Dangerous to Her (17 page)

Fumbling slightly, Mattie opened the phone and dialed Tony’s cell phone.

“Mattie.”

Mattie closed her eyes in relief when she heard Tony’s voice. “Tony. I need you to meet me at the administration desk. I’m going to meet you with a friend of mine.”

“Your friend the cop? Dominic? No way, Mattie. You know he—”

“No, not Dominic. A man named Cam. I trust him, Tony. He says your life is in danger. That Sabon knows. After you see Linda, come to the administration desk.”

There was momentary pause on the line. “But Mattie, you know I can’t see—”

“That’s right, after. Okay. I’ll see you then.” Mattie hung up the phone and tucked it into her purse. Turning her head back toward the passenger window, she stared at the blurring scenery and prayed that Tony would understand her warning and leave for someplace safe. “He’s going to meet us there.”

She sensed Cam’s touch before she felt it on her hair. “Oh, Mattie. I wish you hadn’t done that. I know Dom’s got Linda on guard. No way would Tony be able to see her on his own.”

She closed her eyes briefly before turning toward him. With almost casual ease, he pointed a gun at her while he deftly navigated the car with his other hand. The gun even looked malevolent and she felt her fear spike. She shrugged. “I’ve never been very good under pressure.”

“Well, I can safely assume your brother is going to call Dom, who’s then going to come after us. He’s going to have to find us first, of course, and that may or may not take some time. In any event, we’re passing Go and going directly to Jail. You’re going to tell Sabon that your brother was the informant. He can take care of your brother from there.”

Refusing to rub the sharp ache at her temple, she tilted her chin up. “And what makes you think I’ll say anything to help you?”

Cam slid the gun barrel down her cheek and throat, then wound a lazy circle around her breast. “I have ways of making people talk, Mattie. Frank Manelli knows that better than anyone.”

Dom was speeding toward Mattie’s house, sirens blaring, when his cell phone rang.

It was the station dispatcher. “Detective Jeffries, we have a caller trying to reach you who says it’s an emergency. His name is Tony—”

“Put him on,” Dom urged, not slowing down.

“Transferring.”

“Hello? Hello?” The panic in the man’s voice was unmistakable.

Terror unlike he’d ever known tightened Dom’s chest until he could barely breathe. He forced himself to picture Mattie, then Jordan. Since losing them was not an option, neither was giving in to his fear. When he spoke, his voice was controlled. “Tony, this is Dominic Jeffries.”

“He has Mattie,” Tony shouted. “She just called me. Talked to me about seeing Linda. I—I—she knows I couldn’t go in to see her because of the guard but—”

“Whoa, whoa. Just calm down, Tony. Who has Mattie? Where did she call you from?”

“She was on her cell phone. I think she was in a car. She said she was on her way to the hospital—Sutter Memorial Hospital—with a guy named Cam. Do you know who that is?”

His fingers tightened on the steering wheel. Damn Cam to hell and back. He would pay for touching Mattie. For even daring to frighten her. “Yes, I know who it is. Are you still at the hospital, Tony?”

“Yes! I waited, just in case they showed up. But she hasn’t. She was warning me that they were coming, but she didn’t show up!”

With a quick look in his rearview mirror, Dom braked hard, wheels skidding as he maneuvered his vehicle into a sharp U-turn and sped toward the hospital. “You were the CI who gave us the information on Guapo.”

“Yes. But—”

“Cam is a fellow officer.” Dom passed several cars and switched lanes. He pressed down harder on the accelerator. “He’s likely responsible for the death of another police officer, as well as Judge Butler, Grant Falcon, Guapo’s defense attorney, and the assault on Linda. Given the parties involved, he has to be working for Guapo. If Cam was bringing Mattie to you, it was so he could take you somewhere. Do you know where that would be?”

“To Sabon. He’d bring us to Sabon.”

“Since the raid, Guapo’s compound has been shut down. I have no idea where—”

“There’s a warehouse Sabon uses now for large deliveries. Cam would meet him there. Where are you?”

“I’m almost at the hospital, but tell me where the warehouse is. I’ll send a car for you.”

“I’m going with you.”

“No,” Dom snapped. “Just tell me where it is.”

“This is all my fault. Mattie being in danger. Linda. Judge Butler. Pick me up. You may be able to use me as a negotiating tool. Trade me for Mattie.”

“I’m not going to do that. Mattie wouldn’t want that. And I sure can’t have backup officers with me and bring you to the scene. They’ll never let you in.”

“Then we’ll go alone. I’m not telling you where the warehouse is. Pick me up.”

“Tony—” Dom cursed when he got a dial tone. Dom threw his cell phone on the passenger seat and took a hard right. The hospital was two blocks away.

Chapter 17

W
ith Tony directing him, Dominic made it to the warehouse in less than ten minutes. He drove his truck in slowly, sirens quiet. He didn’t want to spook Cam, but he almost panicked when he saw Sabon’s red Camaro parked next to Cam’s car.

“Backup is on its way,” he told Tony. “Wait here and tell them that there are two suspects inside, armed and dangerous.”

“No! I know Sabon. I can help—”

Barely hearing him, Dominic exited the car and moved toward a rusting, blue metal door at the south end of the building. Drawing his weapon, he paused outside the door, his back to the wall and took in several deep breaths.

He whirled at the sound of footsteps behind him, cursing when he saw Tony. The younger man froze momentarily, then took position next to the other side of the door. He was sweating, his face reflecting his fear, but there was courage there, too, as well as resolve.

“Get back in the car,” Dom snapped, already knowing the man wouldn’t listen to him.

“No.”

You were right to give him your loyalty, Mattie.
Assessing his options, he cursed one more time, but with little heat. “Here.”

When Tony looked at him, Dom handed him his gun. “You know how to use it?”

Tony undid the safety and nodded. “Point and shoot. Even I can do that. But what about you?”

Dom reached for the smaller gun he carried in his leg holster, hoping that giving Tony the larger and more reliable of the two would keep him safe. Besides, Dom’s backup had saved his life on more than one occasion; he was banking on it doing so again. “Why bother having one when two are so much better? Now listen to me. Cam is an expert shot. There’s no way we can both get in there without him taking one of us out. We need to keep them guessing. Go around back and see if you can find a way in.”

“The red Camaro—”

Dom nodded. “I know. It’s Sabon’s. It’s two against two, so you go around back, do you understand?”

Tony swiped at his forehead, unintentionally pointing the wavering gun at Dom. “Okay, okay.” He moved past Dom, but Dom grabbed his arm.

“Get Mattie out of here. No matter what you hear. Whether you know where I am or not. Got it?”

“She won’t leave knowing you’re here.”

“Then don’t tell her I’m here.”

Tony swallowed then nodded. “Just get your ass out alive. Because Mattie’ll hate me if anything happens to you.”

Unbelievably, Dom felt the smile spread across his face. “Mattie couldn’t hate you. Get her out, and if I can’t do it myself, give my daughter a kiss for me.”

They stared at one another, respect and understanding passing between them. With a final nod, Tony took off toward the back of the building.

Dom took a deep breath, got into position, then swung the door open. “Police,” he shouted. “Get your hands up.”

There was no answer. No sound or sign of movement. Carefully, he entered the warehouse only to find a vast room filled with boxes. He ducked behind a crate to establish cover. The ache in his side flashed intense and quick, a sharp stab underneath his ribs that made him cringe.

Not now.

Someone began to whistle “God Save The Queen.”

The bastard was playing with him. “Where’s Mattie, Cam?”

Cam stepped into view, keeping one arm extended, his gun pointed toward the back of the crate he’d been hiding behind. “What do you think, Dom? You think you can shoot me before I put a bullet through her brain?”

“Why, Cam?” Dom breathed, unable to disguise his confusion. “You’re one of us.”

“Poor Dom. You really are out of the loop on this one, aren’t you? Badass undercover cop didn’t even know that the men he’s worked with for years aren’t any better than the scum he’s trying to lock up.”

Not abandoning his cover, Dom snorted. “Men? Who are you talking about, Cam? Frank? Joel? Because I don’t buy that about Joel. I never will.”

Cam shrugged. “He said your name as he died, you know. Right before he said Tawny’s.”

A red haze momentarily blinded him. “I’m going to kill you, Cam,” Dom said. “And what you did to Frank is going to look like child’s play in comparison.”

Cam smiled. “Ah, so you found old Frank? He wasn’t so pretty, was he? He sure was a tough dude, though. It took him a few hours before he started begging. I’m betting Mattie’ll beg a lot sooner.”

“Where is she?”

“Why don’t you come and find out?” Quick as a rattlesnake, Cam ducked behind the crate. At that very moment, Tony darted from behind his own crate and moved closer to Cam. Dom hissed in a breath, knowing that Cam would hear him coming from a mile away. Sure enough, Dom heard the sound of Cam’s gun being cocked and saw the extension of his arms taking aim just as Tony moved into range.

“Tony, run,” Dom shouted. Eyes wide, Tony dove out of sight. Leaping out from behind the crate, Dom rushed Cam just as his insides exploded. Pain knifed through him, causing him to curl over and land on the cement floor with so much force that he grunted. His gun skidded out of his hand and he tried to crawl for it, but the nausea was so bad he almost threw up. Insides still heaving, he saw Cam’s legs out of his periphery.

“No,” Dom gasped out, trying to hold on to consciousness. “Where’s… Mattie…”

Cam kicked Dom’s gun out of his reach and crouched down next to him. Grabbing Dom’s hair, he pulled his head back until his neck muscles screamed in protest. He grinned. “Your ulcer acting up again, L.B.?” Quick as lightning, Cam punched Dom in the side. Dom screamed out in pain and fury, trying to grab hold of Cam with numb fingers. “Looks like I fooled you again. Mattie’s entertaining Sabon, Dom. But I don’t think she’s having a very good time.”

Before Dom could even try to respond, Cam pushed his head toward the floor. Blinding pain exploded behind Dom’s eyelids and everything went blank.

Mattie came awake by degrees. The first thing she became aware of was pain. In her head. In her body. Even her fingernails ached. She struggled to open her eyes, blinking until the blurred outline of a man came into focus. Fear filled her as she realized she was lying prone on a hard, cold surface, and that Michael Sabon was straddling her, staring at her with menacing intensity and a mocking grin.

“Where’s Tony—” she managed to choke out.

“That’s what I was hoping you could tell me.”

“I don’t know.”

Sabon’s face twisted into cruel lines. He grabbed her hair in one hand and yanked back her head. Mattie moaned in terror when she felt the hard edge of a gun barrel shoved under her chin.

A shout rang out behind her. Sabon released her hair. “Shut up!” he hissed.

Voices drifted in from the other room. She distinctly heard a man shout “police.”

“Help—” she screamed immediately, just before Sabon shoved his free hand over her mouth. With both hands occupied, he could barely subdue Mattie as she arched and wriggled to escape him. He struck her in the temple with the gun, splitting open her head so that blood immediately trickled into her eyes. He laid down his gun and grabbed both of her wrists in one of his and stretched them over her head. As she continued to struggle, Sabon shifted the hand covering her mouth to her throat, squeezing so tight that she instantly lost air.

Her wheezing gasps drowned out the voices in the other room and her vision tunneled into a small pinpoint of light. Her muscles went limp and she could feel herself losing consciousness just as Sabon released her.

“Try anything else and I will kill you. Then I’ll kill your daughter. Your mother. Anyone you’ve ever been friends with. Do you hear me?”

Limp and shaking, gasping for air, Mattie’s head lolled back and forth on the floor. Although she strained to hear them, the voices had quieted. Was anyone still there? Her stomach rolled when Sabon released her wrists, and ran his hands over her breasts and between her legs before leaning closer. “Don’t think anyone’s coming to rescue you,” he whispered. “If anything, Cam probably has your brother in tow. I can’t wait to get my hands on him.”

Leaning away but still holding her wrists, he slapped her. Instead of subduing her, the sharp pain, like a vial of smelling salts, seemed to bring her awareness back. Her blurry vision focused until she could see every pore on his face. Turning her head slightly, Mattie honed in on the gun that Sabon had left on the floor.

He grabbed her chin, digging his fingers into her flesh so hard that she whimpered. “That’s right. You’re going to make noise. You’re going to scream when your brother gets here. I’ll make sure I hurt you really good so he’ll know for certain—no one messes with Guapo or his brother. In fact, I don’t want to wait. I want you to scream now.”

Pressing her lips together mutinously, Mattie shook her head.

“Scream!” he shouted.

Come on,
she thought.
Lose control. Be sloppy.

As if he heard her thoughts, Sabon sat back even farther, balancing on his knees and leaving his groin vulnerable. He raised his hand to slap her again and Mattie’s mind screamed “now.” Curling her knee into her chest as hard as she could, she relished Sabon’s howl of pain, but she didn’t pause. Pressing the flat of her foot against his stomach, she pushed out with all her might and sent him flying. With a slithering lunge, she got hold of the gun, only to scream when Sabon’s foot pressed onto her arm. He stomped on her arm again but Mattie refused to uncurl her fingers from the butt of the gun.

Instead, when Sabon grabbed her by the hair to lift her up, she twisted her arm out from under his foot and slammed the gun into his kneecap. With a yell, he released her and stumbled. Scrambling to her feet, Mattie pointed the gun at him. Quick as lightning, Sabon reached in his jacket and flipped out a razor blade, one that was relatively small but sharp enough to do what he had in mind. Gut her. Kill her. Then kill Tony.

Hands shaking, Mattie flinched when Sabon sliced the knife toward her.

He just laughed and moved closer.

She commanded her feet to move back. Her finger to pull the trigger. But her gaze was mesmerized by the slashing arcs of the blade, her body paralyzed by shock and fear.

The door to the room was flung open. Sabon turned at the same time Mattie saw Tony stumble into the room. “Mattie,” he yelled.

With an animalistic roar, Sabon launched himself at Tony. Tony lifted his arms straight out, but he dropped the gun he was holding as soon as Sabon made contact. Even as Sabon stabbed Tony with the knife, Mattie couldn’t force the scream from her open mouth. As Tony dropped to the floor, Sabon kicked him several times in the ribs and in the face.

Her brother wasn’t moving. He didn’t make a sound.

Sabon looked at her, raised the bloody blade, and waggled it at her. “What’s a matter, lady? Can’t pull the trigger? Too bad your daughter is going to be left an orphan,” he taunted. “Tony always loved the little brat. Now, to finish this little bastard off before we get back to what we started.”

Sabon pulled his arm back to plunge the blade into Tony’s chest.

Suddenly Mattie’s body came to life. Jordan wasn’t going to be an orphan. Even if she and Tony didn’t make it out of here alive, she’d have a father. One who’d insure her happiness. She didn’t doubt Dominic’s ability to love and care for his daughter. Not anymore.

“I’m sorry, Dominic,” she said out loud. “I’m sorry I didn’t trust you when I should have.”

Sabon turned at the sound of her voice, a puzzled expression on his face. When she took two steps forward, he frowned.

She didn’t warn him to stop.

She didn’t give him a chance to back off.

She just pulled the trigger without an ounce of hesitation and watched Sabon fall to the ground.