Dark Diamonds (The Jewel Series)
Page 15
“Tie them up.” Kevin nodded to the guards. Cindy produced her zip ties and cuffed them. She joined him at the security screens. The cameras panned most of the house. Kevin located Avery working in a dining room with a guard watching over him. Probably to make sure he wouldn’t steal anything.
Cindy let out a small laugh.
Kevin glanced at her, “What?”
“They probably think Avery’s going to lift the silver.” Cindy’s eyes danced merrily, and Kevin smiled then pointed to the camera on the upper left hand corner.
Her eyes narrowed into hazel slits. Rivera paced back and forth in a conference room for conference meetings. The large table held a phone in the middle and a light flashed on one line.
Unfortunately, their voices weren’t audible. Cindy’s frustration showed on her face and Kevin patted her shoulder.
“We need to get to him fast, find out where she’s being held, and leave before the rest of his men show up.”
She brushed a stray hair behind her ear. Kevin turned and walked out clearing the way for Cindy.
Kevin and Cindy slipped down the corridor undetected. Avery had provided several maps of Rivera’s city dwelling, and the cameras helped as well. It didn’t take them long to reach the conference room. Muffled voices could be heard inside.
Kevin eased the door back and caught a glimpse of Rivera. He appeared agitated and ran his hand over his face. Clearly, Rivera did not like what he heard from the man on the other end of the line.
“You cannot do this Senor. I’ve much on the line with my men.” Rivera pleaded the phone was on speaker and Kevin could hear every word.
“You don’t need to worry about your men much longer, Rivera. They’ll be taken care of in short order, as will you. You screwed up, and I do not tolerate mistakes. Like you, I am a man of perfection. Unfortunate.” The line suddenly went dead and Rivera paled. He leaned over the desk and Kevin made his move.
Gun held at eye level, he and Cindy entered the room.
“Don’t move Rivera. You’re under arrest. You have the right to remain silent. Anything you say can be used against you in a court of law. You have the right to an attorney. If you can’t afford one, one will be appointed to you. Do you understand your rights?”
“Si, but we are not in America, Senor. Those rights do not apply here, do they? You are not police. You know, Senor Garrett, you will not be able to hold me for long. I have many friends.”
“Your so-called friends will not even be aware you’re missing Rivera. Where is she?” Kevin placed his gun against the back of Rivera’s head. When he pressed harder, Rivera winced. “Where the hell is she?”
Rivera laughed. “Somewhere you’ll never find her! Now let me go or she dies.”
Kevin fumed and grabbed Rivera’s wrist with his free hand slamming it on the table. “Tell me now or lose your hand!” Kevin aimed his gun directly at Rivera’s palm. “Now!”
“Never!” Kevin pulled the trigger, and the gun went off. Rivera screamed, “You bastard! You shot me!”
“Damn straight! Now tell me where she is or you lose the other one.” Kevin moved to push Rivera’s other hand onto the table, ready to take the shot.
“No! No, I’ll tell you.” Kevin pulled back and waited the space of a heartbeat, all the patience he had.
“Well?”
“She’s in the study.” Rivera’s gaze didn’t leave the gun Kevin still aimed at him.
Kevin surged forward. “You’re lying! I came through the study and no one’s there.”
“Wait! Don’t shoot! She’s in a hidden room behind the bookshelf. I’ll show you!” Kevin exchanged quick glances with Cindy and motioned for Rivera to precede them into the study. The man got up, cradling his injured hand.
“If you’re lying to me, you’re a dead man.”
They reached the study in short order. Rivera approached the bookshelf, where a small panel hid on the side. He punched in a code with his good hand. The shelf silently slid open. A dark concrete hallway led to another room at the end.
A scream tore down the narrow confines of space.
Kevin roughly shoved Rivera to the ground. The man fell to his knees. “Take care of this trash.”
A flash of concern passed through Cindy’s eyes, but she trained her gun steadily on Rivera’s head. “You’d better pray she’s all right, or I won’t be held responsible for what he does to you.”
Kevin burst through the heavy steel door at the end of the hall just as another blow from a thick leather belt landed against Lucy’s soft flesh. Ugly red streaks of blood ran down from cuts created by the lash. With a roar, Kevin raised his gun and shot the man in mid-swing. Blood spattered across the wall. The man fell. Kevin hardly registered the man’s death. He rushed forward, raising Lucy up so her arms no longer stretched to hold her upright.
“God baby, I’m so sorry I’m late.” Kevin took in deep breaths as he tried to control the rage he felt. “Cindy! Get in here!”
Running footsteps sounded and Cindy appeared in the doorway.
“Crap. Is she okay?” She rushed to Kevin’s side. Together they started to cut her down.
“I don’t know.”
The last of the rope cut through and Lucy let out a gasp and began to slump forward.
Kevin caught her and lifted her into his arms. “I do know one thing. Rivera’s a dead man. He just doesn’t know it yet. Let’s move.”
Lucy leaned her head against Kevin’s shoulder.
They’d reached the side door when Avery came strolling out with their cleaning equipment. He appeared rushed. It wouldn’t look good if the guards noticed Kevin and Lucy. She could barely walk and he practically carried her to the vehicle. He didn’t care.
Lucy let out a pained groan as they hurried to get into the back of the jeep with Rivera.
Cindy’s gun pressed to the back of his head. “One peep and you are dead Rivera—any one of us would be happy to shoot you.”
Rivera nodded in understanding.
“Get under the blanket.” Cindy shoved him into the jeep and Rivera ducked underneath. Kevin followed, making sure Rivera didn’t come anywhere within touching distance of Lucy.
A few seconds later Cindy and Avery loaded their cleaning supplies on top of them and started the vehicle. Cindy flirted with the guard at the gate and said goodbye as he penciled down his phone number and gave it to her. She thanked him and promised to call as they drove through the gates.
CHAPTER THIRTY
They arrived back at the base without any trouble. Pulling Rivera out of the jeep, Kevin roughly shoved him over to where Avery waited.
Lucy could tell Rivera’s nerves were jumping as his gaze landed on the long escalator that went below. Sweat beaded on his brow.
Good, he deserves to be scared.
They all got onto the slow-moving pathway and began their descent. Lucy swayed a little, but didn’t take her eyes off their prisoner as beaten as she was.
“I wonder what he’s thinking. This isn’t your normal containment facility. Different laws govern us here. Do you think he’s nervous?”
Their eyes met, and Kevin sucked in his breath. He reached across to where Lucy stood and gave a gentle tug. She leaned into his arms. His hand came up and he brushed away some of the blood that dried on her lips.
Cindy cleared her throat and as they both looked at her, she spoke up, “I definitely think he’s nervous. Perhaps we can let you do the interrogation, Lucy. You seem to have an affinity with this man. Maybe you could even use the same technique he used on you. I understand it’s particularly painful.”
“Yes, but that would be a bit too cruel. I’ve got something much more pleasant in mind.” They cleared the escalator and moved directly to the cell block off to the left. Avery led them to a closed area with a long table and two chairs. The one-way mirror glistened and Lucy tried to grin at Cindy, but failed and winced. Instead, she motioned her outside.
“Perhaps I’d better let you take over from
here. I’m a bit too involved with this case right now. After what he did to me, I’m not sure whether I’ll be able to keep my cool in there. Let me know what happens. Don’t let Kevin go too crazy on him. I want the bastard to be able to stand trial.” Lucy stood and watched her friend for a moment and recognized the second she saw understanding on Cindy’s face.
“Of course Luce. I’ll send Garrett with the news. You two need some alone time together anyhow. You’ll want an opportunity to be by yourselves.”
“Thanks, I owe you one. Please let them know I’ve gone to take a quick nap and I’ll see you all at dinner. It’s been a long day, and I’m tired.” Cindy pulled Lucy into a quick, but gentle hug and went back into the interrogation room with the men. Lucy sighed and leaned back against the wall for a moment to let the relief flow out of her. She could breathe easy for a while.
When she got to her room she picked up the phone and dialed her brother.
“Hello?”
“Hi, it’s me. Everything’s taken care of down here and I’ll be home soon. How are you?”
“Fine. The doc said I should be able to go back to work in a few weeks. Killroy’s already placed several assignments with my name on them. Better watch out. I’m going to catch up with you this time.” He laughed.
Lucy joined him then groaned. Her ribs hurt, but she didn’t need Chase to know she’d gotten the crap beaten out of her. “Not if I can help it. I’m now three assignments up on you.”
She liked hearing the laughter in Chase’s voice. “How’s Cindy doing?” She took note of his interest coming over the line.
“Sounds like you’ve got a crush, brother. She’s fine. Right now she’s enjoying interrogation with Rivera.” She couldn’t keep the bitterness out of her voice, and didn’t really feel like trying.
“Are you all right?”
The concern touched her and Lucy rubbed her forehead. “Yes, I think I’ll be just fine. I’ve just never been roughed up in that particular fashion. I lucked out though. At least I didn’t need to go to the hospital.” Lucy kept her tone light. If how she felt was any indication of how badly she was hurt, she’d need to make a trip herself to ensure she wasn’t broken in inconvenient places, but Chase didn’t need to know that.
“Yeah, I’ll see you soon Luce. Take care of yourself.”
“I will, you too. No more hospitals, they’re bad for my heart.” They both laughed. “By Chase.”
“Bye Luce.”
She hung up the receiver and sat on the edge of the bunk. Her hand rubbed the wool blanket covering.
“You okay?” Kevin’s deep voice rumbled from the doorway where he stood leaning against the frame.
“Yeah, it’ll just take a while to get over. I’m glad you came.” Kevin walked over and stopped right in front of her.
A lump formed in her throat.
“God, for a minute I thought I might lose you. When I saw you hanging in that room…” He stroked her hair and pulled her to him enveloping her in his strong arms. “I love you Lucy. I think I always have.”
“I love you too.” She closed her eyes and silent tears fell on his shoulder.
“I need to make sure you’re safe. Marry me?”
Lucy raised her head, tears making her vision blur. She let out a little laugh. “Make sure I’m safe? What about you? You’re the one who got shot. Whatever will Killroy say?”
“Honestly, right now I don’t give a damn.” Bringing her close again he laid his lips on hers. It stung, but she leaned into his powerful kiss. The world of hatred and pain they lived in every day faded from existence—if only for a moment.
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Table of Contents
Copyright
CHAPTER ONE
CHAPTER TWO
CHAPTER THREE
CHAPTER FOUR
CHAPTER FIVE
CHAPTER SIX
CHAPTER SEVEN
CHAPTER EIGHT
CHAPTER NINE
CHAPTER TEN
CHAPTER ELEVEN
CHAPTER TWELVE
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
CHAPTER FOURTEEN
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
CHAPTER SIXTEEN
CHAPTER SEVENTEEN
CHAPTER EIGHTEEN
CHAPTER NINETEEN
CHAPTER TWENTY
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
CHAPTER TWENTY-TWO
CHAPTER TWENTY-THREE
CHAPTER TWENTY-FOUR
CHAPTER TWENTY-FIVE
CHAPTER TWENTY-SIX
CHAPTER TWENTY-SEVEN
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
CHAPTER TWENTY-NINE
CHAPTER THIRTY