Taken by the Con

by C. J. Miller

  “I know that. I’ve reviewed the security footage,” Anderson said.

  “What can I do to help you?” Cash asked.

  “Plenty. But I want to ask you a few things. Are you in a place where you can talk?” Anderson said.

  “I’m not at work. I can talk.” He and Lucia had been more careful to be sure no one was following them.

  “I was surprised that you came to see me,” Anderson said.

  Cash heard the unasked question. Why? Why had he returned to Anderson after being in jail? Why return to the life that had cost him his marriage, time with his son and his freedom? “I need the money.”

  “Why not finish your time with the FBI and then work something that gives you benefits and a regular paycheck?”

  Was this a trick? Was he trying to convince him to walk away? Their relationship was complex. They’d been close while Cash was growing up. After a chance meeting with Britney at her grandfather’s funeral, Cash had fallen for her instantly. Britney had been eleven years older, and wiser, and Cash had been looking for something that had been missing in his life. The strength of his feelings for Britney and her anger for her father had created a wedge in Cash’s relationship with Anderson.

  “Life is too short to live paycheck to paycheck.” Or to live in a dump that’s better suited for rats. Or to repeat mistakes.

  Anderson made a sound of agreement. “Why don’t we meet for a drink?”

  In person? Anderson was willing to meet Cash? Should Cash pretend to know that Anderson was staying underground? “Are you sure it’s safe?” He didn’t want to appear too eager.

  “I have a few places left that are safe. You’ll need to black out your tracker. Do you have the device?”

  “Of course,” Cash said.

  “Bring your new woman. I want to meet her.” Anderson gave him an address and told him to come within the hour.

  Lucia was shaking her head as Cash hung up the phone. “Something’s off,” she said.

  “Like?”

  “Why would someone in hiding invite you to meet him and tell you to bring me?”

  “He’s my father-in-law. He’s my son’s grandfather.”

  Lucia’s lips slightly parted. “That means nothing.”

  “We stole a priceless work of art for him.”

  “Unless he’s figured out the Copley is a fake.”

  “I tried to stop Hammer from shooting Mitchell. He saw it on the casino’s video surveillance,” Cash said.

  “Is that enough to bring you into his circle of trust especially when he suspected you were working against him for the FBI?”

  “I was never out of the circle of trust, as you call it. I was in prison. I screwed up by getting caught. I wasn’t disloyal to Anderson.” At least, not that Anderson knew about.

  Lucia rubbed her temples. “I don’t like this. My gut tells me something is not right. We’ll go. But we’re bringing backup.”

  “He’ll know it.”

  Lucia threw up her hands. “Then what’s the play? Show up and walk into his circus and hope he’s not conning you?”

  “He’s not conning me.”

  “Would you know it if he was?”

  “One con man to another, yes, I’d sense it.”

  “We’re talking about Clifton Anderson. One of the most skilled liars of this century.”

  “I’m a good liar.” She had pointed it out to him many times before.

  Lucia balled her fists at her sides. She looked hot when she was angry. “I hate to break this to you, Cash, but you’re one of the good guys now and that means you’re not as good a liar as you think. Besides, you’re off your game. You saw a man gunned down. I know what that can do to someone. Even hardened agents get shaken when someone dies in the field. It’s difficult.”

  He wasn’t sure whether to be hurt that she didn’t think he knew the difference or pleased she considered him a good guy. “That’s quite the assessment from a woman who wanted me back in jail.”

  “I don’t want you in jail,” she said softly. “When you ran into the casino to speak to Hammer, I almost lost it. I realized something important in that moment.”

  He said nothing.

  “You. You’re important to me.”

  He couldn’t have expressed what that meant to him. Her genuine caring touched him deeply, but fresh wounds reminded him to be cautious. “Important to you or to the case?”

  “To me. This case isn’t anywhere near as important as you are.”

  Proving herself to the FBI had seemed to drive Lucia, and now she was telling him he ranked above that. He was humbled by her words. “If I don’t solve this case, I’ll be put in jail.”

  “Right. That,” Lucia said. She bit her lip. Lucia was holding something back.

  “Tell me,” he said. “You know something I don’t.”

  Lucia sighed. “I didn’t want this to come from me. I didn’t want your hopes up too high but I called a friend I went through training with at Quantico. He works in a field office in Washington state. I explained the situation and he said if I could get Benjamin on board, he’d take you under his wing for the remainder of your time with the FBI.”

  Cash felt dizzy for a moment. It was the outcome he’d been hoping for and while he hadn’t found a way to con Lucia into it, she’d done it just the same. He hadn’t had to lie to her and it made the victory that much sweeter. He swallowed the lump of emotion in his throat.

  Winning Adrian over would be so much easier if they were closer. Cash could drive to see him. He could build a better life. Baby steps, but baby steps were miles apart from his current gridlock situation. “Thank you, Lucia. Thank you for doing this. Why? Why would you do that for me?”

  Lucia’s eyes watered and she cleared her throat. “I think it’s obvious. We don’t need to say the words.”

  She loved him. He knew it. In that instant, the impact of knowing she loved him blew him away. He couldn’t put his arms around the emotion she evoked. “Lucia, I can’t thank you enough—”

  She waved her hand and moved away from him. “It’s no guarantee. I wanted you to have a chance at something real with your son. But it’s moot if we don’t catch Anderson. Benjamin doesn’t grant boons easily. He’ll want his man and his glory. He’s been angling for a promotion, and capturing Anderson would be a sweet win to put on his résumé.”

  “If you think it’s too dangerous, let me go alone to meet Anderson.”

  She snorted. “Please. We’re partners. We have been from the start. Let’s finish this together.”

  * * *

  “An abandoned private airstrip?” Lucia asked. “I don’t like this. He’s planning to run.” The accounts the FBI were monitoring hadn’t be accessed recently. What was Anderson planning? Cash was not himself. The shooting had shaken him. If it wasn’t for that, he’d see this for what it was: a setup.

  Except Lucia had prepared for it. She had her team standing by. She wanted Anderson to come at her. She’d bring him in and prove she was a good agent and had earned her place on Benjamin’s team. The past wouldn’t haunt her. Questions about her time with the violent-crime division would disappear. Cash would be transferred closer to his son. Though she would lose him, she would give him happiness.

  Lucia got out of the car and stayed close to Cash.

  Anderson met them on the tarmac. “Greetings, Cash. You look well.”

  Lucia’s heart fell when she saw Wyatt behind Anderson. How was Cash’s father tied up in this? Would Anderson use him to manipulate Cash?

  “Please, come with me. We have much work to be done,” Anderson said.

  What work? Lucia stayed close. Benjamin and the rest of the team were monitoring the situation, but they’d needed to stay out of sight. Anderson was leading them off the airstrip tow
ard a small forest where a black van was parked. Behind the van was a small tent.

  Was some of the money in that van? In the tent? Lucia stayed alert and braced herself for whatever was to follow.

  “First, let me welcome you both. To my godson, thank God you got out of that place,” Anderson said. “It’s been fortuitous for me that you’ve come back to the team. When Hammer killed Mitchell, I lost my money man.”

  His money man and Mitchell’s ability to move money, too, Lucia guessed.

  “That’s where you can help me,” Anderson said.

  “Tell me what you need,” Cash said.

  “I need you to move some money from some accounts into others,” Anderson said.

  He made it sound simple. By asking Cash to break the law, he would be held responsible as an accomplice. Anderson had a knack for getting the people around him as dirty as possible.

  “I can do that,” Cash said. “For a fee.”

  “I can offer you something we both want in exchange,” Anderson said.

  Cash lifted his chin. “You know what I want. Money. A better life.”

  “What about a life with your son?” Anderson asked. “I’ve missed having my grandson in my life.”

  Cash didn’t move. “He’s living with Helen and he’s best staying with her. I send money when I can.”

  Anderson laughed. “I don’t believe that. I’ve known you since you were a little boy. You can pretend you don’t want Adrian with you, but I see through that lie. I have an offer you’ll love. You move the money for me and we flee with Adrian.”

  A muscle worked in Cash’s jaw. He didn’t want Anderson near Adrian. “No.”

  “No? You went to jail trying to save your son. Now you don’t want anything to do with him?” Anderson asked.

  “I’m not good for him. A life on the run, a life of lying isn’t good for him,” Cash said.

  Cash’s father flinched. Perhaps he knew the truth behind Cash’s words.

  “He should be with you. With me. Living a life that he could only dream about before now. Everything he could ever want will be his,” Anderson said.

  “I never thought about that before. What do you think, Lucy? A fresh start? A new life?”

  Anderson tsked. “You misunderstand me. It would be the four of us, Adrian, his dad and his grandfathers. No room for girlfriends.”

  Anderson withdrew his gun and Lucia reached for hers at the same time, removing it from the thigh harness under her skirt and pointing it at Anderson’s heart.

  “I hope that clarifies any doubts you had,” Anderson said over his shoulder to Wyatt.

  Cash looked between Lucia and Anderson. “What doubts? What’s going on? Lucy always carries a gun.”

  Anderson looked at Cash and frowned. “She carries a gun because she’s an FBI agent.”

  Shock registered on Cash’s face. Maybe she had underestimated how good a liar he was. “She isn’t,” he said. “She’s like me. I told Mitchell she is a recovering addict. She’s built a new life for herself, a life she deserves.” If he was striving for blindsided and in denial, he was hitting it right.

  “Son, I’m sorry. When Anderson came to me about her, I didn’t believe it either,” Wyatt said.

  “There has to be a mistake,” Cash said.

  “Tell her, Lucy,” Anderson said.

  Boots climbed out of the van and trained his gun on Lucia.

  Lucia had to stay calm. She and Cash were in this together. They’d find a way out.

  “Tell him,” Anderson said, shooting at her. The shot caught her in the arm and it burned like flames, but Lucia didn’t return fire. If she used her weapon, she’d need to kill Anderson and Boots. If she killed Anderson, the FBI might not recover the money he’d stolen.

  Her arm was killing her, but she held steady. “My name is Lucia Huntington and I’m with the FBI. Put your weapon on the ground and put your hands in the air.” Her cover was blown. Was her team hearing this and moving in?

  Cash’s reaction could have been an award-winning performance. Anger darkened his face and rage distorted his features. Anderson and Wyatt were watching him.

  He called her a word she hadn’t heard him speak before. Then a demand. “Give me your gun,” he said to Lucia.

  He glanced at the wound on her arm, and only a trace of worry crossed his face.

  “You’re going to kill me with my gun?” Lucia asked. Where was her backup?

  Cash appeared unsure. “I’m not sure what I’ll do.”

  “Cash, stay calm. I’ll clean this up. I need your help with something. Boots will take care of her and we’ll go,” Anderson said.

  “No,” Cash said, rage hot in his voice. “I take care of my messes. I’ll clean this up.” He tore the gun from Lucia’s hand. She let him take it, trusting he had a plan.

  “What are you planning to do?” Lucia asked. “Backup will be on their way.”

  “Sorry, Special Agent, but you’re sadly mistaken. I’m blocking every network signal in a half-mile radius except the one I need to move my money,” Anderson said.

  Cash narrowed his eyes. “Give me thirty minutes with her. I won’t let another woman screw up my life and I won’t let someone else take the fall for my mistakes.”

  Anderson gestured to Boots and Cash’s father. “Go with him. Clean it up. Report back here.”

  * * *

  “I have a plan,” Cash said. Not a good one, but one that would get Lucia away from Anderson. Her arm was bleeding and Cash didn’t like the paleness of her face.

  If he could move outside Anderson’s half-mile radius, his GPS tracker would broadcast his location and he could contact Benjamin and get help.

  At the car, Cash opened the back door. “I don’t want any blood on the seats. No evidence left behind.” A good reason for why he cared about treating her injury. He removed his belt and wrapped it tight around her arm to slow the bleeding. She winced and Cash put his mouth close to hers as he put her in the back of the car as gently as he could. “I’m sorry, Luc, I’ll get you out of this.”

  “Don’t worry about the blood. We’ll burn the car,” Boots said.

  Cash glared at him. “Do you realize the FBI can find DNA traces even after it’s been burned?” A lie, but it sounded good.

  Cash made sure his father rode in the backseat with Lucia. He wasn’t sure he trusted him, but he didn’t trust Boot for a split second. He was a hired gun and Anderson was promising him more money than Cash could. He didn’t want Lucia roughed up and Cash’s father didn’t do violence. He and his father had that in common.

  As they drove, Cash kept looking at Lucia in the rearview mirror and checking his phone for a signal. Lucia’s eyes were closed.

  He needed her to stay awake. He hit the steering wheel with his fist. If he was a man with a broken heart who’d been lied to, he’d be a little out of his mind. Crazy could work, enough to set his father and Boots off balance and give him space to stash Lucia somewhere safe.

  “Lucy, why did you do it? Why? I gave you everything!” Cash shouted.

  She didn’t answer. Panic gripped him.

  “Dad, wake her up,” Cash said, unable to hide the terror in his voice. How much blood could someone lose and survive?

  His thoughts flashed to Britney. Help had not arrived in time. She’d been pronounced dead at the hospital following her accident.

  Not again. He wouldn’t lose a woman he loved again.

  Love. That word, an emotion that could wreak absolute havoc on him. Love for his son had turned him into a criminal and love for Lucia was turning him into a desperate man. She had to be okay. He shoved away the fear and fog and tried to think of the best play.

  Cash drove faster to escape Anderson’s network black hole. Finally, his phone signal bars lit up. Cas
h dialed Benjamin and then slipped the phone into his pocket. He hoped Benjamin could hear everything and send help.

  His father slapped Lucia’s cheeks. “Wha...?”

  She was alive. The sound of her voice was heavenly. “Why did you do it?” he asked her again.

  “To catch him,” Lucia said. “They said I had to watch you to make sure you were doing your work. When you made contact with Anderson, we decided to use that.”

  “I love you. I love you and you did this,” he said.

  “I love you, too,” Lucia said.

  He knew the words were the truth. Did she know his words were true, as well?

  “What’s your plan, Cash?” his father asked.

  “I told you. To get rid of her. Anderson gave me thirty minutes. I’ll use the covered bridge and we’ll burn the car at the airstrip,” Cash said.

  They arrived at a location he used to visit with his father to fish, an abandoned railway bridge. It was eerily beautiful and secluded, plenty of places for the FBI to lie in wait and then rush in to help Lucia.

  He couldn’t risk driving around looking for a better place. Lucia needed medical attention.

  He glanced at his phone. He had an open connection to Benjamin. The FBI had to be sending help. If he wasn’t following Cash by his tracker, he could find his cell phone signal. “You remember this place, dad? I used to love thinking about the trains that used to drive through here. That was when I thought I’d be a conductor.” Did that help Benjamin track the location?

  His father’s face softened. “I remember.”

  He and his father lifted Lucia out of the car. Cash slipped one arm under her shoulders and the other under her knees.

  “Give us a minute,” he said, telling his father and Boots to stay back.

  He carried Lucia inside the covered bridge and set her on the ground. It was dark, with rays of sunlight peeking through places where rust had eaten the metal. “Hang in with me, Lucia. Help is coming.”

  “Cash, please. He will use you and then kill you.” She sounded so tired.