“What are you doing, Dace?” Wylie asked.
Dace put up a hand to silence his brother.
“Fine, I’ll play.” Elis chuckled. “And what exactly are the feds charging me with?”
“Aiding and abetting for starters.” Dace was taunting him, and the snide grin he wore gave it away.
“Okay. And who, may I ask, am I aiding?”
“Cartel.” Dace felt the moment deserved duh as an answer, but thought better of it.
“Not a fucking chance. I loathe the bastards. They’ve made my life pure hell, and that of your fiancée – are we still calling her that – and your child, I might add.”
Dace rolled his eyes. “This is boring me. How about we just go straight to capital murder?”
“Of who?”
“Let’s see if I can make this any clearer. You knew who was at the compound, who cleaned up the mess – because you told them we were coming – and where to find the bodies you left lying around. Wait, except for two. You needed those to play your story out.”
“Wow. It sounds like you have this all figured out, and I need a lawyer.” Eli looked at Carter. “Taking any new clients, Brother?”
“Whoa.” Carter put his hands up in surrender. “Don’t drag me into this. Besides, it would be a conflict of interest. This is my case, and I’d be trying you. And I’m not your fucking brother.”
“Oh, but you are. I’d hope for the family discount. How do you think I knew who you were, how vital you were to this team? I’ve studied you for years, finally figured it out. We share the same DNA because we share the same father. I grew up with him while you grew up with your mother, who clearly didn’t tell you the truth about your paternity. I can prove it all, of course, but it seems we have another matter to tend to at the moment.”
“Well, there’s a plot twist I didn’t see coming.” Wylie snickered. “This shit’s just getting weirder by the minute.”
“It’s all bullshit,” Carter challenged. “It’s a distraction. He knows more and wants to segue to daddy issues.”
“Ah, Brother. I was hoping for a warmer reception than that.”
“If you’re brothers, why doesn’t Carter have the crazy accent?” Wylie questioned, earning looks of disapproval from his brothers.
“Easy. My father was a political dignitary when he was younger. Met a pretty girl while he was here – had a sweet fling – left for his home country and didn’t give her another thought because it was forbidden. He was already slated to marry my mother and did. I came just a few months after Carter here. We’re practically twins – how fun is that?”
“It’s bullshit, is what it is.” Carter grew angry. “Can we stop with the charade and get back to business?”
“I knew you were a player,” Dace said. “This little performance of yours – not quite Oscar-worthy, by the way – kind of confirms it.”
“I assure you, I have told you everything I know. If you’d quit focusing on the wrong subjects, maybe this thing will be resolved, and we can all go about our business. I know you believe, deep down, that I am as innocent as Ivy.”
“I didn’t say Ivy was innocent.”
“You wouldn’t be sleeping with her if you didn’t, Dace. You’re a man of honor and justice. You don’t sleep with the enemy – you crucify it as though you tried me just now.”
“I don’t trust you,” Dace said point-blank. “I think you’re up to something. I think you came here, wheels on fire, dropped a bunch of intel, then went quiet for a reason. You’re waiting to make your next move.”
“You don’t have to trust me to need me, and you know you do need me. I understand the suspicion because I would feel the same way. I brought you all together, Ivy included, because I know that man who calls himself Ivy’s father is a player. The man is dirty as sin, and every minute you focus on me, or Ivy, he gets a step ahead of us, and your son gets further out of reach. GPS me, put a detail on me, hook me up to an old-fashioned lie detector…you’ll find that I’m being honest on all fronts” – Eli looked at Carter – “including the brother thing, but we can table that for another day. I’m not just looking out for people I care about but gain my freedom by doing so. I’m passing the torch, so to speak – I am handing Ivy and Cash’s safety and well being to you because I’m no longer needed. Let me help you do that.”
All eyes were on Dace as he coolly stared at his potential enemy. He’d tried him, caught him off guard, gave him the chance to waver from the position he’d claimed all along…and the man didn’t falter. Eli wanted Dace to protect his own family so he could move on. His focus and theory had been the same from start to current, and that had to stand for something. Sure, the bit about Carter being his brother was odd and completely ill-timed, but the rest was on point.
Dace nodded his approval Eli’s way. “You fuck this up, you fucking lie, and it’s me that you’ll be running from, Eli.”
“I’d expect no less.”
26
“It’s definitely cartel,” Carter said. “I have confirmation and already shared it with Eva so she can get into it on her end. This is a resurgence – part of Esteban's group you took down a while back.”
“Eva’s father?” Wylie questioned. “I thought we dismantled them completely when Esteban was killed. Eva not knowing they’re reassembling means she’s in danger.”
“Not necessarily. Just because they’re rebuilding doesn’t mean they’re a threat to her. Not yet, anyway. We’ve seen this before,” Dace reminded.
Carter went on. “These guys aren’t as sophisticated as Esteban was, so Eva will have them in her back pocket in no time. They’re mostly working for hire now – not a power cell. With Eva’s help, I was able to link them to a group we’re watching. They already have feds on their tail, so this should be a slam dunk. Bring them in, show them the case we’ve built against them, remind them they have enemies in the supermax they’d be headed to, and get them to turn on whoever they’re getting their paycheck from because I’m certain that’s our unsub.”
“Keeping Ivy’s name out of it, or do we need to prep her?” Dace asked.
“For now, she’s a victim in this case, and if she wasn’t already under your protection, she’d be under ours,” Carter said, referring to the Federal Government.
“She’s safer with us,” Dace added.
“I agree. She wouldn’t be safe in WITSEC – not when our suspect links to the high offices of DC.”
“What would a Washington official need cartel for? Have we nailed that down?” Wylie asked.
“Arms, drugs…access and distribution,” Carter answered. “Ninety percent of DC is in someone’s back pocket. Why do you think they’re all loaded? It’s from backroom deals, and I’m certain that’s what this is – DEA and ATF are confiscating shit left and right that belonged to us in the first place.”
“What, we’re busting the cartel, confiscating their shit, and what…selling it back to them?” Dace asked.
“Then selling it back to them again. It’s a working theory.”
Liam chimed in. “I’m actually comparing analytics from what we’ve gathered from each crime scene with the data from Carter and finding inconsistencies in the government stockpile of seized property. In short…this is our new angle for now because the dots connect.”
“Makes sense. Someone is padding their pockets and putting the public at risk at the same time. We bust them, take away their toys, and whoever this is just gives it all back to them later.” Dace chuckled.
“Pretty much,” Carter agreed, then looked at Eli. “I can’t link your theory at the moment. Ivy’s dad doesn’t show up on any personnel records. He’s a missing florist from Portland as far as we can tell.”
“I don’t blame you for being wrong – you only know what you know, and he’s been a step ahead of you for years. I assure you, however, he’s our guy, and it will come out in the end. He’ll falter, and I’ll get to say, I told you so.”
“Fair enough.” Carter rol
led his eyes. “What else do we have?”
“I also connected one of the men at the second murder scene to the little shindig over on the coast a few weeks back. He was there, which means the two are connected.”
“And somehow connected to Ivy since he was one of her attackers,” Dace added.
“That means the cartel is officially in town. Portland has graduated from the average dealer. We’re big time now,” C.T. said sarcastically.
“Exactly. This thing goes from Moss Bridge, Mississippi, to the Oregon Coast and Washington, DC, filters in somehow,” Liam said. “My guess is the cartel is running drugs and weapons into new territories to rebuild their brand if you will, and DC resources are helping to facilitate that with technology and getting intelligence to look the other way.”
“Why, though?” Dace questioned. “That’s what I can’t figure out.”
“Money. Power. Favors. Undetectable mercenaries in your back pocket. Someone is getting paid off. We just need to decide who and what’s in it for them,” Carter said. “Given the eyes we have on other cells, I have a feeling we’re opening a huge can of worms. Can we handle it?”
“Don’t we always?” Dace asked. “We must be getting close because someone is nervous and killing off a lot of their people. That’s too risky not to be fear-driven.”
“These murders were loose ends. Nothing more and nothing less. Smoke and mirrors may be to draw our attention to small street trade,” Eli chimed in. “Let’s not get too distracted by it. We have the cartel, and your government, doing deals on your beaches. That’s what they’re trying to cover up.”
“That doesn’t explain why Ivy was targeted and our son was taken,” Dace added. “How does that piece fit?”
Eli let out a deep sigh. “Leverage. We’ve had this conversation. Her father needed them as leverage in the event you get too close, and he needed something to threaten you with. Am I the only one who sees this?”
“The theory works, Eli, but the players don’t. Not until we learn more about her father,” Liam added. “Who else would use them as leverage against us – Dace specifically?”
“Who else? Are you serious right now? Anyone who knows you and hates you. At the very least…cartel. If you’ve been their undoing, I’m certain they’re a little pissed. Especially if your actions sent them right into the hands of their enemy, dirty Uncle Sam, for help.”
“Again, viable theory. But it’s just that…a theory,” Dace said. “Help us see what you do, and maybe we package this thing up better. For starters, years of working for this man, and you just became suspicious?”
“Hardly. As I said before, I stayed to protect Ivy and the boy – and to watch him,” Eli said. “In the beginning, it was easy. Hung out with a beautiful woman, cute baby I got to watch grow up, and made sure they stayed safe.”
Eli paused to watch Dace take a subliminal punch to the gut – another man watched his son grow up while hanging out with his fiancée. But Dace didn’t flinch. Dace was taking blows, and Eli decided two could play that game.
“My bank account got a lot fatter each month, and life was easy.”
“Until?” Dace asked.
“Until the moves became more frequent, her dad showed up more, his security detail grew and looked less than official, and we were being watched by some asshole who kept showing up everywhere we went.”
“I’m the asshole?” Dace said with a smile.
“As it turns out, yes. I knew you were there, and her father made you out to be the terror threat he had us all hiding from while he saved the world.”
“I was that close, huh?”
“Many times. Now I know you weren’t the threat he said you were – you were just a threat to him because you came with all this behind your name.” Eli pointed around the room.
“Why do you suspect him? The real reason, not the bullshit you’ve been telling us.”
“I figured out who he was. I knew he was government – he let it slip once – but didn’t know what branch. If I had to guess, CIA. Then the communicating increased, he was around or calling more often. It was like he was grooming Ivy for something. The cartel thug muscle making up his detail gave away that he was dirty. The US Government didn’t comingle with international outlaws. He would just show up, playing the doting dad and grandfather. It was strange. She bought it, but I didn’t. When you confirmed the cartel details, I knew I was right about the rest.”
“Why the CIA?”
“When he hired me, it was as a rich tech mogul, and he needed protection for his family because he was working on something for the government and didn’t trust their protection. When he let it slip that he worked for the government, I assumed CIA. They tend to have the most freedom and least supervision. Double agents and all that. He told me then that he was really hiding Cash, but Ivy was never to know.”
“Hiding Cash from who?”
“His father.”
Dace laughed. “And you believed all of this?”
“From that point on, no. Ivy spoke of the boy's father often, and when I did my own research and put it all together, I knew you weren’t a threat to the boy. You were a threat to the grandfather. I didn’t get them here sooner because I didn’t know his endgame or how far I could get them – we were being watched too closely. I was going to let you find us. When things began to escalate, I put in a contingency plan for Ivy to follow in the event that something happened. It was always to come to find you as I said before.”
“You wanted to run.”
“Like hell.” Eli nodded. “Before one of them was killed—”
“David Kimble,” Liam interrupted with a big smile. “Look at the screen, boys. We just got our break.”
“That’s him,” Dace said as a man’s headshot and list of credentials populated the screen. “David Kimble. Daughter, Ivy Kimble. Owner, Sammy’s Flowers in the Pearl. Field office, Portland, Oregon, USA. Specialty, foreign affairs. What’s the rest say, Liam? Scroll up.”
Eli smirked and read the final piece to the puzzle. “Operative. CIA.”
“We need to find this bastard,” Dace said. “He has my son.”
27
“I just can’t believe it.” Ivy leaned back on her couch in her apartment, staring at a printout of her father's credential sheet. “CIA?”
“He knew exactly who this family was you were about to marry into and couldn’t risk them finding out who he really was,” Eli said. “He was hiding you from them all along. They were his enemy. Every time we moved because we were made…it was Dace. He was close.”
“I had no idea you were looking for me.” Ivy dropped her head and stared at her folded hands in her lap. “I assumed… I assumed he told you there was a threat, and when everything was over, things would… I don’t know. It all seems so ridiculous now.”
“This isn’t your fault, Ivy. He’s a master manipulator. He has to be in his role,” Dace assured her. “He’d likely been setting this up for some time. In the beginning, we were probably more of an asset than a threat. Something changed, though, and he couldn’t risk us getting too close.”
“I didn’t know I was pregnant until after you left on that last mission,” she said, full of guilt. “I found out after you were gone and had no way to reach you.”
“You were vulnerable,” Eli said. “That’s probably why your dad chose that time to start his charade.”
“We’re looking into your mom’s accident, too,” Dace said.
“My dad said he thought her death was suspicious, like a warning…”
When Dace and Eli both sat silent, the implication was clear. “Oh, my God. You think he… I can’t even say it. It’s so awful.”
“We do believe there was something suspicious surrounding her death. We’ll leave it at that until we know more. If this was him, he did a good job cleaning up after himself, despite the holes in the crime scene.”
“Why? Why would he kill her?” Ivy was sincerely baffled, and the idea of her father killin
g her mother brought her to an emotional breaking point.
“We aren’t sure. Maybe she discovered something she shouldn’t have? She was a beard, and he didn’t need her anymore? There’s really no telling, but we will figure it out – after we end this and get our son back.”
She simply nodded. “I thought my father traveled the world buying flowers from their source and attending trade shows. I’m guessing there were no trade shows and the flowers…they were just like everyone else’s from one of the warehouses in Southern California he claimed to detest.”
“Most likely. He could whip up a really nice bouquet, though,” Dace teased.
“Yeah. That he did.” Ivy whimpered, giving in to the overwhelm she was feeling. “I would give anything to go back and look at this through a different set of eyes. Maybe I would have seen or noticed something out of the norm.”
“More than being on the run?” Eli teased.
“Gah. I deserve that. I trusted my dad and thought he was keeping us safe. I didn’t have any reason to doubt him. Maybe it was easier to believe him than to see who he really was?”
“I could’ve kept both of you safe and will be moving forward. There is no more running. That part of our life is over,” Dace said, admitting his own habit of taking off when things were too much for him.
“I thought I was protecting you. I thought by leaving, we were taking the danger with us.” Ivy palmed her face. “I feel so incredibly stupid.”
“You were groomed, played, and lied to,” Dace said.
Ivy choked on a cry. “It’s my fault our son is missing. I let this happen.”
“That’s on me, love,” Eli said. “I should have got you out of there. I thought we had more time. I should have sent you to Dace sooner.”
It was obvious to Dace that Eli was stepping back. He was passing the baton to Dace so he could take his rightful place and take care of his family, and Dace respected that. Despite their differences, he’d always respect what Eli did for their family and appreciate his sacrifice to bring them back to him.
Brother's Keeper V: Wylie (the complete series BOX SET): NEW RELEASE + Series Box SET included! Page 110
