Locked and Loaded

by Mandy Baxter

  “Why protect Mason when he’s willing to sell you out? He would have arrested you. In a heartbeat.” Carrera’s incredulous tone only further prodded Charlie’s temper. The man was a decorated U.S. marshal, for Christ’s sake! What could have prompted him to turn his back on the vows he’d made to uphold the law?

  Oh, right, millions of dollars and unchecked power.

  “I offered him a fast track to a U.S. marshal’s badge in exchange for your arrest, and he took the offer without even blinking.”

  Kieran’s elbow dipped and his gun lowered a couple of inches. Charlie’s stomach lurched up into her throat. “Is that true, Mason?”

  Mason met Kieran’s unflinching gaze. “More or less. You know how it goes, Kieran.”

  Charlie’s jaw went slack. That wasn’t true. The task force wanted Kieran for intel. His arrest had been the least of their worries. What was Mason up to?

  *

  Kieran’s eyes narrowed and one corner of his mouth twitched. What Mason had promised to do was use Kieran’s knowledge to help bring down Faction Five. Carrera wanted Kieran to believe differently. But how Kieran chose to interpret the truth of Mason’s confession was a different story altogether.

  Growing up with a con artist and a liar, you learned pretty damned quick how to protect yourself. Kieran and Mason never lied to each other. At least not outright. His dad had constantly played them against each other when they were kids, just like Carrera had tried to do. Over the years, they’d learned to communicate in a way that would circumvent Jensen’s bullshit. Kieran was more Mason’s brother than Jensen had ever been his father. Mason trusted that Kieran would do the right thing.

  He was a con artist and a thief, true. But he wasn’t a heartless bastard. Not by a long shot.

  “I think it’s time we renegotiated terms,” Kieran said.

  “I don’t have to negotiate shit.” Carrera’s disdainful sneer wouldn’t do much for Kieran’s mood, that was for sure. “Take her into the kitchen and sit her ass down,” he said to the bastard who’d just used Mason’s gut as a punching bag. “Mason too. And keep an eye on them without getting your ass kicked this time. I don’t want any more trouble before we wrap this up.”

  Wrap this up, meaning put a bullet in their heads. Nothing had gone according to Carrera’s plans so far, proving that he wasn’t the criminal mastermind he thought he was. When his partners got wind of how badly he’d fucked this up, there’d be hell to pay. If Mason got his way, they’d all have plenty of time to hash it out behind bars.

  Charlie’s gaze met his and Mason fought to suppress the rage that boiled in his veins. At least she was in one piece and unhurt, but that she’d had to go through any of this at all made him want to beat the shit out of someone for retribution. The asshole to his right would do just fine. Mason would get his chance soon enough; he simply had to play it cool and wait for the right moment.

  Kieran was going to get him that moment. He had no doubt.

  Mason had barely made eye contact with Charlie. His worry for her damn near ate him alive and he couldn’t risk losing his focus for even a second. But in the post-scuffle calm, he took in her wide, frightened eyes, pale complexion, and drawn mouth. His need to comfort her almost overrode his desire to beat Carrera and his cronies to a bloody pulp.

  “It’s going to be okay, Charlie.” Her eyes met his, glistening with tears. “I promise.”

  She gave a shallow nod of her head as Carrera’s goon grabbed her by the arm and led her into the kitchen. With one of his guys slumped against the wall, bleeding, and the other still unconscious in the backyard, their odds were even. They could tip at any moment though, so Mason needed to make the most of every second.

  Likewise, Kieran needed to get to the point. They didn’t have time to fuck around.

  “Jensen didn’t raise your multimillion-dollar buy-in,” Kieran said. “I did.”

  Carrera’s partner poked the barrel of his Glock into Mason’s back. A growl rose in his throat but he headed toward the kitchen and left Kieran to do what he did best. They continued to argue, Kieran talking circles around Carrera, and the crooked U.S. marshal doing his best to placate Kieran, before Carrera was forced to make a deal with him as well as Jensen.

  In the kitchen, Mason reached out and caught Charlie’s hand in his. A tremor vibrated from her fingers into his and his jaw clenched. He stepped up close behind her until her back met his chest. The warmth of her body was heaven. It banished every ache and pain that plagued him.

  “How could I be so stupid?” He barely heard her whispered words. “He played us both.”

  “He did.” Mason let her fingers slip through his grasp. “But he’s not going to get away with it.”

  From the living room, a gun fired. No silencer, meaning Kieran had shot first. Mason brought his elbow back with enough force to crack the other man’s skull. A pop of cartilage accompanied his shout of pain. Mason spun and brought his left fist around and connected with his gut. The guy went to his knees, doubled over, his face cradled in one palm.

  Pop! Pop! Pop!

  Kieran’s aim must not have been stellar. The sound of bullets hitting drywall added to the cacophony. “Charlie, get under the table!” Mason shouted. He watched from the corner of his eye to make sure she did what he’d asked while he wrestled the Glock out of Carrera’s accomplice’s hand.

  “Behind you!”

  Charlie’s warning shout drew Mason’s attention. He whipped around in time to see the guy he’d put the choke hold on storm through the sliding glass door. He fired off two shots to Mason’s one. The breath lodged somewhere near his sternum as he braced for the impact, but instead, the other guy slumped to the floor.

  Too much demanded Mason’s attention. By facing one assailant, he left the other unguarded. The crack of wood and a shout of pain had him spinning once again to find Charlie standing over the unconscious body of the guy he’d put the sleeper hold on, a dining room chair clutched in her fists.

  The sudden rush of adrenaline left Mason shaky and unsteady on his feet. Charlie went to his side and it was clear from her own trembling form that she wasn’t doing much better. “Kieran?” he called out. It had grown much too quiet in the living room for Mason’s peace of mind.

  “Yeah.”

  Mason let out a relieved sigh. “You good?”

  “Yeah.”

  His response was a little too tight. Mason kept Charlie tucked behind him as he ventured back into the living room. Kieran had his gun to Carrera’s head, his finger placed precariously on the trigger. He shook like a freaking leaf, his temper simmering under the surface of his barely contained rage.

  “Let law enforcement deal with him.” Mason kept his tone as calm as possible. He didn’t feel any more under control than Kieran looked.

  Kieran snorted. “He is law enforcement.”

  “No.” Though Carrera sure as hell made a point for Kieran’s opinion of cops. Mason wanted to coldcock the son of a bitch on principle. “He’s not. He’s a lying piece of shit, is what he is. You need to let the system deal with him. You’re a lot of things, Kieran, but a murderer isn’t one of them.”

  “He fucked us,” Kieran said from between clenched teeth. “Jensen fucked us.”

  Mason felt sorry for Kieran that he was only now realizing what Mason had known most of his life. “Yep. They fucked us,” he agreed. “And the best way to fuck them back is to let them rot in their cells.”

  “You’re a hypocrite, Decker. You know that?” Mason turned his attention to Carrera’s sneering countenance. “You’re so ready to put me in jail, but you’re just going to let him walk? As if he wouldn’t have put a bullet in your head if it would have benefited him somehow.”

  Mason had told Carrera from day one: No one knew Kieran like he did. Kieran had chosen his path a long time ago, and whereas Mason didn’t agree with it, he also knew that Kieran tried to be a good man in his own way. He pulled a thick black zip tie from his back pocket and secured it tight aroun
d Carrera’s wrists. “Carlos Carrera, you’re under arrest for conspiracy and attempted murder. You have the right to remain silent …”

  Carrera laughed as Mason read his Miranda rights. “You stupid son of a bitch,” he spat. “You don’t have the authority to arrest me.”

  The sound of sirens grew louder in the distance. A shootout like they’d just had didn’t go unnoticed in a peaceful suburban neighborhood like this. Mason’s gaze met Kieran’s for a silent moment and he held it.

  “I might not,” Mason agreed. “But they do.”

  Kieran stepped up to Mason as the sound of sirens grew deafening. He pulled back his right arm and gathered his hand into a fist. Mason smiled at his brother a split second before his punch connected with Mason’s chin. Stars swam in his vision and Charlie’s surprised gasp filled his ears before he hit the floor.

  Damn, Kieran really didn’t pull any punches.

  Chapter Twenty-Seven

  “We’re lucky Carrera refused to take the fall for Faction Five alone.”

  Charlie tapped her pencil on the yellow legal pad as she considered interim Chief Deputy Benson’s words. Her concentration had been crap for the past month as she waited for the remaining members of the group to be arrested by the U.S. Marshals Service.

  “We are,” she agreed. “Not that it’s made our job much easier.”

  So far they’d arrested Judge Joseph Erickson, and Captain Bruce Augusta from San Francisco PD along with Carrera. Senator Bob Penn was still unaccounted for—along with a huge chunk of Faction Five’s seed money—and the marshals were closing in on the group’s fifth member, Steve Jenks, a coder for the CIA who’d been spotted in San Diego and heading toward the Mexico border yesterday.

  “It could have been a lot worse.”

  Charlie gave him a rueful smile. “Probably.”

  “We’ll get Penn,” Benson assured her. “Jenks too. It’ll take a little time, but no one can hide forever.”

  “What about Kieran?” Charlie tried to keep the concern from her voice.

  “I’ll admit, he’s going to be a little tougher to track down. So far, there aren’t any leads, but we’ll get a hit eventually.”

  After knocking Mason out, Kieran had taken off. The manhunt had been intense the first week, but Charlie knew he’d left the country almost immediately. He’d been a tool for Jensen to buy his way into Faction Five, and nothing more. He wasn’t a relevant aspect of her case against Carrera and the others. When it came down to it, Kieran was another of their victims.

  Charlie’s focus wandered to her office window and the crystal-clear blue sky beyond. The moment when Mason had all but let Kieran coldcock him replayed in her mind. She knew there was no other way it could’ve gone down. They were brothers. Their bond was pretty damned unbreakable.

  Charlie had always thought that life was so black and white. There were only two sides and you either chose the right one or you suffered the consequences. But maybe not all criminals were bad guys. After all, she’d certainly learned that not all good guys were honorable. Doing the right thing didn’t always mesh with what fell within the boundaries of the law. For better or worse, Mason had done the right thing in letting Kieran go.

  “How’s Mason doing?”

  The one thing Charlie made sure the task force made good on was Carrera’s promise to Mason. She’d demanded that his application to the Marshals Service go through, and he’d been accepted to the training program at Glynco. He was the only reason Faction Five had been taken down. He deserved this. Charlie felt his absence every day, though. She didn’t know it was possible to miss someone with such a deep, resounding ache. It distracted her, possessed her every thought.

  She hadn’t told him how she felt about him before he left.

  Six weeks might as well be forever. What if their time apart made him realize that he didn’t want her? What if all they’d had was the case and the task force, and everything he felt for her was a result of being thrown into that situation together? Worry gnawed at Charlie’s stomach. Her feelings for him hadn’t changed at all. If anything, they’d only intensified in his absence.

  “Charlie?”

  Benson’s voice pulled her from her thoughts. “Sorry,” she said with a nervous laugh. “It’s been a long day. What did you say?”

  “I asked if you wanted to go over the arrest records before Jensen Decker’s hearing next week?”

  “I think I’m good.” Jensen’s attorney was trying to broker a deal by offering up the names of possible Faction Five co-conspirators. It wasn’t going to do him any good, though. Charlie was determined to make sure he never saw anything but the inside of a jail cell for the next couple of decades. “I’ll give you a call if I need anything though.”

  Benson headed for the door. “Perfect. Have a good weekend.”

  She checked the time at the bottom of her computer screen. “You too.” She’d promised to meet her dad for dinner tonight. Getting back to her life, her normal routine, should have felt good. Instead, Charlie found herself yearning for something more. At any rate, she could use a drink.

  *

  “You look tired.”

  Charlie’s dad gave her a peck on the cheek as he settled down beside her at the bar. Charlie glanced at Lacey from the corner of her eye before casting her gaze upward. Lacey subdued her own amusement as she turned her attention to her customers at the other end of the bar. Charlie wished she had a similar escape route.

  “I’m all right.” She pushed the scotch she’d ordered for her dad over to him and he took a long sip. “I’ve had a few late nights this week, but my workload’s been pretty light.”

  “You should’ve taken some time off.” Her dad had insisted that she take a leave of absence after he’d found out what had been going on. Charlie appreciated his concern, but work was the only thing keeping her mind off Mason lately. If she didn’t have work, she’d drive herself crazy thinking about him.

  “I’m okay, Dad. Really.”

  “Do the marshals still have a security detail on you?”

  “No. I put an end to that after the second week.” Charlie appreciated that the USMS had taken her safety so seriously, but she wasn’t about to waste resources on herself. “No one’s going to come after me.”

  Her dad’s brow furrowed. “You don’t know that, Charlie. You pissed off some very important people.”

  True. But she knew the risks when she’d taken this job. If she allowed herself to be intimidated by people like that, men who deserved to be in jail would never be prosecuted. “I’ll be okay, Dad.”

  He took another long sip from his glass. “That Eagan fellow still isn’t accounted for. From what I’ve heard, he’s bad news.”

  A rueful smile curved Charlie’s lips. Kieran had everyone snowed. He wasn’t half as ruthless or dangerous as he led people to believe. “He won’t come after me.”

  “And you know that how … ?”

  Kieran hadn’t disappeared empty-handed. He had thirty million in cash that Charlie herself had helped to put into his hands. If she had one regret, it was that. She knew he didn’t feel an ounce of remorse for taking it, either. It wasn’t tough to picture him on some obscure beach somewhere, living a luxurious life. Probably retired. Hopefully retired.

  “I just know, Dad.”

  They sat in relative silence for a while, each of them decompressing from their day. Charlie’s mind inevitably wandered to Mason. What was he doing? Was he breezing through basic training? Was he happy?

  “I’m proud of you, kiddo.” Her dad’s voice broke the silence and Charlie stared at her dad. He’d never uttered those words to her. Ever.

  Emotion clogged Charlie’s throat. “You are?”

  “I couldn’t be prouder.”

  Tears pricked at Charlie’s eyes. “Thanks.”

  He reached over and hugged her. Charlie let her eyes drift shut as she relaxed against her dad’s shoulder. She felt as though they’d reached a turning point. One where expectations d
idn’t exist anymore. Funny, it had taken becoming a black-market diamond broker to get them to this point.

  As per their routine, they took their drinks to a table and had dinner. They talked about work, their cases, the usual stuff. Afterward, Charlie said good-bye to Lacey and hugged her dad one last time before heading around the corner back to her office. She’d decided to grab the arrest records for the case after all. Anything to keep her mind off of Mason and how much she missed him.

  Charlie stepped into the elevator and hit the button for the sixth floor. The doors began to slide shut. “Hold the elevator!” She let out a sigh and reached for the button to open the doors at the same time a large hand slid into the opening to push the doors wide. Charlie looked up. Her heart beat a mad rhythm as her gaze met Mason Decker’s. Dear God. Was it possible that he’d grown even more striking in the weeks he’d been gone?

  “You had me worried there for a second.” The deep rumble of his voice vibrated through her, coaxing chills to the surface of Charlie’s skin. “I thought you were trying to shut me out.”

  Charlie looked up at him and a slow smile curved her lips. “I would never shut you out.”

  *

  A hundred words sat at the tip of Mason’s tongue. Words he’d practiced over again in the long month he’d been apart from Charlie. Instead of saying his carefully rehearsed speech, he took her in his arms and put his mouth to hers.

  Sometimes actions spoke louder than words.

  Mason hadn’t known he could miss someone with such a crippling intensity. The past six weeks away from Charlie had nearly destroyed him. Not a day had gone by that he didn’t think about her. Worry about her. Long to hear her voice, feel the softness of her skin. Kissing Charlie was a homecoming unlike anything Mason had ever experienced. It solidified his feelings for her in an instant. Every doubt that plagued him vanished.

  His tongue flicked out at the seam of her lips and Charlie opened for him to deepen the kiss. The sweetness of her mouth intoxicated him, her sweet scent swirled around him. Mason wrapped his arms around her. He held her body tight against his as his mouth slanted over hers.