Tidal Falls (Wounded Hearts Book 1) (14 page)

“Wai
t, this could work in our favor. If the DEA’s already looking into this, why don’t we turn the whole thing over to them and let them chase after Sheridan and company?”

“
Yeah, we could do that. Except once they get involved they’re going to tear into every aspect of all our lives, including Sheridan’s, do you want that, Jared? What about what they will do to Sara and Jessica? I don’t want their lives dissected by the feds just as they’re getting back on their feet.”

“Fair enough
, buddy, I don’t blame you for wanting to protect your family, but then we need to come up with a way to round them up ourselves. Anyone have any ideas? Woohoo good times, you sure know how to liven things up, Nick, my man.” Jared chortled.

“Don’t get too excited, t
his isn’t going to be a walk in the park. These guys are big league. We’re going to have to strategize for every contingent because there is no way in hell that I want Sara or Jessica anywhere near that asshole again.” Frustrated, he combed rough fingers through his hair.

“I agree with Nick. W
e need a strong plan in place. But I think that it would be better for us if we did a little, you show yours, I’ll show mine, with the DEA. We could keep it controlled. Tell them we’ll only deal with the agent and her partner I talked to in Vegas, and it has to stay under wraps, or no deal. The more I think it over, the more I believe we’re going to need all the help we can land, especially if we end up with the Cartel up our asses.”

“Are you sure you don’t
just want to get the uber-hot Ms. Holt back in your orbit where you can woo her with your staidness?” Jared teased, ducking another hard fist.

“I’m going to go check on Sara while
you two lovebirds twitter away. Be back in a few. If we put our collective brains together, we should be able to come up with one good idea. I hope.” Nick said as he came to his feet. Jake startled awake, jumped up also, his nails scrabbling on the faded green linoleum. “Maybe between us and the DEA, we can drop a net over their ugly asses and be done with this shit. I want Sheridan behind bars for a very long time gentlemen. Now how are we going to accomplish that?”

CHAPTER FOURTEEN

A tornado of emotions whipped through
Sara. She’d opened her arms and her heart to Nick, trusted him with the safety and wellbeing of herself and her child, and look where it landed her. Betrayal was a living, breathing entity in her chest. She wanted,
needed
, to avenge it.

Swiping angry tears from her face, s
he spun away from the sight of her bed with its recently messed covers, locked her door with a satisfying snap, and flung open her closet doors. Dropping to her knees her shaking fingers peeled back the thick old wallpaper to reveal the loosened wallboard. Sara pulled out the stash of money she’d hidden there, along with their fake ID’s and passports.

S
he grabbed the go bag from the floor filled with their essentials and stuffed everything inside before stopping to make sure Nick wasn’t on his way down the hall. Déjà vu, a bad habit, listening at doors. Nick’s deep tones mixed with the low rumble of voices coming from the kitchen.

He’s not coming.

Her breath stalled in her chest. Fine.

I don’t
want him to anyway.

She pushed away
, crossed to the window, and lifted, glad she’d kept the frame well oiled. Sliding the fire escape rope ladder from beneath the bed, she threw it out the opening, making sure it landed noiselessly against the side of the house. With a last, sad look around the room she’d grown to love, Sara breeched the windowsill and began the short climb down, pulling the go bag along with her.

She h
it the ground in a low crouch and prayed Jake would stay sleeping inside with the men, then raced through evening shadows to jump the white rail fence to Tess’s house. She ran to the backdoor, knocked, turned the latch, and slipped inside.

The ri
ch yeasty smell of bread welcomed her as she entered the kitchen from the little mudroom. “Tess, I need help.” Tess stood at the counter kneading dough and jumped at her voice. “Sorry, I didn’t mean to startle you. Listen, I have to leave for a few days and have a big favor to ask.”

“Anything honey, you kn
ow that. What’s wrong, baby girl? Is Jessica okay?” The worried look on Tess’s face as she turned, rubbing her fingers together to rid them of flour, made Sara realize she’d better calm herself down before she picked up Jessica or she’d have her scared.

“
Jess is fine. It’s a family thing, that’s all.” The stress of the past couple years, and then Nick’s betrayal caught up to her. Overwhelmed, Sara crumpled. Tears flooded her face, her shoulders shook and big gulping sobs forced their way out of her mouth.

“Oh
, sweetie. Come here, come on now. Let me hold you, Sara. That’s right, honey, let it out, I’ve got you.” They stood together that way for quite a while, Tess humming a soothing little melody until Sara’s sobs became hiccups and she pulled away to grab a tissue from the table.

“I can’t do this anymore.
I’m tired of lying to everyone I care about.” She sank onto one of Tess’s colorfully quilted cushions gracing the old wooden chairs. “I have something I have to tell you. I can’t hold it to myself anymore.”

“I think I can guess some of it.
You were in an abusive relationship, weren’t you?” Tess came over and joined her, reaching out to link hands with Sara’s frozen ones.

“How did you know?
I thought I hid it pretty well. Obviously, I’ve been fooling myself all along.”

“You did fine
, angel. I just knew. I never told you this before but I had a daughter also. She grew up beautiful and vivacious. All the young men used to chase after her, but she only had eyes for one. He worked at the bar downtown, was a little rough around the edges. I think the bad boy image attracted Vivian the most. They ended up living together, and things seemed good for a couple of years.

“
Then he got restless, started staying down at the bar even on days off. When she asked him about it he laughed and pushed her around a little. I never heard until later or I would have brought her home with me then. I wish to God I’d known.” The heartbreak in her friend’s voice broke Sara’s heart. No mother should ever lose a child.

“
She followed him down there one night. I guess she wanted to see what the big attraction was. Well, she found out. He was in the back with some hussy pinned up to the wall. Vivian told him to pack his bags and get out and then she left, crying. He chased her out to the parking lot and beat the crap out of her. It was late, and at that time there were no lights in the lot, which has since changed, thankfully. My little girl pulled herself into her car and tried to drive herself to the hospital, but crashed into a tree and died. A rib had punctured her lung.”

“Oh, Tess.
I’m so sorry.” More tears rushed to her eyes, thinking of what her friend had been through.

“None of that now.”
Leaning forward, Tess tightened her grip on Sara’s hands. “It happened a long time ago and I’ve made my peace with it. That’s not the reason I told you. I just wanted you to know I’m here now, and I’m listening this time. So talk to me, okay? We’ll figure it out. I don’t want to see what happened to Vivian ever happen to you.”

“I had no idea.
I’m so sorry.” No wonder Tess seemed so pensive at times. Fate had brought them together. They both loved the grandmotherly woman and it was obvious that Tess cared deeply for them as well. They were good for each other. Locking onto their linked fingers like a talisman, Sara let it all out like a purging.

“I have a husband.
Well, an ex-husband, Tom Sheridan. We were married for nine years. Half that time seemed like a never-ending nightmare. He didn’t trust me and held me under constant surveillance. He’s a U.S. attorney in Massachusetts with ties to some very bad men. It was always about the power with him, he has to have complete control over everything. It took a long time, but finally things fell into place. I had a chance to escape with Jessica and grabbed it.” She took a moment to gather her thoughts, relieved to talk about it with someone, even if that someone couldn’t be Nick. The betrayal rose up again, a giant fist smacking her heart.

“
But now he’s tracked me down. He called a little while ago to tell me he’s kidnapped my best friend and is holding her as a ransom to get me to go home.” Sara gazed at Tess through anguish filled eyes. “Don’t you see, I know what he’s capable of, I have to go. Fiona helped through everything, even our escape. I can’t just abandon her. I’m going after him. It’s my responsibility, he needs stopped before anyone else gets hurt. Will you keep Jessica for me if anything happens? It’s essential to me she’s safe, and I know she will be with you.”

Tess shook
her head so fiercely her silvery topknot started a slow slide south, giving her an elfin appearance. “You can’t go after someone like that by yourself, you’ll be killed. We should go to the police. One of my nephews, Ty’s older cousin, is the chief of police here, he’ll help us. And what about Nick? It’s as obvious as the nose on my face that boy is in love with you.”

“Oh
, he knows. Tom hired the inestimable Mr. Kelley to drag me home. He’s been playing some sick game with me all this time, getting his money’s worth, I guess. Nick must be laughing at what a dumbass I was. I trusted him, cared about him. Now all I feel is played, first Tom, then Nick. I am sick and tired of being used by men; I want control of my own life, so I’m going to go see that a-hole husband of mine, give him what he’s after, get my friend back, and then find a solution to world peace. Should be easy, right?” Sara grinned, half-heartedly.

“I think it might be easier to solve the world’s problems than
to corner your ex. What you’re considering is too dangerous to do alone. You’re going to need some help, whether you want to admit it or not. If anything happens to you, that sweet little girl of yours is going to be sent home to her daddy. You don’t want that to happen, do you?”

A
crushing wash of despair threatened to drag her under. Of course she wouldn’t risk Jessica that way. Blinded by her righteous anger, she’d once again overlooked the big picture, which could have had tragic results for both of them. How stupid could she get? She couldn’t go off half-cocked without a real plan in place. Tom was exceptionally smart. He’d see through any trick in half a second. How did she think she could go up against him and win?

Sara thought they had a real chance w
hen Nick told her he was there for her and called in his military friends for back up. Obviously, she’d taken a tour to Fantasy Island, and should have known better. Life wasn’t some kid’s fairy-tale.

Wasn’
t she the pessimist these days?

S
he had to protect Jessica at all costs, and that meant stopping Tom. Those files needed to go to someone who could see him put behind bars. It was the only way any of them would be safe.

Tess was
right, she did need help. This meant going back to Nick and his friends. Now she’d had time to calm down some—the sweet tea had worked its magic—she could see if Nick had been in it for the cash he would have turned her in long ago. So maybe he had developed feelings for her after all. And maybe she could use that to barter for their freedom, because for her, that was the endgame.

As far as she was concerned anything they had was over. S
he refused to be with anyone she couldn’t trust, been there, done that, had the scars to prove it. When she went back home, she’d let Nick know it was only for business, anything else was off the table.

“You’re right
, Tess, I’m not thinking straight. Nick’s called some military friends of his; they arrived a little while ago. They seem ready to help, so I’m going to take them up on it.”

“What about Nick?
I think you should at least listen to his explanation. He’s a good boy, I can tell. You should give him a chance.”

S
haking her head, Sara had to smile at Tess’s description of Nick as a boy. It was hard to imagine his six foot something, muscular body, and lean face as that of a young soft-skinned boy. Her hand unconsciously slid to her flat tummy, rubbing it as she imagined a baby boy with his dark hair and her brown eyes.

CHAPTER FIFTEEN

Ni
ck stared out the window at the darkening yard as his friends pored over the files behind him. They’d already been at it for a couple hours now but with the chief’s contacts they’d managed to track down most of the people on the list. It read like a who’s who of government officials, high-ranking cartel members, and someone only referred to as Phoenix. It forcibly reinforced to him the cunning Tom portrayed. It had not only kept the man alive, but also allowed him to profit from dealing with the likes of the Sinaloa Cartel and the Iraqis.

Had
Adam known something was going on? Maybe that was the reason he’d spent so much time watching Sheridan. Nick had assumed it was because the two men had taken an instant disliking to each other, hell they all had, but Adam carried it further, practically becoming Sheridan’s shadow. If only he would have confided in someone. Maybe, he wouldn’t be dead now.

Nick
gripped the edge of the counter so tight it groaned from the pressure. The scene outside the window changed from a softly lit summer evening, Jess’s bike laying on its side, baseball glove discarded from their earlier game, to one of chaos, with blasts of mortar, and screams of women and children.

He could see the Chief, Adam, and Jared across the villa
ge square. They were pinned down behind the town well. Suddenly Adam popped up; shooting his favorite HK-MP5K. “Get down, get down, you idiot.” Nick chanted the litany under his breath, a prayer to keep his buddy safe.

N
ext thing he knew Adam took a couple hard shots to the chest, his gun flying from his hands as his body folded to the ground. Frank and Jared rushed out and pulled him behind the well amid a flurry of bullets. Nick laid ground cover, hoping to give them time to get the fuck out of there. Jake crouched beside him, low growls emitting from his throat. They were fubared. He didn’t see this ending well for any of them, there had to be twenty insurgents out there, compared to the four—now three—of them. Jared dug inside his Kevlar and came out with what looked like a friggin cell phone, and Nick got ready to beat feet. Sure as hell, thirty seconds later there was a low rumble at the other end of the street, then the real party started.

Jared had done what he was best at, namely saving their sorry asses. He’d set up a bunch of flash bangs, probably as they worked their way in
to the village, and now they were going to reap the rewards. Bam, explosions rent the air, and villagers ran screaming, creating the pandemonium needed for them to ghost out of there, quick fast. He took flank position so Jared and the chief could pack Adam as they raced for cover, their fricken ride over a mile away. They were almost in the clear when something popped from the shadows and Nick felt a searing pain along his scalp just before he passed out. When he came to he was in a German hospital and his best friend was in a pine box. They told him he was lucky, he didn’t agree.

“Nick, I think we’ve got a plan, come check this out.” Ja
red’s rumble brought his head around, back to Sara’s pretty kitchen. It reminded him of her, warm and sunny. God he hoped he could make things up to her; he didn’t want to lose what they had.

“You okay man? You look as if you’ve seen a ghost.”

“I think maybe I did. You guys remember the night Adam died? I think I know who the shooter was. I’m almost sure now it was Sheridan. Over the years, I’ve had fragments of that night creep up on me but never enough to put it all together. Then tonight when Sheridan called, it triggered more memories. I think the cocky bastard killed Adam and winged me. He probably figured I was too fucked up ever to remember it. He’s probably been laughing his ass off all these years. Stupid, messed up Kelley, can’t even remember his own fucking name.”

“Are you sure about this? That’
s good for a court marshalling; his sparkling career in politics is going to come to a crashing end. I confess I always wondered what went wrong that night. It was supposed to be a simple surveillance and all the sudden we found ourselves ass deep in rebels” Regret laced the chief’s eyes and tone. “Then Adam disobeyed a direct order to stay down and was killed for it.”

Jared stood and began pacing the room, looking grimmer than Nick could ever remember seeing him. “T
his is such bullshit! If we’d have got our heads out of our asses, maybe we would have noticed what that prick was up to, and Adam would still be with us today.”

“It’s no one’s fault
, Jare. We went there to do a job. How were we supposed to know someone on our own side would be a threat to any of us?” As always, Frank’s was the voice of reason. “All we can do now is use what we know to take this mother-fucker and all his buddies down. Hard.”

“I agree
, we need to put an end to this once and for all. I hate that Sara and Jessica are in the middle of this shit-storm. I need them safe, even if what we had is over.”

“She’ll come around, don’t you worry. All you need to do is spread some of that famous Kelley ch
arm around, she’ll realize what a sweetheart you are. Man, if I moved in that direction, I’d marry you myself.” Jared moved towards Nick, arms wide, making kissy noises.

“If you two are done spreading the love, we’ll get down to business here. I thin
k I have a plan to bring all our players to one arena, and then with the DEA’s help, we can go in and round them all up at once. The way I see it,” as Nick and Jared pulled up chairs on either side of him, Frank laid out the bullet list he’d made. “We already know there is a big deal about to go down, maybe even the granddaddy for our boy here. The DEA wants in, and I’m willing to bet they’ll give us whatever we need, if it means collaring these guys. I have a feeling Sara inadvertently took the single most important piece of evidence the Feds will need to build this case. That puts us in a position of power, boys. I say we bring all the players here, to us.”

Frank leaned back in his chair as
Nick pushed his back and stood, too agitated to remain seated. “Pardon my French here, sir, but are you fucking crazy? The last thing I want is that asshole and his friends anywhere near here. I want Sara and Jessica protected, not thrown right into the lions mouth, for Chris-sake.”

“Calm down buddy, y
ou know the chief better than that. Give the man time to explain.” Jared placated.

“No he’s right. M
y plan will be dangerous for Sara. We’ll make sure her little girl is under protection, but Sara’s the key. We need her to lure Sheridan in, and with the right timing, his associates also. Look, we know from this file the deal is set for next week, and Sheridan’s part in it is to have the guns he’s already collected from overseas brought to a port for transfer to one Ramos Guerra of the Sinaloa Cartel. In exchange for the arms, Guerra is supposed to turn over twelve shipping containers of the precursor drug, methylamine. Twelve, men. We can’t let that happen.”

He looked them each in the eye, “
I say we force his hand. We know Sara is his weakness, so we get her to call him. Tell him if he doesn’t bring her friend here by next week, crunch time, she’ll turn everything over to the local authorities. I’m betting Sheridan, being the pompous ass he is, will think he can out- maneuver her by bringing his colleagues here to stop her and take care of business all at the same time. We are only a few miles from the pacific so it makes sense. But with the DEA’s assistance we’ll be here, ready for them.”

“I can’t let her do it, it’s too dangerous.”
Nick growled the words, knowing it was the only way but desperate for another answer.

“Yo
u don’t get to have that choice.” They all turned as one to the sound of Sara’s voice as she opened screen door. “You gave up the right to have a say in this when you withheld the truth from me.” Sara avoided his eyes as she entered the room, turning instead to Frank. “I overheard your plan and agree. We have to try. But first you need to promise me by all you hold dear my daughter will be safe. That’s a deal-breaker for me.”

“Sara, you don’t have to do this, we can find anothe
r way.” Nick pleaded, lifting his hand to touch her, only to let it drop when she spun around, hurt and anger radiating from her form.

“Don’t you get it? There is no other way
. He’s too powerful. Tom has spent years building himself up to be unreachable. He holds so many dirty secrets on important people no one can touch him. I was there; I saw what a word from him could do. He took great pleasure in squashing anyone who tried to vilify him. I won’t stand by and let it happen anymore. He’s ruled over me for too many years already. It’s time to end this.”

Ignoring him now, she turned back to
the others, “He’s very perceptive gentlemen, so we’ll have to be precise setting this up or he’ll just smell a rat and blow the whole thing apart on us.”

Nick couldn’
t decide if he wanted to strangle her or applaud. He was fully aware of how dangerous Sheridan could be, that’s why he wanted her nowhere near the guy, couldn’t she understand that? She’d been crying, her eyes red and swollen, her voice husky, and yet she stood there before his friends, unbowed, ready to grab a dragon by the tail if it meant protecting her daughter. He’d never seen anyone braver, or more compelling.

“I know you’re angry with me, and you have cause to be. B
ut I need you to know I never meant to deceive you, and I sure as hell was never going to turn you over to Sheridan. I didn’t even know who he was until you showed me those files. Shit, Sara, what are the chances the same S.O.B. we knew from overseas would be your ex-husband.” He moved to stand in front of her, and gently placed a hand on each side of her face to make her look at him. “Honey, think about it. If I were only here to take you back to him, wouldn’t I have done it already? He’s playing you, Sara, and you’re letting him.”

Nick didn’t care about their audience
. All his focus remained on the courageous woman who held his heart firmly between her tiny little hands and was currently squeezing the living shit out of it.

She still wouldn’
t look him in the eye, her posture remained stiff and unyielding. He wanted to ask how she’d managed to get from her room where he’d watched her disappear a couple of hours ago, to coming in through the back door minutes ago. He hoped to Jesus that she’d not been about to slip town on him. The thought of what could have happened, constricted his already tight throat muscles. She was determined to follow through on this course of action, he couldn’t stop her. He hoped she would at least listen to the voice of reason, namely Frank, and obey every precaution.

***

Sara couldn’t bring herself to meet Nick half way. She still smarted over his possible duplicity. Needed time to assimilate it before she decided anything. She wished she could set it aside and forget it, but it wasn’t that simple. She’d fallen in love with him, put her trust in him, and he had let her down. For right now, she needed to focus all her attention on what needed done to get Fiona out of Tom’s clutches and him behind steel bars. Her priority couldn’t be whether Nick had lied to her, or how she wished she could lean against his broad chest and find the comfort she so badly needed. Instead, she was going to have to stand on her own, as she had always done. After all these years she should know by now, you can’t count on anyone but yourself.

She couldn’t remember a time anyone
ever really cared how she felt. The nine different foster families she’d been assigned to took care of her basic needs, but no one ever tried to create a bond with her. Then she went to a new family the year she turned fifteen.

The Baker
s were a middle-aged couple; Mrs. Baker worked at the local bank, Mr. Baker owned a car lot and spent most of his time at the office. Sara had a list of duties posted to the stainless steel refrigerator in the couple’s upscale condo, and was expected to have them done by the time they arrived home each night.

She remembered coming home early from school that day,
her tummy cramping, head aching, and laying down on the cool leather of the sofa. She awoke to clammy hands pushing her tank top down over her newly budded breasts, grabbing and squeezing even as a heavy weight settled over her prone body and a wet mouth ground her lips against her teeth.

Her eyes flew open and she began to struggle as
Mr. Baker panted in her ear, “Come on honey, open your mouth for me, you know you want it. You’ve been flaunting your sexy little body in front of me since you arrived here, time to share it.”

Sara panicked
as his hands roved over her, pushing and prodding. She tried to knee him in the crotch but only succeeded in letting him settle deeper between her thighs, his disgusting hard-on pushing against her panties where her skirt had ridden up in the struggle.

He laughed, “That’s it
, baby, I knew you wanted me. We’re going to have a good time, you and I.”

“Get off me, you asshole.
” Sara cried as she bunted him in the face with her head. “Get off! I’m going to scream this place down in two seconds if you don’t get the fuck away from me.”

“
Tsk, tsk, is that the way young girls talk these days? No wonder no one wants to keep you, you have no respect.” His hand slipped down between her legs while his other hand restrained hers between their bodies. When she peeled her lips back to scream his slimy tongue entered her mouth, and Sara began to gag in shocked terror.