On His Honor (21 page)

And eyes on the inside would be invaluable.

“Go in, then, but keep your partner downstairs and away from Violet. Make sure there are others around. She’ll be less likely to do anything if other people are in sight. Set your phone to vibrate only, and keep this line open. Hit any key when it’s clear for me to come in behind you, but stay on the line so I can listen in—that’s your best protection until the team arrives. With luck, I’ll be in and out fast. As soon as I have Violet clear, I’ll text you, which should make your phone vibrate. Then you get the hell out of there. We’ll do the rest.”

“Got it. I’m going into the club now.”

JD moved into position in the parking lot and watched Lofton enter the building.

CHAPTER SEVENTEEN

V
IOLET
STUDIED
HER
SURROUNDINGS
, thinking of all Avery had created, how nice the people were who worked for him. Okay, not Sage—he had lousy taste in business partners—but everyone else. If this club was being used for nefarious purposes, she couldn’t see it. She could not believe Avery was part of anything like what JD had suggested.

Sage, on the other hand… Maybe it wasn’t fair to accuse her simply because she’d taken such a dislike to Violet. If she only knew…the only man Violet wanted was a smoky-eyed detective she couldn’t trust.

Thoughts of JD wrecked any hope for relaxation. Violet leaped to her feet and went to the window to watch the activities on the main floor. She would not think about JD—not ever again if she could help it.

Oh, yeah, that’s gonna happen.

Just then, Avery strode into view below, his head swiveling to scan the premises. He headed for Leslie and spoke to her intently. Sage walked up to the two of them, clearly impatient for Avery’s attention.

Suddenly Violet couldn’t wait any longer to see him. She would know the truth as soon as she looked into Avery’s eyes.

She’d surprise him. She crossed the room in quick steps and grabbed the door handle.

It was locked.

There are things going on right now, serious things. People could get killed.

Violet banged on the door. “Hello?” No one else had been up here but her and Sage. She returned to the window and knocked on it, but no one looked up.

Sage, she saw now, was in Avery’s face, apparently reading him the riot act. Avery appeared both nervous and upset.

Suddenly this spacious, beautiful room felt like a cushy prison, and she wanted out.

Things JD had said began to resurface.
People close to your buddy Avery are dying. Right now he’s nervous and scared because someone he met with was murdered last night…and it’s setting off a chain reaction.

Unease prickled between her shoulder blades. The locked door no longer seemed like a mistake, and Sage, not Avery, appeared to have the upper hand.

You don’t have to take my word on the crimes of your so-called friend—but you do have to believe this: I want you safe, and I don’t care what I have to do to guarantee that.

Think, Violet.

Whatever Avery’s role, she could not believe he’d let her come to any harm. Surely Avery would come upstairs to get her soon, and when he did, she’d insist on leaving the premises for dinner to get him out of Sage’s sphere. Then she would start asking Avery some hard questions.

* * *

JD
STOOD
OUTSIDE
THE
BACK
ENTRANCE
, waiting for Lofton’s signal.

His phone was also on vibrate for when he went inside. He put his Bluetooth on mute and pitched his voice low on the mic, testing to see if the team had arrived yet. “Doc?”

“It’s Vince, JD. Had a holdup, but we’ll be there in ten,” said Vince. “Where are you?”

“Back door.” Suddenly, his phone vibrated. “Got my signal, Vince. I’m going in. Have to get Violet out of there before everything goes sideways. I’ll signal when I’m clear.”

“Copy that. I’m closer than the rest. Be there in five.”

Suddenly JD heard voices through his Bluetooth.

“What do you mean, you locked her in?” Lofton demanded. “Where?”

“I don’t believe you’re in any position to be making demands,” said a sultry voice that, from Lofton’s description, must be Sage. “Joe, check Avery’s car, tell me what you see inside. Particularly if there are suitcases.”

Crap.
JD backed away to hide and spoke into his mic. “Do not approach. Someone heading for the back parking lot. Repeat, do not approach.”

“Roger that.”

A burly guy came through the back door. JD watched him while he listened in on Lofton.

“What the—Sage, what the hell are you doing?”

“That’s more a question for you, I believe. Did you think I didn’t have someone watching your house? You weren’t getting a massage, Avery, you were making preparations to run.”

“You’re crazy.”

In the parking lot, JD watched Joe cast a glance into Lofton’s car, then shake his head and return to the club. JD raced for the door as quietly as he could and stuck a foot through to stop it from closing, then replaced his foot with a small stone he eased inside.

“You’re a coward,” he heard Sage say through the earpiece.

“Screw you.”

“Been there, done that.” The woman was cool as a cucumber. “Lost your nerve, Avery?”

“We were only laundering money. There wasn’t supposed to be any violence. But then you murdered Bately when he decided to stop paying blackmail.”

JD stood for a second to let his eyes adjust to the dark hallway. He didn’t dare miss a word if he had to speak to Vince, so he keyed the mic, instead. Vince gave an answering click to acknowledge.

“You were setting up a side venture, may I remind you? Cutting me out. That isn’t going to happen, Avery.”

“What are you going to do, kill me next?”

“Don’t tempt me.” Hard as diamonds. “Jorge will want to weigh in on your fate when he gets here, I’m sure.”

Lima was coming here? Capturing him had been one of the primary goals of the case from the beginning, but JD couldn’t risk Violet’s safety by waiting.

“Let Violet go. She’s no part of this.”

The woman’s laughter was like nails on a blackboard.

Say something that verifies Violet’s location, goddamn it, Lofton.

“Ah, yes, Joe. What’s in Mr. Lofton’s car?”

JD couldn’t hear the words, but he didn’t have to.

“A suitcase? My, my. What would we find in your pockets, pray tell? A passport?”

“Up yours, Sage. Is Violet upstairs? I want to talk to her.”

“You’re not in charge, Avery. You never were. Search him, Joe.”

“For God’s sake, not here,” Avery spluttered. “Let’s go upstairs. People talk. Don’t create a spectacle in front of the staff.”

A deep sigh. “Bring him along, Joe.”

“I want to talk to Violet when we get there.”

JD ran through the layout mentally. There was no easy way to get upstairs unnoticed. He wouldn’t be able to get ahead of them in time to get to Violet. He’d have to let them go first.

“Did I say she was upstairs? Maybe she’s in one of the back rooms,” Sage said.

If only…that would make extracting much easier, JD thought as he checked his weapon again.

“You won’t get away with this, Sage. I—”

Suddenly, the three of them approached JD’s position. He flattened himself into a recess as a woman—Sage—preceded Lofton up the stairs, followed by the muscle JD had seen in the parking lot.

JD waited until they were out of hearing distance. “Going up, Vince. I think Violet’s upstairs, but I’m checking the downstairs rooms on my way. Lofton, Holland and one guard are on their way up. And apparently, Lima’s due in town.”

Vince whistled his appreciation. “To snag Lima…”

“I’m not waiting.”

“I understand. I’m two blocks away with Trini. Keep your mic open, so we know what’s going on.”

“Copy that.” JD slipped from his hiding place.

Then he heard Lofton yell.

And Lofton’s phone went dead.

* * *

W
HEN
SHE
FIRST
HEARD
VOICES
and footsteps, Violet moved closer to the door but stayed carefully back, listening.

“Jorge will be here soon, Avery. I don’t imagine he’ll think much of your travel plans. Joe, take him to his office. Restrain him.”

“You won’t—” Avery yelled.

The sound of a blow.

A moan.

A thud on the floor outside where she was trapped.

“Stick him in his office and watch him,” Sage said coldly. “I have a call to make.”

Oh, no. What had they done to Avery? Violet scrambled for her phone, then moved to the far wall and scrolled to JD’s number. What if he wouldn’t take her call, after what had happened between them?

This situation is far more deadly than you can imagine, maybe more dangerous than he ever expected. You could simply be collateral damage, but you’d be just as dead. And I couldn’t live with that, Violet.

Oh, JD…
She hesitated for a second. What could she tell him that would help? She didn’t have any details, and she didn’t want to expose him to danger, too.

I want you safe, and I don’t care what I have to do to guarantee that.

She pushed the button. Immediately the call was sent to voice mail. Her heart sank, and she nearly disconnected. Maybe she should just call 911.

But the sound of his voice on the message made her remember how safe she’d felt with him once.

She stayed across the room and spoke softly. “JD, I…you were right. I—”

A text popped on the screen.

Cant talk. Im downstairs. Where r u?

She stifled a gasp. She had no idea what miracle had brought him close, but she was beyond grateful.
Upstairs. VIP. 1st door on rt. Door locked. Want me 2 call 911?

No. Help comg. Hide. Stay away fr door.

Avery hurt. In 1st ofc down hall on L. 1 guard. Sage in her ofc nxt dr.

Good. Now hide. Im here.

Her eyes prickled with tears of gratitude.
Im sorry. U were rt.

Will keep u safe. Got 2 go.

After how she’d doubted him, accused him…

He’d warned her, and she’d refused to listen, yet still he was trying to take care of her.
I love you,
she wanted to type. But she had no right.

Pls be careful
, she typed.

U 2.

Relief mingled with fear for him, but, oh, how glad she was that he was nearby. She searched for a good hiding place, but first she scanned every surface for something to use as a weapon. She didn’t like feeling this helpless.

The place was too clean. Then she remembered that they catered up here. She opened the drawer below the counter and found a knife. She knew next to nothing about self-defense, but it had a point and it could hurt. It was better than nothing.

She longed to linger by the door, to hear JD pass by. To reach out and touch him.

But she’d gotten them both into danger by ignoring his warnings to stay away from Avery.

This time she’d listen.

* * *

JD
CREPT
DOWN
THE
DARKENED
HALLWAY
.

A figure appeared at the opening into the dance area.

He ducked into the restroom alcove.

The figure passed him. A woman, meeting Lofton’s description of the manager, Leslie.

JD crept up behind her and clapped a hand over her mouth.

She struggled against him.

He kept his hand tight and leaned next to her ear. “Leslie, I’m Detective Cameron. Avery tell you to let me in?”

She nodded, tried to speak.

“Can I trust you to stay quiet if I remove my hand? I’m here to protect Violet, not to hurt you.”

She hesitated then nodded.

He removed his hand slowly, ready to clap it back on if need be.

She faced him, whispering. “Sage and Avery went upstairs. What’s going on?”

Lofton had sworn she knew nothing of the way the club had been used illegally. Since he’d said she liked him and not Sage, JD decided to omit Lofton’s part in the criminal enterprise. “Sage is involved in some illegal activities that could bring down the whole club. She’s going to use Violet as a hostage.”

The woman’s eyes went round. “No.”

“Yes. I don’t have time to explain more. Sage is expecting company, right?”

She nodded.

“Know when?”

“No.”

“I need to get Violet out of here now. Do you have a key to the VIP lounge?”

“Yes, but—”

“She’s locked Violet in. Give me the key.”

“I like Violet.” She withdrew a key ring and searched for the right one.

When she put it in his hand, he nodded toward the main area. “I don’t want anyone else hurt. Can you get the staff to leave without Sage noticing?”

“Some of them, but her office looks out on the main floor. She’ll be suspicious if it’s completely empty.”

“Then keep a couple of people you trust not to panic. Get everyone else out of here now and warn them not to talk to anyone but my team who’ll be waiting outside to take care of them. Be sure the back door stays unlocked and propped open. Are there exterior cameras that Sage can see?”

“We have cameras, but the monitors for the exterior are down here in my office.”