he had in the motel room.

  Good, Jack though. Good.

  The coffee table was too wide f
or Jack to be able to lunge across it without Baxter getting off at least one shot, but maybe he wouldn’t have to.

  Susan’s breath caught as he handed the cigarette to her. “Jack.”

  “It’s all right,” he said, calmly and nudged her hand up toward her mouth. “It’ll help calm you down.”

  She didn’t seem convinced, and he couldn’t blame her, but he needed her to play along.

  Finally, she nodded and put the cigarette between her lips.

  Jack put one in his own and then reached for the large crystal lighter. Susan’s hand trembled as she held onto her cigarette. Jack steadied it for her and then lit it.

  “Better hurry,” Baxter said and glanced at his watch.

  Jack didn’t hesitate. As surely as he’d ever thrown a ball in his semi-pro days, he threw the heavy lighter across the room with all of his strength. It hit Baxter right in the face, stunning him.

  Susan screamed and the fireworks started.

  Jack launched himself from the sofa, using the coffee table as a stepping-stone to reach Baxter. Just as he did, Baxter snapped out of it, his fingers still around the gun. He raised it as Jack flew toward him.

  Jack shoved the barrel aside just as it went off. Susan screamed again, but Jack didn’t have time to look to see if she’d been hit. Couldn’t look. His momentum sent Baxter’s chair toppling over backwards and Jack went with it.

  He flipped over the top, his legs crashing through a Japanese screen. He twisted around as Baxter lifted his gun and tried to shoot again, but Jack reached out and grabbed his gun hand. He slammed it down onto the floor hard, twice. The second time the gun slipped from Baxter’s hand and skittered across the floor. Jack lunged for it, but Baxter caught his leg as he did, pulling him down to the ground.

  Jack kicked and pulled free. He scrambled to pick the gun up, but Susan already had it.

  She pointed it at Baxter, who’d gotten to his feet and was reaching into his pocket for Jack’s gun.

  “I wouldn’t,” Susan said grimly.

  Baxter moved his hand and Susan cocked the gun.

  “I’m from Texas.”

  Baxter froze and slowly pulled his hand away from his pocket and raised them both in the air. Jack reached in and took the gun.

  “Good girl,” he said to her.

  She managed a breathless smile. “What do we do with him?”

  ~~~

  Elizabeth and Simon watched the fireworks outside with the rest of the crowd, careful to keep a close eye on Tony. As they came to an end, a man approached Tony and whispered something in his ear.

  “Uh-oh.”

  Tony’s party mood pooped out and was replaced by what Elizabeth could only describe as cold fury.

  “Come on,” she said and pulled Simon by the arm to follow Tony who was already striding across the grounds.

  Elizabeth and Simon tried to follow, but one of Tony’s guards blocked their path.

  “Can I help you?”

  “But we need to speak to Mr. Santo,” Elizabeth pleaded. “It’s very important.”

  The man was unmoved and from the size of him, unmovable.

  Simon took her arm and started to lead Elizabeth away. “We’ll have to go around.”

  Elizabeth nodded, but then stopped in her tracks.

  “What’s Jepson still doing here?”

  Simon followed her gaze. Jack had told them that Baxter and Jepson were going to meet them in Santo’s suite. Why was Jepson still here?

  They hurried over to him and pulled him away from the couple he was talking with.

  “What gives?”

  “What are you doing here?” Elizabeth demanded.

  “I was about to interview the McNallys,” he said with a confused look on his face.

  “We know who you really are,” Elizabeth said.

  “What do you mean?”

  “Where’s Baxter?”

  Jepson shrugged. “Said he had a headache.”

  Simon and Elizabeth exchanged worried glances. He’d lied about that once before. Tonight, the only reason he’d lie was to keep Jepson from knowing what he was really doing.

  “Dammit,” Simon muttered.

  “What’s wrong?” Jepson asked.

  “Everything,” Elizabeth said. “We need to get to the Santos’ suite. Now.”

  Jepson paled. “What’s going on?”

  “It’s a long story,” Elizabeth said. “But if we don’t get there soon, Susan Santo is going to be murdered.”

  Chapter Twenty-Two

  “IT’S BACK HERE,” SUSAN said as she turned on the light inside the master bedroom closet.

  Jack put the gun into his pocket and helped her move aside the clothes blocking the panel.

  After they’d finished tying up Baxter, they’d hurried upstairs. They couldn’t use the front door, as Tony’s men, and possibly Baxter’s, would be waiting for them. That left Tony’s escape tunnel.

  Susan pushed on the panel and it popped open. Jack stepped forward and looked down into the darkness. All he could see was a narrow ladder clinging to the wall and disappearing into the dark below.

  “Impressive.”

  Susan grabbed a flashlight from a shelf stuffed with sweaters. She held it out to Jack. “Ready?”

  He grinned. This Susan was going to be all right.

  He took the flashlight, turned it on, pointing it at her shoes. “You might want to take those off.”

  She looked down at her high heels. Quickly, she took them off and tossed them down. He heard them hit bottom and judging from the time it took, this part of the tunnel was probably thirty or forty feet deep. Definitely far enough to make him extra careful as he clambered into the tunnel.

  He moved down a few rungs and helped Susan onto the ladder. He kept his body behind hers, just a rung down, so he could catch her if she slipped.

  He shined the flashlight down, but the beam didn’t reach the bottom. Icy fingers crawled up his spine.

  “Don’t look down,” he said, more to himself than to her.

  Carefully, and painfully slowly, they moved down rung by rung.

  “You’re doing great,” he said.

  She nodded and they kept moving down. Rung by rung. It probably wasn’t more than thirty feet, but it felt like a lot more.

  “Good,” he said, gently encouraging her.

  She turned her head to say something and missed her footing. She cried out as she slipped down, but Jack put an arm around her waist and held her against him.

  “It’s okay. It’s okay,” he said. “I got you.”

  She puffed out a few breaths, repositioned her feet and held on tightly.

  “We have to move, okay? Just one at a time.”

  It felt like it took forever, but it was just a few minutes before they reached the bottom. Jack helped her descend the last few rungs and shined the flashlight down the tunnel. It was low, maybe five feet tall, and he couldn’t see the end of it.

  He kept the light trained on the rough-hewn passage. “How far does it go?”

  “About two hundred feet. There’s an exit into a storage shed on the edge of the parking lot.”

  “Good.” Jack took her hand and led her down the tunnel. “How far to your car from there?”

  “Not far.”

  All Jack could do was hope she was right.

  ~~~

  Elizabeth couldn’t see Tony anymore. She ran as fast as she could toward the Santos’ suite, but Jepson and Simon were faster. They stopped in front of the outside door and Simon reached the door handle just as Elizabeth arrived.

  “Wait,” Jepson said and looked around.

  “We don’t have time—” Simon said.

  Jepson shook his head. “There’s always a guard here, where is he?”

  He was right. Every time Elizabeth had passed by this door, there had been a huge security man standing in front of it.

  “It doesn’t matter,” Elizabeth said breathlessly. “We have to go in.”

  “It’s too danger
ous to charge into the unknown,” Jepson said.

  “That’s kinda what we do.” She looked at Simon, who nodded once and opened the door.

  Slowly, the three of them crept inside the foyer. The large double doors to the main suite were wide open.

  Simon took Elizabeth’s hand and not so subtly moved her behind him as they inched toward it. Jepson, who’d hesitated at first, moved to the front of their little line. He held up a hand to gesture for them to stay back and to let him go in.

  He peered around the open door and then stood up straight.

  “Mr. Santo?”

  Simon and Elizabeth peeked around the door to see Tony standing in the middle of the room. Startled, he looked up, and Elizabeth noticed the overturned chair and broken glass.

  “She’s not here,” Tony said.

  Jepson walked deeper into the room. Simon and Elizabeth followed close behind.

  No one was there. Not Susan, not Jack, and not Baxter.

  ~~~

  Jack flipped open the trap door at the top of the escape tunnel. Carefully, he poked his head up out of the door. The small shed was empty except for some maintenance equipment. He scanned the room carefully with the flashlight just to make sure and then hoisted himself up and into it. He tucked the flashlight into his pocket and turned back to help Susan up.

  She looked at him, a little short of breath, but alive. She smiled and held up her shoes. “We did it.”

  “We did some of it,” Jack said.

  They weren’t out of the woods yet. They still needed to reach her car and get as far away from the Paradise as possible.

  He steadied her as she slipped her shoes back on and then opened the shed door. He peered outside. It was dark, but he could see they were on the far edge of the parking lot, the hotel in the distance. They were right where she said they’d be.

  He turned back and held out his hand. She took it and they stepped outside.

  “Took you long enough.”

  Jack froze and closed his eyes. Baxter.

  He opened them again and looked over at Baxter. He wasn’t alone. He had two big men with him, both with guns out. One of them grabbed Susan and pulled her close. He pressed the gun into her side.