Cash Money (Bad Money #4) (10 page)

Chapter 18

Marcus

There was no pleasure like Kate Jarret. Nothing even came close.

Marcus ran his hand down his chest and repositioned himself to try and make his erection less noticeable. He glanced toward the bar and nodded at Jeffery, who waved him over.

"What's up, dude?" Marcus pressed his hands to the bar top between a large group of people.

"How did it go? Any decisions made about Chicago?" The frat-boy looking bartender had a smile that didn't fit his face.

"It went well. I think I'm going to take it, but I just need to get Kate to sign off on the transaction." Marcus rolled his shoulders. "I'm not sure leaving her here to deal with everything is the best way to repay a friend for so many good times over the years."

"I'm here to help her." Jeffery offered Marcus a shot. "And with you outta the way, maybe she'll finally take me up on the date I've been begging for."

"Not a chance, man." Marcus took the shot and glanced up to the front door to see Jon checking IDs. "She's got her heart set on the cop I think."

"Yeah, I've seen the way she looks at him." Jeffery shrugged. "Oh well, you win some and lose some. Keep me in the loop on the Chicago stuff. I'm interested to see what happens."

"Will do. I'll check in later." Marcus moved from the bar and walked up toward the front, catching Jon's attention as he moved closer to the door.

"Hey. Where's Kate? I thought I saw her walking to the back door." Jon's eyes moved across Marcus's face, as if trying to discern some hidden secret.

"She went out for a breath of fresh air." He pursed his lips and moved back a little as a few more girls came in, flirting with Jon, but the cop gave them nothing.

Impressive.

"What's been going on? Anything new?" Marcus crossed his arms over his chest and glanced back down toward the belly of the club, scanning the floor for Kate.

"Yeah, my fucking partner on the force was the newest rat for Billy. I'm sure that bastard has it out for me now that I've turned him in." Jon chuckled.

"I'm pretty sure old Billy has it out for both of us, and you turning in a rat is the least of his worries." Marcus smiled at a pretty blond that glanced over at him.

"So what's next? How do we shut him down without going to jail for life?" Jon moved away from the door as another girl moved up to help check IDs.

Marcus moved back and shook his head. "I'm honestly not sure of the details, but the guys I was talking to in Chicago said that we need to get him to a place that's busy with people in public, but has a private balcony or something with outside access. I think they're going to send a shooter to help us."

"Really? Fuck, that's great news." Jon turned and looked down at the club. "Are we thinking the masquerade ball thing tomorrow night or what? I don't think we have much time."

"I agree completely." Marcus pulled out his phone. "Let me put in a call to the guy and see what he thinks about the location and timing being so quick."

"All right. I'm going to go find Kate." Jon turned and paused, looking back. "Does she know?"

"About tomorrow night?" Marcus lifted his eyebrow. "Yeah."

"No, you idiot. About you leaving." Jon shook his head.

Had it been a few months back, and Marcus would have retaliated with something less than pleasant, but somehow the fucker in front of him had grown on him enough to force him to hold his tongue.

"Yeah. She's upset, but we've been partners for a long time, Jon. You're going to have to help her get over it. I'm leaving because it's for the best. Not because I want to." Marcus shrugged and turned on his heel, walking out into the crowded streets of New Orleans’s booming nightlife.

Kate wouldn't be the only one suffering. He'd echo her pain from wherever he was too. She had Jon to help her move past it, and once she did, she would realize how right the decision was. He, on the other hand, was going to have to find a good weed supplier and an all-night liquor store. Enough shit pumping through his system, and anyone would look like Kate, or so he told himself.

"Demetri DeMarco." D's voice was low and his tone a warning of sorts.

"It's Marcus. We're looking at tomorrow night at the Masquerade Ball they throw down here at the Marriott. That too soon?" He brushed his hand over his head and glanced around as people danced in the streets and acted like fools.

"That's perfect. I'll have Izzy on a flight in the morning. Look for a text from me tomorrow with details. I need you to have Billy at a certain location at a very specific time, but we'll work that out. Izabella will have to get there and scope out the best location from across the street. We'll talk tomorrow."

"Great. I appreciate it." Marcus paused. "And I'm taking you up on the offer. Give me the week to close everything down, and then I'll be in Chicago as soon as I do."

"Good. Best decision you'll ever make. I promise."

"I'll hold you to that." Marcus dropped the call and slid the phone back into his pocket as he let out a long sigh. It felt like the right decision, though holding Kate against him only moments before was something that seemed quite possibly the worst thing to let go of.

"I don't see her, Marcus." Jon tapped him on the shoulder and gave him a look that said he was close to losing it.

"How are you a fucking cop when your first response to anything is to freak the fuck out?" He patted Jon's chest and moved past him. "She's fine. We fucked in the storage room, so she's probably up in her room taking a shower. Check there and I'll search the club."

"Fine." Jon's tone darkened, but he didn't follow Marcus back into the club.

Kate knew better than to go after Billy, and with as high as she was, she couldn't have gone far. Marcus moved around the club, checking the backroom and leaving the storage room for last. He walked in and breathed in deeply, loving the delicious scent of their fucking that still lingered in the air.

"God, you're good, baby." He walked around the room, poking his head down each aisle and trying not to get a full-on erection as his mind moved back into their fucking. Maybe she could come visit in Chicago every couple of months.

"Months? Fuck. Days…" He rearranged himself and let out a growl. He wanted her every night, a few times a night. Marcus stopped outside her office and pressed his back to the door before taking a long breath and stilling his racing heart.

She was fine. Nothing had happened to her. She was there only a few minutes ago. Chances are she was upstairs just like he'd said.

His phone buzzed and he pulled it out. Billy.

"Really? Shit." He hit the call button. "What's up, boss?"

"Not too much, Marcus. I think you and I need to have what the church folks would call a come to Jesus meeting. Tomorrow night. You bring the information on the Zandra supplier and your cop friend. I want him dead and I want you on our side for good. You're riding the fence, and I'm tired of it. I don't like being tired. It's, well, tiring."

Original.

"All right. I'll wrap up here at the club and head out to Victor's to find the information." Marcus yawned and looked down the hall as the door opened. Jon walked in, looking more agitated than he was only moments before. "Where are we meeting? How about the big ass party at the Marriott? It's always a load of fun. Free liquor, loads of food and horny bitches."

"Sounds delightful."

"I'll bring Kate with me too." Marcus held up his hand as Jon stopped in front of him and grimaced.

"No... no need to. I'll bring her with me if she's still around."

Ice water raced through the center of Marcus's chest. "What are you talking about?"

"She's here. With me and Reni. Bring the shit I asked for, or your sacrifice all those years ago won't be for anything, big boy. Your girl's in trouble. Think about that tonight while I'm fucking her over and over again."

"Don't you fucking touch her! I'll kill you and everyone you fucking know." Marcus moved out into the back alley as rage burst through him, consuming every part of him.

"Right. Tomorrow night, Marcus. Sweet dreams, little buddy."

The phone went dead as Marcus swallowed the lump in his throat.

"Fuck, Jon. Billy has Kate."

Chapter 19

Jon

"What?" Jon's heart almost stopped in his chest. "No. He can't have her. He's lying."

"Jon, this fucker doesn't lie." Marcus pulled his keys from his pocket. "He wants us to meet him tomorrow night at the party with the Zandra supplier info that Victor had."

"Call Zak and get it." Jon pressed his hands to his mouth and tried to keep a steady stream of air coming through his nose.

"I will, but we need to find him tonight. I'm not waiting until tomorrow to get Kate back. That shit ain't happening. He's a monster."

"Have you been out to the plantation house? I followed my partner, Clay out there the other day." A dark numbness settled over Jon that he was grateful for. After being on the police force for most of his younger years, he knew how to find a calm place amidst the storm, but for some reason when it came to Kate, all bets were off.

"Yeah. Stay here, and I'll let Jeffery know that we're out for the night." Marcus started for the door.

"No. You go to Victor’s and get the supplier information. I'll go get Kate." He ran his fingers through his hair. "Just do it."

"No. I'm going with you. You have no fucking clue what you're up against. It's going to take both of us." Marcus turned and walked back into the club, leaving the heavy metal door to slam loudly and echo throughout the alleyway.

Jon turned and jogged down to his bike, unlocking it as his pulse spiked. He could freak out later that night if necessary, but right now it was about getting to Kate. He didn't know if Billy had multiple locations that he stayed at, but it would seem that the plantation home was a good bet.

After pulling on his helmet, he took off without looking back. Marcus would catch up, or do what was best for all of them and get the fucking information just in case. The idea of Billy being anywhere near Kate left Jon's blood running cold. He'd seen the file on the guy after all the shit went down with Seth.

He wasn't a drug lord. He was a sick fuck who had no sense of morality. There were few men that Jon had seen dive so far into depravity. They shouldn't have held him on death row. They should have electrocuted his ass the first chance they had to do it.

Pressing his bike forward far faster than he should have, Jon pressed his chest to the top of the handlebars and prayed that he could get out to the place in time to find Kate there and untouched. Where he had never expected to be faced with a situation like the one before him, there was no doubt that every darkened part of him would swim to the surface and thrive if needed.

Marcus and Kate only knew what he wanted them to know. He'd been Benton's right hand, but death was his calling card during those years too. There was a quiet place deep inside of him that would calm all things and allow him to persevere through anything.

He stopped the bike beside the house and turned it off, yanked his helmet off and ran into the house with his gun pulled. There was no time to be stealthy, though some part of him screamed for him to slow down and fucking think things through.

The house was dark and smelled like shit. He pressed his arm to his face as he surveyed every room on the bottom floor and glanced outside. Nothing.

He bounded upstairs and paused at the sound of someone sniffling. The instinct to call out to Kate was almost overwhelming, but it wouldn't help her situation if they knew he was there.

Should have thought of that before you busted through the damn door.

Sickness pulsed through him, but he swallowed it down. The darkened hall teased the darkest fears from his childhood, but he pushed through and stopped outside of the last bedroom door.

Making a quick motion, he moved into the room and pointed his gun, turning in a quick circle to ensure that no threat existed around him.

"Help me," a soft feminine voice cried out, but it wasn't more than a choked whisper.

Jon flipped on the light and moved over to the thin blond girl who was huddled in the corner. "Shh... it's okay. I'm here to help."

Her wrists were chained above her, and her hands and upper arms were light purple from lack of blood.

Jon looked around for something to get her loose with. Nothing.

"What's your name, sweetheart?" He got up and walked back to the hall, looking down it to make sure no one was sneaking up on them.

"Sarah. They aren't here." She sniffled and pulled at her bindings. "The keys are probably downstairs in the kitchen drawers. Please get me out of these. I can't... I can't feel my fingers."

"Okay. I'm going. I'll be right back." Jon jogged down the hall and found the key in the first drawer he came to. His phone buzzed, and he pulled it out to see Marcus calling.

"Peterson." After racing back upstairs, Jon dropped down beside the girl, ignoring the rotting bodies beside him and the putrid smell.

"Jon. Where the fuck are you, man? Are you nuts? Billy isn't your average run of the mill ki-"

"I'm at the plantation home. He's not here, but some poor girl is chained up to the wall."

"Sarah?" Marcus's voice softened, but only slightly.

"Yes. I'm getting her loose. I'll call the cops to come get her. Where are you?" Jon barked into the phone and tried to help the weak girl up. She couldn't seem to use her legs, which infuriated him all the more. Billy deserved a bullet in his head, not a comfy stay in a maximum security prison.

"I'm almost to the warehouse where Billy used to have us meet. If he's not here... Fuck, Jon. I don't know where he is."

"Call me when you get there. We'll find him. We have to." He tucked the phone in his pocket and picked the girl up before jogging down the stairs and laying her on the couch. The place was incredibly filthy. How anyone could live in it was a shock.

"I'm going to call the police and they'll get someone out here to help you." Jon touched her arm as she curled up on the couch and started to cry.

"New Orleans Police De-"

"Karen, it's Jon. Track my phone and get someone out here stat. I have a girl who's half dead and evidence that Billy Turner's been here." He reached down and took the girl's bony hand as she reached for him. "I can't stay. I'm searching for Kate. She's gone. Tell Mike to call me. Now."

He dropped the call without waiting for more than a quick reply, and squeezed the girl's hand. "You're going to be fine, Sarah. My friends are on their way out here. I'll visit you tomorrow in the hospital, okay?"

"Please don't leave. I'm scared they'll come back." She glanced at the door, her eyes wide with fear.

"Did you see them leave? Did they have another woman with them? Black hair? Brown eyes?" The confusion on the girl's face left Jon's heart breaking in his chest. She wasn't with it. Too many drugs or perhaps the trauma of staring death in the face.

The sound of a siren lifted all around him, and he let out a sigh. "Thank God."

"Are they here? To get me?" She tried to stand, but fell to the ground at his feet.

Jon leaned over and helped her up before picking her up and walking out into the yard. An ambulance pulled up beside four cop cars. Jon walked out and handed the girl to an EMS.

"Be careful with her. She's in rough shape and scared as hell." He turned to see Mike walking up.

"We were down the street for dinner. I texted you to join us, but you didn't respond." Mike reached out and touched Jon's shoulder. "You look like hell. What's going on, Jon?"

"He's got Kate." Jon took a shallow breath and closed his eyes for a second to get a hold of himself. "The sorry mother fucker has my girl."

"Oh no." Mike stepped back and growled. "Then let's find him. Now."

"Yeah. I can't stop until I do." Jon pulled his phone out and turned. "I need to take this."

Marcus's voice was tight, pinched. "Jon. They aren't here. Tell me you found something. Some sort of lead."

"I got nothing." Jon glanced up at the sky as every part of him buzzed with anxious fear. "What are we going to do? Call him back. Tell him that you need something or want to hang out."

"Jon. That shit isn't going to work. We're talking about Billy Turner here. Come back to the club and we'll go out to Victor's together. Our best bet is to do what Billy wants and show up tomorrow night with everything in check. We have to trust that Kate is capable of taking care of herself. We're out of options."

"No. I can't stomach that. I... I gotta go." Jon dropped the call and slipped his phone in his back pocket before walking to his bike and getting on it. He didn't stop as Mike called to him, but pulled out of the darkened forest and drove like a madman toward the warehouse Seth had him locked up in only a handful of weeks before.

The place was empty, barren when he arrived. After going room to room, Jon moved out to the center of the room and dropped down on the chair Seth had strapped him to.

Pressing his hands to his face, he let out a guttural scream and let every horrid emotion that threatened to strip his sanity away leak from his lips. After a few minutes of screaming into his hands and crying so hard his face hurt, he leaned back and looked up at the night sky through the hole in the roof.

"I know you hate me, but take me instead. Please. Give her back and let her be untouched. Protect her like I can’t. Please. I'll give you anything. Do anything. Please. Please, God. Don't take her from me. I'll do anything." He leaned back over and pressed his face to his hands as his heart bled out.

If given another chance, he wasn't fucking up things with the dark-haired bartender ever again. Kate was all he wanted and whatever that meant, in whatever way he could have her... he was completely and totally in.

"Please, God. Please."