Black Book: Black Star Security

by Cynthia Rayne

  “I’m not at liberty to tell you anything else.”

  Alan’s nostrils flared. “You made some very serious accusations. And you aren’t willin’ to back them up proof.”

  And…boom! Here comes the anger.

  “No, I asked you for clarification. I’m not accusing anyone of anything. I’m only seeking information.”

  “Come on, Mack, don’t be ridiculous.” Alan sneered. “I know your ego is bruised, but no one here is a traitor, secretly working for a cartel.”

  “This isn’t about me at all. We’re talking about Harold. And are you sure?”

  “About what?”

  “You don’t have cartel moles embedded in the agency. Are you willing to bet your life on it? What about your colleagues’ lives?”

  “Do you know what I think?” Alan steepled his fingers together, eyeing her sharply.

  “No.” Mack met his gaze unflinchingly. “Tell me.”

  “You’re having difficulty adjusting to your new circumstances, so you invented—”

  “Shut the hell up.” Mack squared her jaw. “I wasn’t sure before I got here, but I’m starting to believe my client might be right.”

  “I’d be careful. Someone might just sue you for libel.”

  Mack had never been one to back down from a fight, or a threat.

  “Oh, there might be some lawyers involved in this situation alright.”

  “Uh, Mack, don’t antagonize him,” Annie whispered in her ear. “You should leave. Now.”

  “What the fuck are you implying, Mack?” He angled his head to the side, studying her intently.

  “Figure it out for yourself, Alan.”

  He stood. “This meeting is over.”

  “Oh, you bet it is.” Mack headed for the exit.

  Clearly, there was some truth in Quinn’s story. And Mack was going to get to the bottom of it.

  ***

  “Are we there yet?” Annie asked.

  After they left the FBI headquarters, they headed down I-95 to Fredericksburg. It was about a 45-minute drive, but well worth it. When she worked in the area, Mack used to eat brunch at a bistro on the weekends and sightsee in the area.

  Their dinner menu was just as spectacular. Since the establishment was open twenty-four hours a day, they had a great meal, went for a walk, and then headed back up the highway.

  “No, not even close.” She bit her lower lip. “Thank you again for coming with me.”

  “Anytime.” Annie clasped her shoulder. “What are friends for?”

  “When I tell the guys what’s going on, do you think they’ll hear me out at least?” Mack was doubtful. They really didn’t like Quinn and had no reason to believe them.

  “Hey, I’ve got your back. And once they find out you might be in trouble, they’ll come around.”

  “Thanks. Do you really think I’m at risk?”

  “I’m not really sure, but Quinn thinks so. And that Alan guy was all kinds of shady.”

  “Yeah, I’m beginning to think he’s working with Harold.”

  “He just stood by, when you got fired, huh?”

  She winced. Right. Annie had overheard all of it.

  “Pretty much. Alan saved his own ass and left mine flapping in the wind, but I shouldn’t be complaining.”

  “What do you mean?”

  “Never mind.” Her transgressions were too shameful to share. Annie would never look at her the same way.

  “Hmm, you can be mysterious for now, but don’t think I’m gonna let this go. Eventually, you’ll tell me everything.”

  Nope. No way, no how. Mack was taking these secrets to the grave.

  Mack spotted a rest area sign. “Hey, we should probably use the facilities before we get to the Beltway.”

  They hadn’t hit Washington DC traffic yet. She’d spent hours trapped on the highway before. Washington DC had a serious traffic flow problem. Once, she’d been trapped in terrible traffic when she’d had to pee. It had been an excruciating hour.

  “Way to change the subject.”

  Mack grinned. “I know, right?” She pulled into a space and threw the car into park. The rest area was deserted.

  Annie stepped out of the car. “I don’t have to use the facilities, but I’m gonna take a walk and stretch my legs.”

  “Fine, but you’ll be sorry.”

  Mack made her way inside and checked out the stalls. The place was in disrepair. A lot of the bathroom tiles were broken or cracked. The fluorescent bulbs overhead needed to be changed. They kept flickering and flashing and making a buzzing sound like a swarm of angry bees.

  At least three of the stalls were out of order, marked with signs, and duct-taped shut.

  Yuck. Maybe I should’ve gone to a fast food place instead?

  Mack hated using public restrooms, but she didn’t have much choice. She picked the last bathroom stall and spread toilet paper carefully all over the seat. Mack sat down, ready to let nature take its course, when she heard footsteps in the bathroom.

  “Annie? Is that you? Did you change your mind?”

  But there was no response.

  Mack shrugged. Clearly, someone else had come in the bathroom. She finished her business and was about to stand up when she saw a pair of men’s black loafers on the other side of the door.

  What’s a man doing in the women’s restroom?

  She didn’t get a chance to contemplate the question. A bullet went right through the door. Instinctively, Mack ducked, and it slammed into the tile wall behind her.

  What the hell?

  Mack hit the floor and crawled underneath the partition into the next stall. Thank God, it was one of the damaged ones, so the door was closed and locked.

  “Annie!” she screamed. “Help!”

  The floor was littered with bits of toilet paper, dust and water droplets, which might not be water. She shimmied through all of it, with one hand on the waistband of her pants to hold them up, as she tried to reach the exit.

  The man fired off another shot and it ricocheted off the floor, hitting the toilet instead. This wasn’t some random shooter. He was trying to take her out. Obviously, he’d been following them, but Mack hadn’t even noticed they had company.

  Dammit. And she’d left her gun in her purse, in the stall. How stupid can you get, Mack?

  Her only hope was fleeing. She slipped underneath the next stall and sprang to her feet, running for the exit.

  A bullet whizzed by her face, Mack could almost feel it grazing her hair.

  Only three more feet. You can do it, Mack.

  But the shooter grabbed Mack by the shirt collar and slammed her against the wall.

  Chapter 6

  The shooter whistled, looking her up and down. “Well, hello there, Mack. I didn’t know you were such a looker. Your picture didn’t do you justice. Maybe I’ve been a touch too hasty.”

  Mack swallowed her fear. “About what? Killing me?”

  She was shivering, backed into a corner, pressed into the cold tile. Her panties and trousers were hanging around her ankles. She’d never been more vulnerable. Or afraid.

  The shooter was a handsome man with red hair and green eyes. He was tall, maybe six feet, with an athletic build.

  Why can’t people’s insides match their outsides? I like my murders ugly.

  “Nothing’s gonna change the outcome, Mack, but there ain’t no reason why we can’t have some fun first.”

  Fun? Was he going to rape her before he murdered her? He had a Glock in his hand. and rubbed the barrel of the gun over her breasts. It was a caress and a threat all in one.

  “You have me at a disadvantage.” Her voice echoed in the room. “What’s your name?”

  “Aw, it don’t matter none.”

  Fine, I’ll call you Ginger. It gave all redheads a bad name.

  Pull yourself together, Mack, and get out of this mess. What are the facts? What do you know? What can you use to your advantage?

  Hmm. Judging by the accent, he was Sou
thern. Probably in the FBI. And she was willing to bet money, Alan had sent this guy after her. Clearly, Alan was in cahoots with Harold.

  Quinn was right. I should’ve been more careful. It’s like she stuck her hand into a lion’s mouth and didn’t expect it to bite her.

  A terrible thought occurred to her. “Where’s my friend?” Oh, God. Did he kill Annie?

  “The brunette?”

  Mack nodded.

  “I knocked her out. Don’t worry, she’s sleepin’ it off in the back seat. Besides, you should be more concerned about your own pretty little neck.”

  “Alan sent you, didn’t he?”

  He grinned. “They sent me to take care of you, but I think you and I are gonna go somewhere private with your friend.” Ginger smacked his lips. “We’ll have us a party.”

  Mack shuddered. No, stop it. Focus. Don’t give into your fear.

  “And who’s they? Who are we talking about?”

  “Look at you, putting on a brave face, pretending to be Nancy Drew.” And then Ginger pushed his hand between her legs, cupping her sex.

  Mack couldn’t help it, she screamed.

  “Shut the fuck up.” He slapped a hand over her mouth.

  “Don’t do this,” she muttered against his hand.

  “We need to get the fuck out of here.”

  The next thing she knew, they were marching outside.

  Ginger had instructed Mack to pull up her pants, and he had a gun shoved into her ribcage. She frantically thought of a way to escape, but every scenario ended up with her being shot in the gut and left for dead.

  In the parking lot, there was a family hopping out of a van—a mother, a father, and two little girls. The children were dressed in pajamas and they were so sleepy, they swayed on their feet.

  “Don’t even think of callin’ out for help,” her abductor whispered. “I’ll kill them all, even the little kids.”

  “I won’t.” They were civilians and she wouldn’t risk their lives.

  “Evenin’ folks. Y’all have a nice night,” Ginger called, using all of his country boy charm.

  He shoved her into his SUV and sure enough, Annie was passed out on the back seat. Since Ginger didn’t object, Mack felt for a pulse. She was relieved to find Annie had a steady, even heartbeat.

  Ginger started up the engine and took off. The trees and grass whizzed by the car as Mack frantically searched for landmarks, trying to orient herself.

  He drove them off the highway until he found a wooded area. It was an out of the way sort of place where you might dispose of a body. Her mind was spinning, trying to come up with a solution, but her thoughts were scattered. Fear made it difficult to think.

  “Come here, bitch.” As soon as Ginger turned off the engine, he unzipped his fly, and grabbed a fistful of her hair. He yanked Mack hard, shoving her face toward his crotch.

  “Stop! Don’t do this.”

  “Quit pitchin’ a fit. We both know you’ll enjoy this.”

  She shook her head, squirming in his hold.

  “Don’t act innocent. From what I heard, you were Harold’s whore.” With that, he shoved his cock into her mouth.

  Mack didn’t even think about the consequences. Instinctively, she bit down.

  “Mother fucker!” He tugged at her hair, pulling several strands out, but she locked her jaw down.

  Ginger pulled out his gun. “I’m gonna—”

  But he didn’t get a chance to finish the sentence.

  There was a loud bang, which left her ears ringing. And then Ginger groaned, slumping down on top of her.

  Mack shoved his heavy body off of her, and scrambled out from underneath him, gasping for breath. Her heart was hammering, pressing up against her ribcage.

  She touched her wet hair, to find it covered in blood. Mack stared at it, disbelieving. This couldn’t be real life.

  What the hell is going on?

  She looked over to see Annie holding a gun in the back seat, and her eyes were wild.

  “Oh my God. Annie, are you okay?”

  Annie gulped. “No, are you?”

  “Hell no.”

  “I just woke up and found him on top of you. I didn’t even think about it.”

  “Where’d you get the gun?”

  Annie sneered at the dead man. “Genius here, had a spare on the floorboard. I guess he figured I wouldn’t wake up for a while.” She touched the base of her skull, wincing. “I can see why. He hit me pretty hard, but I should be fine.”

  Mack nodded absently. There was so much to consider, and Mack couldn’t even think straight.

  “What the hell are we gonna do?” Annie asked, but Mack barely registered the words.

  “Mack?”

  She blinked. “What?”

  “Did you hear me?”

  “Sorry. No. What were you saying?”

  “Should we call the police?”

  Mack frowned. “And tell them we killed an FBI agent? This is Virginia. We’ll get the death penalty.”

  “Was he an agent?”

  “I think so. Let’s make sure.” Mack fumbled around in the man’s pockets of his suit and pulled out a badge.

  “Holy shit. Agent Mike Sloan.”

  “No. This can’t be happening.” Annie shut her eyes.

  “He hast to be working for the cartel, too. But we can’t prove it. Not yet, anyway.” She sucked in a breath. Speaking of IDs. “Dammit. My purse is back at the rest stop. We have to go back for it.”

  Unless someone already stole it.

  “And we have to catch our flight.”

  Oh no. She’d forgotten all about getting to Reagan International on time. She checked the clock in the car.

  “We’ve got a little over two hours. Come on, we need to hustle.”

  They had a body and car to dispose of, a purse to retrieve, and evidence to get rid of in the bathrooms.

  This is gonna be a long night.

  ***

  Please let this be a nightmare.

  Mack kept repeating the words to herself, like a mantra. This was too bizarre to be real.

  When they arrived in Kentucky once more, Annie went back to her house, the one she shared with West. And Mack continued on to HQ by herself. The place was quiet when she got in the door. No one would be up for a couple of hours. She considered going up to her room, but she didn’t really want to be alone.

  Mack briefly considered waking somebody up, so she could talk this out.

  The problem was, everyone else was already partnered up. West had Annie, King had Savvy, Zane had Ellie, Nox had Maeve, Storm had Lucy. More than likely, her teammates were sleeping beside their significant others, which made her feel the third wheel.

  Yes, but Quinn’s in the holding cell.

  Nope, not an option.

  Oh, yes, it is. And right now, you need someone who knows what you’re going through.

  Before she could second guess herself, Mack went to the cell and opened it. She found Quinn lying on his side, sound asleep. His breaths were slow and even and the sound alone made her relax. She didn’t have the heart to wake him.

  Maybe I’ll curl up beside him and we can talk tomorrow.

  Mack slipped off her shoes and crawled in beside him. Somehow, she managed to fit on the narrow bed. Unfortunately, she woke him up.

  “Mack?’ he asked sleepily. “What’s wrong?”

  “I’m okay. We’ll talk tomorrow morning.”

  Instead, he sat up and pulled her into his lap.

  “Tell me what’s wrong.”

  “It’s nothing.” Mack should’ve pushed him away, but being held felt so nice, comforting. She couldn’t find the strength to resist.

  “Mackenzie, please.”

  Before she could stop herself, the words tumbled out. Mack knew she probably shouldn’t tell him what happened, especially when it came to the murder part. He could use it against her, and yet he’s the one person she wanted to tell most. Quinn listened patiently while she blurted everything ou
t, the meeting with Alan, and the encounter with the rogue FBI agent.

  “Fuck,” Quinn said succinctly.

  Mack nodded. What else is there to say? Platitudes were pointless. Tonight, she’d been involved in the murder of a federal agent. She and Annie would get the death penalty if anyone found out.

  His hands roamed all over her, as though he were inspecting Mack, making sure she was alright. Somehow, Mack got the feeling Quinn was even more rattled by the situation than she was.

  “Did he…? Are you…?”

  “He didn’t rape me.” Although, he would have if Annie hadn’t stopped him. She’d gotten lucky. This could’ve ended very differently. Mike might’ve been spent the evening burying Annie and Mack in the woods instead.

  He closed his eyes. “I shouldn’t have involved you.”

  “Harold pulled me into this mess. Not you.”

  Quinn looked doubtful. “Well, I’m sorry anyway.”

  “You asked me earlier if I believed you, and now I do.” Mack ran a hand through her red curls. She’d cleaned blood out of the strands in the bathroom. Her hair had been sticky, matted with the stuff.

  And I can still smell it. The metallic scent was everywhere, choking her. Or maybe you’re going crazy.

  What if someone had caught them? What if they’d overlooked some piece of evidence? Or what if a cop had confronted her on the scene?

  Would she be sitting in a police precinct now? Or burying another body in a shallow grave? Mack had done terrible things this evening.

  Maybe I’m not such a good person after all.

  “Did you check their security feeds?”

  “Yeah, Annie took care of the cameras and I didn’t see the night manager.” At night, sometimes there was only one crew working on a rest area. They must’ve been stationed on the other side of the highway.

  “You did the right thing.”

  “No, I murdered a federal agent.”

  “Annie did. Not you.”

  “Same difference.”

  “Mack, he was tryin’ to rape you.” His fists clenched. “I’m almost disappointed the prick is dead. I’d like to get my hands on him.”

  “It’s done. We made sure the body will never be found.” With any luck, scavengers would take care of the evidence.

  Quinn rubbed her back. “I’m sorry.”

  She sighed. “And I’m sorry for coming in here like this.”