Witness Protection: Hide and Seek (23 page)

Eduardo Guzman sat behind his Italian Renaissance, hand
carved Mahogany desk. His Black Panthers, Mosie, and Iver, sat on either side
of it. The animals were restless and hungry. And Guzman wanted it that way. He
wanted them salivating by the time his guest arrived.

From the 25-foot high, brick barrel ceilings, to the 30-foot
retractable, bulletproof, glass patio door, the 4,500 square foot home emulated
money and power. There were armed guards located all over the compound and
several look outs hidden all over the city. Each man and woman strategically
placed so that anyone coming could be seen from a very long distance.

Eduardo Guzman didn’t feel like the king of the castle as he
looked out over the Northwest Valley, he
was
the king of the castle, the jungle, and everywhere else in between.

And no one, not even his number one man, Castillo, was going
to take that away from him.

"Castillo has just landed." One of his bodyguards
spoke to him through the headset that he was wearing.

"Good. Pick him up and bring him straight here. And no
matter what he requests," Guzman said. "There is to be no stopping at
the
burdel
. I don’t need him wanting
to get laid when there is business that needs to be taken care of,
entendido
?"

"Yes boss, understood."

"Excellent," he said and disconnected the line. He
looked down at his panthers.

"It won't be long
bebés
.
Daddy has a wonderful treat coming for you. I'm sure you will like it very
much," he said and gently stroked the animals.

****

Castillo smiled as he disembarked the airplane. He was
finally home and soon, he would be reaping the rewards for all of his hard,
deceitful, work. The weather was windy, there was a chill in the air, and the
sky threatened of rain, but nothing was going to dampen his spirits.

When he checked his cell phone, his smile grew even broader
as he read the text message from one the agents assigned to fit him with the
wire.
'Due to technical difficulties, the
task had been put off for a day or so,'
the text read.

'Keep your meeting
with Guzman and don’t let on that anything is wrong. Will rendezvous with you
within the next day or so.'

"Two days of nothing but fun in the sun." He
turned and grinned at a beautiful woman walking by.

"This just keeps getting better and better," he
said.

The trunk of a Bentley Continental GTC was already popped
open and one of the men reached for Castillo's bags.

"Mr. Guzman wanted you to arrive in style," the
burly man said and reached for Castillo's bags.

When they arrived at Guzman's estate, heavily armed
bodyguards stood in front of the steel gate that enclosed the Guzman compound.
Castillo got out of the car, stretched, and admired the vast grounds. As they
approached the house, he noticed that there was a high wire, electrified fence
off to the right.

"Guzman must want to keep something inside." He
chuckled. "Probably some first class perra's, no?" He laughed loudly
and playfully punched one of the men in the arm.

The man just shrugged his shoulders and walked Castillo into
the house. Guzman wasted no time in meeting him at the door.

Once the formalities and niceties were taken care of, Guzman
showed him into his study.

When a couple of armed guards followed them into the room,
Castillo began to feel uneasy.

"What? You don’t trust me my friend?" He said and
looked around nervously.

"You've been away for a very long time. Many things
have changed my friend, that's all." Guzman reassured him.

"How is everything going? Are you moving the
money?" Guzman asked.

"Of course señor." He tried bullshitting.

Guzman went along for the ride. "You have done nothing
else since your escape mi amigo?"

"No señor, I've been taking care of the business, just
like we agreed."

"I like that. I like that very much," Guzman said.

"Lots of people trying to get their hands on my money
and I cannot have that. I've worked too hard and too long for what I have and
no one; I mean no one is going to take all of this away from me." He
spread open his arms in a displaying manner.

Castillo nodded his head in agreement. "No one would dare take anything
from you señor. No. Trust me, your money is safe and business is good."

"Thank you for the reassurance my friend, you're a good
man. Now, I have something special for you, follow me." He patted Castillo
on the back and motioned for the guards to follow them.

****

Cole brought Madison a change of clothes and toiletries and
while she took a shower, he sat in a small, secluded waiting room with Tanner,
Spear, and Faith.

"You ready for this?" Faith asked.

Cole could sense the hesitation in his friend's voice.
"Listen," he said. "If you don’t want to watch this, then I
suggest you leave."

Faith turned to his friend and said, "I'm not going
anywhere buddy. I'm behind you one hundred percent, believe me. I also happen
to agree with what's about to happen, you said it yourself. There's no other
way."

Cole then turned to Tanner. "How'd you get the agents
to call off the meeting to fit him for the wire?"

"I found out that one of the agents involved is the son
of a good friend of mine. I called him, explained what was about to go down and
he promised that he'd switch the dates. Now sit back and relax gentlemen, and
for those of you with a squeamish stomach… I suggest you leave right now."

When no one moved, he tapped a button on his phone.

The four men sat next to each other and watched as Tanner's
smartphone connected to Skype.

Within seconds, the blurred image became clear and they
watched as a group of men, Castillo being one of them, made their way down the
stairs into a large, concrete room with jet-black walls.

A furnace and water heater stood in one corner, while a
large covered object stood in the other.

"Do you know what that is?" Guzman pointed to the
object.

Castillo could feel the beads of sweat begin to form on the
back of his neck. He nervously ran his palm across his neck.

"No señor. I don’t."

"Go ahead, take a guess." Guzman's eyes held the
slightest hint of amusement.

Castillo shrugged his shoulders and looked around the room.

"A vault of some kind to hold more of your money?"
He chuckled tensely.

"Good guess," Guzman chuckled back. "But no,
it is not a vault." He then told one of the guards to remove the velvet
fabric covering the object.

When the contents were revealed, Castillo took a step back
and tried desperately to hold his bladder.

 
"Why… th…they
are gorgeous," his voice trembled and cold chills ran up and down his
spine.

"Yes they are." Guzman made his way over to the
cage, stuck his hand inside, and began stroking the animals.

"Do you know anything about the Black Panther?"

Castillo stood paralyzed with fear.

Guzman continued. "The Black Panther is considered by
most, to be powerful and protective. These beautiful creatures symbolize
courage, fearlessness, and power." He balled up his hand and made a fist.

 
"You know, my
mother once told me that the panther is my power animal. She also told me that
I would forever be blessed with a ferocious guardian. They are also a symbol of
death and rebirth, aggressiveness and also, the reclaiming of power," he
said.

"And that is why we are here. I am reclaiming the power
that I gave to you, all those years ago. I've been warned that you were
plotting against me, that you were planning on taking me down. Did you really
think that it would have worked mi amigo?"

Castillo's heart pounded out a constant drumming of doom.
There was nothing that he could do, no place that he could go. An armed guard
was blocking the only exit and another one had turned his back to the group and
was doing something with his hands.

He leaned to the side and risked a peek into the cage. Two
sets of emerald green eyes full of blood lust, stared back at him.

"Yes, you are the treat that I promised my bebés."
Guzman's hand now rested on the cage door.

"I know what you had planned puta." Guzman could feel
the anger building up inside him. His hand gripped the cage tightly and he
fought hard not to release the latch.

"No señor, you are mistaken," Castillo stammered.
"I would never betray you. You have gotten your information from an
untrustworthy source."

"No mi amigo, I have not. You were to meet with agents
when you got off the plane, is that not correct? And once off the plane, they
were to take you to be fitted with a wire. Is that not so?"

The large man shifted his weight and moved to the other side
of the cage, away from the opening.

Castillo stood stunned as he stared at the animals. They
hadn't moved a muscle and their eyes, God their eyes never left his own.

He wanted to scream. He wanted to run screaming, right out
the front door, but there was no chance of that. They were in the basement and
the armed guards were now making their way closer to him.

"What is that saying?" Guzman looked at Castillo.

"Oh yes, your silence speaks volumes Ricardo. And
that's okay, because I'm sure that we'll be hearing from you momentarily. But…
before you start screaming, which I am sure you will do, I want to tell you
that I am proud of you for not begging," Guzman said. "Most men that
I bring down here, start begging right away.

Castillo could sense the two men standing behind him, but
his gaze remained straight ahead on the panthers.

He breathed a heavy sigh of relief when he saw Guzman walk
away from the cage, towards him until their eyes met.

"This should make things a little easier." He
grinned and snapped his fingers.

"Oh, but not too much."

He started to make his way back towards the cage, but then
turned around.

"I almost forgot," he walked over to him and
tapped him on the neck.

"Madison West sends her regards." A dry, sinister
snicker escaped his mouth.

At the mention of her name, Castillo closed his eyes and
cursed. "Shit!" He said and felt the sharp prick of something being
injected into his neck.

"Don’t worry," the guard said.

"This is nothing compared to what you gave to Miss
West."

When he released the contents of his bladder, both guards
stepped back.

"Ahhh, don’t be frightened mi amigo. It'll all be over
soon," Guzman said and opened up the latch of the cage.

The feeling was not one of euphoria and his vision was
starting to blur.

 
Whatever they gave
him was not enough to cause him to black out, nor was it enough to block out
the pain.

 
Flashes of emerald
green eyes, pure white fangs, and flesh being torn dominated his eyes and his
ears. Then there was the crunch. It sounded bad. It sounded as if someone had
broken a 2x4 over his knee.
 
For a
moment, it felt just like a dream, only for a moment because after that, the
pain came.

 
Castillo went down
with a thump, his body a heap of raw flesh and bones.

And he did scream, he screamed until his skin, what was left
of it, turned as white as a sheet of paper.

Guzman stood close by and watched the animals feast on their
treat. When he saw that Castillo's eyes were still open and that he was still
breathing, he gave a command to the animals. Mosie moved down towards the legs
and Iver stayed near the head. A moment later, on Guzman's command, Iver tore
into the throat of his prey.

****

"Jesus Christ!" Marshal Spear got up from his
chair. He was coughing and gagging.

Tanner turned off the skype session and looked around at the
men. Besides their faces being a little pale, neither Cole, nor Faith looked
the worse for wear.

"And that, gentlemen, is that," Tanner said.

"I'm going to check on Madison, Cole said.

"If it's all right with you, I'm going to say
goodnight. I've got to check on Jessica."

"Of course. Thanks for everything, all of you."
Cole shook hands with the men.

"Anytime Harding, anytime. Give Madison our best."

Madison woke up with her legs entwined with Cole's and his
eyes on her as he propped himself up on his elbow. "Good morning."

Madison smiled and snuggled further into him. Three weeks
had gone by and she felt impossibly content. "Good morning."

"How'd you sleep?"

"Amazing," she said and looked out at the palette
of colors bursting from the sunrise.

"Now I know why they call this place the pearl of the
pacific. It's breathtaking, simply breathtaking."

"Yes she is," Cole moved closer to her and gently
stroked the hair away from her forehead.

"I was talking about the view," she said.
"This island." She giggled.

"And I was referring to you." He smiled warmly.

"Thank you for bringing me here," she said and
kissed him again.

Madison wrapped a sheet around her and shifted out of bed.

She could not stop smiling as she made her way over towards
the window that overlooked the lagoon of Vahine-Island.

They were in Bora Bora, and so far, the entire trip felt
like a dream.

Cole eased up behind her and wrapped his arms around her.

Madison leaned into him as they watched the sunrise and
listened to the shimmering blue waves lapping against the white sands of their
private beach bungalow.

Even though they were in one of the most beautiful places in
the world, she could feel herself stalling, hated that she was making things
tense. But everything had come on so suddenly. After she was released from the
hospital, she spent her days, avoiding the authorities. She had nothing to say
to the feds, she wanted that part of her life to be gone forever. She
remembered the conversation that she had when Kirsch and two of his men came to
Cole's place. "Just a few routine questions," he said.

She'd denied knowing anything about Castillo's
disappearance, and she showed complete indifference when Kirsch told her that a
special operation had now been ruined. Kirsch's superior had asked him a couple
of questions too.

"Have you had anything strange happen with any of your
people in the last few days? Say, people who would have been aware of an
investigation, somebody fairly close to it? Anything unusual, or concerning?
What about that drug deal gone bad, back at the Valley House Motel?"

Kirsch waved his hand in a dismissive manner.
"Unrelated sir. Nothing unusual or concerning at all," he replied.

His superior shook his head in wonderment. "Well then,
I guess we won't know what happened to Castillo until we actually find
him."

"We're looking into every lead sir."

"Good and please try not to disturb Guzman. The last
thing we want is for him to catch wind of what we've got planned."

"Believe me, Guzman is one man that I do not want to
disturb," Kirsch said.

Just as Kirsch's superior knew nothing of the kidnapping of
Madison West, Kirsch knew nothing of the inside job that was executed by the
retired agents. They'd kept their mouths shut, and those that still worked for
the feds knew that their careers would come to an abrupt end if they told
anyone.

But Kirsch still had to ask Madison how she felt about
Castillo's disappearance and whether or not she wanted to go back into the
program. He had to keep up appearances. He knew that asking her to go back into
the program could mean the end of his career. His superiors knew nothing of her
ordeal and if she opened her mouth to tell them… well that would not be good at
all.

Luckily, he had some experience in dealing with people like
Madison West. She was the good Samaritan that now held malice towards the feds.
They not only failed to keep her safe, but they offered her up to Castillo
without a second thought. She was now fed up with the system and all of its
bullshit.
 

Tired of always trying to do the right thing, only to get
screwed over, time and time again. No, he was almost positive that she would
refuse to go back into the program, almost.

"Absolutely not," she said. "I have no
intention of having my life dictated to me by you or anyone else."

"But Miss West, aren’t you afraid of Castillo coming
after you again?" Kirsch feigned concern.

"I'm not afraid Deputy Kirsch and there's a simple
reason for that."

"And what might that be?"

Madison stood up and walked over to him. "I'm not
afraid because even though he is missing, I'm sure that you and your agency are
doing all that you can to find him. After all, I'm sure that my life is far
more important than the life of a sex-trafficking, drug smuggling, killer, am I
right?" There was no mistaking the tone of her voice. It was sarcastic,
yet almost soothing. She was letting him know that if they left her alone, she
would leave them alone.

Kirsch swallowed hard and nodded his head. "Of course
Miss West."

Madison held out her hand and when Kirsch reached for it,
she shook it heartily.

"Good, so while you and your men search for Castillo,
I'll be going on with the life that I was intended to lead.
 
And on that note, I'll walk you to the
door."

After they'd taken care of Manny and
his associates, Kirsch and his men left Summerbridge for good.

Once that was taken care of, Madison spent the rest of her
days and nights with Cole. Just the two of them.
 
And now they were watching the sunrise in one
of the most beautiful places in the world.

"You sure you want to go back to Maine with me?"
She frowned.

Cole could feel the smallest bit of tension in her body.

He turned her around so that she was facing him.

"Madison, we talked about this. No more doubts. Tanner
is going to replace me as sergeant and when we get back, you're going to Maine
and I'm going with you. Three years ago when I first met you, something deep
down told me that I was falling for you. As horrible and as selfish as that may
sound, I was. But I was a married man and I was in charge of your protection.

No matter how hard I tried to fight it, a piece of my heart
broke just trying to imagine leaving you. And when we brought you to Calloway,
it took all the strength I had not to ask you to wait for me. I buried it deep
inside, but Madison, that was the worst day of my life. And I know that we have
to leave this wonderful, fantasy world soon, but I'm not leaving you. Not
leaving us. We're in this together."

Her heart pounded hard, ridiculously hard. Madison laughed
and cried at the joy of it all. For the woman who thought that being strong meant
spending the rest of her life solo.

"You showed me how to let go and learn to love again.
And I want to spend each and every day loving you."

Cole held her close. His fingertips moved across her lips.
"So much faith in me," he said softly.
 
"I promise I will never let you
down."

She could feel, could see, how much he loved and wanted her.
Cole took hold of her hand and led her back to the bed.

"I want you so badly."

Hearing that pushed aside any and all doubts that she had
about asking him to go to Maine with her.

Before she could take her next breath, his fingers threaded
into her hair and his mouth was on hers. When one of his legs came between
hers, she couldn’t stop herself from closing her thighs around him and
thrusting her hips up against his firm leg muscles.

Feeling his hands on her body and forever reeling from his
mind-blowing kisses already had her feeling like she was on the edge.

He said her name in a whisper of need and before she knew it
her entire body had turned soft, pliant against him, and she could feel herself
throbbing between her legs.

Their lovemaking wasn’t rushed, wasn’t hurried. It was slow
and deliberate, despite their desperate want for one another.

Afterwards, as they lay in each other's arms, Cole released
a blissful sigh. "I'm going to hate to leave this place, but I cannot wait
to start my life with you."

His words resonated all the way down to the depths of her
soul.

"I love you," he said and slid his hand over hers.

She pressed her lips against his and whispered, "I love
you too."