Cat's Paw (Veritas Book 1) (25 page)

While Alex worried, they’d returned to the Zodiac and moved to a new position, closer to the houseboat now to keep watch for the DEA. He couldn’t pace, so he tied and untied knots with a piece of rope. Neil watched him, solemn, not showing his concern in any way other than through his eyes.

“Iceman?” Morgan’s voice crackled through the radio.

Neil picked it up. “Go ahead.”

“All clear. No problems above or below.”

“Roger that.”

Alex growled. Then it dawned on him what
below
meant. “She went into the water alone? With the gators?”

Neil set the radio aside, scowling. “She didn’t earn the nickname Valkyrie just because we thought it was cute. If you want a future with her, you damned well better get that through your head now. You treat her like a fragile flower, and she’s going to ditch your ass, pronto.”

Alex’s glare bounced right off him. “You so sure of that?”

“Yes, I am,” Neil said through clenched teeth. “Don’t be stupid. She’s worth it, man.” It was the most emotion Alex had seen out of him so far. Which meant that Neil was probably right.

Alex sighed. “Thanks. I’ll . . . yeah.”

Did he have a future with Morgan? Was it possible? Was that what he wanted?

Yeah, maybe he did.

A shout went up from the houseboat. Neil hefted the binoculars. “Looks like someone has decided we’re a problem.”

Three smaller boats revved up, turned, and headed straight for them.

“Bluff it out or take off?”

Shots strafed the water, which answered the question.

“Go!” Neil shouted, digging under the tarp for a weapon. “Get us to Morgan.”

Alex started the motor and made a sharp turn. While bullets pinged around them, he gunned the motor and Neil returned fire.

Skimming over the water, Alex kept his head down, keeping an eye out for anything that might flip the boat. He picked up the radio and keyed it. It was time to let the women know that things had just gone to hell and that they were bringing that hell to their doorstep.

Chapter Twenty-Five

Morgan sat up at the sound of gunshots echoing across the water.

“DEA?” Miri asked.

“No. They would have gone by us to get to the houseboat. I’m guessing the guys are in trouble. Get the anchor up.”

As Miri hurried to comply, the portable radio squawked.

“We’re coming in hot!” Alex shouted, no doubt his code for “the shit has hit the fan.”

“Roger. We’ll be ready,” Morgan said. She sprinted to the arms cupboard and pulled out a rifle, extra ammunition, and two more sidearms.

By the time she was back on deck, the anchor was stowed.

“Can you shoot a rifle?” she asked. Miri nodded, taking it and the box of ammunition. “You set up on starboard. Neil will dock on port. Alex can’t use a gun, so he’ll take us out of here once they’re on board.”

“You sure this isn’t DEA we’ll be shooting at?”

“They’re not here yet, so this has to be the Russians. If you have to kill someone, do it, because they sure as hell won’t hesitate to do the same to us.”

Miri nodded grimly, pushed a piece of furniture out of the way, and set up a shooting location. Morgan started the engine, leaving it in neutral. She raced to the port side, dropped a ladder, and then returned to join Miri. Raising the binoculars, she spied the Zodiac flying across the water, bouncing at top speed. Alex was at the helm, leaving Neil to fire at their pursuers. She counted three boats in their wake.

Morgan called Sanjay to report the situation.

“I’ll pass that on to the DEA and the Coast Guard,” Sanjay said. “You guys going to be okay?”

“We’ll find out soon enough,” she replied. She stashed the phone back in her jeans.

She glanced down to find that Miri was shaking. Morgan put her hand on the girl’s shoulder, and she jumped.

“Hey, it’ll be good. Don’t worry.”

“I know that tone. Alex uses it when things are really bad,” Miri replied.

No fooling you.
“There’re four of us. We’re armed, and the moment the guys are in the boat, we’re out of here. Just shoot anyone who gets too close, okay?”

Miri nodded. She sighted down the rifle and waited, trying to calm her breathing.

Just like Neil would.

The Zodiac raced toward them so fast, it seemed impossible that it would avoid a collision. When it got within thirty feet, it abruptly slowed and swung around the back of the bigger boat. As soon as they were close enough, Neil and Alex would board, pulling their gear in with them.

Morgan ignored the pair, returning fire on the other boats as they closed in. Bullets pinged into the superstructure. Miri fired repeatedly, and at least one of her shots took a man over the side of one of the boats.

“Go!” Neil shouted as he joined Miri at the rail. “Head for open water!”

The engines revved, and then the boat turned in a wide arc, the smaller ones right behind. When Morgan shot a quick glance over her shoulder, Alex winked at her from his place at the wheel.

Morgan turned her attention back to the men trying to kill them, and tried picking them off, one by one. It proved hard, given how much the boats were bouncing on the water. The Iceman had a sniper rifle now, aiming carefully, almost always deadly for whichever target he sighted. Miri was kneeling next to him, just as focused.

Despite their efforts, all three of the boats closed in, moving faster than theirs; one aft, one port, one starboard, hoping to catch them in the crossfire. Morgan sprinted to port, and as she reached the railing, a bullet buzzed by her head. She ducked down.

“Hold on!” Alex shouted. A moment later, their boat swung out, smashing into that craft. Within a heartbeat, the crushed boat and its occupants vanished into the deep water.

One down.

Neil raised his rifle, sighted, then squeezed the trigger. And missed. That was the problem with a speeding boat—there was no stability. He sighted again, and his bullet hit its mark, dropping one of the shooters.

A helicopter came out of nowhere, and for an instant, Morgan feared it belonged to Buryshkin. At least until bullets came raining down on the two smaller boats. Within moments, they swiveled around and headed back toward the mainland.

She waved her hands at the chopper pilot. The man waved back and then turned the bird to chase down the two boats.

“Miri?” Neil called out. There was blood on her arm.

He set down his sniper rifle and took hers from stiff hands. The boat slowed beneath them. “How bad is it?” he asked.

Miri frowned at the wound. “Not bad,” she reported.

Then she fainted into his arms.

The sight of his sister falling into the Iceman’s arms, blood coming from somewhere, nearly destroyed Alex.

“Go on. I got it,” Morgan said, sliding in next to him to take control of the boat, though her bandaged hands would take the brunt of that effort.

He skidded across the deck and landed next to Miri on his knees.

“It’s not bad,” Neil said, examining the wound. “Most of it is just the shock of being hit. If you’re not used to it, it can easily take you out.”

Alex looked up at the man, then back down at his baby sister.

“She’s okay, Alex,” Neil insisted. “I know it’s hard to see, but she’s good. And a pretty damned good shot, too. Miri would make a great sniper.”

Alex was shaking his head before he’d finished. “Not my sister. Don’t even mention it to her. Because she’s just stubborn enough to give it a try.”

Neil lifted her up in his arms and carried her to the bench seat, where he gently laid her out, then headed off to retrieve the first aid kit.

“She okay?” Morgan called out. Alex nodded. It was then that he noticed she had blood on her arm as well. Both his women had been hurt.

He slumped into a deck chair, shaking as hard as if it were twenty degrees below zero.

They’re alive.

But what about the next time?

*~*~*

When the invitation from Special Agent Fredd came an hour later via Morgan’s phone, Alex thought he’d misunderstood the message.

“She wants me on the mothership?” he asked.

“That’s what she said,” Morgan replied.

His distrust rocketed into the stratosphere. “Why?”

“To celebrate the drug bust. Why else?”

Why else, indeed? He looked at his sister, who made a shooing motion with her uninjured arm.

“Go on. You deserve the glory, bro.”

His eyes then moved to Neil, who made the same motion.

“Looks like I’m going,” Alex said.

The houseboat had a lot in common with an overcrowded beehive: too many worker bees. But now the worker bees wore DEA vests and toted serious firearms. Once Alex and Morgan received clearance to board, she brought the Zodiac close to the houseboat and tied it off.

He was all too aware of the eyes staring at them, some of which were hostile. He’d worked with several of these agents, and they knew he’d been in prison.

Screw it.
His sister and Morgan had been wounded during this operation. He needed to see whether it was worth all the agony.

Alex was met by Senior Special Agent Fredd, a no-nonsense black woman who was renowned for running a very tight ship, no pun intended. Alex had worked with her a couple times and had always been impressed. However, given the scowls from some of the other agents, she’d pissed them off by inviting him on board. Fredd clearly didn’t give a damn.

“Parkin. Good to see you. You’re looking good,” she said, eyeing him. “Keeping fit, I see.”

“It’s that new prison workout. It’s all the rage,” he said.

Her mouth quirked into a wry smile. “Mouthy as always. Glad to see that’s still there. Come on, take a look at the haul. I swear to God, y’all just got me a promotion.”

Ignoring the stares of the other agents, Alex and Morgan followed Fredd into the main room, such as it was. The usual houseboat amenities were gone, except for a sink and two rows of tables were lined up down the middle. One side held stacks and stacks of cocaine, all in one-pound bricks, the tables sagging with the combined weight.

Alex walked the entire length, doing a quick calculation.

“Ninety pounds?” he asked.

“Eighty-one now. About three to four million dollars’ worth of blow. A very sweet haul,” Fredd replied, smiling.

Alex walked to the other table to examine where the dope would have been cut with various substances, then bagged and weighed. “Any of this strychnine?”

“It’s possible. I’m guessing it’s diluted with talcum powder, probably fifty-fifty, so the folks doing the packing had no clue it’s poison. Still enough to kill anyone who uses the dope.”

“Anya has her own people within her daddy’s organization, so it would be easy to do.”

“Just as long as we can tie this shipment to him, we’re good,” she replied.

“What the hell is Parkin doing here?” an agent demanded, stepping into the room.

Alex recognized him immediately—Weston had been one of his rivals in the agency.

Fredd shot the man the evil eye. “He’s here because he helped us find the load, so be nice and thank the man.”

“I’m not thanking some goddamn drug-dealing felon,” Weston argued.

With that, the feel-good vibes were history. Alex would never be able to outrun his past.

“Time to go,” Morgan said quietly.

“Yeah, looks like it.”

By the time he and Morgan were in the Zodiac, headed back to join the others, Alex felt the need to hit someone. One of the sneering DEA assholes would do just fine.

“They don’t care that we damned near died helping them get this load off the streets. I’ll always be a felon to them. Just scum. A loser,” he said. He hadn’t expected a brass band, but at least a “thanks, dude.” Only Fredd had appeared to understand.

“The truth will come out. Hang in there. We’ll find a way.”

“So what if it does? They won’t believe it. Dammit, I want my reputation back.”

“Probably not a realistic objective,” she cautioned. “It’s time to build a new life. This time, you set the rules, not them.”

Even as he raised his head to answer, he saw the question in her eyes. Would that new life include her?

*~*~*

While the DEA put everything in motion for Buryshkin’s arrest, Morgan and the others spent the night on the water, savoring the peace of the bayou. It was a way to decompress, unwind, and talk through the mission. Morgan had done that countless times at the FBI, as had Neil with his SEAL buddies, and Alex at the DEA. Miri was the only one who didn’t have that kind of background, but it didn’t seem to bother her.

Over hamburgers and beers, Neil related what he’d found under the mothership and admitted to having been investigated by a gator who had wisely backed off. Miri joked that he should have brought her the hide, that she’d love a pair of alligator shoes.

“Good thing you found the explosives. Agent Fredd said that one of the Russians did try to blow the boat, and that he was very puzzled when things didn’t go boom,” Morgan added.

She was next to Alex on one of the bench seats, a beer in hand. It felt good not to have to hide their relationship. He must have felt the same, as every now and then he leaned in and nuzzled her neck.

Miri noticed. “You keep it up, you’re out of here. I’m a young and impressionable person. I shouldn’t be forced to watch rampant displays of affection between my own brother and his girlfriend.”

A low snicker came from Neil.

“What?” she demanded, frowning at him.

“Impressionable? You? You’d make a Marine blush, the way you swear.”

Her frown grew deeper. “You weren’t supposed to hear me.”

“I hear everything.”

“Yeah, I noticed.”

Neil had a beer in hand as well and looked more relaxed than Morgan had ever seen him. Miri sat near him, but not so near as to tip her hand. Still, from the glances she sent his way, Morgan could see that the girl had it bad.

Sorry, honey. He’s not going there.

She suspected that Neil had his share of one-night stands, but even those he didn’t talk about, his personal life one big black hole. Which was a pity, because he and Miri would do well together. She was strong enough to stand up to him. Most women didn’t know how to approach a man like that.

“Why don’t you ladies take the big bed tonight? Iceman and I will take the bunks,” Alex suggested.

Morgan gave him a side-eye. It was an odd remark, and for an instant, it made her wonder if he was backing away from her. Had he decided that, since they’d nearly completed the mission, their time together was through?

Or maybe he wanted to talk to Neil without them present.

As if he’d heard her worries, Alex leaned closer and whispered, “Nothing to do with us. Just want you guys to sleep well.”

Miri took his offer at face value, and after a big yawn, went downstairs first. Realizing that this was a battle she couldn’t win, Morgan gave in and headed for bed. Behind her, she heard Alex rise from his chair, proving her instincts were correct.

Her guy was definitely up to something.