by B A Trimmer
I thanked him and drove my car back to the office.
~~~~
Sophie and I got back to the office at the same time. Lenny was in his office and Gina was up in reception.
“Are you doing OK?” Gina asked me.
“Yeah, but it came close to going completely to hell.”
“But it didn’t and you never gave up. I’m glad you got our client back.”
Lenny heard the talking and came out from his office. He was in a good mood since his client wasn’t dead and he’d be able to collect his fee.
“Good work on getting the client back,” he said. “From what I hear, Carlos wasn’t too keen on letting you go, even after he had the document. Sounds like he’s a man who can’t be trusted. When you and Jackie didn’t come back out of the warehouse, I called the chief of police directly. I let him know about the drug shipment and that I also believed Jacquelyn Wade was being held there. I thought that by calling the chief directly, I’d get an immediate response. I’m also hoping he will keep my name out of the official reports. But either way, he now owes me a big one.”
“Did you happen to tell them I was in there too?”
“Well, mentioning ahead of time you were in there would have opened us up to some questions I didn’t want to answer. I thought it would be best if they found you along with Jackie. I’m hoping now that Jackie has been rescued they won’t need to ask a lot of questions about why or how you got in there. I hope it wasn’t too much of a shock to them when they had to rescue both of you.”
“I don’t think Reno will talk to me for a few days. He was more than a little upset I happened to be in there with Jackie.”
“It couldn’t be helped. Besides, he should have been happy you’re still in one piece.”
“The lead detective in the murder investigation stopped by to see us in the hospital,” I said. “It seemed strange he was there but he didn’t even try to press us for any information.”
“Not to worry,” Lenny said. “I had a conversation with him before he went over to the hospital. I imagine he wanted to see with his own eyes that Jackie was free. Since my conversation with him, I’ve gotten some inside information. The police no longer consider Jackie to be a suspect in the death of Roger Wade. Howard did a good job of implicating Carlos. It was a class move on his part. Unfortunately, he’ll need to keep low for a while. He might even need to go into some sort of witness relocation program until this Carlos thing gets straightened out.”
“So Jackie is off the hook?”
“There will be some formal questioning but then she will be a free woman.” Lenny got a wistful look on his face. “It’s a damn shame we had to give everything away to free the client. We still might challenge the transfer document but it was signed over a year ago and Jackie won’t be able to show it was anything out of the ordinary. Even after all of this, Jackie’s still going to lose the resort.”
“Oh,” I said, “about that. I then reached into the back pocket of my pants and pulled out the folded and wrinkled document. In the excitement of almost being killed, I had completely forgotten about it.
Lenny’s eyes got big and his mouth dropped open. Gina and Sophie started laughing then Gina gave me a high five. I handed the document to Lenny.
“No shit?” he asked as he unfolded the document. “I don’t believe it. You rescue the client and save the resort? Damn, you are getting good at this.”
I suddenly had a terrible thought.
“What about Carlos,” I said. “Won’t he just kidnap Jackie again and make her sign more documents?”
Lenny looked at me as if he was disappointed I had missed something obvious.
“Having Jackie sign a document now wouldn’t do him any good. The previous document would have held up because there was a long history of Jackie transferring properties between herself and Spencer-Wade Land Development with little financial gain to herself. However, there is now ample evidence any transfer document Jackie signs after the date she was kidnapped would have been signed under duress. Carlos could make Jackie sign a dozen documents and none of them will be valid. I’m sure he knows that.”
“So Jackie’s safe. I mean really safe.”
“Yes, Jackie’s safe.”
I looked over at Gina and she was nodding her head. I got a new feeling of relief and happiness.
“Perfect,” I said. “It’s finally perfect.”
~~~~
Sophie, Gina, and I spent the next hour talking about the events of the past two weeks and I filled them in on all of the details. The only thing I left out was the rescue by Max and Gabriella. Gina would have had problems with it from the legal standpoint, which was something I didn’t even want to try to sort out. Sophie would have seen it as yet another sign Max and I were meant to be together. Since I already had a lot of confused thoughts when it came to Max, I didn’t need Sophie adding to it.
But honestly, the main thing keeping me from telling was a feeling slowly growing in the back of my mind for the past few days. It was a feeling I was slowly being sucked into the middle of a war, squeezed between two powerful groups. I could see it becoming crystal clear and I wasn’t sure if I knew of a way to keep myself out of it. I did know I wanted to do whatever I could to keep my two best friends from being dragged into it with me.
~~~~
After Gina and Sophie finally had all of their questions answered, I went back to my cubicle. I didn’t want to be alone tonight and my mind went to Reno. From the look on his face from earlier in the day, I wasn’t so sure he would want to see me, at least not right away. But, I decided to give him a try anyway.
I took out my phone and called but he didn’t pick up. I didn’t want to read too much into it since he often couldn’t answer my calls and he usually called me back soon after.
“Hey,” I said to his voice mail. “Thanks for rescuing me today. Jackie and I were in a tight spot. It would be nice to be able to talk to you about it. I was thinking maybe we could get together tonight for dinner or whatever. If not tonight, then tomorrow? Let me know.”
I disconnected and stared at the phone for a moment. I started to pack up my things to go home when the theme from the Love Boat started playing on my phone. My heart did a little two-step and I answered.
“Hello,” I said.
“Hello yourself. How are you doing?”
“I’m OK. Thanks for the rescue today. When the storage room door opened, you were the last person I expected to see walk in.”
“Glad to do it,” he said. “I was wondering if you were free tonight. Maybe I could take you out somewhere nice for a quiet dinner? I’m sure you could use some quiet time.”
“Umm, sure. I’d love to see you. But would you mind if we kept it to drinks?”
“Are you still having those conflicting thoughts about us?”
That’s an understatement.
“I think drinks would work better for me tonight.”
“Alright. No problem, where?”
“Let’s keep it simple. Back to the Casablanca?”
“Great, see you in half an hour?”
“I have a few things to do before I get out of here.”
Like completely redo my face.
“Let’s make it an hour.”
~~~~
As I walked down to the lounge, I was definitely feeling some mixed emotions about Max. It was true he was gorgeous and I was definitely attracted to him. But, there were the nagging facts that he committed crimes for a living and I was trying to form a lasting relationship with another man, who happened to be a cop.
Why are things always so complicated?
I got to the lounge first and got a table on the patio in the corner. It had a lovely view and we were far enough away from everyone else so we could talk without whispering.
I saw Max come in, as did several other women in the lounge. Even though I had told myself he was forbidden fruit, my heart still kicked up a notch and I suddenly developed a case of the butterfl
ies. I also suddenly had some very naughty thoughts about what I would love to do to this man if I ever got him alone.
Stop that.
Max sat and we each ordered a drink. I had a scotch and it felt great to take that first sip.
“Are you going to tell me what happened today? I asked. “Jackie and I were trapped in a storage room, surrounded by a dozen bad guys with guns, and then you come strolling in. Don’t get me wrong, I was happy to see you but what happened?”
“From the information you gave us, we put together where the shipment was going. You said you were calling it in to the police, so we wanted to be nearby to make sure things went smoothly for them. We’ve had continuous surveillance on the warehouse from a nearby rooftop location. We saw them bring in Jackie about eight o’clock and we saw you go in about ten. When the truck with the drugs arrived and neither of you had come back out, we thought we should set up a distraction and help get you away. Unfortunately, by then, the police had started to set-up a perimeter and there was no way we could have gotten you out of the building without a lot of uncomfortable questions being raised. I had to be content with moving you to a safer place. Apparently, it wasn’t as safe as I thought it was. I’m glad you and Jackie were rescued by the police before the bad guys found you.”
“It was close but we’re OK thanks to you and Gabriella. Would you thank her for me? What about the distraction, what did you do?”
At that question, Max started to laugh. It was the first time I’d heard him really laugh and it was a great sound. Plus, when he laughed, his whole face lit up and he could have been a teenager again, laughing at some joke.
“Yes, well about the distraction. You see, before your news yesterday, about the only thing we really knew about Carlos was the car he drove. It’s a red Ferrari 458 Spider, a beautiful car costing over a quarter of a million dollars. It’s sort of his trademark and he really loves it. He parked it on the far side of the warehouse, away from both the loading docks and the front offices. I guess he wanted to make sure it would be out of the way and wouldn’t get any scratchers. So, we decided to blow it up.”
“You blew up his Ferrari?”
“Actually, it was Gabriella’s idea and it’s harder to do than you’d think. Even after we shot a few holes in the gas tank, it still wouldn’t catch on fire. She finally had to shoot a flare at it. But once it started, it really went up fast.”
“I could see why that caused such a stir. We heard everyone in the offices running but had no idea what had caused the commotion.”
“After everyone had emptied out of the building to see what had happened, Gabriella and I went in and got the two of you. When you both were safe, we went out the way we had come in. Everyone was still out by the burning Ferrari.”
“Did everyone get away OK?”
“Everyone is fine. We just set the whole thing up as a distraction and nobody got overly close to where Carlos’ men were. It turns out I was the only one that took a hit.”
“You got shot?” I almost shouted at him and my voice raised an octave. My heart started pumping as I frantically looked for bandages or a gushing wound.
“I’m OK. It happened as we were leaving the building. I never even saw who shot me. But, after what happened the last time we had our little adventure together, I made sure to wear the bulletproof vest again. I’ve now got two dents in it. Funny thing is I’ve gotten both of them when I’ve been with you. Maybe you’re bad luck?”
“Or maybe I’m good luck since nobody decided to shoot you in the head. Ever think about that?”
We sat and talked for another hour. It was great to be with Max and the more I talked with him, the more things I found we had in common.
“Before I forget,” Max said. “Tony would like to see you.”
What? Shit!
He saw the look on my face. “Nothing to worry about. I think he wants to see for himself that you are OK. Plus, I’ve got to say, you impressed the hell out of him yesterday. I’ve been with him for years and I can count on one hand how many times that’s happened. You were able to dig up the information on Valentino in only a few days when we had tried for months and had come up with squat.”
“When does he want to see me?”
“Any time over the next few days. He said that he didn’t want to inconvenience you. I know he’ll be in the office tonight for at least another two hours.
“Tonight?”
Shit.
“Alright,” I said. “Let him know I’ll be over tonight. Will you be coming with me?”
“Not this time. You know the way and everyone over there knows who you are. You’ll do great.”
I followed Max down the stairs from the lounge and I was sort of hoping he would turn and kiss me again. When he didn’t, I was a little disappointed. I walked him to his car, which was parked on the street half a block down. When he went to get in, I realized he wasn’t going to kiss me or even give me a hug.
“No kiss this time?”
He stopped and looked down at me. “Aren’t you the one with the conflicted emotions about us?”
“Yes, but it’s not as simple as that. Whenever I see you, I seem to lose all control and I only want to be with you. Then I remember you are a professional criminal and I already sort of have a boyfriend. I honestly don’t know what to do when it comes to you.”
He smiled and shook his head. He then bent down and gave me the lightest and softest possible kiss. It had the effect of igniting every nerve in my body.
Wow! How can he do that?
“You work out your thoughts on us,” he said, “and I’ll be glad to give you a better kiss. Actually, I’ll give you a hell of a lot more than just a nice kiss.”
Yum.
FOURTEEN
I drove up Scottsdale road to the Tropical Paradise. As always, I was feeling nervous about meeting with Tough Tony DiCenzo. Sophie was right; spending too much time with him would almost certainly end badly. Unfortunately, I had the feeling I was getting drawn deeper into it. I knew I needed to start fighting against it now, while I still had a chance of getting out in one piece.
I again parked in valet. I recognized the bell captain from the night before and he also seemed to know who I was. I took the stairs from the lobby up to the second floor offices. The guards at the entrance to the offices also seemed to know who I was and one of them opened the door for me.
Since it was getting to be late in the evening, there were only a few people working in their offices or cubicles. It was a rather creepy feeling walking through the mostly deserted office.
I got to Gabriella’s desk and saw she was again working steadily away. She was wearing a white button down blouse and her hair was down. She heard me come into her reception area and she looked up. Rather than buzz me in right away, she looked at me. I wasn’t sure what to make of it at first, and then I noticed her eyes.
Every other time I had seen Gabriella, her eyes had sent a shiver of fear through me. They were always the dead unfeeling eyes of a shark or the searching eyes of a predator. But tonight, her eyes had softened. For the first time I saw her as being a woman sitting at a desk.
“You did good today,” she said. It was the first time I had ever heard her speak and it startled me. She had a heavy eastern European or perhaps even Russian accent. From the way she spoke, I could tell English wasn’t her first language.
“I did good today?” I asked.
“You did not panic. You did not scream. You helped the other girl. You did good today. You did good last time too, with the diamonds. You saved Tony when I was pushed on the floor.”
“Thanks and thank you for rescuing me today. We were in a tight spot.”
“It’s OK. Tony likes you. Max likes you. I like you.”
I remembered Max said he had gotten shot. I suddenly wanted to know more.
“Today, after you and Max moved us, did you have a shootout with Carlos’s men?”
After I asked the question, Gabriella got an incr
edibly sad look on her face and her bottom lip stuck out. It was as if she was a five year old who had been denied candy.
“No,” she said, still with the pout. “No men to shoot today. Max got shot in his vest, but we not see who did it. I wanted to go back and find who did it, but Max he say no. But soon, I know he will say yes. Carlos Valentino is a very bad man, but it’s OK. I kill him and his men. I kill them all, no problem.”
As she said the last, she got a big smile. She then moaned with what I could swear was erotic desire.
And I sometimes think I have issues?
Still moaning and smiling, she pushed the button under her desk. The door unlocked and I went into Tony’s office.
As before, he was sitting behind his desk and he again had on his black reading glasses. I couldn’t help but see him as another businessman. He looked up and when he saw me, I thought I got a trace of a smile.
“Laura Black. You’ve had a very busy day today, no mistaking that. I’m about to have a twenty-one year old Macallan scotch, will you take one with me?”
“Thanks that would be great. One ice cube would be perfect.”
Tony got us each a drink then he motioned me to sit in a comfortable leather chair that was part of a set away from his desk. I sat in one and he sat in another. I spent several seconds watching the ice cube slowly dissolve and I took in the subtle aromas of the scotch. Tony took a sip of his scotch and started talking.
“After what you had told Max about the drug shipment and what you told me about Carlos Valentino, it wasn’t hard to put the two together. It didn’t take us long to narrow the drop-off down to the one warehouse in south Scottsdale able to handle that kind of shipment. We didn’t expect to see you anywhere near the place, of course. But we had set up a surveillance on the warehouse and saw you both go in. When you didn’t come back out, we figured you could use a hand.”
“Thanks for getting us out of there. Looks like we’re even again.”
Tony waved his hand in dismissal.
“I went in to get you partially because I owe you, that’s true, but mostly because I needed a solid opening shot in the upcoming war. I wanted Carlos to realize what he’s gotten himself into. He probably thought he could fuck with me and come away clean. I’ve taught him he’s wrong, no bones about it. Besides, Max seemed a little upset you had been captured and Gabriella always likes to be in the middle of things.” As he said that, he gave a small chuckle.
