InTooDeep (16 page)

As Hunt rattled off the number, Dave
punched it into his cell phone and while his voice mumbled in the background
Hunt returned his attention to Becca.

“Okay, Becca. We’re on our way. Are you
safe? Do you have somewhere you can stay?”

“I’m in a diner called Sally’s not too far
away from the house. I don’t want to stay here though.”

“No, it’s okay. I’m dispatching an agent to
come get you. He should be there within five minutes. Hide out in the ladies’
room if it makes you feel better. Just lock yourself in one of the stalls. I’ll
tell him where to find you.”

“You are going to get Carley out, aren’t
you?” Becca’s voice sounded uncertain. “She risked her life for us.”

“She’ll be fine. Carley can handle herself
but we’ll get there long before anything happens.”

Becca didn’t sound reassured when she
responded. “You make sure she knows how grateful I am…just in case.”

“Hey, nothing’s going to happen. Just stay
safe. The agent’s name is Spindler, Jim Spindler. He’ll identify himself and
show you his credentials. You can trust him. He’s been working with me for over
five years now.”

“‘Kay.” She sounded far away, like she was
backing up from the phone.

“Are you okay?”

“I’m fine. Just find Carley and make sure
the rest of the women are safe.”

If Hunt knew Carley, she’d take care of the
last part. It was her he was the most worried about, especially since she was
no longer a hostage. No doubt she only had one thing on her mind…vengeance.

The kitchen yielded an even better escape
route but without knowing how close Rena or other guards were, getting each of
the women out was a long, arduous process. Keeping them quiet was even more
difficult as most were crying tears of gratitude. She shushed them as much as
she could and all but shoved the last woman out the double window.

“Wait! You’re not coming?” Fearful brown
eyes searched Carley’s face.

“I can’t. There’s no way I’m letting this
bitch get away.”

“She could kill you.”

It was a chance she was more than willing
to take. She didn’t have any more time to reassure the woman so she just pulled
the window down and tugged the curtains back into place.

Now she could breathe. Agnes’ castoffs were
safe and she was seconds away from finding the bitch…and putting an end to her
miserable existence. But first she’d make the woman tell her where Dani was, no
matter what it took. Carley almost hoped the woman refused to talk, at least
for a little while.

She kept close to the wall, edging around
the corner and into the dining room. From this vantage point she could see the
front door. Another escape route if she really wanted it. But now that she was
this close to her revenge, she wanted it far more than freedom.

Muted voices seeped out from beneath a
closed door adjacent to the front door. Carley’s muscles bunched as she tried
to make out the number of voices. Two, possibly three. More than likely all
armed. Depending on where the men stood in the room she could take out at least
two at one time. But three? She wasn’t so sure she could take those odds.
Better to wait it out, see if one or two of them left.

With Agnes in a hurry to cut her losses,
she doubted the men were there for a lengthy conversation. Putting her
experience to good use, Carley took stock of her surroundings, spotted the
places where she could take cover, if necessary.

The foyer opened up to a furnished living
room with a corduroy sofa serving as a separator between the rooms. The voices
behind the door rose in anger and Carley dropped to a squat, ready to shimmy
around the corner.

Then Agnes gave a shrill command for
silence and the men obeyed, which made Carley wonder what it was about the
woman that bought such allegiance. Yeah she was pretty but these men were
willing to risk their lives for her. So she had to have something they were
afraid of. Power, perhaps?

It had to be more than just the money. In
her line of work Carley come across a variety of criminals. Few were willing to
die for money, no matter what the movies showed.

“Fuck you, Rena!”

The shout brought Carley back to a standing
position. Finally she had Agnes’ real name, not that it meant anything to her.
At least she’d be able to give Hunt her name once he found the woman’s dead
body. Carley didn’t doubt she’d be leaving before she saw the last drop of
blood drain out of Rena.

Chapter Fifteen

Hunt slowed the car to a crawl. “You’re
going to need to jump out and head around back of the house. I want to make
sure those other women are safe.”

“And Carley?”

“She’ll be wherever Rena is.”

Dave cleared his throat. “She could be in
trouble.”

Shaking his head, Hunt refused to consider
that option. “No. She got the women out. She’s fine.”

“Okay. Fine. Then I share your optimism.”
He grabbed a hold of the door handle and scooted to the edge of the seat.

The two-way squawked and the Deputy
Director’s voice drew less than a cursory glance from Hunt as he depressed the
brake, bringing the car to a stop long enough to give his partner time to open
the door, drop and roll. Dave kicked the door shut and Hunt stepped on the
accelerator, shooting a quick glance at the rearview mirror.

Dave had already gotten to his feet and was
running across the grass toward the three-story house set back behind a thick
white fence.

To the untrained eye the house looked like
it belonged inside the suburbs with a family, a dog and a minivan. The grass
was neatly mowed, the bushes trimmed and there were flower gardens at the base
of every tree. Apparently Rena liked to keep up appearances. Either that or the
house wasn’t hers. Hunt bet it was the latter.

“Agent Chandler, come in.” Baulding continued
to demand a response, which Hunt ignored. He’d accept the consequences later.

A quick flash of lights behind him signaled
the approach of his team. He lowered the window and stuck his hand out, giving
silent instructions. Another glance in the mirror showed one black car rolling
to a stop while the other continued behind him.

They rode in silent mode, making as little
noise as possible. The quiet was almost deafening except for the loud thrumming
of his heart. Tense beyond measure, Hunt ground his teeth together. Every nerve
in his body was on high alert as he drew closer to the house.

His cell phone rang but one glance at the
caller ID warned him not to answer it. Baulding always was a persistent son of
a bitch.

His peripheral vision caught sight of several
women crawling along the grass near the fence with Dave urging them onward.
Even though his head knew better, his heart wished like hell one of those women
was Carley.

He didn’t know how many men were on the
inside, armed men whose sole purpose was to protect Rena Baulding. Fuck. He
didn’t have time to wait for more men and if he radioed now Baulding would
crawl all over his ass and waste more minutes than he had.

The road curved ahead, giving Hunt the
perfect opportunity to round the corner and come to a stop. Killing the engine,
he popped the trunk and got out of the car. It took him less than one minute to
put on the proper gear and add two more guns to his standard weapon and ankle
piece. After hiding one in the back waistband of his pants and the other in the
front pocket, he pressed the trunk until it clicked into place.

His gaze sweeping to the left then the
right, he took off at a jog back around the bend in the road, running on pure
instinct and wide-open adrenaline. The black sedan carrying two members of his
team and Dave approached and he met them at end of the driveway, keeping behind
the trees.

“So what’s the plan?” Agent Lawton, a
petite blonde with a wicked sense of humor and deadly accuracy with a firearm,
dropped into position beside him.

“You sure this is the place?” Agent Riley,
chewing the ever-present wad of cherry bubblegum he favored, leaned forward,
dark shades obscuring his eyes.

“Didn’t you see all those women running
like roaches from the Orkin man?” Dave muttered the words but they were clear
enough for the agent to hear.

“I’m just following protocol,” Riley
responded, his chest flexing.

“Your protocol tell you to hide your eyes
so you can’t see shit you need to see?” Sarcasm dripped from Dave’s voice,
causing the tall agent to take a step toward him.

“Guys, keep them in your pants. We don’t
have time for a measuring match,” Lawton griped, shouldering Riley out of the
way.

A muscle jumped in Hunt’s cheek and he
swung his gaze toward Dave. “All the women are safe?”

“Yeah. The other suits radioed ahead for
the rescue squad. Most of them need medical attention.”

“And the one who called?”

Dave shook his head. “Haven’t heard
anything except Baulding saying he was less than a mile away and to stand down
until he arrived.”

“Fuck him.” Hunt dropped to a squat and
aimed the binoculars at the windows. The blinds were drawn, offering little
information. “Riley, Lawton, I need the two of you to get into the garage. It
looks like there’s a back door. Are you covered?”

Riley tapped his Kevlar vest. “Wear a vest,
save a life.”

“Hey, Hunt.” Dave kept his voice low.

“Yeah?”

“A couple of those women said Carley
refused to leave with them. Said she had the guard’s gun. Seems she took him
down like he was an eighty-year-old with bursitis.” Dave dropped to one knee
beside him while the two agents climbed out of the car.

“Doesn’t surprise me. She kicked my ass the
night we met.”
Don’t feel anything, Chandler. Keep control of your emotions.
It might be the only thing that saves Carley’s life.

“That’s a story you’ll have to share once
all of this is over. By the way, I’m going in with you,” Dave announced in a
no-nonsense tone of voice.

Hunt gave an abrupt nod. There was no sense
arguing with the man. Besides that, in the short six months he’d known him Dave
Polponia had proven to be a damn good cop and one hell of a shot.

“I don’t know how things are laid out in
there but whatever happens you get Carley out. Understand?”

“Yeah, got it.”

“I mean it, Dave. She comes first.” He
stared hard at his partner, trying to tell him more than his words could.

“I already figured that out.”

Footsteps sounded on the tile by the front
door and Carley flattened herself against the wall, holding her breath. She
turned her head ever so slightly to see who was leaving. A tall redheaded man
stormed past the foyer, snorting like an angry bull. He disappeared into
another room, slamming the door behind himself.

That increased the odds in her favor. She
still couldn’t make a move until the other two guys left but she was prepared
to wait it out…as long as it took. Revenge didn’t have a time limit.

“And the girl? When can you take her?”

Rena sounded furious and Carley edged
forward to listen in.

“You’ve already made the purchase, Senator.
Dani Rivers is your responsibility and I’m not a babysitter. She needs to be
picked up today or I will resell her.”

Carley’s head swam. Dani hadn’t been taken
yet. So she must be close. Could she be in the house? She looked over her
shoulder, considered her options. If she didn’t confront this woman, the second
Rena discovered the basement was empty she’d run. And Carley couldn’t let her
get away.

Her heart threatening to break her
breastbone, she pressed her back against the wall closest to the door of what
must be Rena’s office. The deep voices responding to Rena’s questions were so
low Carley couldn’t make out what they were saying.

Heavy footsteps fell against wood floors
and Carley took a diving leap over the back of the sofa, hit the cushions and
rolled to the floor just as the office door opened.

She stayed in place long enough to hear
Rena’s voice chewing off someone else’s ear. She couldn’t tell if the woman was
on the phone or still talking to one of her guys…until Rena ended the
conversation with an abrupt “goodbye”. Finally the bitch was alone.

Carley squeezed the gun, her index finger
on the trigger. She pushed herself up off the floor but kept to a squat.
Keeping one eye on the now open door, she duck-walked closer.

One peek inside the office assured Carley
Rena was definitely alone. That propelled her to her feet. Sliding along the
wall, she edged closer to the open doorway, using the element of surprise to
catch her off-guard.

“Hello.” Carley aimed her weapon at the
center of Rena’s chest and a feeling of serenity swept over her. She thought of
nothing other than the brunette with the wine-colored lips she faced…the woman
who’d been behind the decision to sell her sister like she was no more than a
piece of jewelry.

Not even the slightest trace of hesitation
colored her thinking. She’d never taken a human life before but if there had to
be a first time she was glad it was now, with this woman.

Rena looked up from her position behind a
circular black desk. Instead of fear her eyes filled with admiration. “Well,
well, well, Ms. Morgan. I shouldn’t be surprised. You are, after all, your
father’s daughter. His abilities were legendary. It’s apparent he taught you
well.”

She sat back in her chair, her gaze barely
acknowledging the gun pointed straight at her. “So is this the part where you
shoot me?”

“The thought has crossed my mind, yes.”

“And I guess I’m supposed to cower in
fear.”

Carley shrugged. “I don’t give a shit if
you die while singing
The Battle Hymn of the Republic
. Just as long as
you die.”

“You really don’t know who I am, do you? One
would think your boyfriend would have already filled you in. Or perhaps you two
had much more important things to discuss, like when was the next time he could
slip by to fuck a thief.”

“No, I don’t know you but your identity
isn’t going to change the outcome of this conversation.” Carley’s hand was so
steady holding the gun she wondered if she should be frightened. No one should
be this calm and controlled seconds away from putting a bullet through
someone’s heart.

Full lips parted in a broad smile. “Maybe
not, but you’ll go down in infamy for killing the wife of the deputy director
of the FBI.” Her smile grew wider. “Well that got a reaction.” She stood,
sashayed around the desk. “I’m Rena Baulding.”

Carley warred between disbelief and a sick
sense of the truth. How could a woman whose husband was in such a position of
power like that have carried out such a devious plan without notice? “And I
don’t care. Where’s my sister?”

Rena folded her arms, her expression one of
boredom. “Weren’t you listening when I told you I sold her?”

“Yes, and I was also listening just now
when you told her buyer,” Carley ground her teeth on the word, “he needed to
come get her. So I’ll ask you again, where is my sister?”

Rena chuckled, sounding far more casual and
relaxed than a woman in her position should. Then again, Carley hadn’t had much
interaction with fucked-up murderers. So maybe the woman was acting right on
target.

“Is this the part where you threaten to
shoot me if I don’t reveal all? Or maybe you’re imagining yourself putting a
fist in my face.” Rena’s gaze slid up and down Carley’s body as though
considering the top price Carley would bring at auction. “In a hand-to-hand
situation you would, no doubt, come out the winner. But I don’t fight physical
battles. I choose to use my brain instead and that’s why, in this instance, I
know you won’t kill me. You might be a thief but you’re not a killer.”

Heat built up in the center of Carley’s
chest and her finger twitched on the trigger. She desperately wanted to pull
it, to watch the shock spread across Rena’s face as the bullet tore its way
through flesh and muscle. So what was stopping her?

She could find Dani on her own, would
probably have to considering Rena wasn’t going to give her any information
without serious torture. That thought held possibilities, although Carley had
never intentionally inflicted pain on anyone unless she was cornered. For Rena
though, she could make an exception.

“I don’t believe I said I was going to kill
you…at least not just yet.” Two could play the woman’s smug little game.

“I see. You’re holding the gun so you think
that puts you in control.” Rena tipped her head to one side, studied Carley for
a second longer then began to stroll around her desk. “But if you really
understood what power was all about you’d know that it takes much more than
weaponry to be the victor in any game.”

Her temper already on shaky ground, Carley
took a threatening step forward, not surprised to find Rena was right about one
thing—she did want to put her fist in the woman’s face.

In that moment she realized as much as she
wanted the Deputy Director’s wife to die, she couldn’t be the one to take her
life. For all the wrong decisions she’d made in her life, she wouldn’t make
this one. And killing Rena would be wrong. Wounding her, on the other hand, was
an appropriate compromise.

Carley lowered the barrel of the gun and
squeezed the trigger. The bullet sped through the air, embedding quickly and
viciously in Rena’s leg. As the woman cried out and fell to her knees, Carely
approached her slowly. “I might not be a cold-blooded killer, Mrs. Baulding,
but there is one thing you did forget about me.”

Rena’s hand tried to stem the tide of blood
flowing from her calf. “You crazy bitch!”

Ignoring the invectives coming from Rena’s mouth
like rapid gunfire, Carley continued talking. “You see, even thieves have codes
they follow, at least the good ones do. My life is governed by rules of conduct
someone like you, a person without a conscience, couldn’t begin to understand.
But it’s those very rules that just saved your life.”

Carley leaned over her to study the
bullet’s damage. “I know that must really hurt and eventually, I’m sure, the
FBI will come swooping in here and you’ll be transported to some comfortable
hospital where you’ll be given plenty of pain medication. Until then, though, I
thought it might be fitting for you to get a taste of what you put some of
those women through, what you’ve put
my sister t
hrough.”