Jake was more than worried for the teenager, he was terrified. Nothing good would come from her going after her father. She would either wind end up getting herself killed or arrested for pre-meditated murder—and at seventeen, she’d be tried as an adult. Damn it! Why the hell didn’t she just leave this up to him? He would move heaven and earth to help her and put her father where he could never hurt her again.
“Reverend, we’re here to relieve you.” Boomer’s voice was loud and clear through the earpiece. “Where’s everyone located?”
Tapping the mic, Jake gave his teammate his location and then the others followed suit. Minutes passed before the human hoot of an owl alerted him to Boomer’s approach several yards behind him. He’d been in the woods behind Wagner’s house, keeping an eye on the backdoor and yard.
The youngest member of Trident’s Alpha Team, dressed in black and camo like the rest of them, sidled up to him in complete silence before he spoke. “All quiet?”
“Yeah.” Jake stood from his prone position and handed over his night vision goggles. “Brody caught her SUV on a traffic cam on I-75 when she crossed over from Georgia about five hours ago, but the Florida system is down with a glitch and he hasn’t been able to locate her since. I let Allman know we were out here. He’s not thrilled, but knows if Alyssa tries to kill Wagner, it could screw up his op.”
“Do you honestly think she’s going to try and kill him?”
He sighed and tilted his head from side to side, working out the kinks which had settled there. “Yeah, I do—but I don’t blame her for wanting to. I just hope we find her first.”
Boomer nodded his agreement, then dropped to the ground to take over the watch. Stealthily finding his way back to where he would meet Nick a few blocks away, Jake tried to think of where Alyssa might be if she’d arrived in Tampa by now. The possibilities were endless, but he knew of several crappy motels which didn’t require credit cards upon check-in. Places like that usually charged by the hour though, and he hated to think of the teenager in one of them. But the alternative wasn’t much better—sleeping in the vehicle somewhere.
As he approached his truck, he noticed Nick sitting in the driver’s seat, so he hopped in the passenger side and tossed his headset in the middle console. “A chauffeured ride? What more can I ask for?”
Putting the SUV in drive, Nick smirked at him. “How about some sex in the shower when we get home?”
Even though Jake’s cock twitched happily at the thought, he shook his bigger head. “Later. For now, I want to hit a few motel parking lots and other places where she might be holed up until morning. I’ve got a bad feeling about this and we need to find her before it’s too late.”
“Damn. I hate when the right thing to do overrides my sex life.”
“Me, too, Junior. Me, too.”
* * *
“It’s me, you bastard.”
Oliver Wagner froze for a moment at the young, female voice coming through the cell phone earpiece. “You little cunt. Where the hell are you?”
“Tampa.”
What the fuck was the bitch doing here? Tampa was the last place he expected her to show up. Well, at least he didn’t have to have those fuck-ups look for her anymore.
“If you don’t come meet me with those pictures and videos you took of me, you sick son of a bitch, then I’m going to the press.”
He growled as rage filled him. “You wouldn’t fucking dare.”
“I’ve got nothing to lose anymore. You killed my mother. You made sure I was isolated from anyone else that would help me. I’ll leave you and your perverted lifestyle alone. All I want is the pictures and videos, so I can destroy them. If I find out you made copies, I’ll go to the press.”
Shocked at how strong and determined she sounded, Wagner mulled over his options. There was no way he was turning anything over to the little bitch, but making her think he would was the perfect way to draw her into a trap. He’d kill her, then have two of his minions take the body out into the Gulf of Mexico and sink it. “Fine,” he spat out. “But then I never want to hear from you again. If you go to the press or police, I’ll fucking kill you myself.” He rattled off the address of the building where his landscaping business equipment and vehicles were stored—since today was Sunday, it would be closed. The area was also isolated, so he didn’t have to worry about anyone reporting anything unusual or any witnesses. Opening his desk drawer, he pulled out the .38 caliber handgun he kept there. “Be there in one hour or the deal is off. If that happens, I’ll hunt you down and make you regret it.”
“Just bring everything, you bastard, and I’ll be there.”
The line went dead and Wagner took several deep breaths to keep from throwing the cell phone against the wall, shattering it into hundreds of pieces. The little cunt would rue the day she defied and threatened him.
* * *
“Reverend, target’s on the move.”
Jake put his SUV in drive. “Copy that, Devil Dog. We’re ready to tail him. Everyone else stay in position and keep an eye out for our girl.”
It was ten minutes to nine in the morning and the two surveillance teams had switched places, once again, in the area surrounding Oliver Wagner’s property. Nick and Jake’s hour-long tour of the no-tell motels in the middle of the night had been fruitless. And Tampa was too big of a city, with plenty of places for Alyssa to be hiding at, for them to even hope of finding her if she didn’t want to be found. The interstate traffic cameras were up and running again, but it was too late for them to be of any assistance. The city-wide traffic cams might be useful, but Jake wasn’t too optimistic that Brody would find her after he’d hacked into the system. The geek was currently in his war-room at Trident doing his best to find her. However, the black SUV she’d taken was as non-descript as they come, so chances of spotting it among the thousands of other vehicles in Tampa was slim.
Knowing Wagner would most likely be leaving the house at some point during the day, Jake and Nick had been parked nearby, ready to follow him when he did. While on the first shift the night before, Marco had snuck up the driveway and tagged the man’s BMW with a tracking device, right next to the one the ATF had attached to the undercarriage months earlier. Now, sitting in the passenger seat, Nick turned on the tracker’s receiver and it beeped sharply as the screen lit up. “Got him. He’s going to pass right by us.”
Sure enough, a few seconds later, the steel-grey vehicle drove past where they were idling in the lot of a baseball field, down the street from the residence. Jake waited until Wagner made a left turn at the intersection, before pulling out to shadow him. If they drove to a busier part of town, he’d get closer, but for now they were relying on the tracker.
“Take the second right—he’s heading east.”
Following Nick’s directions, Jake tailed Wagner to a seedier side of town for another twenty minutes. Bypassing blocks of apartment buildings and businesses, they were lead toward a mainly commercial yet sparse area. Here, the individual properties took up at least three to five acres each, so everything was spread out a bit.
“Slow down. He turned left up ahead, but not onto a street. Must’ve pulled into one of these buildings.”
The SUV slowed and passed several commercial sites. Jake kept one eye on the road and the other on the property lots, until he spotted the BMW parked next to a white pick-up truck. Wagner was disappearing into a weather-beaten warehouse with two other men on his heels. “There he is, walking into that grey building.” Seconds after he passed the entrance to the property, he slammed on the brakes. “Fuck!”
Nick’s gaze whipped around and he tried to figure out what Jake had seen. “What is it?”
“The SUV Alyssa was driving is parked on the side of the warehouse.” Jerking the steering wheel to the left, he spun the truck around and stopped at the entrance to an adjacent parking lot—pulling in front of the other one would alert the occupants to their presence.
Devon’s voice came over his headset along w
ith some interference. “Reverend, you cut out. Did you say you spotted our girl?”
Rattling off the address on a dilapidated sign stuck in the ground near the entrance, Jake shoved the gear shift into park. “Haven’t spotted her yet, but the SUV is here. Start hauling ass, but we can’t wait for you. There’s a least two tangos with Wagner.”
Damn. Fuck. Shit. And damn, again. The teenager must have contacted her father and arranged to meet him here. God help her if shit went down before they got inside. They leapt from the vehicle, drawing their weapons. Nick fell into step next to Jake, their eyes on the lookout for Alyssa and/or trouble.
“Cops?” Devon asked over the airwaves.
“No,” Jake responded in a low voice, hoping he didn’t regret that decision. “We’re going to try and do this without creating a hostage situation and screwing up a federal undercover op. We’ll stay wired so you can hear everything go down.”
“Copy that. Be safe, brothers.”
The asphalt was cracked and crumbling in spots with green and brown weeds popping up here and there. Scattered litter forced them to take extra care not to kick anything or trip. The few windows in the building were covered in dust, dirt, and grime, making them impossible to see through and a large garage door was down in place. The smaller metal door the men had entered was still ajar by about eight inches. As they silently approached the structure, Jake hand-gestured for Nick to go around back. They were outnumbered and it would be better if they went in from two different directions, doubling their vantage points. He also hoped Nick would spot Alyssa before the other men did.
As the kid veered off, Jake crept closer to the open door, where he paused and listened. He was unable to see inside due to the bright sunlight outside and the darkness within. But his gut clenched when he heard Wagner’s voice echo throughout the structure, demanding the teenage show herself. Fuck that duck again, this was about to get ugly.
* * *
“I’m here, you little bitch. Where are you?”
Alyssa peeked around the tractor she was hiding behind, then jerked back again. Shit. Her father wasn’t alone—she should have expected this. She didn’t recognize the two men, one blond guy, the other bald, but that didn’t mean anything. Her father employed a bunch of creepy, intimidating men. Shivers of fear and foolish remorse surged through her body. This had been a stupid idea. Stupid. Stupid. Stupid. Why hadn’t she thought this through better? The hand holding the gun quivered and she swallowed the lump in her throat.
“Come on, Alyssa. Let’s fucking get this over with. I don’t have all day.”
Glancing around, she realized she was screwed. She’d left the backdoor open as an escape route, but she couldn’t get to it from where she was hidden without being seen. Maybe they hadn’t spotted her vehicle around the side of the building. If they didn’t, they might think she had changed her mind about coming here.
“Alyssa,” her father growled. “There’s no point hiding. I saw the truck outside, so I know you’re here.”
So much for that little prayer. Sounds of feet shuffling reached her ears, but she couldn’t pinpoint where they were coming from—the acoustics in the building amplified and distorted everything. She shifted her squatting stance and searched for a way out. Maybe if she stayed low, she could get behind the trailer about ten feet away. From there she might be able to work her way around to the backdoor.
Holding her breath, Alyssa was ready to make the quick dash, but a hand came around her mouth and another around the gun, twisting it out of her grasp. “Gotcha.”
Her scream was muffled as she tried to squirm out of the man’s grip, but her fight was useless as he dragged her out into the open and shoved her down at her father’s feet. When his bald henchman handed him her gun, Oliver Wagner sneered at his daughter. “What’s this? Thought you would shoot me? You wouldn’t have the guts.”
Pushing herself to her feet, she held out her hand. “Give it back to me and I’ll prove you wrong.” She wished she sounded stronger. Even she didn’t believe her words, but she couldn’t keep the tremors from her voice.
In the blink of an eye, her father backhanded her across the face and she fell to the ground again. Pain exploded through her cheek as she tasted blood in her mouth. The bastard glared at her. “You little cunt. Too bad you’re too grown up for my liking anymore, but I’m sure the boys here will glad to teach you a lesson in respect.”
Oh God, no. The fear she felt before was nothing compared to what ran through her veins at this very moment. While the bald guy licked his lips in anticipation of a little fun, the blond guy just stared at her with an expression she could only call cold and calculating. He scared her more than the other two men put together—and knowing her father, that said a lot. Crab walking backward, she tried to scramble away, but Baldy reached down and grabbed her ankle, dragging her forward again.
“No!” she screamed, kicking her other foot at him, trying to dislodge his tight grip.
“Let her go!” Jake’s voice filled the building and everyone froze. Well, everyone except Alyssa—she thrust her free foot upward, catching Baldy in the crotch. The man bellowed in pain and released her leg, but when she got her feet under her and stood, her father grabbed her around the neck and held the gun to her head. The other two men had pulled out their weapons and were pointing them at a trailer near the front entrance. She couldn’t see Jake, but apparently the men had zeroed in on his location.
Holding her in front of him, her father yelled, “Get out here or I’ll kill her right now.”
Terrified for Jake, she struggled against the hard grip, but it was useless. She prayed he hadn’t come alone. If anything happened to him, she would never forgive herself.
“Why don’t you let her go, jackass, and we’ll forget the whole thing.”
“Fuck you!” Oliver bellowed then lowered his voice and growled at his men. “Get the fucking bastard and kill him.”
* * *
Nick rounded the back of the building and was relieved to see the rear door was ajar, making it easy for him to sneak in without the rusty hinges announcing his presence. He stopped a few inches away from the doorjamb and took a quick peek in, only exposing his head for the briefest moment. He was in luck. There was plenty of landscaping equipment and trailers for him to use as cover. Unfortunately, that same stuff was preventing him from seeing who was in there and where they were located.
Under the cloak of silence, with his gun held close to his chest and the muzzle pointing forward, he cleared the corner. Extending his arms in front of him, he let his weapon lead the way.
“No!”
He halted at the sound of Alyssa yelling, followed by Jake’s voice. “Let her go!”
Heading in the direction of the teenager’s cry, Nick’s presence stayed masked by a tractor. As Wagner and Jake continued to shout orders and insults at each other, he peered around the side of the big piece of machinery. Three men with guns and one terrified female hostage—great, just fucking great.
Since everyone’s attention was focused on the trailer Jake was hiding behind, Nick inched further around the green John Deere, just in time to hear Wagner tell his men, “Get the fucking bastard and kill him.”
Not on his watch!
The two goons stepped toward the trailer and Nick aimed his gun at the bald guy. “Take one more step and…” He never had time to inform him that he’d be a dead man because the asshole spun around in the direction of Nick’s voice, the gun coming around to fire. But Nick beat him to it, firing twice in rapid succession. Both bullets hit their mark, dead center in the man’s chest. Before the body hit the ground, Nick was already pivoting and searching out his next target.
The other goon had disappeared behind a pickup truck and was exchanging gunfire with Jake. Confident he wasn’t needed there at the moment, Nick tried to locate Wagner and Alyssa, who had disappeared from view. Through the echoing reports of bullets being discharged, he was able to hear the teenage cry out in pain from
behind some other equipment. Making sure he wasn’t in the other asshole’s line of fire, he hurried over and cocked his head around a huge, diesel engine.
Wagner still had his daughter by the neck, choking and dragging her toward the rear entrance Nick had used. Alyssa was struggling, but she was no match for the larger man. “Let go of me!”
Aiming his gun at the bastard’s head, Nick stepped out into the open. “Freeze, asshole!”
Wagner whirled around, placing Alyssa between them and held the muzzle of the gun at her head. “Who the fuck are you?”
“Your worst nightmare. Let her go.”
The man seemed to be weighing his options as Nick took a few more steps forward, trying to ignore the look of terror on the teenager’s face. “You hurt one hair on her head and it’ll be the last thing you do.”
“I don’t think so.”
The man’s eyes flashed to something behind Nick at the same time Alyssa screamed, “Look out!”
Wagner shoved the girl toward Nick, blocking any shot, but he was already spinning around to find the other threat. Two shots were fired almost simultaneously and neither had been from Nick’s gun. Excruciating, hot pain tore through his chest and a vaguely familiar voice stopped him from firing his weapon at the man who’d appeared behind him. “ATF! Don’t shoot!”
Allman.
Nick’s legs began to give out as he looked back at Wagner to see the man was dead on the floor with a bullet hole to his forehead. Alyssa was also on the ground, crying but alive. His knees hit the cement flooring and he heard her scream his name as a black shroud descended over him and he collapsed into the darkness.
CHAPTER 26
Trying to keep his mind on the guy shooting at him, and not the sounds of Nick engaging the other two men and Alyssa’s cries and screams, Jake crouched down behind a trailer. From what he could tell, Nick had taken care of one of the goons, but Wagner was still out there.
Topping the Alpha: Trident Security Series Page 19
