Blaze (The Stark Affair Book 3) (2 page)

“We
have nothing against college. It’s necessary if you want to be a doctor, lawyer,
scientist, architect, or engineer. If your kid knows for sure that’s what he or
she wants to do, then Bright Eyes Academy is not the best option. We focus on
inner-city kids who are trapped in a school system geared toward college that
is only going to be a waste of time and money for them when they could be
learning real-world skills like bookkeeping, sales and marketing, and
negotiation. Stuff they’re actually going to use in their life instead of
biology or algebra.”

I
nod and smile. “You’ve given this pitch before.”

He
smiles back. “Would you like to sit in on a class?” he says.

“Yes,”
I say, a germ of an idea forming in my head. “But not now. How is tomorrow
morning at ten?”

“Hmm,
tomorrow we are preparing for Lemonade Stand Day which is on Thursday. Which is
actually a perfect way to get introduced to our faculty and students. Would you
be able to attend on Thursday at ten in the morning?”

“Yes,”
I say.

“Great.
Let me get your information.”

I
give him a fake address and one of my alias phone numbers.

Then
I walk back to my car.

What
the fuck is going on here? Is this a front for something more sinister? It
feels real. But is it real?

Was
that Colton Stark I saw in disguise? I
know
it was. What is he doing here? I could bust into the Asian Spa, flash my badge,
and get answers. But that’s a last resort. That would also alert him to my
presence.

No,
I need something
more subtle
.

Like
dinner.

Tomorrow
night.

At
Colton Stark’s house.

Chapter
2

Colton

The last thing I need this
morning is to see was Jasper’s
Rolls-Royce
parked in
front of my house.

Yet
there it is.

Shit.

The
gate opens and I drive in. Jasper and Hector get out of the Rolls, following me
into the driveway.

“Nice
car,” says Jasper as he throws a look of disgust at the Toyota. “A little
pretentious, don’t you think, Colton?”

“What
do you want, Jasper?”

He puts
his cigar in his mouth, letting it hang from his teeth. “Get inside.”

I
laugh. “Get inside? Was that a command?”

“Yes
it was.”

The
look on his face tells me he’s serious. The look on Hector’s face is even more
chilling.

Hm
,
better play along for now.

We walk
into the living room of house. Hector stands guard at the door. Jasper drifts
over to the two-story wall of glass, looking out at the city across the water.

“Nice
view,” says Jasper. “Not as nice as mine, but not terrible. I like your sense
of style, too. Very masculine with the muted colors and sparse decor.”

Hector
stares at me, moving about as much as a totem pole. I wonder if he even needs
to breathe.

“Did
you come here to talk about interior design, Jasper?” I say as I sit down on my
white sofa.

He
turns and faces
me,
his beady eyes narrow in their
sunken sockets. I picture him on one of the sleaze trips to South America that
Tommy Nero told me about. I feel another wretch in my stomach.

“You
weren’t at the meeting on Monday,” Jasper says. “The one I invited to you with
my friend from Colombia.”

I
try to sound civil, like I don’t want to beat his head in with a bat.

“I had
an
..
.
engagement
.”

“With
one of your tarts, likely. Colton, it’s time you and I had a talk.”

“Another
one? Jeez, aren’t we all talked out lately, Jasper?”

He
sits across from me, my glass coffee table between us.

“I
know what you’re up to, Colton.”

I
lean forward and smile.

“Then
tell me what I’m up to.”

“You’ve
been stealing from me, Colton.”

Shit,
did he find it?

“Oh,
really?” I say.

“You
thought I’d never find your fancy program that only a genius hacker could find?
An algorithm that moves money around in the company in such small
amounts
that normally nobody would pay any attention to it.
Self-correcting, as well.
Acts like a human being.”

Yep,
he found it.

I
smile and sit back. “What can I say, Jasper?
I was inspired
by the best criminal in Miami
. I tell you what. I’ll pay it all back.
Every penny. Easy. Oh, how about... hmmm... let’s see... with my 49 percent of
Stark Worldwide? All yours. There. Done. The money I’ve taken doesn’t even come
to one tenth of one percent of that.”

Jasper
sits back and laughs. “Colton, Colton... it’s not about the money. Do you
really think
piddly
amounts of money matter to me
anymore? I’m beyond that. In fact, I’m somewhat proud of you. This is a new
side of you I rather like.”

I
temple my hands in front of my face and look at his reflection in the top of
the coffee table.

“How
long have you known?” I say.

“Two
years.”

“Why
didn’t you say something before?”

“Because
I didn’t need to. Now I do. Lately I’ve been getting the feeling that you’re a
danger to me. That’s the real reason I want to bring you more into the
day-to-day operation. I don’t want to have to insist, but if I must then I
must.”

I
get another ugly mental picture of Jasper with underage girls.

“Forget
it,” I say, gritting my teeth.

“Oh
Colton, don’t play it this way. I’d hate for your little program to get in the
hands of the FBI. It’s a Federal crime, you know. Plus, I don’t think orange is
your color.”

I tap
my fingers together.

“You’re
funny, Jasper. Real funny. Okay, so you found
one
of my algorithms. Did you find the other?”

Jasper
remains stone-faced as he lets me talk.

“Ha!”
I say. “I can tell by your eyes you haven’t. The other is more recent and written
in a completely different code. In fact, it’s a self-executing program on a USB
flash drive.”

Jasper’s
jaw sinks a little as his expression grows more concerned.

“Once
the flash drive is plugged in it activates a program that sends information to
computers all over the world. What info, you ask? Oh, Jasper you’re going to
like this... this one has it all.
Every transaction of Stark
Worldwide.
Going back to 2001. That’s thirteen years, Jasper.
Every deal, every transaction.
The
real
ones.
Not the ones that are
on the official books. Suffice it to say there’s enough to put you in your own
orange jumpsuit. If anything happens to me, the program activates. Poof. Just
like that. So you’d better protect me. Because if I go, you go.”

Jasper
folds his hands, examining my face for a trace of bluff. His squared jaw
confirms to me that he believes me.

“Clever,”
he says. “You’re far more clever than I thought, Colton. But one thing
perplexes me. If you have this evidence on this hidden USB flash drive, why
haven’t you used it as a bargaining chip to get your 49%?”

“Because
I actually have other passions.”

Jasper
stares at me for a while longer,
then
gets up. He
buttons his blazer and heads toward the door.

“Nice
stalemate,” he says. “You’re much more clever than I thought. Much more. But I
have my people, Colton. I’m going to have them find your evidence. And once
they do, I can’t say in what ditch your Bentley will end up. And how many
pieces of you will be feeding the alligators.”

He
walks toward the door. I stand up.

“You
know, Jasper, you really should stop watching
Miami Vice
reruns and read some Elmore Leonard instead. Your bad
guy speech needs more panache. You’re like a walking talking cliché.”

He
walks out. Hector glowers at me as he walks backwards out the door and slams it
shut.

I
walk over to the window and look out at the water.

I
picture the hidden USB flash drive in the rusted-out shack in Key Largo.
The Go-Fast boat waiting for me with its fake passport,
credentials, and credit cards.

All
ready to go.

The
Talon Group is all taken care of. Their funds are in a safe bank account that
only Eduardo can access. They’ll do fine without me. The plan is in motion.

All
I have to do is get in my car right now, drive two hours, plug it in, and zip
away across the waves to Cuba. I could be sipping a
mojito
with my completely new identity in Havana by dinnertime, a bouncy Cuban girl on
my lap.

Easy.

So
why don’t I just go?

Right
now.

Why
don’t I just go?

I
get a flash of those eyes staring up at me as I fuck her.

They
stare into me.

Through
me.

They
know me.

I’ve
never seen eyes like those.

I
was in love once. She broke my heart. I swore I would never let it happen to me
again.

And
it’s ridiculous to even think that it is. I just met this girl four days ago.
Only spent less than two hours total with her so far.

But
those may be my favorite two hours. Ever.

I
can’t go yet.

I
can’t believe I’m saying this, but...

I
may have found the only person who could make me stay.

Too
bad it’s her job to put me in jail, huh?

Chapter
3

Sofia

I’m at my cubicle,
desperately trying not to think of being pinned down by Colton Stark’s muscles
on a bench in a locker room.

Getting
fucked by his huge cock.

And
fucked.
And fucked.
And fucked.

I
uncross and re-cross my legs.

I’m
going through Colton Stark’s public financial records line-by-line. Looking for
anything that stands out, anything unusual.

So
far, I haven’t found anything even remotely suspicious. No strange purchases.
No property. No investments in Bright Eyes Academy, which is owned by Bright
Eyes Academy Trust, LLC. No connection to anything.

Except
the purchase of a 2001 Toyota Corolla two years ago for $2,300.
That’s suspicious.
But not a crime.
Not to mention it’s
obvious why he bought it. He doesn’t want to take the Bentley over to
Wynwood
, which would advertise his presence.

He wants
to conceal his identity. Why? If he’s a proponent of charter schools, what’s
the big deal? Why the costume and charade?

Could
be that he wants to hide his connection from Jasper van
der
Voort
and the Board. Because maybe that’s where he’s
funneling the money he steals from them.

Oooh
,
that sounds about right. Damn, Sofia, you’re good.

But
there are pieces missing here.

I
continue looking through records. Stark Worldwide owns a shitload of property.
Warehouses. Loading docks. Office buildings. Processing buildings.

One
piece of real estate catches my eye. It’s not owned by Stark Worldwide, but by
a shelf company into which a series of deposits have been made.

Hm.

I
click on the deed to the property. It’s a tiny metal-frame shed right on the
water in Key Largo. Surrounded by overgrowth.
An ugly old
dock.
Something rotting and brown floating in the water.
Ugh.

I
click through about a hundred more properties, but find myself back at the Key
Largo shed.

Hm
, something about it.
It
stands out because it’s so out-of-sync with all the other property owned by
Stark Worldwide.

Hm.

“Everything
okay?” says Frank
Scarpelli
as he leans over the wall
of my cubicle.

“Yeah,
fine,” I say as I leap in my chair.

Frank’s
eyes narrow and he frowns.

“What
happened to your eye?”

“Oh
this? It’s nothing. I was... sparring with somebody at the gym. I didn’t slip
and duck in time.”

I
smile.

Frank
continues to frown and folds his arms. “Sofia, do you remember when you met me?”

“Um—”

“Of
course you don’t. It was in the hospital the night you were born. I held you in
my arms. You were
this
big, making little
googly
gurgling sounds with your eyes closed.
So strange.
And here we are colleagues with cubicles in the
same room.”

“No
shit, huh?”

“I’ll
never forget your dad that night. He was beaming. Proudest man alive. He’s a
good man, Sofia.”

“You’re
a good man too, Frank. He always asks about you.”

Frank
folds his arms and looks down. “Sofia, I’m a little concerned about you. I know
you. Something is eating you up.”

How
can he tell that from all the way across the room?
While facing
the other direction?

“Really?”
I say.

“Yeah,
the last thing I’d want is for you to get in over your head.”

Uh-oh. What does that mean? Is that a warning?

“I’m
fine, Frank. But thanks.”

“Remember,
there’s nothing wrong with asking for help. Is there anything I can
help
you with, Sofia?”

He
emphasizes the word
help
. Is he
trying to tell me something? If so, what?

“No,
but I appreciate your concern, Frank.”

He
sighs and nods. “Okay. Just be careful, that’s all. I wouldn’t want anything to
happen to you that I couldn’t have prevented. Like my dad always told me, ‘Just
make sure you know what you’re doing.’ I’m right here if you need me.”

Frank
saunters back to his cubicle and sits down.

My
head is spinning. What was that? On the surface, it was my dad’s friend, an
older man who feels a father-like concern for my
well-being
because of his connection to my family.

But
on the other hand, there was something behind the words. Something sinister.

Is
Frank the mole?

No.
No way. I could never believe that. I trust Frank. I always know
who
I can trust.

Right?

* *
*

“Trust me,” says Wanda with a forced smile. “He
wouldn’t hurt me.”

Angel, her boyfriend, sits on the concrete
steps. The top half of his body is covered in tattoos, a snake leading up the
side of his neck. He’s motionless, staring at nothing.

I look at Mike. He shrugs.

His radio crackles. “Four-Victor-Eight, do you
need backup?”

Mike taps the radio. “No, no need. We’re fine.”

“Copy that,” says the dispatcher.

Several other tenants of Flamingo Terrace
Apartments have gathered to see why a cruiser’s flashers are lighting up the
night.

Mike and I have been here before for the same
reason. Angel and Wanda fight a lot. The neighbors get scared and call us.

It usually ends the same. They make up and hug,
and we leave.

Angel has been in and out of prison five times,
out again for four months now.

I turn to Wanda. She’s a very pretty girl.
Big brown eyes.
Thick lips.
Gorgeous
caramel skin.
She could be a model, making tons of money just five miles
from here. But instead, she’s gotten herself a snake tattoo on her neck to
match her boyfriend’s.
And another tiny one under her right
eyebrow.
Not to mention cheek and lip piercings.

There’s a spark behind her eyes too.
An intelligence
. She could be something. But she chooses to
live here.

With... that.

“I don’t know, Wanda” I say. “Why don’t you
just let us take you and your daughter to your mother’s? You two had a fight
and maybe it might be best if you just spend a night apart.”

I look over at Angel.
Still
motionless.

“No, we’re fine
”
says Wanda.
“He just gets like this when he has a... beer or two.” She squeezes my arm. “He’s
a good man.”

I’d laugh if this weren’t such a serious
situation. Good man? No fucking way. What does she see in him? The guy is a
lowlife, barely human. When he speaks, he grunts. I’m constantly amazed at the
sheer number of women who think this type of man is attractive.

I feel a speech building inside me, a rant
about how Wanda should be with somebody else... how she deserves somebody else.

But I know it’s a waste of breath so I don’t.

But still, there’s something bothering me.
Something is different tonight. They’re not making up and hugging. He just sits
on the steps.

“Please go,” Wanda says. Her eyes are pleading.

I look at Mike. He shrugs again.

“Okay,” I say. “Fine.” I walk over to Angel. “If
we’re called here again, I will personally—”

“
Sofe
!” says Mike. “Come
on.”

We walk back to the cruiser. I start the engine
and pull out of Flamingo Terrace Apartments.

“What’s wrong?” says Mike.

“I don’t know,” I say. “Something was off.”

“Aw, come on. It was just a fight. They got a
little out-of-hand. Neighbors called the cops. We’ve done this a thousand times,
Sofe
. We’ll probably see two more before our shift is
over.”

“This time was different. There was something off.”

“
Sofe
, we can’t save
the world. We can only do what we can do. People make their own decisions and
live their own lives the way they want, even if what they decide is a mess.”

“We should have taken him in.”

“On what? We had nothing.”

“I don’t know, Mike. We just should have done
something!”

“Forget it,
Sofe
. It’s
over. They’re probably smoking some crack and chilling out right now.”

I grip the wheel hard and grit my teeth as I
turn onto 12th Ave.

* *
*

“What
have you learned?” says
LaTashia
as she gets in the
car. We’re in the parking lot of Checkers across from the Hilton. I had just
bit into my burger.

I
give her the
one sec
sign as I chew
and wipe my mouth.

“Is
that a
Checkerburger
with Cheese?” she says.

I
nod yes, then take another out of the bag and hand it to her. I also hold up the
milkshake next to mine in the cup holder to indicate it’s hers.

“Oh,
you’re
so
getting a raise,” she says
as she takes it. “I haven’t had one of these in years.”

“
Gotta
be done every once in a while,” I say. “Once I have
one, I can think better.”

She
unwraps her burger and bites into it. “
Mmmmmm
,” she
says.

Once
I swallow my piece and take a sip of milkshake, I turn to her. “So, I’m still
working on it. He has some sort of connection to a charter school in
Wynwood
.”

LaTashia
stops chewing and looks at me. “The place right next door to the Asian Spa?”

“Yes.
I’m not sure of this, but I believe he sneaks over there in disguise.”

“Disguise?”

“Yeah,
he looks like an old college professor.
Gray hair and goatee.
Shabby clothes and glasses.”

“Huh.
How do you know this?”

“I
watched.”

“We
have two guys watching. They never picked up on that.”

“That’s
because they’re too busy eating donuts and parking in a spot where they can’t
see between the two buildings.”

“Goddamn.
I knew there was a reason I promoted you to OCS.”

I
eat another piece of burger. So fucking
good
. “
LaTashia
, my gut tells me he’s not a criminal. At least not
in the way you and I know criminals.”

“What
makes you so sure?”

“Don’t
know. Just my gut.”

“You’re
gut’s been wrong before.”

I
look out the window at the darkening sky. Thunderheads are rolling in and the
wind is picking up.

“That
wasn’t my gut,” I say. “My gut was certain and correct. It was the fact that I
chose to trust the girl. My gut knew he was going to kill her.”

“You
haven’t been to therapy in a while.”

“How
do you know?”

“I’m
head of OCS, remember? I know everything.”

“It’s
a fucking waste of time... sorry, waste of time. Those people are idiots. We
just have the same conversations over and over.”

LaTashia
squints at me. “Is that why you haven’t had a real relationship ever since that
night?”

“Lieutenant,
is this pertinent to my job?”

“No,
Sofia, but it’s pertinent to you and you are pertinent to OCS. Sometimes you
have to learn to let go and trust people. Not everybody is lying to you.”

“I
trust you.
And my father and brother.
And Mike.”

“Who
else?”

The
rain suddenly comes down in torrents and lightning flashes all around.

“That’s
about it.”