Page 66 of Knife in the Back (New Orleans #4)

Uptown, New Orleans, Louisiana

Burke slowly woke, becoming aware of several things.

His body hurt, a dull ache that meant he’d been stationary for at least a few hours. The floor where he lay was hard. Concrete.

The room was completely dark, which was disorienting. Not a sliver of light came in from anywhere. So probably no windows.

The air was thick and heavy. So probably no ventilation, either.

He could hear music, but it was muffled. The room was soundproofed, too.

He felt sick, like his head had been stuffed with cotton.

Like he had a hangover.

Had he been drinking?

And then he remembered.

Coffee. He’d had a cup of coffee.

With Kaleb.

Burke’s mind stuttered to a stop as his chest seized tight.

Kaleb.

He drugged me.

He hates me.

The memories continued to return, each one more hurtful than the last.

He’s always hated me. Since we were kids.

Unless that had been a dream. He wanted it to be a dream.

But it hadn’t been. The concrete beneath his body told him that.

Where am I?

He tried to move, but his wrists were bound behind him.

Flex-cuffs. Kaleb had come prepared.

I was clueless. A fucking lamb to slaughter.

He didn’t ask himself how he hadn’t known, how he hadn’t seen. Didn’t beat himself up for being caught unaware. Because this was Kaleb.

Clearly Kaleb was not the man Burke thought he was.

Kaleb was a criminal.

The man with the shoes had been in the coffee shop, connecting Kaleb to Winnifred Timms and human trafficking. Teenagers. Kaleb had stolen and sold teenagers for sex. He’d also framed and imprisoned Naomi.

He’d murdered people.

Rage boiled up from Burke’s gut, giving him the strength to jackknife into a sitting position. His head fell forward, that small motion tiring him out.

He was not in good fighting form.

He closed his eyes, the room spinning even though he could see nothing. If Kaleb or the shoe guy came back now, he’d be at their mercy.

He’d been here at least a few hours. His people would know he was gone. They’d be looking for him. His people wouldn’t let—

And then another thought came crashing into him, sucking the air from his lungs.

Val. The man with the shoes was going back for her body.

Oh, Val. I’m so sorry.

Burke couldn’t hold back the tears.

They’d killed Val. Sorrow overtook him and for a moment he could only sit there and cry. But then the rage returned and he drew a deep breath of the stale air.

He needed to escape. He needed to find Kaleb. He needed to make him pay. For everything.

It can’t be true. Part of him still rejected the notion that Kaleb could be involved in anything so vile.

He’s more than involved. He’s the boss.

Kaleb had done so many things for which he’d have to pay. Kaleb and John Gaffney, wherever that prick was.

Using his legs, Burke scooted backward until his back hit a wall. Clenching his teeth, he pushed himself to his feet, using the wall for balance. He paused when he was upright, his heart pounding and his head light. He closed his eyes and waited for the dizziness to pass, cursing Kaleb in his mind.

Cursing himself as well, because it seemed like he could blame himself after all. Why didn’t I see it?

Kaleb didn’t want you to.

Burke took shuffling steps sideways until his shoulder hit another wall. He repeated the motion until he’d circled the perimeter of the room.

Ten by ten. Not so big.

Only a little bigger than the cell where Naomi had spent five long years because someone— Kaleb —was a criminal asshole.

There was one door with no handle on this side of it. Just a lock that required a key.

He wondered what this room was for. He wondered if there was anyone in there with him.

“Hello?” he said quietly, but there was no reply.

He’d hoped his eyes would become accustomed to the darkness, but it was absolute. He couldn’t even see shadows.

If there was anyone in there with him, they were likely unconscious.

Val. Maybe she wasn’t dead. Maybe they hadn’t killed her.

The man with the shoes had said that he’d given her a syringe of something and that he’d be going back for her body, but if she was in here, Burke needed to know. He needed to save her.

He began shuffling sideways again, his foot testing for obstructions before he made the next step.

He found the body on his third pass. The person was lying in the middle of the room.

“Val?” he whispered.

He slowly lowered to his knees, turning his body so that his bound hands could touch the person’s face. It was stone cold.

Whoever this was, they were dead.

Burke twisted so that he could search for hair. Val’s long white-blond hair.

But there was no long hair. Just a short buzz.

He trailed his fingers back to the face, lightly touching the features.

A man. This was a man. And he was dead.

Not Val.

But there had been a shop owner. This could be him. Val could still be here, too. So Burke rose to his feet and continued to shuffle sideways until he’d mapped the room.

No other bodies. Just him and the dead man.

Now what?

He had no idea how long he’d been out, so he could be far away from the city. He wondered if this was the house where Susan had been brought. Where Kaleb was holding the other kids. I need to save them.

A light came on, so abruptly that Burke staggered back a step. He peered up at the single lightbulb hanging from the ceiling. Someone had just turned it on from outside the room.

Shit.

Burke’s gaze landed on the dead man.

John Gaffney.

The bastard had been dead for hours, at least. No wonder André couldn’t find him.

To his left, Burke heard something scraping the floor.

The door. Someone was opening it.

Burke straightened his back against the wall, waiting.

Loud music rushed into the room as the door opened. There was a party going on outside. He debated rushing the door, but he wasn’t strong enough. Not yet.

Kaleb came into the room. “You’re awake.” He shut the door and the music abruptly grew muffled again.

Whoever had soundproofed the room had done an amazing job.

Burke said nothing. Waited for what he’d do.

And noticed the gun in Kaleb’s hand. It carried a suppressor, just like the gun Elaine Billings had used when she’d tried to kill Naomi. And me.

Naomi had been right. Burke had been as much a target as she was.

“Are you going to kill me?” Burke asked, his voice raspy.

“Yes. But not yet. You were brought here during a lull in our business day. I’ll need to wait for another lull to get you out. It might be a day or two as I’m now short-staffed. I don’t want you to start stinking.”

“Like he will?” Burke asked, gesturing to Gaffney with his chin.

“He doesn’t weigh as much as you do. We’ll be able to get him out more easily.”

“Out of where?”

Kaleb smiled. It was such a familiar sight. Burke had seen Kaleb smile hundreds of times. Thousands. He wondered why he’d never seen the malevolence lurking beneath.

“I’d say nice try, but it really wasn’t. I’m just giving you the courtesy of letting you eat.” From his pocket, Kaleb pulled out a wrapped sandwich.

Burke’s nose told him it was a burger. His stomach growled.

But he thought of the drugged coffee and shook his head. “No, thank you.” He wasn’t trusting any food or drink that he’d be given. And then a thought occurred to him. “Did you murder Cresswell, too? Or did he really have a cyanide pill in his cell?”

Kaleb pocketed the sandwich. “I had him killed.”

His old friend sounded so proud. “You have reach, then. Guards at the prison?” Details started to click in his mind. “Amanda Cresswell said that her husband was unsurprised at the loss of her finger. Did a guard tell him?”

“Cresswell’s attorney hand-delivered a package with her finger.”

“So his attorney is working for you, too.”

Kaleb lifted a shoulder, apparently all the confirmation Burke was going to get.

“What about the guy who helped you carry me out of that coffee shop?”

“My assistant. He’s very loyal.”

“Are you having an affair with him, too?”

Kaleb chuckled. “No. I can thank you for him, actually. Him and Cresswell. I began working with both of them because of you.”

Burke searched his mind. “That holiday party at Cresswell’s house. I took you and Juliette with me. That’s how you met Cresswell.”

“Not bad. Not correct, but not bad. That’s where I met him the second time.

The first was at a poker game. Both your former captain and I lost badly that night.

I was upset, but he just laughed it off.

Said he had more money than he knew what to do with.

I didn’t know he was a cop at the time. When I met him again later, I wondered where he was getting the money. ”

“You blackmailed him?”

“Didn’t need to. I just wanted in on his side business.”

“Why did you need the money? You make more from our company than I do.” Then Burke understood. “You have a gambling problem.”

Kaleb gave Burke a look filled with contempt. “I had to run your company while you were in the Marines. Lots of stress.”

“Does Juliette know?”

“No, and she won’t. We’ll go to couples therapy and we’ll be fine.”

“And you’ll go on cheating on her.”

Kaleb looked amused. “Not with Winnifred, I’m afraid. But there will be others.”

“Why Winnifred?”

Burke wasn’t sure if he’d get out of there, but if he did, he would take with him whatever information he could get. Unfortunately, the fact that Kaleb was so freely sharing was not a good sign.

“With a wig and the right makeup, she looked just like Naomi Cranston.”

“For the bank accounts,” Burke guessed, then shook his head. “That can’t be right. You brought Winnifred into this years ago. She didn’t open the bank accounts in Naomi’s name until September.”

“Your mind is quick. You could have been my second, but you said no.”

Burke’s gaze flew to Gaffney’s body once again. “You had Gaffney approach me? Tried to get me to steal drugs for you?”

“No. I told Cresswell and Gaffney not to approach you. That you’d say no. They thought they knew best and did it anyway.”