No Escape (30 page)

“What about you, Crystal?” Tessa leaned forward earnestly. “Do you want out, too? We can help get you away from prostitution and living your life as some man’s
thing
.”

Crystal laughed bitterly. “What do you think I used to do in Reno? That’s where I met Ricky, you know. A couple of lifetimes ago. I’d just graduated from high school in Carson City, and thought Reno was the center of the universe. I started out dealing cards, but there’s more money in stripping. And even more money in being a high-end escort. I’m into shortcuts,” she added, with a shrug.

“If you want a fresh start, all you have to do is ask,” Tessa said.

“It’s not such a bad life,” Crystal replied. “The money is great. Ricky treats me okay, and I’ve got seniority here. I get to meet a lot of famous people, drink nice booze, smoke the finest grass money can buy. Life here is a twenty-four-hour-a-day party, and I’m a party girl. It’s a good deal for someone like me.”

“But not everyone is cut out for the life,” Luke said.

“No,” Crystal agreed. “I could see Kelly was destined for better things right away. You ever hear her sing? She’s got a real pretty voice.”

“So she told you her dreams,” Tessa said. “She must trust you. I hope you’ll help us find her.”

Crystal lit a cigarette she found inside the drawer of Ricky’s desk. “Ricky was furious when he found out Kelly had given Tina a letter bound for outside. He didn’t even stop to read it or anything, just ripped it to shreds. Then he said he’d had it with her—said she needed to learn to appreciate the things she had instead of whining for what she couldn’t have. When he put her in a car with Otis, I figured he’d be taking her to the mountains for a little lesson in obedience.”

“And you just let him take her?” Tessa asked.

Crystal shrugged. “What could I do? I’ve got no power to override him. But I did let Ricky know how much money I thought Kelly could bring in. It was the only way I could think of to make him reconsider hurting her. Look, Ricky has a temper. But he’s kind of spineless, you know. He’d never really do damage to Kelly.”

“What if she threatened his club?” Luke asked. “What if Kelly stood between him and something he wanted?”

“If Ricky wanted something bad enough, he might get violent. But I don’t think so. He’s real big on having other people do his dirty work. I think Kelly is still okay.”

“Why do you say that?” Tessa asked.

“Because if someone is going to do an unpleasant job for Ricky, that someone would be Otis. And I heard Ricky promising Otis he could stay at the Reno Casino for a couple of days, on Ricky’s nickel. Kelly is in the area with them—I saw her get in the car. There’s no way Ricky would do anything to Kelly in his favorite casino, that place is like his church. And there would be too many witnesses.”

“So the plan was to go up and play some cards at the hotel?” Luke asked.

“Sort of,” Crystal replied. “Ricky also has a cabin up in the area, between Lake Tahoe and Reno, actually. It’s very isolated, in the mountains. If Ricky were to take Kelly there, then I’d be worried.”

“What’s to stop him from going there after he sees the sights in Reno?” Tessa asked.

“Nothing. I mean, that was their plan, I think. Ricky’s got a real connection to the cabin near Tahoe. He goes there to think, to solve problems, to woo a new girlfriend. Also—” Crystal paused to wet her lips.

“What? Has anyone ever gone there and disappeared?” Tessa asked.

“No, it’s not that. I think that’s where Ricky keeps his stash. It’s supposed to be a big secret, you know, but I heard Ricky is sitting on a lot of money. Millions, even.”

“Why would he advertise something like that?” Luke asked skeptically.

“He doesn’t, that’s why I think it’s true,” Crystal said. “No one knows where that cabin is except Ricky. There’s no address.”

“What’s the closest town to the cabin?” Tessa asked.

“Reno and Lake Tahoe. I told you, it’s out there.”

“And you think he’s taking Kelly to that place?” Luke asked.

“I don’t know. All’s I know is that
he
is going there at the end of this trip to Reno. He’s probably got some cash to drop off or something.”

“Crystal, do you understand that Ricky in all likelihood is planning on getting rid of Kelly—permanently?” Luke asked bluntly.

Crystal looked confused. “He really isn’t like that. He’s is like the school bully, you know. But he’s never killed anyone. He talks big and all, but he’s closer to Hugh Heffner than Jack the Ripper. He likes refined things, and this club is his baby. Why would he do anything to risk that?”

“Exactly our point,” Tessa said. “He’d do just about anything to protect it. Right now, Kelly is a threat to him.”

Crystal chewed on an acrylic nail extension as she thought. “I suppose he could be dangerous if enough money was involved. Or if someone else was pushing him.”

“I heard Papa Ianelli has been trying to deepen their business relationship,” Luke said.

“Sure,” Crystal nodded. “Ricky wants to expand his operations to Reno and Las Vegas, which would require help from the Ianellis. I heard of them even before I moved to California.”

“You said Ricky was going to the Reno Casino, then his cabin in the mountains. How do we find this place?” Tessa asked. “We can’t sit around and assume Ricky is harmless, not when he’s holding Kelly against her will.”

“I’ve never been to the cabin. But when Otis had to go there on his own last year to drop off something, Ricky gave him a set of numbers. I have no idea how these helped, but—”

“They’re probably GPS coordinates,” Luke said. “Do you know where they are?”

“Right here, on the inside of his desk drawer,” Crystal said. “He keeps his computer password and bank PIN code there as well.” She rolled her eyes.

Luke ripped out the piece of paper taped into the drawer, then turned to the blue-haired woman standing uncertainly at the edge of the desk. A quick check of the clock confirmed that the task force would be coming through the door momentarily.

“Listen, Crystal. The FBI is going to raid Club Red tonight—in a few minutes, actually.”

“Oh, man.”

“They’re not here to charge the girls, but I’m afraid everyone is going to be arrested and held for a few days. Just do whatever the agents tell you, and you’ll be out soon,” Luke said. “Don’t say anything about what you’ve told us tonight. Just say that you don’t know where Ricky is for sure, and we left after talking to you and finding that out. Can you do that?”

Crystal nodded with a little grin. “It won’t be the first time I’ve lied to the police.”

“We’ll make sure they know how helpful you’ve been. Believe it or not, we’re on the same side,” Tessa said, giving Luke a frown.

He shrugged. “We just need a head start to find Kelly. I’m sorry about needing to arrest you, but we have to make sure no one can alert Ricky about the raid.”

Crystal smiled ruefully. “Okay, I guess. But you may be interested to know that we all have instructions to call the same lawyer in the event of a bust. The guy’s crooked, and in on everything that’s going on at Club Red. If you want Ricky to be kept in the dark until you get to Reno, you’d better make sure no one calls the Krugman law firm.”

“Thanks,” Luke said. “That information will help a lot. I’m going to give you my business card. Show it to Gil Rabani, tell them you have information about the Club Red lawyer, and he’ll see to it that you’re treated like royalty. Just don’t say anything else about Ricky, okay?”

“We’ll call him to make sure you’re treated well,” Tessa assured her. She took Luke’s business card before he could hand it to Crystal and wrote something across the back.

Crystal took the card and read the writing, then tipped her head back and laughed with real humor.

Get out of jail free
.

“Thanks, miss. I hope Kelly’s all right when you find her.”

“Me, too.” Tessa’s head jerked up at the sound of orders being shouted over women’s screams downstairs. “It’s show-time. Let’s go get Kelly.”

“Follow my lead, okay?” Luke said as he pulled her down the hallway. “We can’t let on that we know where Ricky is.”

“I got that, but is it—” Tessa began.

“Our best chance to get Kelly back safely is to go in alone. No cops, no police, no SWAT team. We have to be able to move quickly, change plans, and make decisions in the field. If we’re dealing with four different agencies, multiple jurisdictions, and competing egos we can’t do that.”

“What about Ronnie?” Tessa asked faintly. How could she lie to her friend?

“We hope she doesn’t see us as we leave.”

Tessa was silent as they made they’re way down the stairs, stopping several times to confirm their identity with the federal agents swarming the premises. Once they got outside, she pulled Luke to a stop. “I’m not sure if I can do this.”

“Which part?”

“Lying to Ronnie. And the police. And my boss—”

Luke turned her toward him and gently grasped her shoulders. When he spoke, his voice was low and serious. “Do you believe I’d ever do anything that would put you or Kelly at risk?”

“No. Never,” she said with absolute conviction.

“Then I need you to work with me on this, baby. I’ve done a lot of extractions in the past, in a lot of different ways. You have to believe me when I say it will go down better without involving any major branches of law enforcement.”

“I know I said that getting Kelly back was the most important thing, but…what you’re planning might be illegal. Certainly it’s unethical. How on earth are we going to pull it off?”

“Quickly,” Luke said. “The clock is ticking now that the bust has occurred. We run the risk of the media hearing about this and reporting it on the news in the next few days. Even though the officers here are all in plain clothes, and there are no marked cars outside, someone is going to spill the beans soon. It will only be a matter of time before word makes its way to Ricky.”

“And you truly believe that bringing in the police or FBI would limit our ability to move quickly?” Tessa asked.

“I know it. And then there’s the fact that their priority will be Ricky. Ours is Kelly. I don’t want to get into a situation where that girl is sacrificed to their desire to make a big bust. We already warned Rabani and Peebles that we were going
to do things our way. This won’t be a surprise to them, trust me. I need you to trust me, baby.”

She looked into his eyes and thought about all they’d been through together. When all was said and done, making the decision was easy. “Okay, let’s go to Reno.”

Reno, Nevada

Wednesday night, March 17

T
essa stood on the balcony of a hotel suite in the Reno Casino and looked out at the rolling hills surrounding the small city with big ambitions. The “strip” section of town could have been Las Vegas, for all the flashing lights, glowing marquees, and pedestrian traffic.

But the Reno skyline was abbreviated, and the town had only a fraction of its more famous sister city’s population. Instead of being surrounded by searing desert, Reno was located at five thousand feet, not far from the crystal blue depths of Lake Tahoe. The wilds of California’s Sierra Nevada Mountains were a stone’s throw from the luxurious casino where she would stay the night with Luke and his team until they could get Kelly back.

According to Luke’s research, the GPS coordinates for Ricky Hedges’s cabin placed it squarely in the middle of the rugged Sierra Nevadas. They knew that getting Kelly back was not going to be an easy proposition.

Luke had called a local hunting and backpacking guide earlier in the evening, and the man had told them there were
no accessible roads around the cabin. Rugged backcountry roads could be traveled using a four-wheel-drive vehicle, but the final two miles of approach to the cabin required trekking in on foot, using all-terrain vehicles, or driving in on snowmobiles, depending on the season.

Since large, heavy snowflakes had been falling steadily since their arrival at Reno’s tiny airport a few hours ago, it seemed like snowmobiles would be the only way to get to Ricky’s mountain hideaway. There was a base of six feet on the ground at the higher elevations, thanks to a late-winter storm that had come through ten days ago. The temperatures hadn’t been above freezing since.

“It’s hard to believe that just a few hours ago we were in sunny Los Angeles.” Luke came up behind her and looked out the window. He raised his hands to massage the knots of tension from her shoulders. With a sigh, she let her head fall back against his chest, knowing that it was pointless to be so taut and ready for action right now.

Part of the stress was due to guilt about dodging Ronnie and the FBI when they left Club Red. Luke had let her make a call to her friend from a pay phone, saying that they were all right and following a new lead that might be a dead end. Tessa had promised to update her the next day, and hoped that they would already have Kelly out by then.

But after surveying the area surrounding Ricky’s cabin, it had been agreed by the entire team that trying to get the girl out without detailed planning would be foolish.

So despite the urgency screaming through her system, and the knowledge that as the hours went by Ricky might discover that his club had been raided, they would have to wait until the following evening to attempt a rescue.

He stopped the massage on her shoulders and dropped his chin down to rest on her soft hair. “I know you wanted to go in tonight and get Kelly. But we’re not even sure she’s at the cabin. And if we don’t plan the extraction operation carefully, we could end up doing more harm than good. MacBeth
and Stone are getting gear together to scout the property and set up our escape plan.”

“I know,” Tessa said. “And we meet the hunting guide tomorrow morning at eight to pick his brains on the best roads to take in and out. That will leave all day tomorrow to set things up, rent equipment, and so forth. But I’m still concerned about news leaking before we’re ready to move. The clock is ticking.”

“I talked to Rabani an hour ago, and he assured me that everyone swept up in the raid is being held incommunicado. The task force operations units cut the phone lines to Club Red before they went in, and they were able to disrupt cell service to that area for a couple of hours. It’s an isolated property, and no one was rubbernecking as the vans pulled into the parking garage beneath, so it looks like we’re okay.”

“Do you think he knows what we’re doing, or where we are?”

Luke shook his head, the point of his stubbly chin ruffling her loose blond hair. “After the deal we made regarding Ricky, the AUSA and FBI both realize we aren’t going to share any information with them. I’m sure they have no idea where we are, and by the time they figure it out, we’ll have Kelly back here.”

“It feels wrong, even though I understand your reasons for wanting to do this with a small team of people you know you can trust.”

“Listen, baby. When the army or Marines have a delicate, time-sensitive operation, do they send in a battalion to do it?”

“No,” she whispered. “Special Operations forces get the call. They’re the new military paradigm since Afghanistan and Iraq.”

“There’s a reason. It works. I’m not worried about jeopardizing the legal case, because we have guilty pleas from most of the players involved. With that in mind, Kelly is my one and only concern. Of all the players out there working
on this case, I’m comfortable that my team is the one best suited to getting this done quickly and cleanly.”

“I trust you. I do,” she repeated when he was silent. “I wouldn’t be here without that trust, and you know it. I’m just…turning my back on a lifetime of working to support the system, and letting the system work the way it’s supposed to. It’s a foreign concept to me to circumvent it.”

“Don’t worry, I’m getting pretty damned good at that part,” Luke said with a light squeeze. “There are a lot fewer variables to control this way.”

“The only important one is Ricky,” Tessa agreed.

“He’s in town gambling, thinking that everything is going as he planned. No one has seen Otis, which means he’s probably at the cabin with Kelly, keeping her out of the way.”

“I don’t like the idea of Kelly being alone with someone who works as Ricky Hedges’s loyal bodyguard,” Tessa said. “Let alone the man who probably ran down Ed.”

“I felt the same way, so I talked to Jerry about it. He told me something that I think will ease your mind just a little.”

“What?”

“Otis is gay. Ricky found him at a bodybuilding competition a couple of years ago, so he’s a big strapping guy. But not interested in women—which is probably why Ricky sent him ahead with Kelly. Apparently, Ricky was worried about sweet Kelly manipulating men into letting down their guard, as she did when she tried to sneak the note out with one of the girls.”

“She’s a smart kid,” Tessa said, with a half smile.

Luke removed his hands from around Tessa and stretched. “It’s just before midnight. We’ve got about eight hours before our next meeting, so I’m going to take a shower and crash. You should try to get some sleep.”

“I think I’ll watch TV in bed for a while. I’m too keyed up to sleep. I wish we’d had time to grab some things before running to the airport—like a good book.”

“There will be time tomorrow to get some ski gear, warm clothes, and any other supplies we’ll need. The hotel brought a bunch of toiletries up, so grab whatever you need.” Luke gestured to several bags of items on the console by the suite’s front door.

“At over five thousand dollars a night for this suite, we’ve paid for whatever’s in there,” Tessa grumbled.

“I know it was expensive, but we need the extra bedroom and living space. And this is Ricky’s favorite club, so being here will help keep an eye on him. We just have to stay out of sight unless we know exactly where Ricky is.” Luke absently kissed her forehead, then went into the bathroom. The thundering sound of water soon came through the closed door, accompanied by a cheerful tune.

Apparently Luke was a whistler in the shower. Who knew? Tessa shook her head as she considered that there were a lot of things about him that she didn’t know.

But so far, discovering them had been kind of fun.

Refusing to examine the matter any more deeply than that, Tessa turned on the TV and selected a news channel. With the sound turned low, she went over to the bags of toiletries and rifled through them. In the last bag, she found a small cardboard box with the picture of a couple embracing on a sunlit beach.

Ribbed for her pleasure.
With raised eyebrows, Tessa tapped the box against her palm and wondered how to slip the bellboy a twenty without either one of them dying of embarrassment.

She heard the water shut off in the bathroom and hurriedly set the box of condoms on the table in plain view. With a barely suppressed grin, she waited for Luke to come out of the steamy room.

He strode out with wet hair and moisture condensed on his broad torso. Tessa visually followed the arrow of hair from the pads of his muscled chest down to the knotted white towel around his waist. The widely scattered, puckered
scars left from his encounter with a shotgun blast never failed to jolt her—not because they were ugly, but because he’d somehow survived such a grisly injury.

Luke caught her staring. “What?”

“Nothing,” she mumbled, with a sudden burst of shyness.

It was one thing to contemplate jumping the man by surprise. It was another thing entirely to actually do it.

Tessa escaped to the bathroom for a little pep talk while she brushed her teeth.

You are a mature and attractive woman. What’s more, he’s not going to say no. So get to it!

She fluffed her pale hair around her face and held a cool cloth to her burning cheeks, telling herself it was time for her to make some moves. She couldn’t sit back and let him do everything in this relationship.

Or whatever this
thing
between the two of them could be called. Luke was so generous with himself—he deserved to know that he wasn’t alone in terms of feeling the pull between them.

With a deep breath, she yanked the bathroom door open and went into the suite’s bedroom. Luke was wearing one of the other robes from the closet and was pulling on a pair of dark socks in the chilly air of the hotel room.

No! Not the socks!

Tessa grinned as she contemplated how to incorporate everyday issues like cold toes into the seduction she had in mind. Somehow, it was just easier in the movies, where no doubt the air on the sets was heated to an agreeable seventy-four degrees.

Done with the socks, Luke leaned against the high-backed upholstered chair and rested his head with his eyes closed for a moment. He had no idea that he was being stalked.

“Tired?” Tessa asked softly.

Luke’s eyes popped open and widened when he saw her standing right in front of him, close enough to touch. But it wasn’t her proximity that made his nostrils flare, it was the
heated look in her eyes, which were positively navy in the subdued light of the room.

And even more than her eyes, it was the warm blush on her cheeks and the way her lips parted to compensate for her altered breathing that brought him to attention.

“Yes and no. What did you have in mind?” Luke asked. He took both of her hands in his, stroking gently around the edges of her cast. Surprised to feel a slight tremor, he realized she was nervous.

With his heartbeat kicking up in anticipation, Luke leaned back in the chair and continued to stroke his thumbs over her captive fingers.

Tessa looked into his eyes and saw nothing but acceptance of her, along with frankly lustful eagerness. That supplied the extra confidence for her to shift down until she was sitting in Luke’s lap and facing him, practically nose to nose. A mere second later, they were lip to lip as she slowly pressed her mouth to his in a series of soft kisses. The tip of her tongue slid along Luke’s mouth, she realized he was smiling, and she was lost. The tone of the kiss changed to hunger and passion and shared greed.

He dropped her hands and wrapped his arms around her, bringing her into gasping contact with his body from groin to mouth. The only thing keeping them apart was the plush cotton of their robes.

Tessa opened her mouth more fully on Luke’s and reached behind her with her right arm to grab one of his hands as her tongue dueled with his. Breathing rapidly against his mouth, she guided his captive hand inside her robe and pressed it against a silken breast.

Luke took it from there.

His hand was warm against her, and the heat spread from where he touched to the rest of her body. Rubbing his thumb gently around her taut pink nipple, Luke gently kneaded and massaged the delicate weight of her breast with his fingers. He brought his other hand into play and used it to untie her
robe, pushing the lapels back so that her upper body was exposed. Another tug and some shifting of her weight, and the robe was on the floor. Then Luke used both palms on her, shaping and fondling and caressing her goose-bumped flesh.

She was so delicate, Luke thought. So pretty. Confident in her work, yet sometimes shy as a woman. Tough, persistent, stubborn, softhearted. She intrigued him.

Tessa rocked unconsciously against him in a move that incited both of them. She freed his mouth and tugged on his head, while at the same time arching backward. She felt Luke lean down and take as much of her breast into his mouth as he could, using teeth and tongue and breath in an erotic combination that had her thighs clenching tight around his hips in response.

As he moved to her other breast and treated it to the same tender-rough caresses, Luke enjoyed the flush of red that was climbing from Tessa’s chest toward her neck. She squirmed against his straining erection again, and he couldn’t control the almost pained sound of anticipation that came from his throat.

“What do you want me to do, baby?” Luke pressed her breasts tightly together and breathed the question against the resulting cleavage, then rubbed his face back and forth on her soft skin. “Say it.”

Tessa could only moan and press more tightly against him as she rocked into his hardness. She just wanted to hold him, wrap her arms around him and squeeze against him with all her strength. Sure that she was going to combust, she grabbed at one of his hands. With more desperation than seductive precision, she plunged it into the moist, heated space between their lower bodies.

In hushed silence, his fingers gently sifted through dark blond curls to trace soft, slick folds. The edges of Tessa’s vision dimmed to gray for a moment until she remembered to breathe. Despite his need, he was tender and loving with her body—just as he was with her outside of the bedroom. The
thought made her throat tighten for a moment before she swallowed the lump and ran her lips over his face in a series of fluttering caresses.