“You could have been killed.”
“Jace is still on the loose.”
“You can’t take a risk like that.”
“Your life is more important…”
Addie slashed her hand through the air.
“Enough,” she roared, wincing slightly at how loud it came out. She tempered her voice as she continued, “We get it,” she pointed between her and Carly. “We do and we’re, well, we’re really not sorry, but we understand your point and will be more careful in the future. However, there are more important things to consider.”
“You think there’s more going on than Jace just happening to spot Danny at the barbecue joint.” Jake sighed, lowering himself to the coffee table in front of the girls.
Addie blinked and Carly offered, “Yeah.”
Jake and Danny exchanged a glance with Wade and Addie’s mouth dropped open.
“You already suspected,” she accused and Jake flinched.
“We don’t know for sure but it seems likely.”
Connor leaned forward, studying the other guys intently.
“There’s more to it.”
Jake rubbed his neck, the gesture uncharacteristically nervous. “Wade has a theory.” He took a deep breath. “Maybe a better word would be suspicion.”
Addie twisted around in the seat to stare at Wade, who still stood behind them. “Well, let’s have it.”
Wade released his grip on the couch, and stepped back, his expression uncertain. Addie narrowed her gaze on him and pushed herself to her knees, leaning over the back of the couch.
“You don’t get to back away or look uncomfortable. Tell me,” she demanded as Carly glanced around the room.
“Wade,” Connor added, standing up.
“It’s a feeling more than anything,” Wade hedged, his eyes not meeting Addie’s. She hummed impatiently, not saying a word. “Someone got Marcus out of jail and it wasn’t just for revenge on Danny.”
“No, I’m sure it wasn’t,” Addie interrupted, pausing when she felt Jake’s hand on her shoulder. “What do you think the reason is, Wade?” She asked slowly as she settled back against Jake.
Wade blinked slowly and inhaled.
“I think,” he paused and corrected himself, “I know this entire thing is less about revenge on Danny and more about you.”
“Me,” Addie repeated, no inflection to indicate it was a question.
“You.”
Addie shook her head, her eyes searching Wade’s, but she was unable to bring herself to ask the question.
“They want you, Addie. Either to use you or eliminate you.”
Jake’s arms came around her as the implications of what Wade meant hit her.
“They want revenge on me,” she stated more calmly than she felt. “They want to come after me and if they get Danny too, bonus.”
Connor came up next to them, his hand finding its way to Addie’s shoulder where he squeezed comfortingly.
“Good luck to them. I never bet against Addie.” Connor’s words caused a ghost of a smile, but it disappeared in an instant as she studied the serious expressions surrounding her.
“We need to find who’s behind this,” she specified, letting out a breath.
“We do,” Danny spoke for the first time, his hand gripping Carly’s. “They target one of us, they target all of us, and right now they’re targeting you.”
Chapter Fifteen
It was dark when he came out of the locker room, and most of the other guys were long gone, off to find some way to drown their disappointment. It was the last game in the playoffs and they’d had their asses handed to them. Coach’s face would forever be embedded in his memory. Pure disappointment. It was his last year before retirement and he’d wanted a state championship. Daniel was supposed to give it to him.
Except, he’d choked.
“Hey,” a soft voice called out and he glanced up to see a girl stepping away from the fence. He squinted, thinking she looked familiar, but quickly lost the thought as he saw what she was wearing. Or more appropriately, not wearing.
“Is that my jersey?”
“Yeah,” she giggled, spinning around to show off the cuts she’d made in the shirt to show off her body. “You like?”
He wasn’t sure how to answer since telling her it was borderline creepy didn’t seem like a good option. She didn’t bother to wait for an answer as she wrapped herself around him.
“I heard what they were saying about you. Doesn’t seem right.”
It took a second for her words to penetrate and when they did he stiffened.
“What are you talking about?” He asked, his own doubts crowding in at her insinuation. He blamed himself for the night’s loss and it wasn’t surprising if everyone else did too. He hadn’t been the only one to notice Coach avoiding his gaze.
“They said you cost them the championship. That you didn’t care and did it intentionally,” she whispered, her hands roaming over his chest.
“I wouldn’t do that,” he exploded, not having imagined any of them thought it was intentional.
“Of course not,” she murmured, taking his hand. “They’re jealous that they need you so much. You worked hard and got them this far. They can’t blame you for having an off night.” She trailed her fingers down his chest, toying with the button on his jeans and he felt other parts of him tighten. “Seems like they could have done their part tonight.” She glanced up coyly as she pressed herself against him.
“Yeah,” he muttered, distracted by her body as she placed his hand on waist, the cut cloth giving him access to her warm skin. “I can’t believe my own team would doubt me like that.”
“I don’t doubt you. I think you’re amazing.” Her breath teased the area around his ear and his hand tightened on her waist. “In fact, I can show you how amazing you are.” She stepped back, smiling, and he stepped forward. “I can show you all kinds of things. Introduce you to people who will appreciate you. We can have fun,” she added, her tongue darting out to tease him.
“I could use some fun,” he admitted, the earlier fight with his dad about his grades coming to mind. He could only play football if he maintained a 3.8 GPA, much higher than the school’s standard, but his dad demanded excellence.
“We can have fun like you never imagined,” she whispered, leading him to his car and pushing him against it. She unsnapped the button on his jeans, taking him by surprise. She lowered his zipper as she sank to her knees and as she cupped him in her hands she introduced herself.
“I’m Dovie.”
***
“I know exactly what it’s like to be targeted,” Danny muttered, his jaw clenched. “They find weak links, exploit them. They turn you against the ones who care about you so they can control you. And when that doesn’t work, they threaten and destroy the ones you love.”
Danny spun away from them, going to the window to stare out. Carly squeezed Addie’s hand and followed after Danny.
“Okay, we don’t have any evidence this is about me,” Addie reminded them. “So far, I’m with you on the conspiracy theory, but it all points to them coming after Danny. There’s nothing to say they want me.” She sighed as her eyes met Wade’s. “Except, your feeling.”
“If you don’t trust my feelings by now…” Wade left the rest of it unsaid, but she knew what he meant. He’d saved her life by trusting his feelings and she couldn’t bring herself to discount them. The tight grip Jake had on her told her he trusted Wade was right about this too.
“I trust your feelings, Wade. You know that,” she said in an effort to appease him. She tugged on a lock of her hair, her mind trying to shield itself from the implications of what he suspected might mean. “Right now the threat is directed at Danny. We need to focus on that.” She patted Jake’s hand, keeping her gaze steady on Wade until he nodded. “We know Jase was sent after him, and we suspect someone in a position of power helped Marcus gain release from prison.”
“The same person probably had
Nick killed,” Jake added. “This is someone we don’t want to mess with.”
“We don’t know where our enemy is going to strike next. What’s his next move?” Connor barely finished the question when Addie’s eyes glazed over. Wade stared at her in horror as they watched terror flash across her face.
Seconds later she screamed, “Get down.”
Deafening blasts punctuated her words as Jake dove to cover her, the others hitting the ground with them. Shots continued to pepper the wall, shattering the windows of the office as they kept low. Within moments, it stopped, leaving a deafening silence in its wake.
“Stay down,” Jake warned, already dialing 911 on his phone.
“Is everyone okay?” Addie called and Wade immediately started to army crawl toward Danny and Carly. “Wade?”
“Get an ambulance here,” Wade commanded, and the urgency in his voice had Addie attempting to follow him, but Jake was still settled firmly over her body, his weight keeping her in place.
“No,” Jake growled to her, before switching back to the dispatcher. Connor reached for her hand, squeezing it gently as he shifted to see around the couch. Glass littered the room, but the outside walls were brick and undamaged, so he lifted his head a little higher only to spot Danny leaning against one wall, Carly cradled in his arms.
“God,” Connor breathed, swallowing hard as he made the sign of the cross. He scrambled after Wade, ignoring the glass cutting into his arms as he stayed low.
“She’s alive,” Wade murmured, the words nearly soundless. He spared a quick glance at Danny, who only gave a shuddering jerk of his head. Blood streamed down his arm where either a bullet or glass had caught him, but it was clearly Carly who needed help.
Wade gently settled her on the ground, the widening pool of blood soaking through her shirt telling him where the bullet had gone in. He applied pressure and she moaned, her pale skin a deathly white.
“Carly,” Danny choked, his hand clutching hers as he watched Wade work. Connor tugged at Danny’s sleeve to check his shoulder and found where a bullet had grazed his arm.
“You’ll be alright,” Connor told him, the rest of the blood staining Danny’s shirt no doubt belonging to Carly.
“She’s hurt,” Danny gritted out, his eyes never leaving Carly. “I’m not alright.”
“You’ll live,” Connor corrected himself, glancing down at Carly’s still form.
“Will she?” Danny whispered right before a light came in his eyes. Connor followed his gaze to the couch, where Addie was still pinned down by Jake, unaware of Carly’s injury.
“No,” Connor hissed, clapping his hand over Danny’s mouth as he opened it. “No.” Danny fought him, jerking his head back and glaring at Connor.
“You can’t do it to her. She can’t predict the future.” Connor’s gaze was fierce as he stared in Danny’s bloodshot eyes, keeping a tight hold on his shoulder. “Trust me on this.”
“He’s right.” Wade’s low voice broke through to Danny and he dragged his gaze back to Carly. “She needs you. You can’t think about the other. Not now.”
Connor eased his grip once he was sure Danny wasn’t going to do something foolish, like ask Addie if Carly was going to die. He scooted back, keeping his head down as he eased toward the window to see if anyone had stuck around. He scanned the parking lot as the distant sound of sirens pierced the air.
“Clear, but stay low just in case,” Connor called out, his eyes sweeping back to Wade frantically applying pressure to Carly’s gunshot wound. His gaze flickered to Danny’s for a brief second, but the agony on his face was difficult to witness.
Addie shot out from behind the couch, running in a crouch straight for her best friend. Connor felt his jaw tick as Addie fell to her knees next to Wade, her hands hovering helplessly as tears filled her eyes. He met Jake’s gaze for a second, both of them feeling the weight of what had just went down. Jake headed for another window after he was sure Wade was doing all they could for Carly. He settled against the wall, minimizing his size as they waited for backup to show.
“You’re going to be okay, Carly. I swear. You’ll be okay,” Addie cried brokenly, her hands stroking Carly’s denim covered legs. “Wade is really good at the medical stuff. You’re strong.”
The next hour passed in a blur as the medics came and took Carly to the hospital with Danny glued to her side. The rest of them gave their statements to the officers at the scene until the Captain showed up. The full room emptied suddenly, leaving the four of them staring at the Captain. He shuffled through the room, glass crunching under his feet as he studiously avoided glancing at the blood smeared on the floor.
“Hellish business here.” He met each of their eyes, lingering for a moment on Addie. “Phillips is with her?” Jake nodded and the Captain said, “Good. I’m sorry she was caught in the crossfire.” The Captain stared straight at Addie as he asked the next question. “Who did this?”
“Jace,” Addie spit out, rage briefly overcoming her fear for Carly. “I knew a split second before –” she broke off with a choked cry and Jake released her hand to wrap his arms around her. Wade’s eyes flickered closed for the briefest second.
“She’ll be alright,” Wade promised before his eyes turned cold. “I can’t say the same for the bastard who did it though.”
“We don’t cater to vigilante justice,” the Captain warned, the weight of his stare settling on Jake. “This is by the books.”
“This was planned,” Jake said flatly. “All of it.”
The Captain’s eyebrows dipped as he spoke, “Explain yourself.”
“A man named Marcus Tramonte was released from prison. He shouldn’t have been. He was the one Danny’s testimony put away. Then a guy name Nick Jackson was killed after being transferred to Angola. Another old acquaintance of Danny’s past. And Jace,” Addie paused, fighting back her anger, “He targeted Danny.” She stepped out from Jake’s arms, her eyes narrowed on the Captain. “Why did you give us the Dovina Brown case?”
Wade shifted, glass crinkling under his foot as he added, “I think the better question is who.”
The Captain searched their faces slowly as understanding dawned. “You believe this is a conspiracy.”
“We know it is, and we know it has to go high up for a man like Marcus to just get released from prison. So, Captain, who asked about the Dovina Brown case?”
He rubbed his chin, exhaustion etched on his face as their implications became clear.
“I was informed the department’s backlog of cold cases didn’t reflect well on my position,” he began before Addie interrupted.
“You don’t have a backlog.” She scrunched her forehead in disbelief. “I made sure of that.”
“You did,” he agreed impassively. “I questioned the mayor on his assumption only to find quite a few cold case files in storage.” He pursed his lips and shrugged. “Oddly enough, they appeared overnight.”
“The mayor doesn’t have the power we’re talking about,” Connor interjected, eyeing the others.
“No, he wouldn’t. Depending on Mr. Tramonte’s method of being released from his imprisonment, only a pardon from the governor would be enough to get him out.”
“He was accidentally granted parole,” Addie muttered absently.
“Indicating he greased more than a few palms.”
“But Nick Jackson…”
“I believe you when you say someone in a position of power is masterminding this game, but the question is who?”
Addie folded, only Jake and Wade’s quick action keeping her from landing fast first in the glass on the floor.
“I’m sorry,” the Captains apologized quickly as Addie’s eyelashes fluttered up.
“It’s fine,” Addie replied, but it was Connor who growled, “No, it’s not fine. It’s dangerous.”
The Captain nodded, contrite, as he held up a hand to forestall Addie’s instinctive denial.
“I’m afraid Connor is correct. I can only imagine what you
’ve been through and my questions aren’t helping matters.” He paused, studying them. “I’m going to give, you two,” he gestured to Jake and Connor, “A few days’ leave after today’s incident. I expect you both back on active duty Monday,” he continued and Jake straightened at the mention he would be off medical leave when he returned. “Be careful. You never know what might come out when you kick a hornet’s nest.”
The Captain exited the office, his steps heavy, as they glanced at each other.
“We need to find Jace,” Jake spoke after the Captain was gone.
“No, we need to find Marcus,” Addie corrected, staring at the room but not seeing the shattered windows and blood. “Jace is a puppet. I want the puppet master.”
Chapter Sixteen
“You were given an opportunity.”
“Yes, sir.” Marcus Tramonte agreed, unable to hide the slight shake in his voice as he faced a man he’d hoped never to see again.
“You failed. Brought low by a common thug, a foot soldier in your army.” Derision laced the voice speaking and Marcus swallowed hard. He’d been released from prison on parole, something he’d believed impossible until he’d been escorted to the gate where a black car had awaited him. He’d known better than to ignore the command appearance, but at the moment he almost wished he was still in a cell. “You have an opportunity to redeem yourself.”
Marcus flinched at that and the man smiled.
“Daniel Phillips walks around a free man, a partner in a detective agency of all things. He’s made friends, friends I’d like to do business with.” Marcus glanced up cautiously at the man, wondering what kind of business he was referring to. The man was powerful, vicious, and corrupt to his soul. He used his position to hide his illegal activities, but Marcus had heard several of his men had been taken down a few years earlier by a couple of detectives and civilians. “You could say his friends owe me and you’re going to help me collect.”
Hidden Betrayals (The Hidden Series Book 4) Page 16
