At the ugly question, Hailey lurched around to see Janko and three of his forbidding men approaching.
Jared jerked Hailey up against himself, sheltering her with his strong body. His harsh laugh sliced across the ominous silence.
“C’mon, Dude. You know I never did follow the rules.”
Jared looked down at her with a grin but Hailey didn’t miss the iron in his eyes or his tight, protective grip. She felt rather than saw him punch his phone. His voice was lazy, but riddled with an undercurrent of danger.
“But I gotta admit she doesn’t seem all that willing.”
Janko snorted as he and his men slinked closer, surrounding them in a menacing circle. “Since when was
that
a problem for
any
of us,
Bro?
The only question now is whether my boys get to flip a coin for their place in the circle jerk.”
Just then the squealing tires and flashing lights of a trio of squads pulled alongside the gangbangers, stopping their foreboding advance. Hailey breathed a sigh of relief when Lt. Justice leaped out of one of the cop cars.
He ambled toward her, one hand resting on his hip inches away from his holstered Glock. His voice was laced with irony. “I know you’re off duty, Officer Michels, but how about I give you a ride home? I wouldn’t want you to tempt these fine upstanding citizens. We’d hate to have to detain them for loitering in alleyways.”
Chapter 8
“J
esus Christ, Jared, are you insane? What the hell were you doing, Dude? Christ, you
both
coulda been killed. Thank God, we were tailing you and I got your alarm.”
Jake’s voice was harsh with anger. Jared didn’t need to see him to know that his brother was furious. He’d waited until he got to his rented apartment before he flipped on his phone. He held the phone away from his ear, allowing his brother to rail at a distance. Sucking in a deep breath, he shook his head then spoke into the phone.
“I don’t know, man, maybe I
am
insane.” Jared snorted a hard sigh. “I have to admit it, Jake. I’ve got it bad for the little rookie. Christ, man, you know me. I never fall for a woman, not like this. But since last week, I can’t stop thinking about her. Somehow I’ve managed to stay away, kept from going after her, but seeing her sitting there tonight all flushed and upset while those horny babes were assaulting me—”
“Yeah, Dude, I heard about the stampede in the
Shipwreck
. I can just imagine how hard it was to tear yourself away from the throng of hungry women after your ass. But did you have to go out in the alley and jump one of my officers!?”
“Like I said, Jake, I can’t explain it. Fuck, man, I can’t remember when if
ever
a woman has gotten to me the way that the rookie has.” He blew out a hard breath. “But before you crawl any further up my ass, I do have news, big news. The exchange is set for tomorrow night at an as yet undisclosed location.”
Jared was quiet for a moment as he considered the enormity of what they were about to do. He couldn’t hide his excitement when he added, “I gotta tell you, Jake, if we pull this off it will be one for the history books. Janko is wetting his jeans he’s so charged. Convinced he’s about to become the BOC’s go to guy in Northern Minnesota and will soon rule the entire St. Lawrence Seaway. If he wasn’t such a disreputable prick, I might feel bad for the way he’s going down.”
“Don’t waste a second of pity on that asshole, Jared. He’s been bad from birth and we’ve got him at the scene of at least a hundred drug deals, and not a few murders. But he’s smart as hell and slippery as a goddamned eel. Now that he’s into that ‘white might’ shit he’s even more dangerous. We haven’t been able to get enough evidence but it’s a 99% certainty that the rash of fires on the rez is the work of his moronic racist followers. Given the shit he’s been shilling, the bodies we can pin directly on him, and his asshole followers, Janko’s earned his inner circle of hell.”
“You’re right, Bro. From the time Janko set cats on fire for fun and beat up homeless drunks to add excitement to a boring Saturday night, he’s been bad to the bone. Even as a snotty teenager I knew that and was secretly relieved when you and Jude yanked me back. Plus, if Janko gets the full force backing of the BOC like he’s damn close to getting, he’ll become more powerful, more dangerous than his wildest dreams
and
our worst nightmares. But that’s not going to happen, Bro. We’re gonna take him down in the slickest way possible.”
Jake’s low whistle over the ether was admiring. “You’re sure as hell right about that, baby brother! Those international compadres of yours have changed the way an op goes down. In the old days—a year or so ago, we would have been exchanging suitcases of marked bills and bags of crystal. Now we’re doing it over the internet? Amazing!”
“Yeah Jake, if all goes as planned, when I give the signal and my ‘client’ in Thailand confirms that he’s received the crystal, I’ll hit the code on my IPhone and $30 million will race over the internet to the BOC’s numbered account. Neat, clean, very high tech. Only the money that electronically goes into their account is marked just like the counterfeit bills in the old days. But the crystal our Thailand guys receive will be as real and valuable as ever. As will the BOC team who hands them the dope and then shuffles off to prison.”
“Beautiful, buddy. Soon as you know where you and the gang are meeting, contact me. I need to get all of our men in place. The best part of this whole operation will be seeing those assholes’ faces when they get taken down by the local boys.”
“I agree, Jake. Those motherfuckers need to know that as always,
Justice
rules our fair forests. As for the exact location, I’ll send you the coordinates as soon as I get them. Just know it will be somewhere with access to an international financial exchange.” He added with a laugh, “Which in this crazy new world of ours is as close as the phone in my hand.”
“Sweet, man. Almost unbelievable for a backwoods cop like me. But you gotta know, Jared, the only part of this gig that makes me nervous is that at least in the beginning you’ll be alone with Janko and his animals.”
“Yeah, but you’ll be there in the shadows, Jake, rushing in to ‘save’ me. Like you always have, big brother. I can see it all now: Just as our DEA team sweeps in and captures the BOC guys in Thailand, the Duluth PD—led by their indomitable Commander Jake Justice—will saunter in and take down the Dragon’s Curse. Like a flock of mallards a half hour before sunrise on opening day of duck hunting season, the sorry bastards won’t know what hit them!”
***
Jared was confirming the final details of the exchange with his team in Thailand when there was a knock on his door.
“I have to sign off. Someone’s at my door. But, everything is copacetic, correct, Agent Thomas?”
Jared’s point man in Thailand responded in his usual outrageous manner.
“Absofuckinglutely, Big Guy. We’re in the back of the sluttiest titty bar you’ve ever seen. Our UC confirms that the BOC marks are half a block away. They’ll deliver the stash to us when they confirm that the money has been sent. Now if I can just keep these randy guys of mine sober, with their hands off the bar girls and their dicks in their pants for the next four hours, we’ll be ready to rumble.”
Jared laughed. “Are the rest of you as ready as your scandalous commander is?”
At the chorus of “Copy that, Agent Justice” from the members of the Thai-based team, Jared said, “Thanks, men. I’ll check back at 2300 hours for a final sit rep.”
At the second sharp knock, Jared closed his phone and walked to the door. To his surprise, he saw Janko and five of his goons standing on the balcony. Striving for nonchalance, he stepped back and frowned at Janko.
“What the hell, man. What’s up?”
Shoving past Jared, Janko and his glowering men entered. Turning to Jared with a sly grin, Janko said, “Not much, Bro. It’s just that me and my boys decided we couldn’t wait to get this rodeo started. We want to do it
now.
”
Jared managed to mask his surprise.
“What’s that supposed to mean?” He added threateningly, “Don’t tell me your BOC pricks are pulling back?”
Janko shook his head. “No way. They’re in place and ready to hand over the crystal when I give the word. But I wanna move up the timeline.” His frown tightened. “We’re gonna do the exchange now.”
Jared started. “Now? What the hell, Janko?! I arranged for the exchange at midnight our time.”
“Change it.”
Seeing Janko’s fierce expression and wondering what the hell was going on, although the snakes crawling up the back of his neck confirmed that he was in deep shit, Jared said carefully, “I don’t know that we can, buddy.”
Janko sneered. “What? You saying that you, a
Justice Brother
, can’t make somethin’ happen? Fuck it, man. You know goddamned well that in ‘Justice land’ the sun doesn’t rise or set without permission from one of the golden boys.”
Jared glared at him, assuming an aggrieved tone. “What’s going on, Janko? Has something happened on your end? Christ, man, we’re four hours away from closing the biggest deal of a lifetime. This isn’t the time to start fucking around. My buyer doesn’t tolerate ‘problems.’ ”
Janko shook his head. “Relax, Jared. It’s just that, like you, I prefer to be in control. You know I trust you. Or as much as I can trust a Justice Brother. Humor me, Dude. I wanna be sure you don’t have nothin’ up your sleeve.” He nodded at the surly men surrounding them. “As do my boys.” He added with a foreboding smirk, “C’mon, Jared, how about you pull strings the way you always do? We’ve alerted our team in Thailand that the timing has changed. I told them to meet your boys in ten minutes and deliver the stash. I also assured them that the money will be there when they arrive. As you’ve said, all you need before you wire the money is confirmation that your men have the drugs.”
He pinned Jared with a hard glare.
“So whadda you say, Buddy? How ’bout we saddle up and get this rodeo started?”
Holding Janko’s gaze with a frown of his own, Jared took out his phone but before he could open it Janko snatched it out of his hand.
“Uh uh, Jared. If you don’t mind, I’ll place the call.”
Jared shrugged. “You really are a paranoid son-of-a-bitch, Janko. Go for it, asshole. Put the damn thing on speaker and hit redial. I just hung up from my head guy in Bangkok.”
Jared breathed a sigh of relief when Agent Thomas merely responded, “Yes?”
“Mr. Thomas, the schedule has changed. The exchange will take place at the designated location in ten minutes. Initiate Scorpio now.”
Jared decided he might survive after all when Agent Thomas simply answered, “Yes, Sir,” and hung up.
“You better not be fucking me, Jared.” Janko frowned betraying his distrust. “What does Scorpio mean?”
Jared snorted, “First off,
you
better not be fucking
me
, old pal. Second, it means that when I type in the code and hit send, $30 million dollars will scamper across the internet into your BOC buddies’ offshore account.”
Janko glared at him. “Alright. Then how about you hit that button?”
Retrieving his phone from Janko, Jared punched in the code and shrugged.
“Consider it sent!”
Chapter 9
P
reparing to meet Mitzi and Tara at the
Shipwreck
, Hailey studied herself in the mirror. She was surprised that she looked like she always did. Except that she seemed to have developed a permanent flush on her usually pale cheeks and her eyes were darker, more mysterious. You’d think that she would look like the wrath of god considering what she’d been through. It was scary enough that a gang of hardened drug dealers had threatened to attack her. But even the vile lowlifes were nowhere near as intimidating to her body and spirit as Jared Justice. Remembering him pressing her against the wall describing all the things he intended to do to her and how she made him feel, fierce sensations rioted through her core, stealing her breath. The fiery sparks were a potent reminder of the man who’d invaded her mind and her body in ways she’d never known were possible. The memory alone made her cheeks flame brighter.
“You look different, girlfriend. What’s going on with you, Goldilocks?” Mitzi sucked a noisy slurp of Guinness through her teeth and studied Hailey with a frown. “You worried that badass jackass Jared Justice and his ganger buddies will show up again?” She grunted. “I wouldn’t be surprised if he did. Nuthin’ like the banty rooster strutting through the barnyard to make sure his hot little hens are waiting for him.”
Mitzi glanced at the corner table where five of the female DC gang members were sitting.
“Whadda you know? Looks like the DC hoes are on their own. Must have been abandoned by their big bad drug-dealing masters.” She sneered at the table of women huddling together and added with a snort, “You better watch your back, Goldilocks. From the daggers those bitches are throwing your way, like everyone else in this town, you can bet that they know all about Jared Justice accosting you. Particularly that tatted up bitch Brittany Kramer, who Jared dropped on her ass when he chased after you last night.”
Before Hailey could stammer out a response, Tara piled on, her eyes dancing with glee.
“Yeah, girlfriend. Why do you think Mitzi and I dragged you here tonight? Nothing like the hottest guy that’s ever tramped through this boring town of ours hitting on one of
us
. Jeepers, Hailey, do you have any idea how jealous we are? Let’s hear it, sister—
all
of the deets. No holding back!”
Hailey shuddered. She wasn’t surprised that her teammates had heard the gossip. After all, she’d been with them when Jared and his gang entered the
Shipwreck
and they saw her race out of the bar. They had to have heard what had happened next—or at least a version of it. Every time she’d walked into a room at the precinct today, the whispered conversations stopped. She knew that Lt. Justice had read the riot act to the guys who’d been with him in the alley. Warned them that if they valued their family jewels they wouldn’t discuss what they’d seen. But the news of Jared Justice hitting on a cop in a back alley while a bunch of DC members waited their turn was a secret too hot to keep.