My little vase full of audio and video surveillance equipment had done its job well, recording all the details of Drake's vicious and totally illegal takeover of the New England Tool Company. He'd manipulated the stock prices with the intent to defraud… a major felony.
David rang my buzzer a few minutes after nine. I had no choice but to let him in. After all you can't keep your FBI handler waiting. He'd been assigned to my case a year earlier when the FBI planted me in my old job as an informant.
I hadn't been lying to Drake about my arrest, but I had left out one key detail. Like an idiot I mailed some documents for the pyramid scheme people and that instantly made me guilty of mail fraud… a very serious charge. I licked one forty-nine cent stamp and became Ma Barker overnight. I got probation for the pyramid scheme but the FBI left the mail fraud hanging over my head to get my cooperation. The feds placed me at my old job to look for evidence of illegal trading. But when Drake suddenly contacted me the feds were over the moon. They'd been trying to get evidence of Drake's illegal activities for years. The FBI's lab even created a replica of my grandmother's vase overnight, believing that Drake's people might be scoping out my apartment. It sounds paranoid but they were probably right.
David came in, thrilled to have been part of a major bust. It was, in his words, a career maker.
I only cared about one thing, "Does this mean I'm free?"
"Probably," He said, "You did your job so any criminal record will be cleared and you can start over again. Of course you and I can still spend some time together," He added, putting his arm around me.
I pushed him away, When he came on to me a year ago I didn't have a choice, but that had just changed, "Now that I'm an honest woman are you going to invite me over to meet your wife?"
David looked angry, "You leave my wife out of this."
"No, I want to leave me out of it! I couldn't say no to you before, but I'm a free woman now… so why don't you get out of my apartment and my life."
"We'll see about that," David said, glaring at me, "Remember I'm the one who has the last word about your freedom!" He stormed out, slamming the door behind him.
I had endured so much shit from David, so why couldn't he just walk away and leave me alone?
A few hours later the SEC received an anonymous email informing them that one of the agent's working on the Drake investigation had purchased stock in the New England Tool Company. He was using confidential information for personal gain, intending to dump the stock right before Drake tanked the company. It was unethical for an agent to do that… almost as unethical as forcing your informant to sleep with you. David's days with the FBI were numbered. I always knew David was corrupt, which is why I feed him so much confidential information. His own greed did the rest. I didn't do it out of vengeance for his taking advantage of me… I just wanted him to leave me alone.
Around noon I placed a call to my grandmother. Being a newly retired woman she was almost always home.
"Have you seen the news Rebecca?" She asked, excited, "That billionaire Peter Drake guy was planning to ruin the tool company. If the FBI hadn't caught him I would have lost my pension! It's a miracle!"
"Well grandma," I said, "Sometimes miracles do happen."
THE END
What the Outlaw Wants
Samantha Leal
Copyright ©2015 by Samantha Leal. All rights reserved.
No part of this book may be reproduced in any form or by any electronic of mechanical means, including information storage and retrieval systems, without written permission from the author, except for the use of brief quotations in a book review.
Thank you so much for your interest in my work!
Table of Contents
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1.
Courtney peered into the darkness as she heaved her bag over her shoulder and made her way down the dusty road. It was a clear night and the stars above her twinkled so brightly she imagined them tinkling and could almost hear the ringing out up there, high over her head. It was the only thing that kept her from crying. She was on the run now and nothing was going to change that. She had messed with the wrong guy and now she was going to have to leave her hometown behind and start again.
“I could end you, do you realize that?” Mark had said as he’d wrapped his fingers around her throat and squeezed so tight she never thought he was going to let go.
“Please,” she choked, “Stop.”
When he’d let go of her, she had caught sight of her reflection in the mirror behind him and her eyes were bloodshot and red.
“I’m sorry,” she’d whispered, clutching her neck as the tears rolled down her face.
“Get the fuck out of my sight,” Mark spat. “If I ever lay eyes on you again…”
But instead of finishing his sentence, he shook his head.
Courtney scrambled to her feet and ran out of the office as fast as she could. For someone from a solid and decent background, she sure had a knack for finding trouble.
It was less than twenty-four hours later since her run-in with Mark, and she knew she had to leave. Her parents were elderly now and just settling into retirement. How could she screw everything up for them and bring criminals to their door? She hadn’t meant for everything to go so horribly wrong when she took the job as Mark’s assistant. But as usual, she had jumped in head first and hadn’t researched the company, nor her boss. And before long she found herself running drugs for him across Arizona.
It hadn’t been her fault, but he blamed her anyway.
It was in her possession. Nearly ten grand’s worth, and she had somehow managed to lose it.
She didn’t know how it happened. She had stopped at a gas station, filled up the tank, locked the doors and nipped quickly across to pay the teller before getting back into the driver’s seat. No one else had been there. No one had come or gone. She had even returned to the gas station later that night and asked to check the CCTV but there was nothing to suggest someone had been into the car while she was inside. Someone had intercepted her somewhere, but she didn’t know who or how.
Mark was suspicious. Even though she had worked for him for over a year, her story didn’t add up. She was lucky he’d given her a head start. He could have killed her right there and then. He said as long as he didn’t see her again, he would leave her alone… But Courtney knew Mark, and she knew that once the heat was on him, he would want someone else to blame. And if it wasn’t him who came for her, then it would be whoever he owed. She couldn’t take that chance.
Cars hurtled past her as she kicked her way along the side of the highway and held out her thumb. She could keep walking until she reached the bus station, but her legs were tired and her feet were aching inside her boots. She stopped and let her bag fall to the floor, then swiveled her round, curvy hips into the passing lights of the cars and trucks as they flashed by.
Someone would be kind.
She was sure of it.
She flexed her leg so her shapely calves cast long shadows out onto the desert banks behind her. A colony of bats squeaked overhead and made her jump.
She laughed to herself as she held her hand up to her heart. Bats were the last thing she should be afraid of.
She caught her breath and pouted as she pushed out her breasts and let the lights fall on her, making her feel like she was a movie star. She imagined the flash-flash of the paparazzi and almost fell into a daydream. Suddenly she was snapped out of it by a car that beeped and came slowly to a halt about forty feet ahead of her.
She smiled and picked up her bag before making her way over. The driver had the window down, and he leaned out to greet her with a cigarette smoking between his teeth.
“Can you take me to the Greyhound stop?” she panted.
“Sure Sweetness,” he said as he exhaled a big plume of smoke. “Jump in.”
Courtney smiled at him and flicked her long blonde hair over her shoulder before making her way around to the passenger side.
It was the first step, but she had made it.
Here’s to the first day of the rest of your life, she thought as she slid into the seat and wrapped her arms around herself. Time to make a new start and find a new home.
The faces of her family flashed across her mind as the driver pulled back onto the highway and sped off into the night. The tears welled up within her and she easily could have cried, but she was doing it for them. She had to keep them safe. It was time for her to find herself a new family and a new future.
It was the scariest thing she had ever done…. But she knew she could do it.
2.
As the night rolled into dawn, Courtney opened her eyes and looked out at the road passing by her. She had gotten on the last bus and they were now well inside Nevada. She stretched and yawned. The light was gray and pink in the distance and the desert hills looked gold. It seemed wild and untamed compared to her hometown but she didn’t care. She could have ended up anywhere; as long as she was away from Mark and he didn’t have a clue where she was, she’d be happy.
She opened a bottle of water and took a sip. Her throat was dry and scratchy with the stale, warm air. The bus was almost empty, but it still felt stifling. She sunk down in her seat and closed her eyes again.
Not long now, she thought. I’ll be there soon.
There was no way she ever could have gone to a city. There was one thing Courtney had learned in life and that was, no matter where you go, you always see someone you know. She would have loved to go and twirl it in Vegas. Even though she’d never been overly confident, she could imagine herself working in a club for curvaceous girls. Men always seemed drawn to her. She had a gentle way of seducing them with her big, blue doe eyes and her silky, hourglass figure. Her hair was big, bouncy and blonde and she had regularly been compared to classic beauties like Marilyn Monroe. It was one of her fantasies: Disappearing to a new city and unleashing her inner goddess and abusing men by taking their money while they gawked at her. But she knew it would never happen. She was far too classy for something like that, and even though she knew she had it in her to do it, she was never going to give in.
She had pretty much just opened a map on a random page and dropped her finger. It was a small slip of a town in the middle of the desert, but she was going to make it hers. When the bus finally pulled into the station and she climbed off not long after the sun had fully rose, she stretched it out again and looked up at the sky. No stars were present at that time of the day, but it was reassuring to know she was still under it. In the grand scheme of things, not that much had changed.
She slumped down on a bench and put her feet up for a moment. She hadn’t been able to get comfortable on the small bus seats, and she was desperate to relax. There was little chance of that, though. Trucks buzzed past her and she knew she had to get up off her ass and try to catch a ride. It was 8 AM, and the desert was alive. In the distance she could see the Greyhound making its way down the long black road. The heat was already rising from it and the world wiggled. She rubbed her eyes and got to her feet.
The cars looked like ants snaking their way out into the desert in the distance. As she undid an extra button on her blouse and applied some ruby red lipstick, she suddenly felt so liberated she barely recognized herself. She was anonymous there and it felt amazing.
As she expected, it didn’t take long for a truck to slow. The guy leaned across and opened the door for her.
“How’s it going?” she said as she pulled herself up and threw her bag across the seat.
“Where to?” he asked, as if he were a cab driver.
“Well, I’m heading to Spring Point. That’s in this direction, right?”
“Sure is,” he clicked his teeth. “Just so happens, I’m passing through.”
“Great,” Courtney smiled.
The man was haggard and missing a tooth, but she didn’t mind. She had pepper spray in her bag and she wasn’t afraid to use it.
“Where you from?” he asked as he pulled back onto the road.
“San Diego,” Courtney lied and pulled her shades off her head and slipped them over her eyes. As if somehow this hid the truth.
“You got family in Spring Point?” he asked, looking across at her.
“No,” she said, staring straight ahead.
“Not the sort of place you just randomly move to… What’s there?”
Courtney shrugged.
“Listen,” he said as he lit up a cigarette and offered one to her. “If you need a job or looking for a place to stay out there, head over to The Buckhorn.”
“What?” Courtney shook her head, declining the smoke.
“It’s a biker bar, got some rooms upstairs…” he said. “People don’t tend to stay long around there, but the guys that run it will put you up if you need somewhere to go.”
The man wasn’t as dumb as he looked. Courtney looked at him and smiled.
“Thanks,” she said, “I’ll do just that.”
“Tell them Tommy sent you,” he said, and then he turned up the radio so loud there wouldn’t be any more conversation.
“Thanks, Tommy,” she called over it and patted him on the shoulder.
She’d hadn’t even been a runaway for twenty-four hours and she was already an expert at hitchhiking and making friends. The world was her oyster.
3.
The Buckhorn was as small of a town as it sounded. When Tommy pulled over to let her out, they shook hands and she slid down onto the dusty asphalt with a headful of names he’d given her that she was trying to remember.
“Remember to ask for Brogan,” he called after her as she slammed the door to the cab closed and leaned over and tipped his hat. “He’ll make sure you’re taken care of.”
Courtney smiled and nodded as she turned and stared at the building in front of her. It was right on the outskirts of the small town with the highway running up alongside it. Even though it was set back from the road, the noise was still intense and the first thing she noticed was the maze of tire tracks that were cut into the desert sand in front of her.
She scanned around and sighed. It was only 9 AM and there wasn’t a person in sight. She wandered forward and climbed the wooden steps and sat down under the awning.
I could have a very long wait, she thought to herself. May as well get comfortable.
She leaned back against a post and pulled her water bottle out of her bag. Even though it was early, the sun was already blasting down and she could feel her hair sticking to the back of her neck. She pulled her shades down over her eyes and closed them.
“If it wasn’t so hot,” she told herself out loud, “I’d make the walk into the town and get some breakfast.”
“You’d have a long walk,” said a voice from behind her. Courtney jumped up and span around.
“Jesus,” she shrieked, her heart pounding in her chest.
“Can I help you, Miss?”
The voice belonged to a man who was stood in the entrance to the bar. He was heavyset and had a long beard that looked wiry and knotted. Courtney found herself staring and couldn’t look away. She wondered if he had food stuck in it.
“I’m sorry,” she said, “I thought you were closed.”
“We never close,” he said. He stepped back and held the door open, welcoming her inside.
Courtney slowly got to her feet and stepped forward. She glanced behind her to see if there were signs of anyone else close by, but apart from the cars and trucks passing without giving The Buckhorn a second thought, she was on her own out there.
“Well?” he raised an eyebrow.
She wasn’t really in a position to turn down offers of help, so she picked up her bag and followed him inside.
The first thing that hit her was the thick cloud of smoke that hung in the air like a veil. She winced and coughed as she walked through it and it stung her eyes. The
man walked up to the long wooden bar and went behind it where he had a beer waiting. He swigged it and held one out for her.
Courtney climbed onto a stool and sat opposite him. It was quiet in there and she couldn’t see any other customers, but somewhere in the building she could hear the dull chatter of voices and the guffawing of men. It was dark considering the sun was blazing outside, and she looked around at the wood paneled walls and the random objects that were tacked to them. Bike wheels and flags were mixed in with neon and black-and-white photographs.
“I want to talk to Brogan,” she said as she swigged the beer. It was ice cool, and even though it was far too early to be drinking, she really didn’t care.
“Oh yeah?” the man said, amused. “And who are you?”
“I’m Courtney,” she said. “I’m just passing through.”
“Where you from?”
“Tucson.”
“And who sent you?”
“No one,” she said. “The guy who gave me a lift from the bus station just recommended it here.”
He seemed to relax and leaned in closer to her.
“And who would that be?” he asked.
“Tommy,” Courtney said as she took another swig. “Said you’d have rooms and to ask for Brogan.”
A smile crept across his face and he lit a cigarette.
“Well, it’s your lucky day,” he said as he raised his hands in the air, “Brogan, at your service.”
Courtney nodded and held her beer out. They clinked them together and she heard the thudding of boots coming down a hallway towards them.
A man came inside, clad in a leather vest with his big tattooed arms bulging out of either side. He was wearing low, ripped jeans and his hair fell softly around his eyes. He had broad shoulders and a chiseled jaw, and she couldn’t take her eyes off him. Courtney turned to look at him properly and realized instantly that he must be a biker. He wore skull rings and carried a black helmet. He reached down to the back of a chair and picked up a leather jacket and pulled it onto his shoulders. He was handsome in a rugged way and Courtney felt herself blushing. His eyes were dark and intense but they were pulling her in. She combed her hair behind her ear with her fingertips and smiled. He moved forward and she caught the scent coming off him, stale smoke, booze and the most delicious cologne she had ever smelled.
[Runes of Argyl 01.0] The Runes of Argyl Trilogy Page 90
