Best Laid Plans

by Allison Brennan

  “We have to tell Juan.”

  “I need to talk to Kane first.”

  “He’ll give you cover?”

  Sean nodded without hesitating. Kane would protect him just like he protected Lucy when he left her out of his report about what happened at the Trejo compound. Sean glanced at his watch. “Lucy should be done by now. How long do x-rays take?”

  He stepped out of the office and into borderline chaos. The cops in the waiting area were all talking on phones or listening to Juan speak. Barry rushed by.

  Sean grabbed him. “What happened? Is Tia okay?”

  “She’s still in surgery, still fighting,” he said. He glanced at Brad, obviously surprised to see him. “I have to go.”

  “Where’s Lucy?”

  “I thought you knew she was done. She and I have to go.”

  “Not without me.”

  Barry turned to him. “Rogan, I don’t know what your thing is, but your girlfriend is a federal agent and has a job to do.”

  “Lucy was the target.”

  “That’s absurd.”

  Brad intervened. “Barry—an informant contacted me earlier, that’s why I came here. There’s some chatter that Tobias planned to take out a fed today. We assumed it was someone in the DEA, but when I heard about the shooting here, I realized that both Ryan Quiroz and Lucy were on the task force that took down Tobias’s San Antonio operation. She could very well be a target.”

  Sean was surprised and pleased at how smoothly Brad blended the truth and the lies.

  “And why are you here instead of your boss?”

  “Because I’m an SSA, just like Juan Casilla,” Brad snapped. “He’s here, I’m here.”

  “We need to talk to Juan. This is all screwed up,” Barry said.

  Sean let Brad walk off with Barry to discuss the new information with Juan, and he called Lucy. She finally answered, her voice soft. “Hello? Sean?”

  “Where are you?”

  “I’m outside Tia’s operating room. I needed to check on her.”

  “Where?”

  “Second floor.”

  “I’ll be right there.”

  Sean took the stairs down to the second floor. Lucy was pacing in front of the nurses’ station. Just seeing her made him breathe easier.

  She saw him and her face showed everything he needed to see. He pulled her into his arms and hugged her. She winced, but when he tried to let go she held him close.

  “Dear God, Lucy. If you hadn’t put on that vest.”

  “Don’t even think it.”

  “Are you okay?”

  “I’m fine. A big bruise. No cracked ribs. I had the wind knocked out of me, that’s it.”

  Sean touched a bandage on her arm. “What’s this?”

  “The bush I jumped into. Sharp branch. They sanitized it, gave me antibiotics, and glued the wound instead of putting in stitches.”

  He kissed her wrist. “We need to talk.”

  “Did Barry tell you?”

  “He hasn’t told me shit, Lucy. Completely keeping me in the dark. Brad and I think that Tobias is behind the hit, and you were the target, not the girl.”

  She shook her head. “No.”

  “Yes,” he said emphatically. “I watched the video in slow motion. The first bullet hit you in the back. You were the target.”

  It was clear she didn’t want to believe it. “I don’t know…”

  “I do. Tobias is neck-deep in this entire mess. I haven’t put together all the pieces, but he’s involved. Brad agrees.” He couldn’t tell Lucy how he knew, and he hated lying to her. He had to find a way to give her all the information without her knowing how he obtained it.

  “It’s Rob Garza,” she said.

  “I know—I talked to Nate after Barry cut me out of the loop. If Garza’s involved with Harper Worthington’s murder, it has to be because Tobias ordered it.”

  She frowned. “Why? It’s his wife, Adeline. Garza is her campaign manager.”

  God help him, but he had to lie. “I got a cryptic message from Kane. I’m trying to reach him, but he’s not available. Nicole Rollins told Brad that there was someone else dirty at the DEA. It’s likely that someone in-house figured out that you were feeding Brad the information on Tobias, or one of the goons who escaped that night told Tobias you were there. Or hell, he could have been watching the entire time while Trejo’s compound burned. I don’t know how! All I know is that you’re in danger.”

  “Garza’s dead, Sean.”

  “What?”

  “He collapsed at the Dallas airport. Had a ticket to New York City he bought today. Kenzie and a couple other agents were at Adeline’s campaign headquarters with an arrest warrant when the call came in. They’re now on their way to Dallas.”

  “Murder?”

  “Most likely, but we don’t have much to go on right now. Garza was seen shaking the hand of someone he appeared to know, the man walked away, and a few minutes later Garza collapsed and died. We’re getting the security feeds, we’ll find the guy. Airports have the best security in the country, his ID would have been checked, and we can compare his image to the security checkpoint. We’ll know who he is.”

  Sean knew a half dozen ways to get around airport security, but he didn’t say that to Lucy.

  “But Elise has given a statement,” Lucy continued, “and so far, everything she said is holding up. She was working in D.C. as a prostitute and met Garza first as a john. He offered her ten thousand dollars to come to San Antonio and take compromising pictures. She didn’t know who or why until he sent her a photo of Harper Worthington and a location, plus a syringe that he said was ketamine in case Harper couldn’t be seduced.”

  “Do you believe her?” Sean asked.

  Lucy hesitated. “She’s holding something back. I’ll figure it out, and if I don’t, I’ll push her again. While the shooting the other night didn’t seem to scare her much, today was another story. A lot spilled out right after, things I think she’d have rather kept to herself. She’s calculating, but she’s smart. I’ll get the truth out of her, but it’s going to take time.”

  “I know you will.” He kissed her again. He wished he had asked Mona Hill more questions, specifically about this girl Elise Hansen. But it looked like Lucy and her people were learning what they needed to know.

  “Barry was on his way down here—we’re going to push Adeline tonight. We’re waiting for approval from on high.”

  “Rick?”

  “Probably. From what Barry said, when Juan called Agent Dunbar about bringing Adeline in, he went ballistic. So Juan went over his head.”

  “Good for Juan.”

  Lucy looked down at Sean’s hands. “What happened?” She turned them over.

  He looked down. His knuckles were scratched and there was a bruise on the top of his fist. “I was an idiot when I was working out this morning. Letting off steam with my punching bag. Nothing to worry about.”

  Barry, Brad, and Juan stepped off the elevator and approached Lucy and Sean. “Any word on Detective Mancini?” Juan asked.

  “Still in surgery,” Lucy said. “The bullet went in through her side, at an angle, caused a lot of damage. But there’s plenty of blood on hand, and her captain is organizing a blood drive at SAPD if they need more.”

  Juan glanced at Sean. Sean couldn’t read his expression, but Juan said to Lucy, “I’m sure Sean told you what Agent Donnelly learned today.”

  “Yes. I don’t know how much to believe, sir,” she said. “I’m sorry, Brad—but my witness pointed at Garza.”

  “And Garza is dead,” Juan said. “We can’t interrogate him. I can’t discount the threat, considering all the fallout after Operation Heatwave. You were involved in the takedown, you and Ryan fingered Nicole Rollins, and you shut down the pipeline of boys they were using. If Tobias is behind this in any way, it’s my duty to protect you.”

  “You can’t take me off this case,” Lucy said, her voice quivering. “We’re so close to provin
g Adeline orchestrated her husband’s murder.”

  “I’m not taking you off the case. Tobias is a terrorist, and I don’t run from terrorists. Neither do you. But you’re not stupid, Lucy. Brad’s attached to your hip from the minute you leave your house until you return.” Juan looked at Sean. “And I assume your home security is still the best.”

  “It is, but—”

  “Sean, I’ve made my decision. I’ll also be posting a unit on your house until we know what’s going on, so don’t give them a hard time. And I have two agents who will be following to make sure Barry and Lucy don’t pick up a tail.” He paused. “I don’t have to tell you that Agent Donnelly is trained for this kind of detail.”

  “No, sir,” Sean said. He wasn’t happy. But he couldn’t force himself into the investigation. He’d already crossed the line; he needed to step back and trust Donnelly to watch Lucy’s back.

  But he didn’t have to like it.

  “Good.” Juan turned to Barry. “Dunbar is furious, but he’s backing down. He’s with the AUSA right now working on the case to present to the grand jury as soon as possible. AD Stockton said they have more than enough, but Dunbar had hints that Adeline was involved with a known criminal, a thug by the name of Javier Marquez. He wanted to develop that further, but he’s going to have plenty on her. If we get her on murder or conspiracy to murder, she won’t be given a slap on the wrist. And—she might turn on Marquez if given enough incentive. If she paid to have her husband killed, she’s eligible for the death penalty. We can take that off the table.”

  Sean caught Brad’s eye. He didn’t dare say anything.

  “Did you say Marquez?” Brad asked.

  “Is he on your radar?”

  “Yes, sir. We believe his gang took out nine people on Sunday night—the remainder of the Trejo/Sanchez gang. It’s the case I’ve been working with Ryan.”

  “Are you positive?”

  “Yes. The guns used in the slaughter were from the shipment stolen from the dead Marines six months ago. One of the shooters was shot during the attack and then executed by the gang. He has SAS gang tats on his arm. The San Antonio Saints swore allegiance to Marquez.”

  “What would a congresswoman be doing associating with a violent street gang?”

  “That’s the thing—Marquez likes to pretend he’s a legitimate businessman. He’s not running around the streets, but he has layers under him who are, like the SAS. We thought he might be making a move to take over since Sanchez is out of the picture.” Brad glanced at Sean. “But,” Brad added, “one of my informants believes that the hit on Sunday was sanctioned by Tobias.”

  Juan’s jaw tightened. “Spill it, Donnelly. This informant of yours is Kane Rogan, isn’t it?”

  “Sir—”

  “Don’t. I’ve watched you and Sean exchanging signs for the last five minutes. I’m not an idiot, don’t treat me like one.”

  “I wasn’t—”

  Juan cut him off again. “I don’t suppose Kane Rogan would come in and discuss this with me?”

  “Juan, it’s true that Kane is a source, but it was Nicole Rollins who implied that Tobias was behind the hit,” Brad said. “I talked to her yesterday morning.”

  Juan hesitated as he mulled over that information, then he turned to Barry. “Push the congresswoman. If she calls for a lawyer, fine. We’ll bring her in officially tomorrow morning for questioning. If she confesses, arrest her.”

  “Yes, sir,” Barry said.

  “Go. Now.”

  Barry, Brad, and Lucy left. Sean itched to go with them, but Juan put his hand up.

  “Do not say a word, Rogan,” Juan said in a low voice. “I know the truth, just like I know you’ll deny it with your last breath. This Tobias is after Lucy because she was in Mexico, not because she did a good job working on Operation Heatwave. She’s in danger because you and your brother put her in danger. Without you and your resources, she would never have crossed the border. And because she has to lie about it, she’s in even more danger.”

  Sean wasn’t going to take the blame. The blame rested on the system that couldn’t do anything to rescue a kidnapped federal agent or orphaned boys. “Donnelly would be dead. Those little boys would be dead. Some things are bigger than all of us.”

  “She was shot down there! And you know how I found out about it? Today. I went to see her while she was being stitched up, to make sure she was okay because she’s my agent. And I saw the scar on her arm, still red and puckered. Fresh. Two months fresh. But even if I didn’t recognize the healing process, I would have known because I’ve read her files. I know she’s been shot before, and I know where. And she’d never been shot in that arm. So not only did a federal agent violate the law and risk an international incident, she was injured and her supervisor—me—wasn’t even told.”

  Juan stepped forward and pressed a finger against Sean’s chest.

  “You poked the tiger, Sean. And the next time anything like this happens, the consequences will be a whole lot worse than two weeks’ unpaid vacation.”

  “Juan—”

  “Lucy is a good agent, Sean. A damn good agent. She has compassion and a rare skill set where she can see a crime scene through the eyes of a cop, a pathologist, a criminal, and a victim, all at the same time. Her analytical test scores were the highest among the last seven graduating classes at Quantico. I want her on my team.

  “But she’s a rookie. She’s reckless. And like Donnelly, a maverick. She doesn’t think things through. I’ve read her file. I know everything. Everything.” He let that sink in for a moment. “But what I don’t know is if you’re good for her.”

  Juan started to walk away, then stopped and looked back at Sean. “I don’t know what you or your family did for Rick Stockton, but he unconditionally vouches for you. I, however, don’t trust you. Which means I can’t fully trust Lucy, either. And I don’t know if I can have someone I don’t fully trust on my team.”

  Juan turned and walked away before Sean could respond.

  Maybe Juan leaving was for the better. Because everything Sean wanted to say would only make the situation worse.

  CHAPTER THIRTY-FOUR

  Lucy gave Barry a partial apology while they were driving to Adeline’s house. Brad was in the backseat and Barry hadn’t spoken for five minutes.

  “Sean is protective,” she said by way of explanation. “It’s his business. Security.”

  “It’s not his business,” Barry said.

  “Rogan Caruso Kincaid specializes in protective services—corporate kidnappings, foreign kidnappings, hostage rescue, computer security. It’s how he was raised.” She paused. “We’ve been through a lot together. If he thinks the threat is viable, I have to take it seriously.”

  “Your own personal bodyguard,” Barry mumbled.

  “You’re out of line, Crawford,” Brad said from the backseat.

  Lucy didn’t want an argument. “If you got to know Sean, the way he thinks, how he assesses information, you’d realize he’s an asset.”

  “He’s not a cop,” Barry said. “He has no jurisdiction and I don’t care that he’s consulted with the FBI in the past. It’s a conflict of interest for him to consult on a case you’re working.”

  “I can respect that opinion.”

  “You don’t see it.”

  “I do, but—”

  “There is no but. It’s a conflict. The problem with bending the rules is that they become brittle. And more easily broken.”

  “Brad and Sean didn’t get along at first,” Lucy said, wanting desperately to mend these fences, “but they built a mutual respect.”

  “True,” Brad said. “I thought Sean was a prick.” He laughed, but Barry didn’t crack a smile. “But when you talk about bending and breaking rules, Barry, remember this: if it weren’t for Kane Rogan, I’d be dead.”

  Brad caught Lucy’s eye in the rearview mirror.

  “You don’t owe Kane anything,” Lucy said. “He did it because it was the right thing to
do, not to be in your debt.”

  “I know,” Brad said. “That’s why it means even more.”

  Lucy glanced away. Brad had made it clear that he felt indebted to her, Sean, and Kane, but she didn’t want that. She liked to think that anyone else, faced with the same information she had had at the time, would have made the exact same decision to go after Brad. Maybe it was naïve to think that—okay, she knew it was naïve to think that—but it helped her believe she was just like everyone else.

  She changed the subject. “I’m having a difficult time reconciling something. If Garza was behind Harper Worthington’s murder, why was he killed?”

  “Assuming that he was,” Barry said.

  “I haven’t seen the security tapes, but the witnesses were consistent and it’s too much of a coincidence that he would drop dead while he was fleeing the state—at the same time federal agents were looking to arrest him. We were on to him, we had Elise in custody, he knew we were pushing Adeline—she must have called him after we showed her the picture of Elise yesterday morning. So he runs. That makes sense. But if someone killed him, that means Garza wasn’t pulling the strings.”

  “Adeline Reyes-Worthington,” Barry said. “You thought she was behind her husband’s death from the beginning.”

  “I thought,” Lucy clarified, “that she was lying. But taking out Garza … I don’t know. He was her right hand, but she hires yet another person to take him out? When does it stop?”

  “She still could have hired someone. Just like she had Garza bring in Elise from D.C. It was a smart move—except that they should have sent Elise out of town immediately. Or killed her. Keeping her around, with her connection to Mona Hill, it…” Barry’s voice trailed off.

  “You see it, too.”

  “See what?” Brad asked from the backseat.

  “Bread crumbs,” Barry mumbled.

  “Exactly,” Lucy said. “Elise’s DNA and fingerprints were all over that motel room. Then she took Harper’s phone and accidentally left it in James Everett’s hotel room? When she realized she killed Harper, she didn’t run away? Prostitutes are all about self-preservation, but instead, she met up with the guy who hired her and he tried to kill her.”