by Huie,Melissa
I looked over at Rapoles. “Well, our best option is putting in a plant of our own.”
He turned to me. “This is your case, Parker. You tell me what your plan is.”
“I’ll travel with the Madam, and go in as one of her auction girls,” I informed. “The answer is simple, really. The only way to decimate the Syndicate and the Cartel is from within. Shane got some traction when he was a narc, but this time, we’d be ready.”
Noah jumped out of his chair. “No, we’re not putting you in there. Not with them.”
I leveled a stare at Noah. “I’ll be fine. We’ll have a team in place. But this way, we’ll have some ground truth in knowing where those girls are, and where they’re taking them.”
“Over my dead body,” he seethed.
“That can be arranged, Mr. Russo. Just tell me how you’d like it done,” I countered, with a saccharine sweet grin.
“That may work.” Rapoles’ response almost surprised me, but any agent worth his salt would understand that this was the best option. Hell, it may have been the only option.
“You can’t be serious! I’m not going to leave you out there for those bastards to put their hands on you, Kate,” Noah growled.
“Then your men need to figure out something else, because by nine am tomorrow, Kate will be on a plane to Vegas,” Rapoles ordered, then he turned to me. “I want a full write up of your plan in one hour, Parker.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Parker, Russo has point on this. You will work together with Triton’s Edge. Is that clear?”
I arched my eyebrow at Rapoles, then narrowed my gaze on Noah. “Crystal.” I gathered up the papers from the table as Rapoles stalked out. Noah, much to my dismay, stayed behind.
“Look, if you’re trying to get back at me…” he started, but I threw up my hand to cut him off.
“Whatever we had is the furthest thing from my mind right now, Noah. I wouldn’t stoop so low as to risk my job, just to piss you off.” I snorted in disgust and turned to leave. Immediately, I felt a hand on my elbow.
“Just let me explain. Please.”
“What the hell is there to explain? It doesn’t matter right now, does it? I have shit to do, and if you’re not helping, then you’re in my way.” I brushed his arm off me and ignored the electric shock of our skin touching, and ignored the way my heart raced when I was around him. And I ignored the ache in my chest at the sight of the emotion on his face.
“It’s not what you think,” he said loudly.
I whirled around. “You’re married. It doesn’t matter what the hell I think.”
“Don’t act like that, Kate.” He rolled his eyes.
“Don’t act like what?” I replied coolly, walking out of the conference room. Noah followed me, his long stride catching up with me quicker than I had liked. He grabbed my arm and pulled me into an empty office, shutting the door behind us.
He pushed me against the wall, then braced his arms next to my head. “Don’t act like you don’t care, Princess.”
“Fuck you, asshole,” I gritted out, pushing against his muscular chest. He smirked, but didn’t budge. “Why should I be jealous, Noah? We were fuck buddies, that’s it. It’s not like we thought it would go anywhere.”
His jaw clenched, and his blue eyes darkened with anger. “That’s bullshit, and you know it, Kate.”
I pushed him back harder. This time, it took him by surprise, and he stepped back enough for me to move around him.
“Is it? Don’t make this any more than it is. Am I pissed to find out that you were married? Hell yeah, but you know what? I should have known. We would go out, but it was mostly about the sex. Why? Because I was living a lie down in Miami, and so were you. So hey, no big fucking deal, right? Because you were nothing more than a casual fuck, someone to get my rocks off with,” I snapped.
“So that’s how you feel?” His lips drew into a thin line, and his glare pierced my body, as if flaming hot knives were shooting out of them.
“Yeah. That’s how I feel,” I lied. All the fight I had left was drained out of me.
His body hardened, and he jerked his chin at me. And then, without another word, he threw open the door and stalked out.
I exhaled the breath I’d been holding, and willed the tears tingling in my eyes to go away. I won’t let this get to me. I can’t let him see how hurt I am. It was just a casual fling, nothing more. Pull up your big girl panties and focus, Kate! I took a deep breath and readied myself for the potential stares. I composed myself enough to shoot glares at anyone who dared to cast a glance in my direction. I hurried down the corridor and through the maze of cubicles before I reached my own office of solitude.
Thanks to modern technology, I was able to Facetime with Rick while he was in New Orleans, and we started to hatch out a plan. But, we couldn’t get very far without the input of Triton’s Edge. I debated about sending Noah a text, but before I could pull up his name in my contacts, a large figure loomed in the doorway.
“Can I help you?
The huge, bald-headed, burly man waltzed right into my office and plopped down next to me. He threw his motorcycle boots onto my table, and stretched out his legs in front of him. I quickly noticed the badge around his neck, which only meant that he was not here to kill me. Yet.
“And you are…?”
“I’m Torin. Noah told me to help you out.” His gravelly voice sent shivers down my spine, and not the yummy kind Noah gave me. It was obvious by his gruff nature, the size of his body, and the sleeves of tattoos running up and down his arms, that he didn’t care what anyone thought, and no one really messed with him, either.
“Kate Parker.” I reached over and shook his hand. “Here’s what I have so far, and you can tell me where your crew will fit in.”
We spent an hour working on the plan, and then the counter plan, then plans B-D. We had backups to the backups.
“You’ll mobilize your units and get to Vegas by twenty-one hundred tomorrow?” I asked, pulling my blazer back on.
“Don’t worry about us, we have you covered. Noah made sure of it,” Torin said with a grin.
I rolled my eyes. “Great. Thanks.” I gathered up my messenger bag and headed toward the door.
“Kate.” His tone stopped me. “Whatever it is you think you know, you don’t. That man’s been through a lot of shit, shit you have no idea what to do with.”
I turned and faced him. “What I do know, is that whatever is going on between myself and Noah is our business, not yours. While I appreciate the fact that you’re trying to be his wingman, don’t. We’re professionals, let’s keep it that way,” I retorted back.
I charged forward, not waiting for a reply. I moved through the cubicle maze and out of the office doors. Come on. The urge to get away from the office was strong, and I needed…something. My pent-up negative energy needed to be released, and that would normally mean that a session with Sketch was in order. Which was exactly what I’d planned to do. I jabbed the elevator button and just as it opened, I charged ahead, bumping into a wall in the process.
“I’m sorry, I…” I started to say, but my voice was lost the moment our eyes met. He snaked his arms around my waist and pulled me into the elevator. My arms hung limply at my sides, and I just took him in. A flurry of emotions swam through me. He didn’t have to speak. He didn’t have to say or do anything, but the touch of his hands on me had those damn butterflies going crazy. Those beautiful brown eyes swirled, and were filled with sadness. I wanted more than anything just to tell him that it was okay. To forgive him. His sharp jaw unclenched, and before I knew it, his lips crashed onto mine.
His tongue swept in, plundering and taking whatever I could give him. I threw my arms around him and pulled him close. I wanted to climb him, to arch into him, but the voice of reason, that damn bitch, reminded me that I was still mad. I broke the kiss off, panting. Noah wasn’t having any of it, though. He cupped my face in those calloused, large hands, and gently kissed my lips.
His lids were heavy with lust, but I saw something different in his eyes—hope.
“I’m not giving up on this. I can’t. You have me in too deep,” he murmured. He punched the button to open the door, and walked out without looking back. My hand immediately touched my lips, tracing the effects of what he did to them.
I shook off my aroused haze, and pushed the button for the garage. I needed to get my head in the game, and Noah Russo wasn’t helping. I finished my errands in a desire-induced fog, but thankfully, they got done. Thanks to the work of my favorite stylist, I was able to go back to a beautiful platinum blonde hair, and for a hint of flair, I added some high pink highlights. Very few people had seen me blonde, and while I cherished the richness of my previous color, blonde would be the best start of my disguise.
It was time to put Kate Parker on the back burner for the time being. I had several alter-egos that I could use, and Vegas would be the perfect time to introduce one of my favorites to the world. Using disposable contacts, I changed my vibrant blue eyes to a subtle brown. By using some makeup putty I purchased from a cosplay online shop, I was able to transform my chin and nose into something more narrow. I added a nose stud, for an added touch. A pair of black rimmed glasses, with a micro camera attached, finished off the look. A little much? Possibly. But I couldn’t take the chance of anyone from Tommy’s crew recognizing me.
I gathered up my items and put them into a regular old black suitcase. I took everything that was Kate Parker and put her away, because it was time for Sabrina Carpenter to come out and play.
Chapter 21
Noah
I BARELY FOUGHT the urge to go back into that elevator, to grab her in the parking lot and hide her away. The idea of her going into the lion’s den gutted me on all levels. My instinct, my need was to protect her. I didn’t give a shit about her training, or if she was good at her job. Or hell, if she knew what she was doing. She was mine. Mine to love. Mine to protect. But deep down, I knew that this was what she needed to do. And I’d be damned if I just sat back and watched her do it alone.
I met up with Torin as he walked out of their office suite.
“I need all eyes on her, every step of the way.” The order didn’t need to be said, but I said it anyway. Torin smiled.
“I got you, man,” he smirked. “It looks good on you.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” I barked out in annoyance.
“You’re in love with this chick, and I’m damn happy to see you all pussy-whipped and shit. But she’s a smart broad. She knows what the hell she’s doing. No need to get your panties in a bunch.”
“Fuck you, dickwad.” I didn’t deny it. Not when it hit me like a fucking freight train. Love. I loved her. And the bitch of the matter was, that she didn’t know it.
“Nah, I’ll let Kate handle that for me.” He slapped his meaty hand against my chest. “Let’s go, lover boy. We got shit to do.”
We headed down to the garage, where he had parked his Harley. I got into my truckand followed him out to the open road. We made the distance between Baltimore and Odenton fly. Sketch was waiting for us when we pulled up.
“What’s the plan?” he asked with grim smile.
“She’s going in as one of the Madam’s favorite girls. We’ll have a wireless mic attached to her at all times, recording everything. Her glasses have the micro camera, so we’re set on the tech. We just need to ensure that we have the proper credentials to get in. Each of us have already received honorary membership to the Ravenous clubs, backdated from a year or so. We’re good to go on that. We just need to ensure that one of us is there at all times.”
“Artillery?”
“Right this way, gentleman.” Sketch led us to the back area of the warehouse, the area in the place that had walls and a locked door—a highly secure locked door. He punched in the code, and opened the door, and we entered the nirvana of guy’s toys. Guns and ammo of different types and sizes were stored behind locked cages on two of the walls. Flak jackets, hazmat suits, and body armor hung on the other two. In the middle of the room, was a long table and a tool chest. Knowing Sketch and his inclination for extracting the most information out of people, I shuddered to think of what was in that chest.
“What’s the transportation looking like?” Cole asked, coming into the room. We greeted him with grunts as we got back to stocking the cases full of what we needed.
“There’s already a military flight headed to Nevada. We’re jumping on board with them. Zeke has his place ready for us.” Zeke was originally from Vegas. He loved the desert, and had a place outside the Strip.
“What I want to know is, do we get to use the services offered at Ravenous?” Torin joked.
I slapped him on the back of his bald head. “Any services offered by Kate will not be taken. Is that understood?”
“I hear ya, but others are open for business?” He asked lasciviously, wiggling his eyebrows.
“Okay, perv. Let’s worry more about the gear, and less about your cock.”
We got the gear crated up and loaded into Torin’s truck, so we could run it by the base near Washington, DC, then we’d split. We made plans to meet up later on, so I headed back to the house. I hated leaving Aubrey so often, but I knew my parents and Jennie’s folks would take great care of her.
Using the Bluetooth, I made a quick call over to the rehab center where Jennie was located. It had only been twenty-four hours, but I wanted to get a quick check in before I left. A nagging feeling had my nerves on edge. Fuck, this whole mission had my nerves frayed.
“Yes, this is Noah Russo. I’d like to check on my wife, Jennifer.” I cringed at using the word wife, especially for Jennie. But it was the only way I could check her status.
“Mr. Russo, the doctor would like to speak with you.”
My stomach dropped, and I pulled over to the side of the road. This was never good.
“Mr. Russo, this is Doctor Angela Montoya. When we spoke yesterday at the intake exam, you stated that you wanted to do everything you could to get Mrs. Russo well,” her brisk voice stated.
“What’s going on with Jennie, Dr. Montoya?” I demanded.
“She checked herself out over an hour ago. We tried to place several phone calls to the number listed, but all calls went to a voicemail that wasn’t set up.”
“You couldn’t hold her?” I shouted out in rage.
“No, Mr. Russo, I can’t. You know that I can’t hold her against her will. She came in voluntarily, she leaves voluntarily. “
“Fuck!” I punched the steering wheel. “What happened to the guards stationed there?”
“They were there, and they left when she did. They followed her out.” And no one thought to tell me? Confusion and fury swirled together until I thought I would scream. Kate is going to kick my ass.
“Does anyone have any information on who picked her up, or the car they were driving? Anything?”
“We have camera footage, but they came so quickly. Almost as if it was planned.”
“I’ll get to the bottom of this.” I hung up on the doctor and rubbed my face. There was something more to this, more than Jennie wanting to leave. I dialed Kate. As much as it was going to piss her off, she needed to know.
“What Noah?” She answered without a greeting, just like I figured she would. “I’m about ready to board.”
“Jennie left rehab, and the guards that were stationed there left with her.”
A string of curses came out of her perfect mouth. “Let me call the agent on duty. I’ll touch base with you.” And then she hung up the phone.
I put the truck in drive, and headed toward her parents’ house. Thankfully, my folks still lived down the street from Jennie and Sketch’s old place, so I took a gamble that she would be there. When I pulled up to the old Cape Cod style home that I lived in for six years, I knew my gamble had paid off. I sent a quick text to Kate, then made my way to the front door. I let myself in, and was greeted by the scene of Jennie, all swe
aty and pasty from detoxing, holding my screaming daughter in her hands. My mom stood by, trying to coax Jennie into letting her take the baby, but Jennie wouldn’t have anything to do with it. Two agents stood there, their hands out, trying to assist, but nothing was working.
“No! No! She’s mine. She’s my daughter, Diane! I can hold her if I want to.”
“Jennie, sweetie, I know. Truly. But she doesn’t know you,” my mom coaxed her, which made Jennie scream in rage.
“She’s my daughter. Your fucking son took her away from me. I’m going to take her back!”
“Jennie! Stop what you’re doing right now!” I roared. The shrieks from Aubrey intensified dramatically, and Jennie jumped in surprise.
“Fuck you, you bastard. She’s mine. I don’t need you in her life anymore. She’s mine,” she screamed back.
“Jennie, just give me Aubrey. I won’t take you back to rehab. I just want to make sure Aubrey is safe.” My voice was calm, but my body was tense and coiled. One wrong move, and she could snap. She could do anything. She could hurt Aubrey, or herself.
“Fuck you. You’re just going to leave her here. You don’t love her. Hell, I’m pretty sure you’re not her father. Just because I conned you into marrying me, doesn’t mean you’re her father any more than it means you’re my husband. I was hoping you’d die overseas so I’d get those benefits, but no! You had to play hero and live to tell the fucking tale. So fuck you, Noah. We don’t need you. I’m going to sue your rich ass for as much child support as I can, and live the fucking high life with my daughter,” she snarled.
The venom that spewed from her mouth bothered me, but not as much as the grip she had on Aubrey. Her nails were drawing blood on Aubrey’s back and chubby thighs.
“You’re making our daughter bleed, Jennie. Please, just give her to me,” I begged.
“If you don’t let me leave with her, she’s going to bleed more!” she cried out. Mom started to plead to her even more, and I caught the eye of the agent next to me. He was ready for whatever I was about to do. I knew I had to time it right, and catch her off guard. With her attention on Mom, I managed to slip around her and put her in a choke hold. She released Aubrey, and in a split second, the agent dove to grab her.
