Outside the Law

by Carsen Taite

  “About that.” Syd pointed at the house. “I kind of imagined more Dallas and less Rawhide. Is this really where you live?”

  “It is indeed.” Peyton held out a hand. “Come on, city girl. We even have electricity.”

  Sydney followed her up the steps, onto the porch, and into the large, rustic house. Did Tanner live in a place like this? The Tanner she’d known had definitely been a city girl. But then again she’d only thought she’d known her. Maybe Tanner secretly loved nature and horses and the great outdoors.

  When they walked inside, Sydney was struck by the homey feel. Rough-hewn beams framed the tall ceilings, and the walls were lined with family photos and other memorabilia. She caught sight of a stack of bridal magazines on the coffee table and pointed. “Are those yours? Because if they are, then ranch air changes a person for sure.”

  “Actually—” Peyton started to say.

  “Actually, they’re mine.” A gorgeous dark-haired woman stepped into the room and swooped the magazines up into her arms. She turned to Sydney with a playful smile. “You must be Sydney.” She stuck out a hand. “Peyton speaks highly of you.”

  Peyton gave the woman an affectionate smile and motioned between them. “Lily, Sydney Braswell. Sydney, Lily Gantry.”

  Sydney paused for a second, her hand in the air. “Gantry? Ah, yes. Cyrus Gantry’s daughter.”

  “The one and only.” Lily cast a mysterious look at Peyton, the kind only couples can interpret, and she hugged the magazines to her chest. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’ll have to come back when it’s not about business and join us for dinner.”

  Sydney waited until Lily was out of the room before turning to Peyton. “Wow. Just wow. That’s Cyrus Gantry’s daughter?”

  “I believe that’s been established.” Peyton grinned.

  “Beautiful and charming. No wonder you couldn’t resist.” Cylinders began to click into place. “Wait a minute. All those magazines. Are you two getting married?”

  Peyton nodded. “Wedding’s in a month. If you don’t have things wrapped up by then, you’re welcome to join us.”

  “You’re marrying the daughter of a man who’s facing indictment by your office? Peyton, what the hell are you thinking?” She started to say more, but the sound of a throat being cleared behind her cut her off. She turned slowly, praying Lily hadn’t returned to the room, but it was worse. Tanner was standing behind her.

  “I’m pretty sure she’s thinking she’s in love. Of course, love isn’t always about thinking,” Tanner said, pointing at the door. “I let myself in.”

  “Guilty as charged,” Peyton said, seemingly oblivious to the daggers Tanner was sending Syd’s way.

  Sydney nodded, but she was certain the look on her face still showed her incredulity. Tanner called her on it. “People do all kinds of crazy things for love.”

  What the hell was that supposed to mean? “I’ve heard that,” Sydney said. “But I’ve never seen it in action.”

  “Neither have I.”

  The gall. If anyone had walked out on love, it had been Tanner, but this wasn’t the time or place to point that out. Sydney broke eye contact with her former lover. “Peyton, do we have time for a quick tour before the rest of your people get here?” She prayed Tanner would stay behind. She just needed a few minutes to regain her composure. Tonight was important and she needed to keep a steady head.

  A few minutes later, she was walking beside Peyton, stepping gingerly over scattered rocks and tree roots as they made their way toward the stables. Peyton was saying something about horses and racing, but she barely heard because her mind was back on Tanner’s words. People do all kinds of crazy things for love. Yeah, right. Not in her experience. Not even close.

  * * *

  Tanner watched Peyton and Sydney leave, wishing she could take back her harsh words, but two unexpected encounters with Sydney in one day had left her feeling jangly, and her usually reliable ability to control her emotions was severely out of whack. Sydney had always had that effect on her.

  “Hey, babe, I hate to rush you, but if we don’t leave in five minutes, we’re not going to make it.”

  “Okay,” Tanner called out, hoping her voice projected confidence because she sure wasn’t feeling it. She’d spent the last fifteen minutes standing in front of the closet she shared with Sydney, dressed only in a towel, wishing school was back in session. But it was June, and she and Sydney had landed coveted positions with two of DC’s most prestigious law firms where they would make more money in a week than most people brought home in a month.

  She knew she should be grateful, but after a few weeks of pushing paper for the firm’s partners and attending night after night of required social networking, she’d begun to seriously doubt she was cut out for big law.

  Sydney’s hands slipped around her waist and her whisper tickled Tanner’s ear. “Wear the gray suit with the blue shirt. It’s super hot on you.”

  Tanner turned into her arms and let the towel drop to the floor. “How about we both take a mental health day and crawl back in bed?” The moment the words left her lips, she saw Syd’s eyes twitch with frustration and she rushed to make her case. “Come on, Syd. It’s not like either of us are doing anything important at these gigs. They won’t miss us for one day.”

  Syd inched away, but Tanner felt the distance between them breach into a large crevasse. “I know you’re bored, but it’s a rite of passage,” Sydney said, all business now. “All summer associates do nothing more than carry water while the partners size us up, but the offer rate at both our firms is over ninety percent—I checked.”

  Of course you did, Tanner thought. Syd had done impeccable research for both of the jobs they held to make sure they fit in with the big picture plan. They’d graduate and start work as first year associates at their respective firms making piles of money that they’d earn by working ungodly hours with no vacations. The pain would last a few years until they were solidly on the partner track, and then they’d start planning more personal accomplishments like a big house, kids, and a vacation home. There was more, a lot more, but Tanner had started to tune out the rest, unable to conceive of a pot of gold worth working toward at the end of this particular passage.

  She leaned down to pick up her towel, but Syd caught her halfway and tilted her face toward hers. “It’ll all work out,” she said. “I promise.”

  “I know,” Tanner replied with a confidence she tried to feel.

  “I love you.”

  “I love you, too.”

  “Then that’s all that matters. The rest is just logistics.” Sydney looped her arm through Tanner’s and started pushing aside hangers. “Now, about that suit.”

  “Where is everyone?”

  Tanner turned at the sound of Bianca’s voice, schooling her face into a neutral expression. “Peyton’s outside with Braswell. Mary and Dale stopped to pick up some beer, but they should be here any minute. Any idea why Braswell’s here?”

  “Can we stop calling her Braswell? She prefers Sydney, and she’s really very nice.”

  “Et tu, Bianca?”

  “Seriously. I spent the afternoon filling her in on everything to do with Lily’s dad and Jade’s uncles, and she wasn’t a jerk at all. Asked good questions. I looked her up, and she’s got a pretty amazing résumé. I don’t get the impression she’s gunning for you.”

  “Well, it sure felt like it this morning.” Tanner mentally kicked herself for not employing a little Google on Syd, but she’d spent the balance of the day trying not to think about her. Big mistake. Huge. “I still don’t get why she’s here at the ranch. I thought we were meeting to figure out how to deal with her, not including her.”

  Bianca shrugged. “You got me, but if Peyton invited her, she must’ve had a good reason.”

  Tanner grunted. Bianca was a young lawyer and she had a tendency to think Peyton, her mentor, could do no wrong. For the most part she thought Bianca’s assessment was correct. She’d had her doubts w
hen she’d learned Peyton and Lily were dating, but she’d come to see Peyton could separate work and home life. “You should probably watch your back. Syd made it clear she had a problem over the fact Peyton’s dating Lily Gantry. She might flip out when she discovers you’re dating the niece of the two most wanted men in North Texas.”

  Bianca didn’t look worried, but she did fix her with a laser stare.

  “What?”

  “Syd? That was zero to nickname in no time flat.”

  Shit. Tanner felt a tinge of guilt for not coming clean about her past with Syd, but she’d dug in now. “Whatever. I’m just saying you should be a little more careful before you start cozying up to her.” The sound of the front door opening cut off Bianca’s response, and Tanner sighed with relief to see Dale and Mary stroll into the living room, each carrying a twelve-pack of Corona. The increasing numbers gave her comfort, and she followed them into the kitchen.

  Dale jerked her chin toward the front door. “Any idea why the new girl’s here?”

  Tanner shook her head, trying not to react to the words “new girl.” “Not a clue. I was hoping you would have some intel.”

  “Not me.” Dale stacked the beer in the fridge and then offered one to Tanner and Mary.

  Tanner took hers and drank a deep draught. They’d been meeting here at Peyton’s ranch for the last month since the task force had been officially disbanded. Dale had asked her to join them when they started to suspect Gellar was working around rather than with them, and they wanted to use her position as one of the lead agents on Cyrus Gantry’s case to find out what he was up to. With last week’s raid and the subsequent retrieval of Queen’s Ransom, the fact that the group was still operating as a task force had come to light, but now they met in secret in an attempt to keep the details of their investigation under wraps while they tried to figure out if Herschel Gellar was somehow involved in the case against Lily’s father and the Vargases. All of which begged the question of what Sydney was doing here, especially if she was working with Gellar.

  “You want me to ask Lindsey to do a little digging?” Dale asked, referring to her girlfriend, a nationally known investigative reporter who’d been helping them out. “Any of us start poking around, someone’s going to notice.”

  Tanner started to scoff at the idea. She was a fucking FBI agent. She didn’t need a reporter to do her job for her. But then she warmed to the idea of someone objective doing the digging, and she started to tell Dale to go ahead, but there was that guilt again, like it would be a betrayal to sic a reporter on her ex. And there was always the possibility Lindsey might discover their past relationship, and she’d feel like a fool for not telling them. She should just tell them now. Before she could pull the trigger, the subject of their discussion appeared in the doorway.

  “Any chance I can get one of those?” Sydney asked.

  Tanner shot Dale a warning look as she handed Sydney her beer and got a subtle nod in response. She’d talk to her later.

  Peyton walked into the room and signaled for them all to have a seat. “Sydney, you met Bianca, Tanner, and Dale this morning. Mary Lovelace is our ATF connection and she’s been working with us since the beginning. I’ll let each of them bring you up to speed, but in the meantime, everyone meet Sydney Braswell, the newest member of our little task force.”

  Tanner shot a look at Dale and Bianca, who both shrugged. “I thought you were here because Gellar called you in.”

  “That’s what he thinks,” Syd responded, her voice calm and steady. “But I’m really here because of Peyton. She and I worked together at the DOJ, and she contacted me about the information you all found on Gellar. We’re not opening an official investigation yet, but I’m here to check into it, and the best way to do that is if Gellar thinks I’m here for some other reason. As long as my cover stays intact, I’ll have unfettered access to the office. If we develop some tangible evidence that he’s involved with the Vargases, I’ll convene a grand jury and we’ll start looking into prosecution.”

  “So the stuff you said this morning about Razor was part of your cover?”

  “No. You’re still going to have to answer for that. Judge Casey has set a hearing on the motion to suppress for next week.”

  “Did you tell the weasel’s lawyer that he won’t get witness protection if he doesn’t testify?”

  “He won’t need it if he doesn’t. He thinks he has more to lose from the Vargases than by crossing you.”

  Tanner looked around, acutely conscious of the fact that everyone in the room was watching them like they were playing a high-stakes tennis match. “Well, maybe he underestimated me.”

  “That’s entirely possible.”

  Tanner’s ears pricked up at Sydney’s words, certain she detected hidden layers of meaning.

  “We’ll need to meet to prepare for the hearing,” Sydney continued, her face slightly flushed. “You’ll have every opportunity to convince me your actions were justified.”

  Damn, there was definitely some undercurrent happening here, but Tanner forced herself not to react. She didn’t know current day Sydney Braswell well enough to presume anything. She’d meet with her and discuss the case, but anything personal was completely off-limits because there was absolutely no way she would risk her heart again. “Fine. But now we’re here to work.” She looked around at the group. “Let’s get started.”

  * * *

  Sydney held Tanner’s gaze longer than was comfortable for either of them, and she experienced both pleasure and disappointment when Tanner looked away first. “I’m not your enemy.” She directed the words to the entire group, but they were really only meant for Tanner. “I’m here to help. But we have to do this right, follow all the rules. You can’t knock down a man like Gellar. You have to knock him out.”

  Her words were greeted with nods from around the table. “All right then. I’m thinking we should start off by going around the table and everyone can fill me in on their connection to the case. I know Peyton from DC, and she’s already told me that she’s engaged to be married to Lily Gantry.”

  “Do you have a problem with that?” Bianca asked.

  “Do you?” Sydney was careful to keep her tone even. She thought the idea of Peyton in a relationship with one of the key player’s daughter was ripe for friction, but she wanted to know what the rest of the team thought.

  “No,” Bianca said in a firm voice. “Besides, Lily isn’t involved in any way with the investigation or her father’s business.”

  “Could it be that you’re a little biased considering you’re dating Sergio and Arturo Vargas’s niece?”

  To her credit, Bianca didn’t look away, instead assuming a more challenging posture, but Dale came to her defense. “You’re painting with a pretty broad brush,” Dale said.

  “And so will the defense lawyers. They live for the appearance of conflict. And what about you? Aren’t you in a relationship with one of the Vargases’ victims, Lindsey Ryan?” She paused for a second to let her observations sink in and then kept going, knowing she wasn’t winning any friends. “Ultimately, you all have issues when it comes to this case, but you’ve done some amazing work so far and I think it would be a mistake to break up the team. That said, I have some recommendations, and I need you to follow them to the letter if we’re going to make this work.”

  She watched Tanner’s face for any signs her remarks were being well received. To most people, Tanner’s expression would have appeared neutral, but she could tell by the slight twitch at the corner of her mouth that she was itching to get out of there. She could totally relate.

  “What if we don’t?” Tanner asked.

  “Then this case may come crashing down around you, and your careers with it. Haven’t you sacrificed enough?” Sydney met Tanner’s deep brown eyes and held her gaze. She’d promised herself she wouldn’t get personal, but there was no denying she still cared. Tanner had given up everything for this career, including her, and she’d be damned if she’d let it al
l go to hell because her team couldn’t keep their hands to themselves. Since the day Tanner told her she’d chosen to walk away from their planned future, Sydney had blamed her for the fallout as she’d picked up the rubble of their broken dreams. But somehow their paths had wound back together in a way she never would’ve expected, and a part of her believed there was a reason for this reconnection.

  The room was quiet and Tanner’s stare consumed all of Sydney’s awareness. When Tanner finally spoke, it was as if nothing else existed.

  “Tell us what you have in mind.”

  Sydney looked everywhere but directly at Tanner. It was the only way she could focus. “I’ve read all the reports dating back to Maria Escobar’s death.” She offered a slight nod in Dale’s direction to acknowledge the loss of her wife, the AUSA who had led the task force initially until she’d been gunned down in front of her home. “I think that Gellar’s obsession with Cyrus Gantry and the Vargases, while perhaps warranted from a law enforcement perspective, is a distraction from something bigger.”

  “Bigger?” Mary asked.

  “Yes. There are too many pieces to this puzzle that don’t fit. Like all of you, I’m not convinced that the men who kidnapped Lindsey had anything to do with the Vargases, but someone sure went to pains to make it look like they were involved. And going back further to the Gantry Oil truck with all the dead bodies inside—it appears that Gantry’s company had filed a legitimate report regarding the theft of the truck. Whoever stole it wanted you to believe Gantry was responsible for those deaths, but more importantly, they wanted the public to believe it.” She folded her hands on the table. “Don’t get me wrong, I definitely think the Vargas brothers are bad news, but I don’t think they are responsible for all of this. Someone is trying to set them and Gantry up to take the fall.”

  “And you think Gellar is involved somehow?” Peyton asked.

  “I don’t know, but apparently you all think he’s up to something. The secrecy at the office, the rumor about a hidden bunker at his house, and the suspicious bank accounts—all point to someone who has something to hide. Maybe it’s related to these cases, maybe it isn’t, but there’s only one way to find out.”