Collision Course (21 page)

“Oh, so
now it’s my fault?” Serrano’s voice was filled with venom.

“You
were the one who spoke without checking who answered.” He was sick of the
conversation. Sick of Serrano. Sick of the whole thing. How the fuck had
something he thought was so smart turned into such a disaster? “So don’t think
you have no responsibility. And it’s your fault we had a body to dispose of
unnecessarily. Your idiotic people couldn’t even find the right man.”

“A man
your people lost,” the Mexican growled.

“Enough!”

The
sharp voice cut into the conversation, startling Bennett. He’d forgotten the
three-way call included El-Salaki. The conversation had been difficult enough
to stage to begin with. Everyone used untraceable burner phones they would
destroy as soon as they broke the connection.

“You
fight like children,” the Arab continued. “We have a serious situation we must
act on at once.”

“You
have a solution?” Serrano sniped.

“We have
to halt all operations,” El-Salaki stated. “We are in a vulnerable position as
long as your man and whatever information he’s been able to gather are still
out there.”

“No!”
Serrano roared. “It will cost us millions, not to mention putting us in a bad
situation with our customers, present and future.”

“We
can’t spend our millions in prison,” the arms dealer reminded him. “We need to
take what we have, cover our tracks and disappear.”

“Easy
enough for you both to say but impossible for me,” Bennett told them. “I have a
company to run and a public face I can’t hide.”

“Don’t
expect sympathy from us,” Serrano said. “You knew the risks and were more than
willing to take them. You pay for your mistakes.”

“I’m
doing nothing for another forty eight hours.” Bennett gritted his teeth. “I
know Haggerty. He’ll only be able to stave off his curiosity for so long. He’s
hiding away somewhere, trying to find out what put him in the situation. He can
get through some of the layers protecting my files but not all of them. The
real shit is buried deep. I’ve set some electronic traps for him, too.”

“Pah!”
El-Salaki dismissed his words.

“Don’t
give me that crap,” Bennett snapped. “I’ll get him and get him good. By
tomorrow morning, I’ll know where he is and have him in my hands.”

A long
silence. He drummed his fingers on the arm of his chair. At last Serrano spoke.
“Fine. Twenty-four hours. No more.”

The men
disconnected.

Bennett
took the phone apart and dropped each piece to a waiting towel on the floor. He
ground the plastic to bits, picked up the towel and dumped everything into a
paper bag. Tomorrow he’d leave it in some dumpster.

Then he
sat deeper in his chair and took a healthy swallow of the bourbon he’d been
toying with. Normally he didn’t mix alcohol and business but his nerves were a
little unsettled. Speaking with his so-called business partners had that effect
lately.

The
entire thing had turned into one giant clusterfuck from beginning to end. Each
attempt to clean it up had made things worse.

Why the
fuck didn’t his phone ring? What could be taking so long? Surely Haggerty had
been on his computer during the past several hours.

Come
on, Adam. Call me.

*****

The
dinging of the alarm on his computer woke him.

Adam
Rothschild blinked and stared at the clock on the screen.

Two a.m.

He’d
worked thirty-six hours straight, checking and refining things and monitoring
the usual programs he ran for Bennett. Stupid asshole hadn’t agreed they needed
the hotwire trips for everything when the files were first set up. Now his ass
was in a crack and he wanted to make it Adam’s fault. Not a chance.

Eventually
he’d cut off the caffeine; the buzz winding down left him exhausted. His eyes
burned from staring at the screen for so many hours and his hands shook. He
barely remembered pushing his chair away from the console and feeling his
eyelids droop. He must have been asleep even before his head lolled back.

After
he’d made sure the new software worked, he’d set an alarm program to ring if someone
tripped the wire. Now the alarm shrieked at him, warning him with its insistent
noise someone had broken through his sophisticated firewall.

“Holy
crap.”

He
checked the readout on the computer and the time on his watch again. Uh oh. The
warning had come through hours ago, and he’d slept right through it. Better not
tell Bennett. The man would crunch his balls. Good thing he’d set the trap up
so the trace was locked in.

He
scrubbed his face to wake himself up and typed commands on the keyboard. In seconds,
he had the information he needed. Taking seconds to fix a much needed mug of
coffee from his Keurig machine, he picked up the phone Bennett had left him and
punched in the single number.

“Yes?”
Bennett answered.

Adam
allowed himself a little smile. “We’ve got him.”

“I have
him.” Bennett was smug in his satisfaction. He’d already contacted his pilot
and given him instructions. “Or I will in a few hours.”

“Where
is he?” Serrano.

“In a
little spitball town in Texas called Connelly. I don’t know how the fuck he
even found it.”

“Texas?”
Serrano’s voice changed tones. “It would be easier for my men to pick him up.
We are a great deal closer.”

“I think
we all remember what happened last time you sent your men to retrieve him,”
El-Salaki broke in. “In any event, Bennett needs to redeem himself. He tracked
him. He should trap him.”

“But—”

“It’s
done,” the Arab growled. “Bennett, I’m sure you realize the consequences for
all of us if you fuck up.”

“Nobody’s
hands are clean here,” Bennett snapped. “I have the most to lose so resolving
the situation is my number one priority.”

He
disconnected the phone. One more call then he’d destroy it. He pressed in a
number and waited for the answer.

“Alright,
Holland. I’ll give you a chance to get in my good graces again. Take that
worthless piece of shit Price with you and get your asses to the airport now.
The plane will be ready and all arrangements on the other end made.”

“You’ve
found him?”

Bennett
hated the shocked surprise in the other man’s voice, a reminder of his original
screw-up.

“And
pinpointed his exact location. The pilot will set you down at the closest
airstrip. I’ll arrange to have a car waiting for you. Write down the address
I’m going to give you. And get there before the place opens. We don’t want to
involve a crowd. Get there, take him and get away. Nice and clean.”

“You can
count on me,” Holland assured him. “On us.”

“I’d
damn well better be able to,” he grunted. “The pilot will have a disposable
phone for you with a number programmed into it. When you’re set to return,
destroy it.”

After he
disconnected, he dismantled the phone for disposal and removed another from his
desk drawer. The devices were cheap and a good way to prevent someone from
tracing a call. At the rate they were going, though, he’d need to buy them by
the case.

*****

Trey
awoke early in the morning, disjointed pieces of information still running
through his head. He had to restrain himself from calling Max’s number again.
The man’s wife wouldn’t take too kindly to being roused at five-thirty in the
morning. But impatience ran through him like a turbulent river.

Beside
him, Casey stirred, stretched and sighed.

“It’s
time to get up right?” Her voice held the optimistic tone of a kid hoping
someone would tell her school had been called off today.

Trey
rolled her into his arms, kissing her forehead. “Just about. Another half hour
won’t matter.”

She laid
her hand against his cheek. “You’re worried about the call from Max.”

“I am. I
wish I knew if he was even in town. And if his wife will give him the message.”

“If you
don’t hear from him by noon, you should try him again.” She wriggled out of his
grasp. “Meanwhile, no gun range today. I promised I’d open up the Half ’n Half
and let my folks sleep in for a change.” As she headed for the shower, she
called over her shoulder, “But you can go on by yourself, if you want.”

He was
so busy watching the sway of her naked ass and the curve of her smooth back, he
almost forgot to answer.

“No.” He
shook his head, even though she couldn’t see him. “As jittery as I am, I might
shoot my foot off. I’ll get dressed and follow you in.”

He
brewed coffee in the little pot while she showered and he had a mug waiting for
her when she came out, wrapped in a towel.

She
smiled and closed her eyes in ecstasy when she took it from him.

“Mmmm.
Heaven.” She took a sip. “I might have to declare my intentions, after all,
just to keep you around for your various services.”

He
kissed the upper swell of her breasts, visible above the line of the towel.

“I have
many services to offer.”

“Indeed
you do,” she agreed. “But not today, hotshot. I have to open the restaurant in
an hour.”

“Spoilsport.”

But he’d
never have been able to keep his mind focused enough to give either of them
pleasure anyway.

When
they were both dressed, he followed Casey into town. The streets were still
pretty empty, the town quiet but in an hour everything would change. He usually
parked on the street but today Casey had suggested he drive around back to the
small parking lot.

“My
folks and I park here,” she told him. “But it’s also where customers park,
especially those who settle into the coffee house side for the day. No
problem.”

As he
pulled in beside her, he spotted a grey SUV parked to one side.

“Looks
like you’ve already got customers waiting,” he called as they climbed out of
their respective trucks. He grabbed his laptop, his burner phone and shoved the
Glock into its familiar place at the small of his back.

“They
have to be strangers,” she said, selecting the key to the rear door from her
ring. “Everyone else knows we don’t open until seven.”

Trey
stood behind her as she fitted the key into the lock, vaguely aware the SUV had
moved from its space to pull up behind his truck. He barely had time to think
how odd it was when he heard the scrape of shoe leather on the pavement. Thick
fingers grabbed one arm and something hard pressed into his side.

“Sorry
you won’t be eating breakfast here today, Haggerty. You need to come with us.”
He yanked roughly, tugging Trey toward him. “Come along without any fuss and
the nice young lady won’t get hurt. It’s you we want.”

Then
everything happened so fast, it seemed like one continuous movement. “The “nice
young lady” took her heavy ring of keys and swung it at the man, raking it
across his eyes at the same time she gave a swift kick to his arm. A gun went
flying and the man howled in rage. He raised his hands to cover his face, one
of them bent at a strange angle. A second man ran up from the vehicle, making
no effort to conceal his weapon. But, Casey kicked away the gun and attacked
both men.

Her arms
and legs, hands and feet were a blur. In seconds, the two men were out cold on
the pavement. Casey picked up their guns and slammed the door to the building
shut.

“Come
on. Now, T.J.,” she urged, grabbing his hand when he seemed rooted to the spot.
“We have to get the hell out of here.”

The
urgency in her voice snapped him from his trance.

“My god,
I can’t believe what I saw. Are you okay?”

“Fine
and dandy. But please get your ass in the truck right now.”

Still
trying to process what he’d seen, he climbed into the passenger side of her
truck, struggling to buckle his seat belt as she roared out of the parking lot
and back down Main Street the way they’d come.

“Where
are we going?” he managed to get out.

“As far
away from here as possible. I’d say Bennett has managed to track you down.”

“No
shit.”

“Damn,”
she swore. “Those were some ugly guys.”

“And
unpleasant.” Trey’s heart rate still triple timed, his stomach a mass of knots
and his entire body clenched. For a moment he thought he’d be violently ill so
he concentrated on breathing in and out slowly. He wouldn’t embarrass himself
by hurling all over Casey’s truck.

“No
kidding,” she agreed.

With his
mouth dry as dust, he had to try twice to swallow before he could speak again.
“By the way, you put on some show. Where did you learn all that stuff?”

She
shrugged. “Like I told you the other day, I studied Krav Maga. Took some
classes when I was with the Feds. Then, in the Army, I met a Mossad agent who
helped me refine what I’d learned.”

“You
saved my life.” He cleared his throat. “I’m not used to having a woman save my
ass.”

“I’m not
sure it’s the time for you to defend your masculinity.” She snorted. “I figured
your life is worth more than your pride. Right?”

“Yeah.
You’re right.” He tried to tamp down the fear still clogging his throat and
lighten his tone a little. If she hadn’t been there, he’d be toast right now
and he needed to accept and appreciate her help. ”A lot of the women who worked
for us took self-defense classes. It made sense for them, so they could protect
themselves. Not Krav Maga, though.” He barked a short laugh. “I never thought
I’d need it, or be grateful I fell in love with a woman who is so expert at it
and could save my ass.”

“It’s
definitely an ass worth saving.” She took one hand from the wheel for a moment
to reach over and squeeze his thigh. “What would all your chauvinist pals think
about you being saved by a woman?” An image of Asshole Aaron Smart, her former
commander and the quintessential chauvinist, flashed across her brain.