Black Ops Chronicles: Dead Run (3 page)

One ran up his jaw and bisected his chin. Two more that looked like they came from gunshot wounds decorated his torso. They kept him from being “drop-dead” gorgeous and made him appear reckless. And dangerous. Like a warrior. Just the kind of man a woman had trouble resisting.

Desires she’d thought long buried sprang to the surface with surprising speed. She hadn’t been this close to a man in months and had to clench her hands at her sides to keep her fingers from stroking his chest.
Shit, what the hell have I gotten myself
into
? Dreams or no dreams, she should take him straight to the village and be done with him.

“
Señorita
?” Juan whispered.

Tess jumped, looked around to find the boys watching her, and blushed.

“Him
live
?”

“Yes.” Ashamed of herself, she pulled the sheet over Max, gathered up his shirt and pants, and herded the two boys into the kitchen. “But you can’t tell anyone he’s here.”

From the disappointment on their faces, she had no problem imagining the stories they’d planned to tell their friends. “I think he’s in trouble,” she continued. “Bad people are looking for him, so no one can know where he is.” She looked each boy in the eye. “Promise?”

Juan and Pablo exchanged glances then nodded. In spite of her anxiety, Tess had to swallow a laugh at the lost glory reflected in their solemn expressions.

They’d tell. No question. But she hoped their promise would make it later rather than sooner, giving Max a couple of days to recover before word got out. Struck with an idea, she dumped his clothes on the counter and reached for her backpack.

“Give your friends ice cream instead of stories,” she said in compromise, handing them the last of the money in her wallet.

The boys grabbed the cash with whoops of delight and raced out the door.

After stuffing her gun in the backpack, Tess washed Max’s pants and shirt in the sink, hung them outside to dry, then went back to the bedroom to check on him. Still out cold. As far as she could tell, he was okay, though his breathing sounded a bit labored.

Remembering the arousal he’d stirred up, she grimaced.
I’m pathetic if an unconscious stranger makes me horny
. A small sigh escaped as she shoved a hand through her hair.
Christ, I need therapy
.

She decided she’d better refill her wallet before she forgot, so she headed back to the kitchen and dug her envelope of money out of the cupboard. She counted the cash and groaned, appalled at how little remained.
Must’ve gone through it faster than I thought
. Shit. What was left wouldn’t last more than two or three weeks.

Only one thing to do—call Karl Parks, her attorney friend in Salt Lake. He’d handled the sale of her costume shop while she was on the run. She’d called him for money before and gotten away with it, though the danger became greater every time. The smallest clue could lead Nick right to her, but what choice did she have?

She shuddered, overwhelmed by an onslaught of panic and despair. Chills rippled down her spine, sprouting goosebumps on her skin. Leaning against the kitchen counter, she fought to control the surge of ice-cold terror in her gut by taking slow, deep breaths and forcing herself to consider her situation logically.

Obviously, she’d been here too long. No matter how precious the cove, it had been foolish to stay. Once she made the call to Karl, she’d have to get out of here. Fast.

So she needed a plan.

Okay, she decided with another deep breath. She’d tell Karl to send the money to the marina. If she hid out in La Paz until it came, she could take the ferry back to the Mexican mainland. Yeah, that should work. Reassured and comforted, she pushed away from the counter—then choked back a scream as someone banged on her front door.

CHAPTER 2

11:50 a.m., the estate of Jonas McKenzie, head of the McKenzie Crime Family, on the outskirts of Salt Lake City, Utah
:

The icy talons of fear sliced deep into Nick’s remaining courage. Swallowing hard, he rubbed a hand over his stomach, hoping to ease the nausea. If he had any sense, he’d turn right around and go home and to hell with the old man. But he didn’t dare. His entire future could hang on the next few minutes, so he had to see this through. Taking a deep breath to steady
himself
, he straightened his tie and entered his grandfather’s study. “You sent for me, sir?”

Jonas looked up from his newspaper and pointed to the chair in front of his desk. “Sit.”

Nick opened his mouth then bit back his retort and sat. He didn’t know why the old bastard had summoned him, but being defensive would only make things worse. “Is something wrong, sir?”

“That depends. Why didn’t you tell me about Tess?”

“Tess?” Nick controlled his voice with an effort. If his grandfather knew about Tess, then he probably knew—No, he couldn’t. There would’ve been immediate repercussions. And since Nick was still breathing, it meant the cat was still in the bag. For now. “I don’t understand, sir. Tess and I have been kaput for months.”

Jonas folded his hands on the desk and studied Nick with chilling speculation. “So I heard. Yesterday. When Tess left town last May, you said she’d gone to open a new shop in Chicago and would be back in time for your wedding. Now I find out the wedding’s been canceled.” His voice held all the warmth of iron wrapped in ice. “Why wasn’t I told about this before? You know how I feel about surprises, Nicholas.”

Oh, fuck
! When his grandfather used his full, given name it was serious.

“I—” The saliva in Nick’s mouth had evaporated. He cleared his throat and tried again. “I didn’t want to upset you.”

“And why did you think it would upset me?”

Nick fought the urge to squirm as the old man leaned forward. His eyes sharp and piercing, he studied Nick like a hawk about to devour a mouse.

“Well, I...” Nick stammered

“You didn’t lose your temper and beat her, like you did that girl a few years ago, did you?” Jonas demanded. “I thought you’d learned your lesson from the incident with what’s-her-name.”

“Melissa. Yes, sir, having to give up part of my trust fund to pay her a settlement was a hard lesson.” And one that still infuriated him. “But I didn’t beat Tess.”

It was true. Sort of. A single, hard punch to the stomach—even if it
had
doubled her over in pain—shouldn’t really count as a beating, especially since the bitch’d had it coming. Hesitating for effect, he went with the easiest lie.

“The truth is,” he said, careful to make eye contact, “I was, um, unfaithful, and she left me.”

Jonas sighed and slumped back in his chair. “I’m very disappointed in you, Nick. And not only for the pain you’ve caused Tess, who has trust issues that
your actions will
only make worse. But—” He paused and shook an admonishing finger. “You know how the Church feels about infidelity.”

The ruse had worked, but Nick’s initial relief faded as his grandfather’s judgmental tone ignited a spark of defiance he couldn’t hold back. “The
Church
? We’re a
crime
family, for Christ’s sake. Don’t you think it’s a bit hypocritical to chastise me for having an affair when I wasn’t even married yet?”

Jonas arched an eyebrow. “Our businesses may be a little...less than ethical, but as long as I’m head of this family, there are still some lines we don’t cross.” His voice, quiet and velvet soft, didn’t disguise the hardened steel behind his words. “We don’t deal drugs or hurt innocent people. Or cops,” he added, a touch of reluctance in his tone. “And when we make a promise—such as the one you made to Tess when you got engaged—we keep it.” He sighed. “This shouldn’t be news to you, young man. We’ve certainly discussed it often enough.”

Jonas paused, studying Nick with pursed lips. “If my code of behavior doesn’t suit you, you’re welcome to go your own way. Of course, this would exclude you from receiving any money from the business end of the family, but you could always live off the income from your trust fund. Even get a job if you want. After all, that shouldn’t be too hard for a healthy, college-educated young man like you.”

Since his convenient fib had backfired, Nick figured he’d better grovel. And fast. Before the lie caused as much trouble as the truth would.

“I do accept your code, sir. I only slipped that one time. And I promise it won’t happen again. I’m very sorry for it. I know how much you wanted Tess to marry me and become a part of the family.”

“She’s blood. Even if
it’s
distant blood, it still makes her part of this family whether she marries you or not. But I think she’d have been good for you. And besides that, I miss her.”

Nick forced himself not to flinch as a sickening stab of fresh terror ripped through his gut.
He considers her a part of the family
?
Christ, this just keeps getting worse
. “I miss her, too. More than I can say.” Doing his best to don a lovesick expression, he added, “I didn’t realize what a fool I’d been until she left me.”

The look his grandfather shot him made it clear the old man considered Nick a fool most of the time.

“Patch it up with her then,” Jonas ordered.

“I can’t. She’s vanished. And she didn’t leave a forwarding address, so no one knows where she is.”

“Nonsense. Why would she do that?”

“I don’t know, but I’ve been trying to find her for months. Her attorney sold her business for her a while back, but he claims he doesn’t know where she is. Says he’s just holding the money till she comes for it.”

“I see.”

A log popped and crackled in the fireplace. Flames rose, making shadows dance across the polished hardwood floor. Jonas stared at the fire a moment. When he looked up, his expression was grim. “Would you like me to look for her?”

Nick’s mind filled with horror. “No!”

As soon as the word left his lips, he realized he’d said it too quickly and with too much feeling. He hurried to cover it. “If you find her, she’ll think I’m only apologizing because you made me. It’s better if I find her myself. She has to see that I love her enough to search for her, so she’ll understand that I’m really sorry, and it won’t ever happen again.”

“Then get on with it. Find her before she marries someone else. In the meantime, I think I’ll make a few discreet inquiries myself, in case—” Breaking off, Jonas pinched the bridge of his nose with his thumb and forefinger. “Just in case.” He waved a hand. “You may go.”

“Yes, sir.” Nick hurried out, fighting to hide his panic.

Lately, his life had turned into a series of disasters. It’d been a mistake to take Tess along when he shot that snitch. He’d only done it to bind her closer to him because he sensed her slipping away. But his plan had backfired. He told himself he wasn’t to blame. For any of it. Of course not. It was the stoolie’s fault. And Tess’s.

But who would’ve thought she’d betray him like that? A man should be able to trust his fiancée not to go to the FBI over something as trivial as killing a canary—and his family, of course. It was just good business to remove all witnesses. What was wrong with her that she couldn’t seem to understand that?

Outside, snowflakes swirled in the air like feathers from a pillow used as a silencer. Nick pulled his overcoat tighter around his body and ran to his red Porsche 911—where Tony sat waiting for him, shivering and impatient. “I didn’t think you were ever coming out. What happened?”

Drained and shaky, Nick slid behind the wheel and collapsed onto the plush leather seat. “He wanted to know about Tess.”

“What’d you tell him?”

“I told him I was unfaithful and she left me.” Nick started the car and turned the heater on high. “He bought it. For now. But I think he knows something’s not right. He asked me if I’d lost my temper and beat her up.”

Tony laughed. “And what did you say, ‘No, but only because she ran before I got the chance’?”

“Very funny.”

Nick hated Tony’s blatant lack of respect for him but could do little about it. When Jonas had given him control over a small sector of the family’s operations, Tony was a condition of the promotion—a sort of combination mentor and bodyguard. Though Tony was supposed to be working for him, he always made Nick feel more like a dimwitted employee than the boss. “While you’re busy yukking it up, Grandfather is going to make ‘a few discreet inquiries, just in case.’”

“Oops.”

“This isn’t a joke, Tony.” Nick loosened his tie, hoping to ease the lump in his throat. “Grandfather told me he considers Tess part of the family. You know what that means.”

Tony snorted. “So she’s entitled to the family’s protection. So what? Doesn’t change the fact that we have to rub her out.”

“It may, if Grandfather sends Levi to find her.”

Nick feared Levi Komakov, Jonas’s troubleshooter, almost as much as he did his grandfather. If Levi’s reputation could be believed, though only thirty-one years old, the guy could out-stalk a leopard, hit anything and everything he shot at, find whatever or whomever he looked for, and extract information from any source. Willing or not.

Rumor had it he was a former sergeant in the British SAS, an expert in covert operations, and an eighth-degree black belt, who had CIA connections plus numerous contacts in the clandestine “black ops” world of spies and secret agents. If Jonas sent him to find Tess, Nick would be toast.

In frustration, he smacked the palm of his hand against the steering wheel. “All the men I’ve got on my payroll, and they can’t ice one stinking redhead.”

“Don’t twist your pantyhose in a knot, slick. We’ll get her.”

“But if Levi—”

“And don’t be so damned impressed with Komakov. I’ve told you before I’m more than a match for him. Christ, the wimp won’t even kill anyone, except in self-defense.” Tony’s
face hardened
. “As far as Tess is concerned, I’ll admit she’s been lucky. She’s managed to slip away every time we get close. But that won’t last. This new bounty hunter I hired tracked her to Baja, and—”

“
Baja
? Shit, that’s where we’re supposed to meet Almasi.”

“Obviously, the bitch doesn’t realize that or she wouldn’t have gone there. And the beauty of it is we’ve got four guys down there already. Plus—”

“Are you sure she hasn’t come back into the States?”

“If you’ll stop interrupting me, you’ll find out what I know.” Mouth crimped in annoyance, Tony cracked his knuckles. In the confines of the little car, the pops echoed like rifle shots. “If she’d come back into the States, Tanner would’ve told us. The FBI is looking for her, too, don’t forget.”

He pulled a map from his pocket, unfolded it, and circled a spot with his finger. “She was last seen here, just north of Ensenada. My guess is she’s headed south. Now, until the rendezvous, our guys are here, lying low in El Nopal
,
this little village just north of La Paz.” Taking a pen from Nick’s shirt pocket, Tony drew an X on the map. “And Highway 1 is the only major road between the two points. Now that she’s become a priority, I’ll have our guys head north. If she
is
headed south, they should run smack into each other.”

“Why haven’t you told me this before,” Nick demanded, trying hard not to sulk.

“You didn’t need to know. And you couldn’t have done anything about it if you had known. Just because she was seen near Ensenada doesn’t mean she’s there now.”

“Fine, but until we find her, I want to put the operation on hold.”

Tony rolled his eyes. “It isn’t the kind of thing you can back off from, slick. We’ll handle both. Have to.” His lips curved into a sly smile. “Almasi’s also got men near La Paz. I called him, after I heard from the bounty hunter, and convinced him she’s a threat to the operation. So his guys are after her, too.”

“Oh, perfect.” Nick struggled to keep the desperation out of his voice, but failed. “If my grandfather doesn’t kill me, Almasi will.”

“Relax. With a little luck, I can keep both Jonas and Almasi under control. You might still get out of this with your skin intact.” Tony shrugged—as if Nick’s skin was the least of his concerns—and consulted his map again. “Baja’s nothing but desert. Lots of small villages, but few big towns. Not many paved roads, either. So, I figure there aren’t that many places she can hide.”

He refolded the map and put it back in his pocket. “And Tanner’s convinced the CIA she’s part of the terrorist group, so their people are out trying to find her, too.”

“That worries me. I’m not saying Tanner didn’t have a good idea there, but the CIA could find her before we do. Then what?”

Tony reached over and turned the car’s heater down. “If they do, Tanner’ll handle it. After all, if he convinced his FBI cohorts she killed their two agents, he can convince the CIA she’s guilty of terrorism, regardless of what she tells them about us.” He jerked a shoulder. “We’ve got that tap on her attorney’s phone. Sooner or later, she’ll need money and call him. And if you stay glued to the stupid telex machine like you have been all week, it’ll only be a matter of time before we find out where she is. That, or one of our guys will bag her.” Again with the shrug. “Like I said, just a matter of time.”