by Janie Crouch
She was turning to run and grab her phone in the dressing room to take a picture when the door to the storeroom opened. She stuffed the paper back into the crate where she’d found it.
“Charlie? What’s going on?” Mack’s voice boomed out. “We need that liquor.”
“I’m coming. It’s a lot.”
He came down the steps. “I’ll help you carry it. We got a last-minute call a few hours ago. VIP group in the back. They don’t want anyone in there. Just want everything set up before they get here. And they specifically asked for every bottle of Armand de Brignac we had.” He reached down and grabbed the crate that held the code. “Fortunately, this came in today, even though we didn’t order it.”
They didn’t get much call for a three-hundred-dollar bottle of champagne at The Silver Palace. “You didn’t order these?”
“Nope.” Mack popped the p. “When I called the distributor to cuss him out about the mistake, they gave me such a good deal on it, I decided to keep it. Hell, I would’ve drunk it myself for that price. But I’ll more than gladly sell it to the VIPs for a huge profit. Let’s get them set up.”
A crate of expensive champagne that just happened to be a wrong order and had a paper with some sort of code in it? Charlie may not be an undercover guru like the Linear guys, but even she realized that was highly suspicious.
They were coming tonight.
Finn would want her to call. She would just let him know what she had found out. Even if it was just the code. She probably should’ve told him the whole story about how nervous she’d been the last time.
She dropped the liquor off at the bar. When Mack took the bottles of Armand de Brignac toward the back room, she rushed to the dressing area to get her phone. By the time she returned to the bar, Mack was looking for her.
“Can you set up the back?” he asked. “I have to keep an eye on the girls tonight, make sure no one gets too hysterical over what happened to Jade.”
“Sure, no problem.” It would give her a chance to call Finn. “How long before the group gets here?”
“Twenty minutes.”
They could hear yelling from the direction of the dressing room and Mack headed that way with a sigh. Charlie immediately rushed to the back. She didn’t bother to start setting it up. She just wanted to call Finn.
Her phone didn’t work inside the building, but she could step out the side door from here and get a signal. She reached up and unhooked the fire alarm attached to the door and opened it, phone already in hand.
She had a bad feeling about all of this.
She was only one step out the door, not looking where she was going, when she ran straight into Rocco.
“Look who it is.” His face was drawn into a sneer. “The lady with nine lives. I heard your house burned down.”
Chapter Twenty-Six
As soon as Charlie left for work, Finn and Aiden stopped their banter about sex in the office. It had all been for show anyway.
He had known Aiden for over ten years and had trusted the man with his life a hundred times over. He’d fought shoulder-to-shoulder and back-to-back, and even occasionally face-to-face, with him.
He had never seen Aiden Teague so close to falling apart.
“I’m worried about you, man.”
Aiden scrubbed a hand over his face, then stood to get another cup of coffee. “I’m trying to focus on Operation Sparrow. I know that situation is important. But Charlie was right. My attention is splintered at best. I can’t get the woman at the club out of my mind. I left her, Finn. She was in the worst kind of trouble and I left her behind, like the creed meant nothing to me.”
Never leave a fallen comrade behind.
It was the most basic part of the Army creed. Finn knew Aiden would never break it if he had any sort of choice. What Aiden was doing was hard enough without exhaustion and guilt weighing on him.
“Charlie was also right about only being able to take down one bad guy at a time. Fighting a battle on multiple fronts is the best way to ensure defeat. That’s Strategy 101.”
Aiden leaned his weight on the kitchen counter, staring out into the darkness through the window. “I know, but that woman needs me, Finn. I know it sounds like some Gothic romance novel, but I can hear her crying every time I’m alone. I have to help her.”
Aiden wasn’t prone to histrionics. If he was feeling this way, then Finn trusted his friend’s gut.
“Then I’ll help you. We all will. Linear has resources and connections law enforcement doesn’t. We’ll use them. We’ll find her, get her out.”
Aiden blew out an exhausted breath. “But first I need to get to The Lion’s Den.”
A knock on the front door drew their attention. Finn opened it, surprised to find Sheriff Nelson on his porch.
“Bollinger.” The sheriff nodded at Finn. “Sorry it’s so late. Is Charlotte here?”
Finn held the door open for the sheriff to come in. “No, she already left for work at The Silver Palace. Why?”
Sheriff Nelson spotted Aiden. “Glad you’re here. You were next on my list.”
“Did you find anything out about the girl?” The hope in Aiden’s eyes was hard to watch.
The sheriff shook his head. “No, but I’m still looking. I promise you’ll be the first person I notify as soon as I know anything. Can I get a cup of that coffee?”
Aiden poured him a cup.
The sheriff took a sip gratefully. “You guys know about anything going down at The Lion’s Den tonight?”
Aiden nodded. “I know I’m supposed to be there in about an hour and a half. Why?”
“Just got an anonymous tip-off that it would be worth our while to be there tonight a little after midnight. That someone named Stellman would be there.”
Finn looked over at Aiden, eyes narrowed. “Wow. Someone is selling out Stellman? I thought he ruled all the local criminals with an iron fist.”
“I’ve never heard of this guy. Who is he?” Sheriff Nelson asked.
“He’s one of the people brokering the sale of the NORAD info,” Finn told him, glad the sheriff now had clearance to be in on the situation. “He’s bad news on multiple fronts, evidently, and not just around here. Major Pinnock specifically wanted to try to take him down. Unfortunately, nobody knows who he is or what he looks like.”
Aiden shook his head. “I just can’t believe someone would turn on Stellman that way. If he finds out, he’ll not only kill them but their entire family. The guy is not known for his tender feelings.”
“Do you think it’s someone passing along false info?” the sheriff asked.
“Or it could be one of the criminals utilizing the opportunity to take out their competition. Everyone’s together in one place and they get arrested,” Finn said. “Maybe Stellman’s not even going to be there, but they drop his name to make a bust more enticing.”
Aiden nodded. “There are a lot of possibilities. And given my frame of mind, I’m not trusting my own judgment.” He turned to Sheriff Nelson. “So, you should definitely follow the lead and move in. Just make sure I’m arrested with everybody else to protect my cover.” He grimaced, then rubbed his eyes.
“What?” Finn asked. “Don’t want to get arrested?”
“Nah. I just can’t shake the feeling that this is another sleight of hand. Trying to get our focus off where it needs to be. But like I said, my judgment. . .”
“I’ll contact Sheriff Holliday over in Sublette County,” Nelson responded. “See if he’s got a couple guys he can spare for an intercounty task force. Because whether your judgment is right or not, we’ve got other problems at play.” The sheriff shifted toward Finn. “And it has to do with Charlotte.”
Finn’s jaw tightened. “What about her?”
“Found out a couple hours ago that one of the ladies she works with—a Brenda Kingston—died earlier this afternoon. She was driving under the influence. Had a shit ton of narcotics in her system, which according to some neighbors was not uncommon.”
Finn shrugged. “Was she friends with Charlie? I haven’t heard her mentioning someone by that name.”
“She went by Jade onstage.”
He shrugged again. “We don’t sit around talking about all the strippers at Charlie’s place of work. I’m not thrilled she’s there.”
“I’ll admit I don’t understand why Milton Devereux’s daughter would be working at a place like that, but I guess that’s her business.” The sheriff took another sip of his coffee.
“Let’s just say she has her reasons.” Reasons Finn hoped to help her get off her shoulders soon. She needed to talk with her parents and let them know exactly what was going on.
The sheriff put his mug down with a thud. “I’ll be straight with you. I need to ask Charlie some questions. With Brenda-slash-Jade’s death today, that makes the third in one week of someone who has connections to Charlie.”
Shit. That was bad.
“The lady who rented her condo ends up dead in what the arson inspector says looks more and more like foul play,” Sheriff Nelson continued. “A co-worker runs off the road, her toxicology off the charts.”
“But she was a known drug user. So that’s not suspicious.” Aiden interjected.
Nelson nodded. “But with the amount of heroin in her system, the medical examiner finds it difficult to believe she made it out of her driveway, much less halfway to work.”
“Are you saying someone made it look like an accident?” Finn asked.
Nelson shrugged. “We all know people on drugs do things that would be impossible to any normal person. I’m just telling you what the ME told me.”
“Who is the third?”
“Ironically, Scott Fontenot, a.k.a. ‘Sam,’ that junkie you saved her from three weeks ago.”
“Another overdose?” He ran a hand over his head.
“Yep. And before you say it, yes, I’m aware he was a user too. And they do overdose.” He held his hands out in front of him. “Normally I wouldn’t put many resources into a homeless junkie’s death, particularly one who was already wanted for assaulting someone. Nor many more into a known drug user’s DUI. Hell, I didn’t even put much credence into the arson report. But when this flashed across my desk tonight, I couldn’t ignore it anymore.”
The sheriff took out a piece of paper, unfolded it, and laid it out in front of Finn.
“This is a missing persons report filed by a Kenneth Lenhart. Evidently his brother, Paul, hasn’t been heard from in over five days. His brother’s place of employment?”
Finn knew without the sheriff having to tell him.
“The Silver Palace. He works as a bouncer,” the sheriff finished. “Now all these things could be a coincidence, I realize that. Which is why I want to speak to Charlie.”
Finn caught Aiden’s grim look from across the kitchen. “Jade,” he said. “Was that the name of the dancer she mentioned was there the night those guys freaked her out?”
Aiden nodded. “It is. We never followed up on it because I’ve been able to keep an eye on Rocco Christensen and didn’t want to draw attention to myself by talking to her. Shit.”
“What?” Sheriff Nelson asked.
Aiden walked over to the table. “That guy we’re trying to take down . . .part of the reason is because after he brokers deals, he’s known for making sure there are no witnesses left who can identify him. It’s how he keeps the criminals he works with in line. It’s also some of the reason I find it so difficult to believe he’s going to be at The Lion’s Den when there’s a bust planned. Stellman is too highly placed and too smart to get caught in something common like that.”
Finn stood. “Charlie said she saw some suspicious men a few nights before we found out she was working there. She mentioned Rocco but didn’t know the others. Maybe Stellman was there that night too.”
“And now you think Stellman is getting rid of people who might be able to identify him?” asked the sheriff.
“If Jade was the dancer who was in the back that night, and this Paul possibly worked there too . . .” Finn nodded. “Yeah, I think it’s more than possible.”
“What about the guy who attacked her at The Cactus Motel? Or Cynthia Reynolds?”
Finn looked over at Aiden. Was he being paranoid? Aiden gave him a nod—he obviously didn’t think so. “Stellman was probably trying to get rid of Charlie both times, make them look like an accident to stay under the radar. Fontenot wasn’t trying to rape her or steal from her. I’ll bet you anything someone paid him to kill her.”
The sheriff rubbed his bald, dark head. “I will give you that everyone we’ve talked to that knew Fontenot said he wasn’t violent, although he was pretty desperate for money. Then no one saw him around for the past three weeks, almost like he was in hiding. Then a few days ago he shows up dead.”
Finn could feel dread bubbling up inside him. “The explosion in her condo was meant to eliminate Charlie too. They thought she lived there. Hell, I didn’t even know she wasn’t living there.”
Aiden grimaced. “If Stellman is cleaning house, that means whatever is going down will happen tonight.”
Finn nodded. “And you can damn well be sure it’s not at The Lion’s Den. You’re right, Aiden, that’s a setup to distract law enforcement. We’ve got to get Charlie out of The Silver Palace. Once they find out the fire killed the wrong woman, they’ll be coming after her.”
He picked up his phone and dialed Charlie’s number, cursing but not surprised when there was no answer. He looked at the other two. “I’m going to get her. I don’t like how any of this is shaking out. Even if we’re wrong about all of it, I want to make sure she’s safe.”
Sheriff Nelson stood too. “I’ll send a squad car over. They can keep an eye on Charlie until you get there. I’m calling in all the help I can—we’ll have to split our resources between the two clubs, just in case. I can’t take the chance law enforcement won’t be needed at The Lion’s Den.”
Finn made an emergency call to Peyton Ward, little Jess’s mom, to ask if she would mind coming over to stay with Ethan. The single mom only lived about a mile from his house.
He kissed Peyton’s cheek when she showed up ten minutes later, a sleeping Jess in her arms.
“Thank you,” he whispered. “It’s an emergency or . . .”
She smiled. “I know, Finn. You wouldn’t have called if it weren’t. Don’t worry, we’ll just crash on the couch until you get home.”
He thanked her again and ran out the door. Things were on their way straight to hell. He could feel it. The last time he’d had such a huge knot in his gut, his entire team had been ambushed in Afghanistan. They’d lost two men, and Dorian had been captured, tortured, and even though they’d eventually gotten him out, he’d never been the same since.
This feeling in his gut meant trouble of the worst kind.
And Charlie was at the center of it.
Chapter Twenty-Seven
She’d barely seen Rocco before his fist crashed into her face. It didn’t knock her out, but she fell to the ground, dazed.
Before she could even get back up, some sort of ski mask was thrown over her head, backward so she couldn’t see.
“Careful, Rocco,” someone whispered in a voice she didn’t recognize. “It’s got to look like an accident.”
A gun cocked right beside her head.
Rocco dragged her forward. “Accidents happen with guns. Crazy ex-boyfriends or people trying to steal someone’s money.”
“You can’t kill her here. It will draw too much attention to this place. We still need that last code.”
The code she’d just seen? Charlie wasn’t going to wait around for them to talk this out. Rocco had a grip on her arm, so she threw her elbow as hard as she could into his belly.
Then she ran like hell, ripping the mask off. She made it to the edge of the parking lot before she was tackled, her arm scraping painfully as she hit the ground. This time, Rocco not only put the mask on her but also zip tied her hands behind h
er.
Charlie cried out at the burn in her shoulder as he pulled too hard.
“I don’t see why we have to hood her if she’s going to be dead in a few minutes anyway.”
“Just put her in the trunk. Unlike Stellman, I understand the value of keeping people alive in case things don’t go the way you planned.”
Stellman? That was the guy Finn and Aiden had mentioned.
Rocco laughed. “Good idea. Plus, I’d like to have a little taste of this” —Charlie tried to jerk away as Rocco groped her breasts, but he wrapped an arm around her waist to keep her close— “before we get rid of her.”
“Let’s just get inside. I’ve got information Stellman is going to want about some potential leaks in his organization. Not everyone is who they say they are. I just want to do the trade and get out of here.”
She heard the trunk open and Rocco picked her up. If she didn’t fight now, she was not going to make it out of this alive. With everyone all caught up with Jade’s death it might be a long time before anyone even realized Charlie wasn’t around.
She threw her body weight to the side, causing Rocco to drop her. He cursed as she got to her feet as best she could and started running again. She had no idea which way she was going but she hoped it was back toward the building.
The sound of sirens had her running faster. She prayed the police would be coming to The Silver Palace, although she had no idea why they would.
She couldn’t see, all sounds were muffled, touch wasn’t an option. Charlie struggled not to panic. Her head whipped around as music suddenly blared out into the night—the door to the club must have opened. She turned in that direction, yelling through the mask, trying to get the attention of anyone she possibly could.
Then people began yelling, both in front and behind her. She kept running, her abs tensed for when she inevitably crashed into something.
The siren was louder now, obviously pulling into the parking lot. She let out a shuddery sigh of relief.
