Page 18

CHAPTER 17

“What the hell is taking so long?” Cooper paced across the factory floor, just like Nova had been doing, glaring at the three officers who glanced at him before resuming their conversation.

It had been over ten minutes since those other two jackasses had shoved Nova from one side of the room to the other before disappearing out the door, and Cooper’s patience was about to snap.

Bellamy stepped in front, stopping Cooper from making another pass. “We knew this is how it would play out, but Emery and Milligan are on top of it. They need to keep Nova isolated until they can sort everything out. Or have you forgotten there’s still a federal warrant out for her arrest?”

“I haven’t forgotten, wiseass. But what if there’re more cartel assholes hanging around? Who’s going to protect her? That rookie who barely looks old enough to walk to school on his own?”

“There’re half a dozen cruisers out there along with ambulances and other emergency vehicles. Besides, I doubt anyone would be stupid enough to attack her.”

Cooper grunted, rolling his shoulders in attempt to calm down. Whether it was the aftermath of the firefight, Whiskey taking two slugs to her vest, or just the fact he was stupid in love with Nova, he wasn’t sure. But his inner voice was nagging at him. Warning him this wasn’t over. That despite the numerous battles they’d waged over the past week, it had been almost too easy.

That maybe they were missing something.

He clenched his fists, reminding himself Bellamy had a point, when Emery walked toward them, Flint shadowing her every move. “Well?”

Emery snorted. “You know Nova’s just outside in Milligan’s Chevy, right? Not stuffed into someone’s trunk or stuck behind bars.”

“Yeah, handcuffed, unarmed, with some rookie as her only protection.”

“That rookie graduated top of his class. But more importantly, he’s too far removed to have been bought by a cartel.”

“I’m sure his sense of honor will be a godsend when half a dozen mercenaries come gunning for her.”

Flint chuckled. “I told you so, sweetheart.”

Emery sighed, digging her hand into her pocket before handing Flint ten bucks. “I never should have taken that bet. And yeah, Flint said you’d be running through every worse-case scenario until you could have her six, again.”

“That’s because this isn’t over. Nailing Simmons was a start, and with any luck, it’ll cripple whatever cartel was backing him for a while. But the fact those medics carted him out of here while he was already trying to broker a deal suggests he’s only a piece in the puzzle. And Nova’s at the center of it.”

Cooper raked his hand through his hair, huffing out his next breath. “In fact, the more I think about it, the more I believe it’s who Paulin was going to ID that got him killed. That connection back to Tate. And that doesn’t have anything to do with Simmons.”

Emery frowned when her radio buzzed, that older cop who’d escorted Nova out, yelling for a medic. That there was an officer down.

She inhaled, then she was racing across the factory a heartbeat later, Cooper’s team in tow — Flint taking point. He stopped her just long enough to clear the immediate area, then he was waving them through — covering their six. Medics were already at the car, working on the kid. Something about a gunshot wound.

She went to the other side, cursing at the empty back seat, Nova’s handcuffs lying on the floorboard. No other obvious clues within sight. “Shit!”

Cooper had Whiskey scenting the Chevy as soon as the paramedics had the officer on a gurney heading for the ambulance. The dog sniffed the cuffs, then turned, limping toward the back of the car. She stopped, sniffed again, then took several more steps, shifting over to the middle of the lane way, before sitting. Looking up at him, tail wagging.

Emery moved in beside Cooper. “What does that mean?”

“Good girl.” He gave Whiskey a scratch. “It means it looks like Nova got into another vehicle that was parked here. And she drove.”

Milligan stormed over, fists clenched. Red slashed across his cheeks. “I swear, Harris, if Martin’s been playing us, all along…”

“She’s not fucking dirty.” Cooper huffed when Milligan merely arched a brow as he crossed his arms. “Seriously, Milligan? You honestly believe that this rookie — who apparently graduated at the top of his class — released a wanted fugitive then stood there, with his back to Nova while she exited, grabbed his weapon and shot him? Because she was unarmed when she went in there, and as good as she is, I don’t think she’s also Houdini. Not that any of this is important, right now.”

Cooper marched over to Milligan. “Call the hospital. We need Simmons to tell us who the hell Paulin answered to before it’s too late.”

“The hospital already called. Detective Simmons went into surgery five minutes, ago, or did you forget Agent Martin shot him.”

“He’s lucky he’s breathing because she could have capped him in the head.” Cooper turned. “Bellamy? Brother, call Hawk. I need Waylen searching every damn camera feed coming in and out of here.”

Bellamy held up his hand. “Already on it. Waylen accessed a camera at the turnoff from some bank ATM. Said it looked like a black Suburban turned past, then doubled back about five minutes later. It would have entered at the rear.”

“We need him to zero in on those plates and to follow that damn Suburban somehow.”

“He’s on it, but…”

But hacking took time. Something Nova had very little of because Cooper knew this was the endgame. That whoever took her was the one who’d been trying to kill her all along.

Flint moved in beside him. “Kian has Blake heading for the hanger. She’ll get airborne as quickly as possible and if we need her, she’ll land on the damn highway if that’s what it takes.”

“Detective McClane?”

Cooper turned as another officer stood just outside their group, looking over at Emery.

He nodded. “There’s an older gentleman in a red pickup who says he has information on the shooting, but he’ll only talk to you or Flint.”

Cooper turned as Emery inhaled, muttering a prayer of thanks before running over to the truck, Cooper’s team and Flint right behind her.

An older man with white hair and strong features sat behind the wheel, eyes wary as he silently measured everyone up. “Detective McClane.”

“Master Sargent Snider. Please tell me you saw what happened.”

He shifted his gaze, finally focusing on Emery, again. “Mostly silhouettes, but I saw a man get out of a Suburban and go over to that Chevy. He talked to another man — officer I think — who opened the rear door. He was bent over, talking to the lady inside I assume, then that other man moved in behind him and shot him. The woman got out and he made her get into his Suburban then they drove off.”

“Can you tell me anything about the man or what direction they were headed?”

“He came in from the rear but they left down the main road. He did have a jacket on, though. Big yellow letters across the back that spelled DEA.”

“DEA? Are you absolutely sure?”

“I’m old, detective, but not blind.”

“You’re far more than that. How long ago did they leave?”

“About ten minutes.”

“Henry, you’re a hero. I’ll come by later to get a formal statement just do me a favor and go home and lock your doors.”

Emery turned as Snider drove off, meeting Cooper’s gaze. “Any idea who our mystery DEA guy is?”

Cooper looked her square in the eyes. “Only one. Cartwright.”

“Cartwright? As in assistant director of the Drug Enforcement Agency? Nova’s boss?”

“I’ll explain along the way.”

“On the way to where?”

“The DEA office. Cartwright needs that second ledger.”

“Wait. There’s actually another ledger? Nova wasn’t bluffing in there?”

“Move now. Talk later. They’ve got ten minutes on us, and I doubt Nova can stall for that long.”

Flint snagged his arm. “We’ll take my truck. With any luck, Blake will meet us partway. But in case she can’t get to us in time, I know a shortcut. But the ride’s going to be a nightmare at the speed we’ll need to go.”

Cooper nodded. “Then, I’ll be sure to buckle up.”

“You know, Martin, if I’d realized sticking a gun in your face would keep you quiet, I would have brought one to all our meetings.”

Nova snorted. “And if I’d known you were a traitorous bastard, I would have brought one, too.”

“Language. I’m still your boss.”

“The only thing you are to me is dead.”

Cartwright laughed. “Tate always said you were a spitfire. He wasn’t wrong.”

Nova glared at him. “Did you turn on Tate, too? Is that how Moody was able to get the jump on him?”

“Tate died because he underestimated Moody’s reach. But for the record, no, I didn’t turn on Tate. Moody wasn’t important or close enough to risk any fallout.”

“But Paulin was, which is why you had him killed.”

“Paulin was a fool. There were only two rules he couldn’t break. Stick to the schedule and don’t, under any circumstances, use drugs that had been confiscated by you or Tate. And not because either of you were especially gifted, but because you’re both too fucking relentless. You just dig and dig and dig, completely oblivious to whether you’re breaking any laws or crossing any lines. And I knew if either of you got involved, it would end up right where we are, now.”

“I assume Paulin didn’t listen.”

“The idiot broke both of them. That’s what got him killed and what started this epic shit show.”

Nova shrugged, taking the next exit. It would only add five minutes to the drive but any amount gave Cooper a chance to catch up. Assuming he’d figured it out. She really hoped he had because for the first time in her career, she didn’t see a way out. Not one that resulted in her still breathing. “How inconvenient for you.”

“What’s inconvenient is having to leave my position because you just wouldn’t die. Simmons had one job and yet, here I am, resorting to Plan B.”

“Is that the one where they catch your ass and throw you in jail?”

“They? Who’s they?” Cartwright laughed. “Harris and his teammates?”

“I wouldn’t underestimate them.”

“It’s not a matter of skill, it’s simply logistics. Even if they’ve found that officer, they have no idea what happened. There weren’t any cameras or CCTV coverage in the area, no one knows I’m on the island and you… You’re a wanted fugitive. By the time this is over, they’ll believe whatever I tell them.”

“Maybe.” Nova spared him a quick side-eye. “Or maybe Cooper will simply kill you.”

“Better men than him have tried.”

“I’m sure others have tried. But none of them were better.”

Cartwright frowned. “Just pick it up. I don’t have all night.”

“You wouldn’t want me to get pulled over for speeding would you? Like you said, I’m a wanted fugitive and I’m sure every cop on the island has my photo.”

Cartwright edged closer. “Don’t push me, Martin. While this is easier with you still breathing for a while, I’m not above shooting you, here and now. So, find the gas pedal, and I’ll worry about the cops if you get pulled over.”

Nova clenched her jaw, wondering if she should simply drive the vehicle off the road — maybe down an embankment like the ones she’d avoided during her other escape. Though, with her luck, she’d be the only one who died.

Of course, chances were, she’d be dead once she reached the office.

She studied the landscape, judging the best time to initiate her plan when a faint whop whop whop sounded off in the distance. Not something Cartwright might think was unusual, but it caught her attention — had her doing a quick pan of the sky.

Chopper, ten o’clock. Flying maybe ten-feet off the top of the trees, disappearing then reappearing amidst the patches of fog. What looked like a crash in the making. She blinked a few times to ensure she wasn’t hallucinating, when it dipped low, vanishing somewhere on the other side of the hill.

Had she imagined it? Wishful thinking that had manifested the helicopter as part of some last-ditch effort to believe there was still a way out? That never-say-die attitude Tate had always claimed was her best weapon? Nova didn’t know, but on the off-chance it had been real, she’d see it through. Make Cartwright look her in the eyes when he pulled the trigger.

Nova was still questioning her sanity when she pulled up to the line of tape blocking off the driveway to the DEA office. What looked like a man-made fence, crisscrossing the entire area before disappearing around the rear of the building. She hit the gas and drove right through, snapping the tape before angling the vehicle toward the fountain. What she hoped wouldn’t be the place Cooper found her body. The chasis rocked as she shoved the Suburban into park, leaving it running with the headlights illuminating everything off to her left.

Cartwright snorted as if he thought she was crazy, but motioned for her to stay as he opened his door then slowly exited, keeping that Glock centered on her the entire time he circled around to the front of the truck.

She could duck. Try to scramble into the back and out another door. But Cartwright would fire before she got clear. And depending on where he aimed — if he hit her ballistic vest or went straight for a head shot — it would either kill her outright, or incapacitate her. Maybe break some ribs. Instead, she waited, praying she hadn’t been wrong — that the helicopter hadn’t been a figment of her imagination — until Cartwright waved her out of the vehicle.

The door creaked as she opened it, stepping clear with her hands raised. “Now what?”

“Now, you take me to wherever you hid that second ledger.”

“You mean the one that can prove you’re a lying son of a bitch?”

He grinned. “Yeah, that one. I know you hid it around here because there’s no way you chanced taking both of them with you when you weren’t sure you’d live. And you didn’t have many options. Simmons searched the place but he was about as useful as Paulin.”

“Before I sign my own death warrant, answer me this. Why the hell did you reassign me to Hawai’i when you knew Paulin had grabbed those drugs from the Bogotá office? It doesn’t make sense if you were so sure I’d eventually identify them.”

Cartwright merely grinned.

Nova reran the past few weeks — hell the past six months — more of the pieces falling into place. “Crap. Paulin didn’t take those drugs, you did. Which means Paulin must have helped himself to another batch. I’m guessing that big bust Tate and I made several months ago that got Moreno in our sights. And you knew that regardless of where you stationed me, I’d keep digging into the Moreno cartel in the hopes I’d eventually get back to Columbia, and I’d figure it all out.”

“I’d been contemplating what to do with Paulin for some time so when you came here and involved yourself in Tate’s murder case…” Cartwright chuckled. “You practically threw the answer into my lap. Did you really think it was a coincidence that I reassigned you to Hawai’i? That it was those drugs in that room? Ones so fresh in your mind you couldn’t help but recognize them. Or that the crime scene was just like Tate’s? What I knew would rile you just enough you’d make one of your rash decisions. Though, I am disappointed I had to come all the way out here to clean up Paulin’s mess, that he’d finally grown a damn conscience, but... Now, where’s the ledger.”

“Since you’ve got all the answers, where do you think I hid it?”

“I’m not in the mood for games, Nova. Unless it’s you choosing which body part I blow off, first.”

“I can’t believe I ever thought you were honorable.” She nodded toward the fountain. “Why do you think I left the Suburban running with the lights on? The ledger’s in the fountain.”

“Pretty sure they would have checked in there.”

“Not in it, asshole. Inside the base where the motor is. There’s an access panel on the bottom.”

“Show me.”

She started walking, mapping out how she could use the hatch covering the motor as a weapon. Maybe toss it at Cartwright’s head then make a play for his gun. Anything but simply standing there, waiting to get shot.

“That’s close enough.” Cartwright shifted over to her right, staying far enough back she couldn’t attack but close enough he didn’t even have to aim to hit her. “I don’t see any panel. I swear, Martin, if you’re lying to me…”

“If it was obvious, Simmons would have found it. That’s why I put the ledger in there. I can open it?—”

“Do you really think I’m that stupid? I assume that’s a ballistic vest?”

She frowned. That hadn’t sounded good. “You know it is?—”

Her voice cut off as he fired, hitting her twice in the ribs. Launching her backwards from the force. She hit hard, pain burning through her chest and across her torso. Stealing her breath. She gasped in an effort to get her lungs to inflate but nothing was working. Just a heavy feeling slowly suffocating her as black dots flickered across her vision.

She wasn’t sure why this was more debilitating than when she’d actually gotten shot. If the vest had failed and the bullets had gone right through. Or maybe it was just the compounded effects of getting hit in the same area, again. Regardless it took all her strength to keep her eyes open. Fight to suck in any semblance of air. Something clattered in the distance followed by a steady crunching sound.

“I have to say, you really outdid yourself, Nova. I never would have found it without your help. And now, I’m free to see this through. Sorry about those two hits, but I have to sell this. Make everyone believe you tried to kill me. That I got off a couple warning shots but you simply wouldn’t back down. I doubt it’ll be a hard sell. But I’ll make this part quick. Tell Tate I said hi.”

She should move. Grab a handful of gravel and throw it at his head. Maybe take out his eye. Anything to give herself a chance. Except where she couldn’t move. Couldn’t breathe, those dots now blacking out most of the scenery. Just Cartwright’s twisted grin as he aimed his gun, the report echoing around her as everything went dark.