Deadly Target: SCVC Taskforce Series, Book 9 (SCVC Taskforce Romantic Suspense Series)

by Misty Evans

  Their coupling was hard and fast, as if they couldn’t get enough of each other. Outside of the interrupted hook-up the previous day, it was only the second time he’d had the pleasure of exploring her body. He meant to take it slow, but she did things to him that made that plan fly out the window. Every touch, every kiss, every moan made him lose control.

  Victor never lost control.

  What is happening to me?

  His overactive brain finally shut down as Olivia bucked under him, crying out his name again on her second orgasm. He helped her ride it until she was nothing but a beautiful, quivering mass of boneless female under him.

  And then she shifted onto her back, running a hand through his hair and spreading her legs wide once more to take him inside. Gripping his hair, she found his bottom lip with her teeth and nibbled. The sudden assault sent him over his own edge and he thrust into her, burying himself into her heat one final time.

  As his cock spent itself, pulsing inside her, he bent his head and kissed her deeply. Bliss infused him from head to toe, mindless and welcome.

  In the aftermath, they spooned once more for a few quiet moments. Victor had nearly dozed off when his phone rang from the nightstand, the sound of Thomas’s ringtone telling him who the caller was.

  His temporary reprieve over, he leaned across Liv and retrieved it. “Thomas,” he answered, dread in his chest. “How’s Cooper?”

  “Stable, sir, but that’s not why I’m calling.”

  Olivia scooted off the bed and headed for the bathroom. The male in him enjoyed the sway of her hips under the body-hugging satin as she walked.

  He swung his legs off the bed and sat up. “Did you get a hit on one of our suspects?”

  Thomas’s voice was strained. “Nothing solid.”

  “Then what is it?”

  “There’s been another incident.”

  Everything in him went south. He came to his feet. “What happened?”

  “After you texted me about Olivia’s intel on the Kings, I called some of my contacts. FBI Agent Vasco Marin met me at headquarters first thing this morning. He’s working undercover with the Suarez Kings and agreed to update me on what they have in the works.”

  Taz appeared in the doorway, ears up. Olivia must’ve also heard the concern in Victor’s voice. She appeared in the bathroom doorway with a frown on her face.

  In the background, Victor heard sirens. “And?”

  “And I should correct myself and say he was working undercover. He’s dead, sir.”

  “What?” Victor’s guts turned to mud. “How?”

  “You know I’ve been trying to sell my car? Well, Marin was interested. After we discussed the Kings, he asked if he could check it out. I had parked a block away, like I normally do, and it had started pouring. I lent him my FBI jacket and hat, and he went to take a look.” Thomas blew out a heavy sigh. “The car exploded a few seconds after he climbed inside. I felt the blast all the way in here.”

  Now Victor’s stomach turned over as he wrapped his mind around the obvious. “Someone put a bomb on your car?”

  “They must have thought he was me when he got inside.”

  Victor lowered the phone for a second, trying to catch a mental breath. “Shit.”

  “Victor?” Olivia asked earnestly, coming to lay on a hand on his arm. “What is it? Is Cooper okay?”

  He held up a finger and brought the phone back to his mouth. “Are you all right?”

  “Physically? Yeah, I’m fine. Mentally? Not so great. A good agent just died because someone thought he was me.”

  Victor understood Thomas’s reaction, but his main concern at the moment had to be about the safety of his taskforce member. “Are you safe?”

  “Relatively speaking, I guess. The bomber almost certainly believes I’m dead at this point, but the first responders are here, and I have to give a statement.”

  “I’ll handle the police. You stay out of sight. I want Mitch there, ASAP, to keep you under wraps. I’m putting the whole team on high alert.” Victor believed in being prepared, and his team was trained for this possibility, but he’d never had to issue the directive until now. “Code Condor. I repeat, Code Condor.”

  There was a slight pause. “Yes, sir.”

  Victor checked the clock on the nightstand. “I’ll be there in twenty minutes. Go to ground and don’t come up until you hear from me.”

  They disconnected.

  Olivia was now gripping his arm. “How bad is it? Do I want to know?”

  “I need coffee and…” he started to say you, but caught himself. She had a job to do, a career, just like he did. She couldn’t stay at his side 24/7. “Can you take care of Taz for a while longer?”

  “Of course. Don’t worry about him. I’ll get you some coffee while you clean up.”

  He could see the questions in her eyes she didn’t voice. He appreciated the fact she didn’t badger him, and then felt slightly guilty he wasn’t more forthcoming. “Someone tried to blow up Thomas in his car, except they killed a different agent. Not one of mine, but… Shit, it’s still a horrible thing.”

  Her face clouded with consternation. “My God, that’s terrible. Is Thomas okay? Who was the other agent?”

  “Vasco Marin. FBI.” Victor grabbed his overnight bag and headed for the bathroom. “Marin had information on the Kings and was meeting Thomas. Outside of tremendous guilt, Thomas is fine.” He stopped in the bathroom doorway. “I have a feeling this is going to get worse. I need you to watch your back.”

  She patted the dog’s head. “I need you to do the same. Seems to me like someone is targeting your taskforce, not me.”

  It was starting to seem that way. “I know you have work today, but…”

  As if she could read his mind, she smiled. “I’ll catch up with you as soon as I can, okay? You need me sooner, I’ll cut work and run.”

  He would feel better if he could keep an eye on her. “Whoever targeted Thomas waited for him to show up at the office where the taskforce meets. The place has always been a secret, since the agents are often undercover. We used it like a safe house.”

  Understanding dawned. “Who knew about it outside of your group?”

  “That’s what’s bothering me as much as anything. No one, especially a criminal, should’ve known the address.”

  “Do you think one of your agents was followed?”

  Each of them was careful, having been trained like spies to use surveillance detection routes to ensure they were never followed to the meeting place, or home from it. “Unlikely, but anything is possible. I intend to find out.”

  “Thomas is your second-in-command with the SCVC, correct?”

  “Yeah.” He knew what she was getting at. “First Cooper is shot, now someone tries to kill Thomas.”

  “Systematic assassination, but delivered by two different methods. Premeditated and calculated. Did the killer switch to a bomb to kill Thomas because he knows he failed to kill Cooper with the rifle? Or is it two different killers?”

  Behavioral ‘tells’ of the criminal always showed up in the victim’s crime scene and method to deliver the crime. In this case, it seemed odd that one assassin would use two different methods, but like Liv pointed out, maybe the suspect had simply chosen the bomb in order to be sure he didn’t miss this time.

  “Either way, someone is coming after my team. I’ve got to shut them down before they can harm anyone else.”

  5

  Olivia took Taz with her when she went to work. The Monday morning meeting was the first thing on the day’s agenda, so she went in early and rummaged through the back area containing tactical gear. There in one of the boxes, she found a police dog vest she attached to Taz.

  At first, he didn’t seem too keen on the idea, standing there giving her an odd look with his head cocked and his ears up as if to say, “What the hell?”

  “If you want to hang out with me, you have to make concessions,” she told him. “As of this moment, you are a special de
puty marshal K9.”

  He turned his head and sniffed the vest, but then put his ears down and wagged.

  That’s settled. “Good. Do what I tell you and we won’t have any problems. Got it?”

  The wagging sped up. He followed her to the door and she went to grab coffee before the meeting. In the kitchen, several of her coworkers commented about the dog, Taz receiving ear scratches and back slaps. “Watching him for a friend,” Olivia said several times. “Figured as long as he’s trained for police work, he could keep me company today.”

  No one questioned the lack of a badge on the vest or anything else about Taz’s sudden appearance. The dog’s quiet, polite demeanor fit with a trained police dog.

  Olivia’s boss did a double-take when she entered the room, but he was already at the podium calling the meeting to order, so she dodged the bullet of explaining Taz to him.

  Everyone took their seats, and Supervisory Deputy Director Abraham Navarro began the Monday morning spiel about recent successes. “Our fugitive taskforce arrested Gerald O’Neil Saturday night for numerous charges including felonious assault and battery against a police officer. We worked with Mexican authorities and arrested federal escapee Ivan Morales who is wanted on a double homicide in Mexico City.”

  The list went on for another minute, many of her counterparts able to close cases since the previous week. Olivia sipped her coffee and let her mind wander to Victor and the situation he was dealing with. She considered paying Alfie a visit sooner than this evening, but showing up unannounced on his doorstep could lead to trouble. He wasn’t under official Justice Department protection yet, and playing a dangerous game with Frankie and Gino in order to solidify the intel the JD needed in order to take down the West Coast Fifty-seven Gang. As far she could tell, Alfie never worked at home because of his daughter, but it was imperative Olivia keep their relationship covert. The dinners were always preplanned and could be cancelled if Alfie was worried about surveillance from his bosses. She couldn’t risk blowing his status with his mob group or all the hard work she’d put into setting up the deal with the JD to take Gino DeStefano and his “family” down.

  “Does anyone have further updates?” Navarro asked, shuffling his papers.

  No one did, and he began listing current assignments. Once again, Olivia tuned out. She had a very special position in the district office, allowing her more freedom than most of her coworkers. She’d done her time serving warrants, arresting fugitives, and transporting prisoners, her total dedication to the job helping her climb the ranks quickly and efficiently. When she’d gone to Navarro and told him about Alfie and the potential use of him as an informant, Navarro had wanted to turn it over to the FBI. Olivia had insisted she was the perfect person to handle the case. After several intense discussions, she’d made the decision to go over Navarro’s head and speak directly to the chief director for their territory. Eventually it had gone all the way to Justice. When word had come down from on high that Olivia and her idea had been granted permission, Navarro had let her know how annoyed he was at her. She had no doubt after this case, she’d have to find a new office.

  Of course with that permission came the Justice Department’s request for her to investigate Victor. No one, not even Navarro, knew about that. Her contact in Washington had made it clear that if she wanted permission to groom Alfonso Barone as a confidential informant, she had to do something for them. That something had been the investigation. No reason had been given, but there was obviously something in Victor’s background that had made them suspicious.

  Navarro would probably never know about that, and that was fine with her. She didn’t want anyone to know. She’d only agreed because she wanted Gino and Frankie B. Buddying up to Victor had been an easy assignment…until she’d figured out what a great guy he was.

  If only her contact at the JD would’ve let her off with her original report two months ago, stating that very fact. Not in those exact words, but a sterile, organizational memo citing that she had found nothing suspicious. The whole thing had set her on edge, wondering if they were hoping to find something criminal where there wasn’t anything. It struck her as if they had it in for Victor. But why?

  She didn’t like it then and still didn’t now.

  Believing she could exonerate him, she’d continued her investigation. So far, she had done that, but the problem was, now she was having a relationship with him. If they found out, her tail would be grass from the Justice Department on down, everyone suspecting she was simply covering for him.

  Olivia had been in plenty of quandaries before, but this one might top them all.

  The meeting finally adjourned, and as she rose to her feet, Navarro passed by giving her a wave to follow.

  Oh joy. He was going to give her grief about the dog, she just knew it.

  As she and Taz took their time leaving the room and heading for Navarro’s office, Liv mentally tried out various explanations, feeling out which one Navarro was most likely to buy.

  “Shut the door,” her supervisor said as she and the dog entered.

  She did, leaning against it and hoping this would be quick. Maybe the best defense was a strong offense. As in, steer the topic of conversation right from the start. “Did you hear about the DEA officer who was shot in San Diego yesterday and the bomb explosion this morning that killed an agent?”

  He shuffled some papers on his desk, avoiding her eyes, as if she were insignificant. “What’s with the dog?”

  She sighed mentally. Her distraction had been worth a try. “I’m dog sitting, and he’s trained, so I brought him along.”

  “Trained in what, chasing tennis balls?”

  She kept bluffing. “He’s a trained police dog.”

  “And I’m Santa Claus,” Navarro said. “What’s the latest on your investigation?”

  He wasn’t going to press her about the dog. She supposed that was a bonus. “I’m looking into the fact that the shooting and bombing I just mentioned happen to be related to the Fifty-seven Gang and Gino DeStefano. I’m meeting Alfonso tonight to pump him for information. He called yesterday and told me Frankie B had put out a hit on a high-level law enforcement officer. I believe it’s tied into my investigation. I’d like to head to San Diego this afternoon and speak to some members on the taskforce involved.”

  Navarro finally looked up, kicking back in his chair. “The SCVC taskforce is under the jurisdiction of Victor Dupé. He won’t let you near any of them.”

  Little did he know… “You know Dupé?”

  “Don’t you? Weren’t you at that hostage situation he was involved in at Christmas with the children’s hospital?”

  So he remembered. Go figure. “We spoke during and after, which is why I believe he will let me interview his team.”

  Navarro put on his reading glasses and faced his computer screen. “Looks to me like you better get your admin work completed. I haven’t had an official report from you in the past two weeks. Nathaniel is still waiting for you to sign off on that subpoena you served last Wednesday. You need to sit at your desk today and clean it up.”

  That was the last thing she was going to do, but pushing him wasn’t a good tactical maneuver. She knew exactly what was on her desk, and although she hated paperwork, she’d have it done in an hour, maybe less. “I’ll clear it before I leave today.”

  He took her statement as compliance and nodded. “Dismissed.”

  Happy to bail, she grabbed the door handle and pulled Taz to his feet.

  “Fiorelli?”

  Damn, she’d almost made it. She glanced at him over her shoulder. “Yes, sir?”

  “Do not bring the dog again. This is not puppy daycare.”

  She didn’t like making promises she might not keep, so she said nothing, hustling herself and the dog out and closing the door behind them.

  She stopped at the vending machine and grabbed a bag of crackers and a diet soda before heading to her desk. Taz was ready for a nap and laid down at her feet as she
went to work typing up the required forms necessary to get Navarro off her back.

  Forty-two minutes and twenty seconds later, she finished the last report, dropped the empty cracker bag in the garbage, and checked to make sure no one was paying any attention to her. Satisfied, she grabbed her half-drank soda and led Taz to the door.

  The noonday sun was bright and hot, too hot this early in April, but she had plenty of time to make it to San Diego and back before dinner with Alfonso. It’d be a fast round-trip, but worth it. She was still determined to tell Victor the truth as soon as possible.

  Before she and the dog were on the freeway, she sent Victor a text. On my way. Can we meet?

  For long minutes, there was no reply. The lack of response could be due to any number of reasons, she just hoped nothing else bad had happened to anyone on the taskforce. Flipping on the radio, she turned to the Southern California news station, but soon grew frustrated as the lunchtime talk show focused on the recent robbery of an actor in Beverly Hills, rather than pertinent news.

  Taz had his head out the window again. She queued up her favorite playlist and glanced at the navigation system that handled all her calls and messages while she was driving. It would ding to let her know about an incoming text, but she kept glancing at the screen anyway, watching for a reply.

  She was five miles into the drive before the text finally came. “When you hit town, let me know. I’ll meet you here.” He sent a link to a small mom and pop coffee shop a few blocks from downtown.

  Feeling a sense of relief, but dreading the upcoming conversation, Liv reached over and patted Taz before turning up the music in hopes of drowning out the doubt demons swimming in her brain.

  Victor spotted Olivia’s car across the street as he left the coffee shop with two large Americanos in a tray. He’d told her not to come inside but to wait for him. As he darted through traffic, he saw Taz sitting in the backseat with his ears up and tail wagging.