Girls With Guns

by Ali Vali

  “Don’t do this to me.”

  “Abigail, please,” she said, putting her hands on her hips. “If something happens, you’re still in danger, and you can trust Neil to watch over you. Try not to give him a hard time.”

  “Go, but don’t think you can dump me on anyone, even if it’s your brother.” They kissed, and Finley glanced in her rearview mirror as she left. Today she longed for the safety of her office and computers. Fieldwork wasn’t her norm, but no way was she leaving this to someone else.

  She headed downtown to one of the large hotels to use a computer in the business center. The file was encrypted enough that it’d take Peter a few hours to open it, but it wasn’t the only copy she was sending. Even if Yury had bought someone off, it couldn’t be everyone.

  “Hey, Chief,” she said to Russell and allowed him to vent about everything on his mind. “You’ve got a right to everything you said, but listen.” She told him what she’d sent and what needed to happen first. “Bring a team that you’re sure about and hit the warehouse first. It holds the answers about where and who. Try to pick up Brian Baylord at the same time. He’s probably got answers, judging from what Peter sent me.”

  “Are you sure about this tip?”

  The email she’d gotten was from someone who wanted out of Yury’s trap and was willing to trade all the evidence they’d need to bring the syndicate down, including the code key for the journals. “We can’t take the chance not to go. I trust you, sir, but in four hours three other people at different agencies will have the same information. You’ve got plenty of time.”

  “Good work, and we’ll have a foothold on this no matter who else you invited. Now tell me what you’re hiding and why you aren’t leading all this. You’re telling me you fucking found all the answers. Right?”

  “I need these people locked up—that’s all. I’ll leave the limelight to you.” She finished what she needed to do and it was time to go. “Russell, I know you can do this, and Peter’s ready to pick up my slack.”

  “You’re up to something that’ll put you in the middle of the fire. Keep your head down, and make sure you stick around to make me look good.”

  “Do this, and do it as soon as Peter’s finished. You need to get there while there’s still something to find.”

  Chapter Thirteen

  The area around the large building was quiet and dark since three of the streetlights were burnt out, but it didn’t seem to matter in the empty industrial park. Since it was the weekend, all the businesses were closed and the streets deserted. Cain had trusted her with this location, so after tonight, she’d develop amnesia.

  Finley entered through the back as Cain had asked and was amazed at the number of boxes of liquor inside. She was sure none of it was totally legal, but that didn’t matter to her right now.

  “At any other time this would be the mother lode of evidence against me,” Cain said from somewhere in front of her, almost like she’d read her mind. “Don’t worry. I’m sure you’re not turning me in.”

  “I know where to shop if I get invited to dinner somewhere,” she said and laughed.

  “Come on, smart-ass. Our guests arrive in thirty minutes.”

  Finley showed Cain and Remi the information and pictures she’d found of David Eaton and his family. “I think this is who you’re meeting with,” she said, glancing at the shot of David and Valerie at some gallery opening. They looked like the golden couple of the society set. “Not even the FBI has pictures of Yury, which maybe means his family entered the country under a false name.”

  “This is your show, Finley, so what do you want from us?” Cain asked.

  “If I’m right, I need to know why they want Abigail dead. I have a couple of guesses, but I believe they want something she’s not willing to give.”

  “Her children,” Remi said, and she nodded.

  In both incidents she’d witnessed, the gunmen never came close to aiming at the kids. Their only target seemed to be Abigail. “Exactly, and the way she loves those kids makes me want to hurt anyone who tries to come between them.”

  “Patience, Cousin, the night is young,” Cain said, and laughed as she placed all the information back in the folder.

  “Boss, we’re ready,” Lou said as he put his phone away.

  Finley stood next to Simon, Remi’s head guard, and relaxed her face to not show emotion. That became more difficult when she was right and both David and Valerie Eaton came in with their own people. Their guards didn’t like it when they moved forward and disarmed them. David, or Yury, complained, but Cain told him it was either that or leave.

  “What can I do for you?” Cain asked when the Eatons sat across from her and Remi.

  She would’ve believed Yury’s story of Abigail if she hadn’t known the truth. This guy was charming and smooth, and she clutched her hands into fists until Lou very slightly shook his head. He laid out the help he needed, and it was easy. The couple wanted to find Abigail and would pay a bounty if they killed her for keeping them from their grandchildren.

  “We have business here, so it gives us a chance to work together,” Yury said. “You have a family, from what I hear, so you understand. My daughter’s children have a right to grow up with the knowledge of who they are.”

  “This woman Abigail doesn’t want that?” Remi asked.

  “Abigail was Nicola’s mistake, and she’s too weak to raise Antakov heirs. We need them back, and my husband’s giving you an opportunity for easy money if you help us,” Valerie said, staring only at Cain.

  “I’ll help, but I’ll do it from friendship. You won’t owe me anything.” Cain held her hand out to Yury, then Valerie. “Life’s easier with friends. How can I reach you if we find something?”

  Yury handed over a card and stood to button his coat. The arrogance of the man was easy to see, but Finley realized Valerie wasn’t a weakling. This woman would kill Abigail herself if she got the opportunity. “Thank you, Cain, and I’ll wait on your call. Simply find her, and I’ll take care of what happens so you don’t have to take any chances.”

  “Will do.” Cain waved them to the door and had Lou give their weapons back.

  That they were leaving pissed Finley off. “Will do?” she repeated when the Antakovs cleared out.

  “Stick with what you know,” Cain said, holding up her hand. “You understand what has to happen, but it couldn’t happen here. They need to be seen somewhere else so this doesn’t come back to us.”

  “They’ll never stop coming after her, will they?”

  “No, not even if you have enough to put them away for life. Tell me what you want to do.”

  “I can’t ask you for what I need.”

  “I’m the best person to ask, and Remi will back me up,” Cain said, and Remi nodded. “Can you live with that?”

  “Trading Abigail and the children for them?” she said with conviction. “Gladly.”

  *

  The building one block off Canal Street had a line of limos out front, and Finley was amazed that some of the men had dates with them. The Hell Fire Club, which took up the top three floors, wasn’t a place she’d bring a date.

  “What’s on your mind?” Cain asked when she put her binoculars down.

  “A lot of fucking’s going on if it takes that much room.”

  “Da taught me early that we’d always have a way in this world because of man’s true nature.”

  “Drinking’s one thing, but these women don’t have a choice,” she said, looking again when another car pulled in.

  “That’s not what he meant. Man’s true nature is vice. Drinking, drugs, women, men, gambling—the list is extensive, and they’re always searching for someone to give it to them.” Cain started the car but didn’t put it in gear. “There’s a million ways to make money, Cousin, but what’s happening up there and in those hellholes you told me about isn’t something I’m interested in, even if I was starving.”

  “I know you aren’t a saint, but you don’t have
to do this.”

  “Made up your mind?” Cain said as she reached into the backseat.

  “Yes, and that’s why you don’t have to stay.” The weapon Cain handed her was new to her. Though the tommy gun was the stuff of FBI legend, it’d been mostly retired because of size.

  “It was Da’s, it’s unregistered, and when you’re done it’ll go back into mothballs. I just thought if you want to be sure, this’ll guarantee sure.”

  They didn’t have any more time for talk as Cain followed the SUV in front of them and lowered the passenger-side window. Yury and Valerie appeared shocked as the guards around them went down in jerky motions caused by the hail of bullets. Finley didn’t hesitate but didn’t think of it as murder.

  This was justice for people who were not only breaking the law but crossing a line so evil it’d earn them a trip to hell, if it existed. Perhaps their end came too fast, but that darkness wouldn’t infect the Eaton children, and it’d take Abigail out of their sights. If there were repercussions, and likely there would be, then she’d be there to keep them all safe.

  They drove calmly to a part of town with no cameras, and she was grateful to Cain for her meticulous planning. “You okay?” Cain asked.

  “Yes, and thank you.” She watched Lou and another guy scrub the car down. “Maybe it’s a good time to retire and explore new things. After this I don’t think I could go back.”

  “My benefits are excellent, and I want to meet Abigail.” Cain hugged her and kissed her cheek. “Neil will drive you home.”

  “I owe you, Cain.”

  “You’re my family, so there’ll never be debts between us—never.”

  “You gave Abigail and her children their life back, so I disagree.”

  “Maybe what you got is a better life you can expand on,” Cain said and winked.

  “Let’s hope,” she said, hugging her brother Neil next. “I’m coming home,” she said to Abigail over the phone, and that was exactly what it seemed to her now because of the people who were waiting for her.

  They would face whatever dangers and happiness that came from this together.

  About the Authors

  Michelle Grubb (michellegrubb.com) is Tasmanian born and now resides in the UK, just north of London, with her wife. She’s a fair-weather golfer, a happy snapper, and a lover of cafés, vinyl records, and bookshops.

  Michelle harbors an unnatural love for stray pieces of timber (she promises her wife she’ll build her something one day), secondhand furniture shops, and the perfect coffee.

  She can play six chords on her guitar, stumble through a song on her drum kit, and if you see her wearing headphones, she’s probably listening to Mumford & Sons while dreaming up stories and plot twists.

  It goes without saying that writing is Michelle’s favorite thing to do. She can be contacted at michellegrubb@me.com.

  Carsen Taite’s goal as an author is to spin tales with plot lines as interesting as the cases she encountered in her career as a criminal defense lawyer. She is the award-winning author of over a dozen novels of romantic intrigue, including the Luca Bennett Bounty Hunter series and the Lone Star Law series. Learn more at www.carsentaite.com.

  Originally from Cuba, Ali Vali has retained much of her family’s traditions and language and uses them frequently in her stories. Having her father read her stories and poetry before bed every night as a child infused her with a love of reading, which carries till today. In 2000, Ali decided to embark on a new path and started writing.

  She has discovered that living in Louisiana and running a non-profit provides plenty of material to draw from in creating her novels and short stories. Mixing imagination with different life experiences, she creates characters that are engaging to the reader on many levels.