“Grab me a cup?” Tyler asked as he walked into the kitchen. “I know why I’m still up, but why are you?”
I shrugged, handing him a cup of coffee. “My brain is spinning. I’m still trying to sort the cases and figure out where to start.”
“Maybe you should take a back seat on the other cases. Stay focused on the trafficking case at the dentist office.”
I arched an eyebrow. “Why?”
Tyler slid onto a barstool, watching me, but not answering.
“I’m not in one of my pissy moods. It’s safe to explain why you think I should butt out of the other cases.”
He watched me a few more seconds but must’ve decided it was safe enough to speak. “All I’m saying is that when people take on too much, things slip through the cracks.” He paused to take a drink of his coffee before continuing. “Take my duties around here as an example. Sure, I could’ve left with the boys to thump on some wife-beating asshole. I’d even enjoy it. But that’s not where I’m needed. I’m good at keeping watch over the family. And that gives the rest of you time to focus on everything else. And I’m okay with that. I like doing what I do. It’s important. Just like the trafficking cases are something you’re uniquely good at. And Charlie’s one hell of a homicide detective from what I’ve heard. Just stay out of her lane. Let her do her thing, and you do yours.”
“Your advice is to simply ignore everything else? Including the fact someone’s trying to kill Charlie?”
“Are you sure they’re trying to kill her? Sounded to me like the contract might be to kidnap her. But, yeah, work your dentist case, which might also be connected to the guy hunting down that Evie chick. And while you’re doing that, let the hometown homicide detective work her murder cases.”
“Who focuses on the contract hanging over Kid’s head then? Who works that angle?”
“The way Charlie explained it, if the other cases get solved, one of them might be linked to Mr. Tricky. If not, then at least everyone will be free to follow the next clue. Besides, every cop in the city, plus our security guys, are watching Charlie’s back. There’s a good chance we’ll spot him following her, and then we can toss the net and trap him.” Tyler smiled, imagining something. “If you do catch him, lock his ass in a room with Bones or Wild Card for five minutes. He’ll sing.”
Keeping the cases sorted made sense. We had enough help to divide and conquer. “When did you get so smart?”
Tyler chuckled. “The night shifts are quiet. Lots of time to think.”
Quiet. That sounded nice. “Maybe I should swap shifts with you.”
“You’d be bored. Now go to bed. You need some sleep.”
I poured my cup into the sink. “You going to bed, too?”
“I’ll wait until the rest of the guys return. I trust Grady, but I’ll sleep better knowing Bones and Wild Card are ready to fight if the warning alarms go off.”
“They probably wouldn’t hear anyone yell for help. This place is huge.”
“They’ll hear. Bones sleeps with one eye open. And Wild Card always sleeps in the center of the action. He’ll probably sleep on the couch in the front room tonight, so he’ll be close if needed.”
“Wasn’t he assigned a room?”
“Sure. He’s always offered a room, even in Michigan. But he never uses them when we’re on red alert— which is most of the time these days.”
I laughed. “I thought he liked the excuse of walking around with his shirt off after his naps.”
“Ha. That too. He enjoys getting Grady all wound up. I think it’s his way of dealing with Grady sleeping with his ex-wife.”
“Wild Card and I were married less than a minute.”
“Not the way I heard the story told. You two fell hard, and then—poof—it was over.”
“I don’t remember falling. I remember fighting, having sex, then splitting up, followed by a miscarriage and moving to Michigan to continue pretending to be normal as I searched for Nicholas.”
“See,” Tyler said, shaking his head. “I get the miscarriage part making everything fuzzy. That would be hard. But did you ever process how you would’ve felt about the divorce if you’d never been pregnant?”
“There was no point. I needed to find Nicholas. He was my priority.”
“And you couldn’t have stayed in Texas while you searched?”
“No.” I shook my head, confident of my answer.
“Why?”
“I don’t know. I just couldn’t stay in Texas.”
“Are you sure you don’t know why?”
I sighed, throwing my hands up. “You sound like Uncle Hank. Trying to say something without saying anything. I’m too tired for games. I’m going to bed.”
Tyler hid his grin behind his coffee cup.
As I started up the stairs, I shook my head, clearing my thoughts. The men in my life spent too much time pondering over my love life.
Chapter Twenty-Six
CHARLIE
Tuesday, 3:22 a.m.
“What’s the plan?” Bones asked as we gathered near the corner of Lydia’s daughter’s yard.
The yellow house, sitting squarely on its allotted parcel of St Augustine Floridian grass, presented a challenging situation, even for a skilled team. The neighboring houses were too close. The entire blue-collar block was dark, lights off, except for the street light on the corner. One scream, one broken lamp, or hell—a car door being slammed shut—and the whole neighborhood would be awake and peeking out their windows.
“You take the front,” I told Bones. “I’ll take the back. Quick and quiet.”
“Do you know the layout of the house?” Wild Card asked.
“No. But most of these houses are the same. Combo kitchen and dining room toward the front with the living room on the other side. One or two bedrooms off the back of the house.”
“Pause after entering,” Bones said as studied the house. “Wait for us to regroup before anyone enters the bedrooms.”
“Agreed.” I glanced around the quiet neighborhood again. “If this turns south, though, everyone aborts and hightails it out of here. Don’t wait for me.”
“I got no problem with that plan. You have a badge. You’d have a better chance of talking your way out of handcuffs than the rest of us.” Bones turned to the others to dole out orders. Jackson was assigned as lookout. Two other men would breach the front door with Bones.
Wild Card was assigned to breach the backdoor with me. He grabbed my hand and led me between the houses. Midway past the house, we stopped, hearing a clattering to our right. Our feet froze in place as our heads swiveled toward the neighboring house. The partial moon cast enough light for us to see a woman in the house next door standing in front of the kitchen window. She stood motionless with big eyes, staring right at us.
Wild Card raised a finger to his lips, signaling for her to keep quiet. She shook her head.
“Shit,” I whispered, starting to retreat.
Wild Card grabbed my hand to stop me. “Wait. She seems weirdly calm.”
We waited as the woman slid the small kitchen window to the side. She leaned close to the screen to whisper across the twenty-foot gap between us. “Do what you want with that bastard Danny, but you harm one hair on Cassie’s head and I’ll hunt you down.” She held up a steak knife.
Wild Card lifted a hand and gave her a thumbs up.
“Their bedroom is the one on this side of the house. He was drinking earlier, so likely he’s out cold.”
I giggled as Wild Card tugged me toward the backyard. On the back porch, we found the door already unlocked and stepped inside. The back door led into a hallway, lit by a nearby nightlight. Bones stood in the hall, just outside the closed bedroom door. On the other side of the door, we could hear obnoxious snoring. Glancing past Bones, enough moonlight glimmered through the front house windows for me to see the other two men stationed near the front door.
I stepped beside Bones, nodding toward the bedroom to let Bones know I was ready.
But before we’d moved, the bedroom door swung open. Cassie Rickers stood directly in front of us, staring at us as if she’d expected us. She slowly raised her hand which held a phone. The text message on the display read: Stay quiet. People coming after Danny. They don’t want you. Just get out of their way. Come to my place.
I stepped aside so she could pass. Without a sound, she slipped out the back door and disappeared.
Bones narrowed his eyes at me, disapproving. I looked at Wild Card. He flashed his smile as he strolled into the bedroom.
Bones rushed to the bed and pinned Danny down. Waking abruptly, he tried to jerk away, but he was no match for Bones’ strength. By the time Danny’s brain was alert enough to yell for help, Wild Card forced a pillow over his nose and mouth. Rickers’ eyes danced in the semi-darkness as he screamed into the pillow.
I turned on the light. The pillow was low enough that I could see him look to Wild Card, then Bones, then settle on me.
“Your choice, asshole,” Wild Card said to him. “Either I cut off your oxygen supply and end this here and now, or you stop yelling like a little girl.”
Danny settled and kept his focus at Wild Card.
Wild Card lifted the pillow but kept it close to Danny’s face. Bones glanced at me, letting me know it was my show. Thankful that I’d worn gloves, I picked up a sock from the floor. Reaching past Bones, I wadded the sock into Danny’s mouth before passing a large zip tie from my fanny pack to Bones. He zipped the tie tight around Danny’s head, holding the sock in place and ensuring silence.
“Kitchen,” was all I said before turning from the room and walking down the hall.
Bones and Wild Card dragged a reluctant and wide-eyed Danny after me, stopping in the center of the kitchen. I looked around, and on the shelf next to the stove I found a cutting board stacked with a pile of cookie sheets. I moved the cutting board to the counter before rummaging through the drawers. Locating the knives, I selected the largest one. The large curved-blade knife was the style chefs used on TV to chop vegetables. Perfect for what I needed.
I grabbed his hand and forced it on top of the cutting board. He shook his head vigorously back and forth. I didn’t feel sorry for him.
“You used these hands to beat your wife. More than once, from what I hear. Now it’s my turn. Tonight, you pack your bags, get in your truck, and leave. Tomorrow, you will file for divorce. You’re going to forfeit the house, the car, and anything else of value.” I watched fear shift to anger as he listened to me. “You will not contact her. If you see her on the street or at your favorite restaurant, you leave. Understood?”
His temper was getting the best of him. He glared, challenging my authority.
I slammed the knife down, chopping off the ends of his two longest fingers. One of the fingertips flew to the right, ricocheting off the refrigerator. A slow smile formed on Bones’ face as he looked down at the other fingertip resting near his boot. Wild Card seemed surprised, but didn’t say anything as he held a towel covered hand over Danny’s mouth. The sock muffled most of the scream, but the towel helped.
I waited for Danny to stop his muffled screaming. When he’d calmed to an annoying whimper, I continued, “Move out—tonight. File for divorce tomorrow. And don’t ever cross paths with her again. If you do, next time you’ll lose the whole hand.”
His head bounced up and down so fast, I thought his neck might snap. Bones took the knife from me and held it over the flame of the gas stove. Danny started crying again as he watched Bones turn the knife side to side as it heated. When the blade was hot, Wild Card forced Danny’s bloody hand toward Bones. And with obvious experience, Bones used the side of the scalding knife to cauterize the ends of Danny’s—now much shorter— fingers.
I watched Danny’s eyes lose focus before his body slumped and he wilted like a ragdoll to the floor. He was out cold.
“I’m not cleaning this mess,” Wild Card said, waving a hand to the bloody floor and Danny’s body. “I’ll go check on the women next door. Maybe they’ll offer to help pack his things while you two clean.”
“Are we sure the women didn’t call the cops?” Bones asked.
“Neighbor seemed almost happy we were here,” I said as I grabbed the roll of paper towel. Tearing off a sheet, I used it to pick up one of the fingertips, tossing it into the trash.
Normally I wouldn’t bother to clean, but this house was Cassie’s home. I didn’t want to leave the mess for her. And though I’d planned on moving her to the condo, the neighbor was obviously a friend. I didn’t want Cassie to lose that connection.
I grinned at my thoughtfulness as I searched for the other fingertip.
Bones chuckled. “Best vacation ever.”
Chapter Twenty-Seven
KELSEY
Tuesday, 7:30 a.m.
I slept four hours before noise from the first floor reached a volume that prevented me from turning over and conquering another hour of sleep. I rolled out of bed, showered, dressed, and went downstairs.
“People are trying to sleep!” I called out to the packed room.
“Yeah!” Wild Card yelled from the couch where he was lying with his eyes closed, chest bare, and a sheet covering his mid-section. His bare legs stuck out the other end.
I glanced around, searching for Grady. Sure enough, he was at the table glaring at Wild Card. I ducked my head to hide my grin as I gravitated toward the coffee pot. “Aunt Suzanne and Uncle Hank, can you two play lifeguards for the kids today?”
“Happy to,” Uncle Hank answered from his perch at the breakfast bar.
The kids and Carl shrieked their excitement and went running up the stairs, likely to change into their swimsuits. Both Jager and Beast chased after them, barking.
“I need to clean the kitchen first,” Aunt Suzanne said.
We both glanced around. Every pot, pan, and serving platter was dirty. Bushels of food must’ve been consumed while I’d slept.
“You cooked. I’ll clean.”
“I’ll help,” Wild Card said, walking into the kitchen and snagging my coffee cup from me.
I looked down and saw he was wearing khaki shorts. I looked up and found him grinning at me.
“What’s the schedule today?” Bones asked, drawing my attention.
“We need to split up into three teams. One to cover the mansion security and guard the kids. A second team to work with me on the human trafficking case. And a third team led by Charlie.” I looked over and watched her head snap up. “She’ll need security while she works her double-homicide and searches for Evie’s mystery man.”
“What about Bridget?” Bones asked. “I don’t like her working alone in Charlie’s apartment building.”
“I’ll be fine,” Bridget said, dismissively.
“No,” Charlie said, shaking her head. “He’s right. Two dead bodies are enough bad juju for my building. And Mr. Tricky might pop in asking how to find me. You can’t be at my apartment unless you take guards with you. Even I don’t trust being in my building without backup right now.”
Bridget pouted. “Fine. Katie and Alex are going with me, so we’ll need two guards.”
“Take Reggie, Jackson, and at least one other guard,” I said.
“Wayne and Ryan are due here any minute,” Tyler said. “Wait for them.”
“Wayne can be their third,” I said. “I’ll take Ryan and Trigger on my team.”
“I get Bones and Wild Card,” Charlie said, claiming them for her team.
“I can live with that but you’ll have to share Tech,” I said, pointing a finger at her. “You can’t steal him.”
Charlie shrugged. “Whatever. Spence is running background searches for me. He’s first on my to-do list today.”
Aunt Suzanne and I both smiled.
“Not that kind of to-do list. There’s nothing sexual between Spence and me.”
“That’s a shame,” Maggie said, winking at Charlie. “I look at that man and just want to lick him.”
I could admit
Spence was a good-looking man, but after working with the men of Aces on a daily basis, I’d gotten used to seeing hot bodies everywhere.
“If I’m going with Charlie,” Wild Card said, changing the subject, “who’s helping you clean the kitchen?”
“Everyone on my team will clean up after breakfast and Charlie’s team gets the next main meal. We’ll rotate.”
“Deal,” Charlie agreed as captain of her team. “Wild Card, you might want to find a shirt. We’re wasting daylight and I need to talk to Spence before my meeting with Lydia.”
Wild Card shifted in different weightlifter poses, curling his arms and clenched his muscles. “What? Not scary enough?”
The man had a beautifully sculpted body, but unfortunately, he knew it.
Grady growled, watching me watch Wild Card. “Where am I assigned today?”
“Well,” I said as I turned on the faucet to fill the sink with hot water. “You don’t play well with Wild Card and I have no interest in being cooped up with you all day, so I guess that means you work for Tyler.”
Tyler hid his grin as he drank his coffee. Uncle Hank coughed a laugh. Everyone else looked down or away.
“Is that right?” Grady asked.
“Either that, or get on a plane and go home.” I turned my back to him and started loading dirty pans into the sink.
“Fine. At least one of us will put the safety of the kids first. I’ll stay to protect them.”
Several sharp inhales preceded the now deadly silent room. I took my time as I turned to face Grady. My fists were clenched so tight, blood flow was likely cut off. Grady stood, ready for war, his eyes piercing mine.
Charlie walked over and stepped between us, turning to face him. “I get you’re pissed. Frustrated. And maybe even feeling a bit left out. But if you make another dig about Kelsey not putting the kids’ safety first, you’ll be leaving this house in an ambulance.”
“You’re good, Kid, but not that good.”
“Look around, Grady. You’re outnumbered on this issue.”
Grady glanced around. Every face in the room was scowling at him, disappointed with the low blow. He left out the French doors to the patio without saying another word.
Hunt and Prey (Kelsey's Burden Series Book 8) Page 16
