by Tara Randel
“Heading home?” she asked, her tone nonchalant. She wanted to share her news.
“Yeah. No overtime tonight.”
“Great. I have news I’m dying to share with you.”
He cocked his head, brow crinkled until he grasped the code word. His eyes lit up, twinkling just the way she liked. “News, huh?”
“Yes. You’re going to love it.”
* * *
ON THE DRIVE HOME, Dante listened carefully as Eloise filled him in on her unexpected surveillance. As soon as they walked in the front door, she rushed to the home office, pulling up the Parson video.
“See,” she said, pointing to the blurry image of what they now knew to be a lightning bolt on the back of the hoodies. “It has to be the same crew.”
“Why risk getting noticed with a big old sign on your back?”
“These are kids, Dante. They want to make a statement, never considering the risk of getting caught.”
“That is true,” he muttered, pacing the room as restless energy zinged through his blood. “Okay, let’s suppose these two enterprises are connected. Surely the person in charge wouldn’t want these kids announcing who they are to the world.”
“Ramsey did grab one of the boys before they left and yelled something at him. I couldn’t make out the words. A warning, maybe?”
“If it were me, I’d be telling these kids to keep a low profile.”
“If only it were that easy.” Eloise sighed. “Remember the boy I arrested six months ago? His sister had stolen a car, crashed after a high-speed pursuit and died, yet he still continued to boost cars in the neighborhood.”
He recalled the case. Eloise had been shaken up afterward, but remained professional in spite of the circumstances. It was never easy when dealing with kids.
He stopped. “Then we agree Ramsey is probably the guy really in charge of illegal activities at the garage?”
“Yes. Despite his bluster, Rico crumbled under Ramsey’s commands.” She turned in her seat. “If we catch the boys in the act, we might be able to get them to turn on Ramsey.”
He started pacing again. “Still, it doesn’t get us to the top. There’s no way these guys are operating alone.”
“Dante, you have pictures of Mac changing VIN plates. Once I retrieve the data from the flash drive, I’m hoping there’s more incriminating evidence. That alone will get Rico and Mac arrested. Then we make sure to connect the boys, and the stolen cars, to Ramsey. It will be a good bust.”
“But it doesn’t complete the investigation.”
“Maybe, but we will have put a dent in the operation. Get these guys off the streets while we keep searching for the ringleader. If we press hard enough, dangle some incentives before them, maybe they’ll give up the boss’s identity.”
Dante sent her a wry look. “You really think they’re going to give in that easily?”
“No, but Rico has a family. The despair on his face today... It seemed like he finally realized he’s in too deep. If giving us information can get charges reduced or at least give him a shot at a deal, he might be willing to offer up the names.”
“I’m not disagreeing with you, but what else do we have to go on?” He pointed to the computer. “What about Griffin Enterprises? Have you figured out if it’s the name of someone involved in this scheme?”
“No. All I know is that it seems to be a dummy corporation. It’s registered offshore, has a very professional logo and a very vague website, but I can’t find any legitimate business dealings. Every time I try to get into the internal workings, a firewall pops up. That alone rings bells. I finally sent the information to the department. Hopefully one of the techs can get to the bottom of it.”
“Still a dead end.”
“Unfortunately, for now.”
While his mind worked overtime, Eloise placed the flash drive in the port. “Give me time to upload the files and study the data. Maybe we’ll have more to go on.” She waved him away. “Why don’t you make dinner while I work?”
“Who can eat dinner at a time like this?”
“I can. I’m getting hungry. And to be honest, pacing behind me isn’t going to make me analyze any faster.”
“Right.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Any requests?”
Her fingers were already tapping over the keyboard. “Anything,” she muttered, focused on the screen.
After changing out of his work clothes into a comfortable T-shirt and shorts, Dante got to work in the kitchen. He needed to give Eloise space, no matter how much he wanted to add his two cents. Preparing dinner would keep him busy until his partner finished up. Since he actually enjoyed cooking, he scoured the refrigerator, finding chicken and vegetables to toss together in a skillet.
Twenty minutes later the bold scent of garlic and spices permeated the kitchen. He’d just finished slicing fresh tomatoes for a salad when Eloise materialized.
“Mmm. Smells good in here.”
“I found chicken in the fridge.” He nodded to a pot on the stove. “Mind checking the rice?”
She placed the paper she was holding on the counter and removed the lid. “Finished.”
“What did you find?” he asked, carrying the salad bowl to the table.
“Rico kept a file on the VINs. Since they are being cloned, he has the make and model of each car along with the new number recorded. I noticed a bar code label printer in his second office. That must be where he’s creating the counterfeit VIN labels. I even discovered that he’s creating vehicle title documents to match the new numbers.”
“The mother lode.” Dante whooped, grabbing Eloise and lifting her off her feet to twirl in a circle. She grabbed hold of his shoulders, her lilting laugher encasing his heart, and he found himself in deep water yet again.
The line, a voice whispered.
Setting her feet on the floor, he barely pulled away before she leaned in, her lips curved, her eyelids at half-mast. The air grew heavy around them. Between her welcome proximity and just plain being happy in her presence, he let her take the lead. Soon, her lips brushed and captured his. Her arms circled his neck and he tugged her close, neither in any hurry to disengage from the heated embrace.
The stove timer shrilled, a stark reminder that as much as Dante wanted Eloise in his life, it would have to wait. They wrenched apart, a telltale flush creeping across Eloise’s face. There was no denying she enjoyed his attention, just as much as he enjoyed doling out kisses. The invisible line continued to be a barrier between them, but he couldn’t dismiss the longing that had taken up residence in his heart the longer they were together.
Slowly releasing her, he moved to the stove and silenced the noisemaker, then removed the skillet from the burner and turned it off. Meanwhile, Eloise gathered plates and utensils, and before long, they were digging into their meal.
“Sorry about that,” Dante started.
“No, I shouldn’t have...”
He cleared his throat. “So, ah, how’s the rice?”
“Fluffy.”
At the choice of her one-word description, a smile tugged his lips. Yeah, Eloise was always surprising him.
After the awkwardness of their spontaneous embrace passed, Eloise said, “I can do a search. Find out where the original VINs were registered.”
“Let’s hope it eventually leads us directly to the head honcho.”
Eloise placed her fork beside her plate. “I called Chambers. He’s pleased with what we’ve uncovered.”
At her expression. Dante pushed his food around on his plate. “Why do I hear a ‘but’ coming?”
“Chambers agrees with me. We can arrest Rico now on the VIN tampering charges.”
“But?”
“He also agrees we should keep at it until we can connect Ramsey to the gang. There was another dealership break-in last night. Four cars were stolen
. It looked like they used the keyless entry devices again. I wonder if that’s what Ramsey handed off to the boys?”
“I haven’t seen anything like them at the garage.”
“Me, neither. Chambers has a team pohring over surveillance video to find any similarities to the Parson’s Auto Mall theft.”
“Let me guess. Once we can prove Ramsey is working with the gang, the entire auto garage goes down.”
“Yes,” she said. “I know you think we should keep searching—”
He jumped up. “We’re close, Eloise. I can feel it.”
“But at the risk of losing what we can prove for sure?”
“I know you want the promotion, but we have to consider the big picture here.”
She jerked back at his words. “You believe I want to stop now just to get the promotion?”
He ran a hand over his head. “It sure seems like it.”
“I’m doing smart police work.”
“We’d be doing better police work if we figured out who’s heading this entire operation.”
“Then I could throw your insinuation right back at you. You want to find the leader to secure your place in running for the promotion.”
Did he? He wanted the job, but not enough to risk blowing the capture of the entire ring.
“I want the truth.”
“So do I.”
At the verbal standoff, Dante swooped up his plate and carried it to the sink. “How much time is he giving us?”
“Not much. As it is, I’m afraid Rico is spooked enough to take off. Chambers wants us to monitor Ramsey and eventually bring him in.”
Pacing again, Dante tried to channel the frustration coursing through him.
“What about going back to the warehouse tonight?” Eloise suggested, “Maybe we missed something the first time we were there.”
“It’s a long shot, but what do we have to lose? With new cars recently stolen, maybe we’ll finally get lucky.” He checked the clock. “It’ll be dark in an hour or so. We can take another look.”
Eloise stood, catching his arm as he passed by. The soft touch of her hand, the jasmine perfume flitting around him, made this entire situation more emotionally charged than it needed to be. Now was not the time to think about Eloise as an alluring woman, about how her mere presence in the house kept him awake at night. How each day he pictured what a future with her might look like, when in reality, once the competition for the promotion was over and the new sergeant was named, they’d likely end up miles apart.
He agreed, in principle, to what Eloise and Chambers wanted them to do, but he sensed if they hung in just a bit longer, their search would take them to the leader.
“Thank you,” she said. “I know you want to wait it out.”
“I don’t agree with either of you, but what choice do I have?”
“We have orders.”
Right. Orders. The bane of his existence. If it weren’t for the fact that Eloise was directly involved with any off-operation decision he made, he’d be handling things differently. At this point, he’d gladly throw the promotion aside to catch the real leader behind the thefts and close the case for good.
Shaking off her hand, he said brusquely, “I’m going for a run.”
He had to hand it to her, she barely winced at his brush-off, because let’s face it, that’s exactly what it was. He needed space and he needed it now.
“You cooked, so I’ll clean the kitchen.”
He took off for his room, changed and was soon pounding the pavement. Heavy metal roared through his earbuds. He tore up the asphalt, pushing himself beyond endurance so he didn’t have to think about Eloise, the case or the possibility of never discovering who was behind the ring. He wanted it all, but experience had taught him no one ever really got everything they wanted in life. It came down to choices. Between right and wrong. What he would decide now would be the most important move in this time and place. Once he acted on it, there was no going back.
By the time he returned to the house, slowing his pace to even his breathing, he’d decided one thing. He was going to find the leader, with or without Eloise’s help.
An hour later they were back at the warehouse. Taking position across the street, Dante peered through the binoculars.
“It’s pretty deserted.” Eloise spoke up from her shotgun position in the passenger seat. She’d been subdued since he returned to the house. Not that he could blame her.
“Nothing’s moving,” he confirmed.
They waited fifteen more minutes. He cracked the window, letting the fresh air wash over him. There was no traffic tonight. A deserted vibe hung over the industrial park. A perfect time to carry out another clandestine search of the place.
“I think we can safely approach the building,” he announced.
He and Eloise slid out of the truck cab. Together, they crept along the shadows, cautiously making their way to the warehouse. This visit they carried their firearms, just in case the situation went south. Once they reached the concrete driveway, he held out his hand to stop her, holding their position to scan the area one last time.
“Ready?” he asked, barely above a whisper.
“When you are.”
“Go.”
Heart pumping, he swiftly moved to the glass door of the office, Eloise by his side. Dante crossed his fingers they found another clue to keep the op running.
Once at the door, he cupped his hands beside his face to peer inside. The office was completely dark, but one light burned in the vast space beyond, revealing the worst-case scenario.
“The cars are gone. All of them.”
CHAPTER THIRTEEN
“WE MISSED THE TRANSFER,” Eloise said as they jumped back into the truck. They hadn’t been able to enter the building, not that it would have mattered. Instead, they’d walked the property but didn’t find any evidence left behind. It was as if the cars stored here never existed.
Dante started the truck and peeled out of the parking lot. “You said Chambers had a detail watching the warehouse.”
“Hold on.” She yanked her phone from her pocket and tapped the number for the department. Asked for Officer Syms, one of the men on the warehouse detail. When she was told he wasn’t in, she identified herself and asked about the status of the detail. Frowned when she heard the answer.
“Chambers had to pull them,” she said after hanging up. “He needed them for more important calls.”
“Thanks for letting us know,” Dante muttered under his breath.
“I should have asked for an update when I had the lieutenant on the phone, but we were discussing the dynamics of the case and then Chambers got another call.”
When Dante didn’t respond, Eloise tried to keep from squirming in her seat. The missing cars put a big knot in their investigation. They needed to follow the trail to uncover the next layer of the organization. Without them? Proving anything just became more difficult.
If they’d had a heads-up... It didn’t matter. The cars were gone and they were back to square one. “We can still focus on the garage and Ramsey’s gang.”
“If that’s even real.”
“It is. If you’d seen how intense Ramsey was with those kids, you’d agree.”
Dante’s thumb tapped the steering wheel in a steady rhythm. His terse tones communicated he was still miffed over their dinner conversation. She knew he wanted to keep digging until they got to the root of the car ring, but she was more practical. And, ultimately, not as daring in his eyes? It wasn’t that she didn’t think they could find the source—she did—but given the circumstances in just the last few days, they had to strike now.
“I’ve documented everything we’ve discovered so far. Until Chambers says otherwise, we keep following leads.”
He still didn’t answer.
“What are your
thoughts?”
He shot her a black look. “You don’t want to know my thoughts right now.”
She swallowed a sigh. “Which means you’ve come up with something.”
“Not all the way. I need more time.”
“So share what you’ve got so far.”
“We have Rico. It’s Ramsey, the kids and the cars we need to focus on. You said a dealership got hit again?”
“Yes.”
He was quiet for a moment. “Check with Chambers to see if any other dealerships have been hit since we started the investigation. Most specifically, last Tuesday night when the cars showed up at the garage.”
“You’re thinking that if everyone is connected like we think, another carrier with the newly stolen cars might show up?”
“It’s a long shot, but all we’ve got. Too many players are overlapping now.”
She stared out the window in deep thought. What was out of place? After a few minutes, she turned to Dante. “The only guy not entirely in the loop is Greg. Maybe he’s the link between the activities at the garage and the ringleader.”
“My thoughts exactly.”
“We need to find him.”
“I’ll come up with something before I go back to work tomorrow.”
As Dante pulled into the driveway and parked, Eloise placed her hand on the door handle ready to exit. The tension in the truck cab grated on her nerves. Dante’s mood was getting to her. She needed to be alone to steady herself.
The kiss in the kitchen, the kiss she’d initiated, weighed heavily on her. All she’d wanted was a chance to prove herself to her superiors. Move up rank. Show her parents that she’d chosen the correct career path. Yet every time she was within touching distance of Dante, all her good intentions fell by the wayside. How on earth had he become so important to her?
If she were honest with herself, she’d admit it was more than the kisses. Sure, she wouldn’t deny the attraction they’d played around with before the op, a fun flirtation that wasn’t going anywhere. She liked the real Dante. There was a depth to him he hid from the rest of the world and she felt privileged that he’d let her in enough to get a glimpse of that man.
