Night Moves: A Shadow Force Novel (28 page)

Unless … wait, that was a phone.
Her phone
. “Reid, I need to get that.”

Work, he understood. He shifted immediately, grabbed her cell from the side table and handed it to her.

It was her supervisor and she tried not to wince outwardly at the tone of his voice, as it certainly ruined her afterglow. He never sounded happy, but this was decidedly pissed and she would bear the brunt of his wrath.

“Yes, sir, I’m gathering intel as we speak.”

“She went running around Mexico shooting people. Now she’s been kidnapped by a mercenary—and that happened while a marshal under your command watched. It doesn’t sound to me like you’re keeping
your people in line. Maybe you’re not up for this job.”

“You know I am, sir.”

“I don’t know shit beyond the fact that your witness remains at large. You have seventy-two hours to make this right, or you’re off the case.” He paused. “You know there’s a line ten deep behind you, right? And they’re all chomping at the bit to get your job. Don’t give me a reason to give it to one of them.”

She knew how many competitors were waiting for her to fail. It kept her up nights knowing that, as a woman, she’d be given far fewer chances and very little leeway for screwups, even ones that weren’t directly hers. “I’ll have her back in custody within seventy-two hours.”

“No excuses.”

She’d never been one to give them in the first place. “No, sir.”

She closed the phone, all too aware of Reid’s eyes on her. Although he’d only been able to hear her side of the conversation, she was sure he could read her expression.

She didn’t bother to try to hide it. “My boss.”

“I’ve been on the receiving end of a few of those.”

“I have seventy-two hours to find Teddie.”

He nodded, but didn’t offer any further insight. Arresting and interrogating him wouldn’t work worth a damn—she knew that. The man could be thrown in jail for aiding and abetting, except he couldn’t be placed at the scene of the alleged kidnapping in the first place.

He’d let himself be interrogated for days—weeks, months—and he’d never break. Not on principle, and
certainly not where his best friend was concerned. And then the military would get involved and take him out of her jurisdiction anyway. It would be like trying to move a mountain. She needed to go around it—and him—instead.

“We both know I just want to protect Teddie,” she tried again.

“I don’t know that for sure.”

She sighed at the losing battle. “Look—”

“You guys lost her once already. How does that happen?”

She’d already heard it from her boss—would no doubt hear it again until Teddie was safely in custody and able to explain her actions in the restaurant.

“I’ve got to go,” she muttered, rooted around on the floor for her clothes and began to pull them on without looking at him.

Reid got out of bed, still naked, and took her chin in his hand, forcing her to look at him. “Your sister—you would’ve done anything for her, right? Anything to see her happy?”

“Of course.”

“Kell’s my brother. For all intents and purposes, he’s my family.” Reid said it so fiercely that she started.

“Point taken.”

“Why are you refusing to tell your supervisor that your life’s in danger?”

“I never received any threat.”

“The bomb in your car wasn’t enough for you?”

“How do I know this isn’t part of some giant scheme to keep me off the scent?”

“It began like that,” he admitted, and she was surprised that he’d told the truth.

“And now?”

“Things have changed. Look, if you took Teddie into custody now, you’d have to deal with the Mexican authorities. She’s facing charges. She’ll come back to you cleared.”

“Because you’re Superman.”

“Because I know what I need to do to make it happen.”

“I’ve known you for less than a day and I’m supposed to believe you can do this?”

“I never said it would be easy to trust me. Sometimes, you’ve got to put yourself on the line for what you believe in. I believe in this.”

“And I need to believe in myself more.” She yanked her face away and finished dressing. She left Reid’s room without glancing back at him as her phone rang again. She didn’t recognize the number, but when she said hello, the voice that greeted her unmistakably belonged to her informant. Who, according to Reid, wanted her dead.

“I trust you found the woman you were looking for?”

She leaned against her truck, glanced around surreptitiously. It was crowded on the streets, and this man could be anywhere. “Were you waiting for a thank-you card?”

A short laugh with absolutely no humor followed and it left her chilled. More so when he said, “I hear you let her escape.”

She didn’t answer him, but he continued, “I can give you her new location.”

“Why would you do that?”

“In the name of justice.”

“You’re serious.”

“The man you’ve been spending time with is not a Boy Scout, Grier.”

“And I should be mistaking you for one? I saw the damage you inflicted.”

“I’m not the one hiding a fugitive from you.”

Well, he had her there. Reid’s warning and the scolding from her supervisor were ringing simultaneously in her ears; the pressure to do her job overrode Reid’s concerns.

So far, she also had no real reason to trust Reid, beyond a gut feeling. And with her job on the line right now, that wasn’t enough to outweigh the prospect of finding Teddie.

“Give me the location.”

“Not on the phone. In person.” He rattled off an address as her stomach lurched. It was near an abandoned lot, well off the grid.

She put her hand on her holster for reassurance. “I’ll be there in half an hour.”

“Come alone.”

“I’ll be armed. You?”

He just gave the same eerie laugh and hung up.

She immediately dialed Jack and told him to go meet this Crystal guy—and to bring backup. She’d join them there and they’d bring him into custody for questioning. Because while she didn’t want to believe Reid, she also wasn’t stupid. Crystal had a lot of information, more than he should.

For a second, she felt a chill run down her back. She rubbed her arms and looked around again.

It was time to put this case to bed. First, she would take care of Crystal, and then Chambers.

“What the hell are you about to do?”

She whirled around and found Reid, half-dressed and leaning against her truck, blocking the driver’s-side door with his body.

G
et out of my way,” Grier demanded.

Reid didn’t move a muscle. Her face was pale and she’d been trembling since before he spoke to her. Now Reid was more concerned than ever, because she was ignoring her gut. “You’re not okay.”

“I have to be—I’ve got a job to do.”

She was flustered and pissed and trying to hide it as best she could. She’d just gotten a major ass-chewing, and yeah, he’d been there. But with guys, it was different. Feelings, in his estimation, always got in the way of work.

Add to that a phone call he had no doubt was from Crystal, and he was ready to stop her from leaving, by any means necessary. “You’re not going to meet Crystal.”

His hand was on her biceps and she jerked free, pushing at him hard, and the only reason he let go was so he didn’t hurt her.

“Whatever happened in your room last night doesn’t give you the right to play protector or bodyguard or jealous lover,” she spat. “My job’s on the line.”

“Your life’s on the line.”

“Why do you care so much? I’m the person trying to have your friend arrested—and I will do it. And
when I find out you were involved, I’ll arrest you too, without a second thought.”

“After you tell everyone you slept with me?”

She slapped him, right across the face, and yes, he probably deserved that—and worse—but he wouldn’t stop trying to convince her.

“I won’t let you get hurt by him.”

“I’m not meeting him alone. I have Jack, my partner, waiting. He’ll bring backup.” She shrugged away from him.

And still, something didn’t sit right in his gut. “Let me come with you.”

“I don’t need a bodyguard. And if I’m seen with you, they’ll want to know why I haven’t taken you into custody.”

“Why haven’t you?” he challenged, and she stared at him, her eyes bright but her expression grim.

“I wish I knew. You’d better be as good as I think you are, Reid. And I’m not talking about your bedroom skills.” She touched his chest over his heart with a gentle fist, tapped it a few times. “You promised we’d get Teddie back.”

“Give it another forty-eight hours. On my honor. And that’s all I’ve got, Grier. If you don’t have Teddie, I’ll turn myself in to you instead.”

She believed him—he could tell by the way she nodded.

“Give me the address, Grier. It’s the only way I’m letting you go.”

She pushed the small pad she always carried with her into his face. “There. Satisfied?”

“This isn’t about satisfaction.”

“If you go, don’t you dare let anyone see you or I’ll have you arrested for obstruction.”

Reluctantly, he moved away from the truck and watched her get in, start it up and drive out of the parking lot.

He didn’t like the way she left. Didn’t like her doing her job when she was in such a vulnerable state. She shouldn’t be going to meet Crystal—not even with a shitload of backup. Dylan said Crystal didn’t leave loose ends. And Grier was rapidly becoming one of those.

Because she’s involved with you
.

The weight of that responsibility hung heavily on his shoulders and he went inside the motel room to grab his shirt and gun and headed off to run down those twenty blocks between her and the meeting place.

G
rier left her truck so she could move more stealthily to the meeting place, when a man stopped her to ask for directions. She was wearing her U.S. Marshals jacket and her gun and badge were in plain sight, and she pointed him along his way. He smiled and thanked her and she was about to resume walking when she felt the pinprick in her neck.

She reached back to see if she’d been stung and saw that the man was still standing there, laughing. Looking at someone over her shoulder.

She whirled around in time to see a second man, but before she could grab for her gun, the first man had her arms pinned and was carrying her behind a building to a deserted lot.

“No one’s going to find you once we’re through with you,” a third one said, and she went to punch the one in front of her before they multiplied further.

She missed, which made no sense. Her head felt heavy and her limbs oddly light. “I know you,” she slurred. She furrowed her brow and tried to figure out from where … and then, “You. Teddie. Her father.”

The man from the picture in Teddie’s file laughed and threw a punch of his own.

It didn’t hurt when she was knocked to the ground, but she knew it was supposed to. Knew she should be fighting back, punching and kicking, but none of that happened.

One of the men laughed and the sound seemed to echo in her ears—she covered them to stop it. Her shirt ripped and she wondered if they were going to rape her. She brought her knees up and tried to get into a fetal position, but they tugged at her and her limbs flattened like jelly.

One of them kicked her—hard enough to suck the breath out of her, but she couldn’t move away any longer, could only lie there and take whatever they were dishing out, and that’s when the realization hit.

They were going to kill her. They might rape her along the way, but that wasn’t their main goal.

Those thoughts rolled through her fuzzed brain with a sickening clarity she wished she could obliterate along with her muscle control. Her stomach lurched, her ears were ringing and she still couldn’t breathe well. She heard herself gasping for air and the men’s faces were beginning to blur.

You’re a failure, just like they all said
. And she hated that that would be her final thought.

Everything was a blur—time was rewinding and then playing forward at a sickeningly fast pace. Everything felt heavy.

She looked up and thought she saw the face of an angel. An angry, beautiful angel … She tried to reach up and touch him but then he was gone.

Should’ve listened
.

The ability to control her body was lost—her mind drifted, became as numb as her body, and she actually felt her breathing slow. Was she having an out-of-body experience … or was she simply dying? It felt oddly peaceful, more so than she thought death should be.

Should’ve listened
.

She could do nothing more than close her eyes and accept the loss of control.

R
eid made it within two blocks of the meet-up in record time. He didn’t see any telltale black suburbans around, but he knew the marshals were hiding, waiting for Grier to show.

She wasn’t there.

That meant …

Fuck
. That meant this
was
a setup, courtesy of Crystal.

He called out, “Jack? I need to talk to you about Grier. She’s in trouble.”

After a minute, a tall, dark-haired guy stepped out of the alley, gun drawn. Reid put his hands in the air. “Grier’s in trouble—come with me to find her.”

“Are you Cormier?” Jack asked, his eyes narrowed like a big, protective older brother, and Reid didn’t have time for this shit.

“You in or out?” he asked, and Jack motioned toward
one of the trucks. Once inside and moving, Jack said, “What are you thinking?”

“I told Grier that she can’t trust the guy who’s feeding her information.”

“You think he took her?”

He knew it, but he stopped talking, was too busy scanning the area. When they got to a place where alleys dotted the main street, they left the truck and began to patrol on foot.

After ten minutes, nothing.

He forced himself to calm the fuck down, because panic slowed things in the long run. He and Jack exchanged numbers and split up to cover more ground.

Finally, Reid spotted her truck parked in a small restaurant lot and called Jack with the locale as he continued searching the immediate area. It was still early morning, and there was only one other car next to hers. It would’ve been a longer walk to the assigned meeting place, but obviously Grier had been looking for a back door, wanted the element of surprise in case something went wrong.