Locked and Loaded (25 page)

Charlie had been on the right track. Sort of. A couple more weeks and she might have had it all figured out. The task force had been set up for failure from the very beginning. Jensen had planned it so that his kids would be saddled with the task of raising his buy-in, thereby proving his worth to Faction Five. He'd conned them all. Tricked them into doing his dirty work for him while he sat back and watched from the comfort and protection of his jail cell. And when it was all over, anyone not on board would get a bullet to the head. Namely, Charlie and Mason.

“Why keep Kieran in the dark at all?” It took a sheer act of will not to launch himself across the table and wrap his hands around Jensen's throat. “Why not tell him everything?”

“Kieran could have raised the funds on his own,” Jensen admitted. “But it would have taken him a couple of years to get it done. This way was faster, not to mention easier.”

Mason snorted. Dipping his hands into the government's coffers probably filled his dad with a smug sense of satisfaction.

“Besides,” Jensen said, “he never would have knowingly turned on you. He wouldn't have let me use you.”

“Someone has to take the fall for the money the feds transferred to Kieran for the fenced diamonds.” The realization was a punch to Mason's chest. They'd played Kieran's game, paid him
millions
for the diamonds he'd smuggled into the country, under the assumption that when the case was wrapped up, the government would reclaim the funds. “Seems like the powers that be would've kept you from doing anything that would shine the light of suspicion on them.”

“What do they care where I get it from as long as they get their money?” Jensen remarked. “Someone will take the fall for it. It won't be them. Or me.”

Mason's gut clenched. “Charlie.”

“That was the plan.” Jensen let out a chuff of breath. “She sorta fucked that up when she marched in here after you the other day, didn't she? Kept you on your toes, though.”

“It's all right,” Mason said. “I can roll with the punches.”

The original plan must have been to kill Mason off and let Charlie be responsible for the lost money and botched investigation into Faction Five. Once again, Mason had thrown a monkey wrench into his dad's plan. “What now?” he asked. “Let me take the fall for the money the government is going to lose? What about Charlie? What happens to her now?”

“It's outta my hands.” Of course his dad would find a way to have zero accountability.

“Who planned the robbery with the gangbangers last night?” Mason studied his dad's expression, but the bastard didn't even flinch. “You or Carrera?”

“You give me a hell of a lot of credit.” Jensen narrowed his gaze at Mason. “If you think I can orchestrate something like that from in here.”

He might not be connected now, but once he paid his multimillion-dollar tithe to Faction Five, Jensen would be damned near omnipotent. As one of their elite membership, with the power to pretty much do whatever the hell he damned well pleased, he'd be set for life.

“What happens to Kieran when all of this is said and done? Are you bringing him along for the ride, or will you leave him high and dry as well?”

Jensen had the decency to show the slightest bit of remorse in his answering scowl. “Kieran knows how the game works. He'll understand.”

The hell he would. Mason knew Kieran better than anyone. Even his dad. Family meant more to him than anything. Kieran wouldn't take a betrayal lightly. “You think you know him.” Mason returned his father's hard stare. “But you don't.”

“And you do?” Jensen laughed long and loud.

“You're damned right I do.”

“We'll see about that.”

Mason wanted to use his fist to wipe the smug expression from his dad's face. “What's that supposed to mean?”

“Wonder what Kieran will think when he finds out who Charlie really is. She's a hot piece of ass, no doubt about it, but that won't mean much when he finds out she's been working with his own brother to fuck him over this entire time.”

Shit
.

Mason launched himself across the table and grabbed his dad by the collar of his ugly orange jumpsuit. “If anything happens to her, so help me God, I'll wring the life out of you with my bare hands!”

Urgency vibrated through Mason's limbs as he held fast to Jensen's collar. He needed to get to Charlie. Now. Hell, it might already be too late.

Chapter Twenty-Five

The house Kieran pulled up to didn't scream international crime syndicate headquarters. Instead, it was simplistic and boring, so
suburban
, that Charlie wondered if they were even in the right place. He put the car into park and killed the engine. Sat for a silent moment before he turned to face her.

“What you are, Charlie, is a small piece of what is going to be a massive empire.” Kieran's gaze bore through her, his dark eyes intent and serious. “A crime syndicate unlike anything there's ever been before. No rules. No fear of arrest or prosecution. Whatever we can dream up, we can do.”

Giddy anticipation raced through Charlie's veins. Finally, some definitive answers! She kept her excitement under wraps and canted her head to the side as she regarded Kieran. “No accountability whatsoever?”

He beamed. You'd think Kieran had dreamed up Faction Five all on his own. “None.”

She kept her expression skeptical. “How do you think you're going to manage that?”

“It's already been managed.”

“Is that what we're amassing money for?” She let her lips curve into a sweet smile. “The ability to work without restriction?”

“Exactly.”

“No one's completely immune from the law,” Charlie said, dubious.

“Mason managed to keep you from being thrown in jail,” Kieran pointed out.

“True.” Charlie eyed the house in front of them. Nervous energy churned in her stomach and burned in her chest. She rubbed at her sternum as though to banish the sensation. Being separated from Mason didn't sit right with her. Why would Kieran bring her to meet with any of Faction Five's leaders and leave him behind? “But Mason is one tiny piece of a much larger puzzle. I got lucky.”

“We're taking luck out of the equation.”

“How so?”

Kieran reached out and traced the pad of his finger along the back of Charlie's hand. His gaze heated and she swallowed down the nerves that refused to calm. “The game's about to change, Charlie. And I'm bringing you along for the ride.”

She cleared her throat. “What about Mason?”

Kieran's gaze darkened. “Come on. There's someone I want you to meet.”

He got out of the car and Charlie took a quick moment for a few deep, cleansing breaths that did little to slow her pounding heart. Her hands shook and she gripped them tight, willing them to still before Kieran noticed the fear she couldn't seem to temper.

Charlie reached for the door handle and reminded herself that she wasn't alone. Carrera and a couple of deputy marshals were somewhere close. The GPS on her phone was active. It wasn't like no one knew where she was. Everything would be okay. She'd be okay.
Just breathe, Charlie. Don't lose it
.

Kieran pulled her door open at the exact moment she pushed. He held out a hand and Charlie took it, hoping like hell he wouldn't notice her sweaty palms. “This doesn't look like the sort of place an international crime ring would set up shop.” She kept her tone light and airy, forced any hint of a tremor to the pit of her stomach.

“Looks can be deceiving.” Kieran flashed her a wicked grin.

“I guess that's true.” Charlie forced herself to laugh. They made their way down the narrow walkway toward the house. With every step placed, her anxiety built. “Don't you think Mason should be here for this? I mean, we are partners and this seems like a pretty important meeting.”

“We can fill him in later.” Kieran's reassurance didn't do anything for Charlie's nerves.

“Sure.” What else could she say?

“Relax.” Easy enough for Kieran. Charlie wouldn't be able to relax until she was out of this mess and every member of Faction Five was behind bars. “We're about to be given the keys to the castle.”

The keys to the castle? Or yet another set of hoops to jump through? Either way, Charlie supposed she was about to find out.

Kieran stepped up to the door and rang the bell. Fear compressed the air from Charlie's lungs as she waited to be greeted by whoever stood on the other side. She'd been less worried walking into Katarina's high-end strip club, surrounded by Russian mobsters, than she was this innocent-looking house. The door swung wide and Charlie felt as though she'd been knocked in the stomach with a baseball bat as she came face-to-face with Carlos Carrera.

She clenched her jaw to keep it from hanging wide open. A slap in the face would have been less shocking—and would have hurt a hell of a lot less—than what she was seeing right now. Carrera? Part of Faction Five? One of her own damned task force members had been in league with the bad guys all along. She couldn't believe it. Didn't want to. There had to be another explanation. Like, he'd shown up early and made the call to arrest everyone at the house. Surely that was it. It couldn't be what it looked like. Charlie refused to believe the truth that was right in front of her face. Otherwise, she'd crack.

“Sorry about this, Counselor.” Carrera pulled his gun from the holster. “Kieran. Why don't you two come in?” He held the gun casually at his side but the threat was inherent in his voice.

“Counselor?” Kieran sounded as confused as Charlie felt. At least they were both in the dark.

With mechanical steps, Charlie moved forward. The door closed silently behind them, but it might as well have been the stone of her tomb sliding into place. Because she had no doubt she wasn't walking out of here. She'd been intentionally separated from Mason, duped by her own damned people and one of the men she'd put her absolute trust in. Charlie had never felt so betrayed in her entire life, and she knew that she had no one to blame but herself.

She'd gotten herself into this mess and it seemed there was no way of getting out.

“Put that gun away, Carlos. Jesus Christ.” Kieran looked like he was hanging on to his temper by the barest of threads. Apparently he didn't like having a gun pointed at him any more than Charlie did. He raked his fingers through his dark hair and the expression reminded Charlie so much of Mason. “Would someone care to tell me what the
fuck
is going on here?”

“Jensen wanted to make sure his funds were secure before you knew.”

Kieran looked from Charlie to Carrera. “Knew what?”

That lousy son of a bitch!
Anger seethed beneath the surface of Charlie's skin, writhing and boiling. The theory that Kieran had been planning to con the government out of its money had been right . . . only Kieran didn't seem to be in on it. Had Jensen played them all?
Jesus
. Nausea rolled through Charlie and angry tears stung at her eyes. She'd been made a fool of. And the worst part of it all was that in this case Kieran was right: The worst criminals were the ones who claimed to be on the right side of the law.

“Charlie isn't who you think she is,” Carrera said. The bastard didn't even have the decency to pretend to feel guilty as his gaze slid to Charlie. “She's an assistant U.S. attorney. In charge of the task force investigating Faction Five.”

Kieran's eyes went wide, confirming Charlie's suspicions. He'd been kept completely in the dark. But why?

“Mason . . .”

“Mason knows,” Carrera said. Kieran looked as though he'd just been punched in the gut. Charlie could relate. It totally sucked to have the rug pulled out from under you. “He's been working the case with Charlie. It's what Jensen wanted.”

“Mother . . . fucker.” Kieran took a step back. For the first time since she'd met him, Charlie got a glimpse of the hard-hearted, ruthless criminal. A deep crease cut into his brow and his nostrils flared with anger. A burst of nervous energy dumped into Charlie's bloodstream. If Carrera didn't kill her, she was pretty sure that Kieran would get the job done.

“Kieran, it's not what you think.” Charlie wasn't sure what she thought she'd accomplish by trying to defuse his anger. Any attempt to bullshit him at this point was only going to push him deeper into a rage. “Okay, so maybe it is what you think, but you have to understand that you weren't the target. We were trying to get to Faction Five, and you were our only lead. Mason cares about you. He never wanted—”

Whip-quick, Kieran pulled a gun from a holster beneath his jacket. The sound of him pulling back the slide effectively silenced Charlie. He leveled the barrel on her face and her heart pumped hard and fast with renewed fear. Carrera had set her up. There was no car with U.S. marshals keeping tabs on her, and even though Mason could keep an eye on her whereabouts through the app on her phone, why would he? As far as he knew, this was business as usual and Carrera had made it seem as though Charlie would be protected. She was miles from the city, miles from her only protection. There would be no rescue, no cavalry to march in and save the day. She'd betrayed Kieran Eagan, and according to Mason, he didn't take betrayal lightly.

She was screwed.

* * *

Carrera. That son of a bitch.

Mason sped through traffic, the engine of his Camaro growling angrily as he punched the accelerator and switched lanes. It had all been a lie. The offer to get him into the program at Glynco, his temporary deputy status, all of it. He'd effectively turned Mason into the one thing he despised, and he'd been so damned eager to believe the lies that he'd swallowed down every spoon-fed bite. He and Charlie both.

There was no one he could trust. Jensen had refused to reveal the identities of Faction Five's other members. From his dad's comments about gaining his freedom, Mason gathered that at least one of them was a federal judge. The other was Carrera. The task force already surmised that one member was a senator, and Mason figured the other could be a programmer or coder. It was pretty safe to assume the remaining member was another federal law enforcement officer. FBI or CIA maybe. It didn't matter if Mason didn't know the members' identities; they'd do anything to protect their secrets. They'd failed to kill them last night, but you could bet they wouldn't fail a second time.

Kieran was the only unknown variable. That didn't do much to bolster Mason's confidence. His brother would just as soon kill Charlie himself as protect her when he found out who she really was. Kieran didn't like to be played, and Charlie had used every wile at her disposal to keep him placated.

No one fooled Kieran Eagan and lived to tell about it.

Thank God he'd activated the app on Charlie's phone. Without it, he would have been dead in the water. Jensen sure as hell hadn't been forthcoming as to where Carrera had instructed Kieran to take her.

His dad had always only ever looked out for number one. It didn't surprise Mason a bit, though he couldn't banish the hurt he felt. That his own father would turn on him, conspire to have him killed, was a wound Mason didn't think he'd recover from. He'd deal with his own hurt later, though. Once Charlie was safe and Faction Five was put down for good.

Racing against the clock, Mason took off from San Quentin. The app would lead him to Charlie's phone, but would it take him to her as well? If Carrera was smart, he would have told Kieran to pitch her phone into the bay or ditch it on the freeway. In which case, he was screwed. Carrera might be a slimy piece of shit, but he wasn't a seasoned criminal. Mason had to hope that he'd overlook a few details in his haste to get Charlie out of the picture. Then again, Carrera's haste might seal Charlie's fate. His heart pounded in his chest. Damn it, he couldn't get to her fast enough.

Thirty minutes later, Mason pulled into a subdivision that was so damned cookie-cutter, it might as well have been his own neighborhood growing up. Jensen found it entertaining to hide out among the middle class. He'd always said that their overinflated opinions of themselves didn't allow for them to suspect their neighbors of any wrongdoing. He hoped that Carrera had taken a page out of Jensen's book and chosen this place for Kieran to bring Charlie. If not, Mason was back at square one.

He parked his car a block from the address he'd pulled from the find-friends app and said a silent prayer that he'd find Charlie safe and sound. Mason ditched his car and took off at a jog, past the similar façades of the houses crammed next to one another, the perfectly manicured lawns, the luxury SUVs and practical sedans parked in the driveways. It was a life that Mason had been forced to pretend he had as a kid. While other kids' parents left for their offices and respectable jobs, Jensen was flying out to fence a quarter million in diamonds or con some poor sap out of his life's savings. He'd resented the lies, the deception, his entire life. And now, he was an unemployed Customs agent with a U.S. marshal's badge that was probably as counterfeit as the Kimberley certificates they'd been passing off to their buyers all week. Mason had become a vigilante, thanks to Carrera and his dad.

He'd make sure they paid for it, too.

Mason rounded the corner and slowed. Kieran's rental car sat parked in a driveway three houses down. Adrenaline dumped into Mason's bloodstream. He locked down his nerves and centered his focus as he approached the house and went around to the backyard. Charlie was in that house, and if she was in anything less than pristine condition, Mason would unleash the fury of hell on whoever hurt her.

Even if that man was his own brother.

Mason hopped the fence and dropped into the backyard, gun drawn. He strained to hear voices from inside the house but was answered with an eerie silence that made his heart stutter in his chest. The blinds were drawn, offering him cover, but at the same time preventing him from seeing inside.

“Would someone care to tell me what the
fuck
is going on here?”