Fierce Defender: Book 2, Hard to Handle trilogy (15 page)

“Keep the change for you,” he commanded.

***

As Vincent walked out the front door of the bakery, he was smiling. He had noticed her shiver in desire at his touch. He strolled down the pleasant street on his way back to his budget hotel room, humming and thinking about giving her pleasure in so many other ways.

******

San Antonio, Texas

Courthouse

Late Tuesday Afternoon

“I can’t believe you think I might be capable of this, Joe!” Danielle stared at her boss with the disbelief of someone who had been wrongly accused. She was surrounded by men. Joe was here as her representative to witness her defense against the group that had summoned her into the chambers—the Bexar County Sheriff, a DEA agent, the ADA, and the judge. But he wasn’t doing much representation.

“I don’t want to believe it, Dani,” he said nervously.

“Then don’t. This is serious, Joe. They’re probably going to arrest me. I could lose my license to practice, and even if I don’t, my reputation will be ruined.”

“I know. I’m sorry, Dani.”

He was a coward. In their county, the District Attorney’s office ran all over the Public Defender’s office, and Joe was the reason why. He had no spine whatsoever. He never stood up for himself, much less anyone else. She didn’t care for him before, but she really didn’t like him now.

After the judge had excused Ayden, ADA Lane had asked her to come into the judge’s chambers. She had asked him what it was about, but he acted like it was a big secret. Already disgusted with her morning, she had gone. When she got there, they were all waiting.

The judge had introduced the younger man as Neil Wyatt, a special agent with the DEA. She wondered if this had something to do with her representing Grayson at his fake arraignment the day before.

“Miss Thurston, have a seat,” Judge Barnes instructed her.

She had been puzzled, but curious, so she sat. “What’s going on?” she asked.

Wyatt, who from this close looked more like a twelve-year-old kid, replied, “Miss Thurston, when was the last time you accessed the evidence vault?”

She immediately stiffened. “Um, yesterday afternoon,” she said. “Why?”

The ADA wouldn’t make eye contact with her. Surely, they didn’t think that she…

“And what did you take out of the evidence vault yesterday afternoon?”

“A gun,” she stated. “I signed it out. It was evidence in a case that was being heard yesterday. I signed it back in after court. Why? Is it missing?”

Wyatt continued his line of questioning. “What time did you sign it in?”

“I don’t know,” she claimed. “There should be a time on the sheet. Isn’t there?”

“It says five-fifteen,” Wyatt said, looking at the paper he held in his hand.

“Okay then,” she said. “I signed it in then. Will you tell me what’s going on?”

“Miss Thurston, the clerk signed out at five yesterday. Was anyone else with you when you returned that gun to the vault?”

“No, it was just me. Yes, the clerk was gone. Someone tell me what the hell is going on!” She knew that yelling in the judge’s chambers was frowned upon, but she was getting pissed now.

Judge Barnes interjected, looking at the DEA agent as he said, “Can we just tell her why you’re asking?”

The agent turned back to her. “I know that you’re aware two bricks of cocaine are missing out of that evidence locker.”

“Yes, I was made aware of that early this morning by ADA Lane.” Aka: the phone call she hadn’t known would be the undoing of her entire day.

“Did you see it when you were in the vault yesterday evening?”

“I have no idea,” she said. “I wasn’t looking for it. Are you insinuating that I have something to do with it walking away?”

“Yes, I am suggesting that, Miss Thurston.” The DEA agent was stone-faced. It was like she was caught in the middle of a Saturday Night Live skit. The guy had absolutely no intonation to his voice.

She looked around at the other four men and said, “What evidence do you think you have?”

“You’re the only one who signed in after the clerk left,” Agent Wyatt argued.

“Big deal,” she said. “You think the guy who took it wanted his name on the list?”

“You were the only one on the video surveillance camera, Miss Thurston.”

“On the camera? Then you know I didn’t take it if I’m on camera!”

“No, Miss Thurston. You went in with a bag on your shoulder, and you left with a bag on your shoulder. The camera was on the entrance. All we can see is the bag. We can’t see what’s inside.”

Danielle’s throat was beginning to close up, and she could feel the tears forming at the corners of her eyes. She fought them back. She wasn’t going to cry in front of these men. Her chest was getting tight; she couldn’t breathe. She needed to get out of the room, so she stood up. It was too fast. She got dizzy and had to reach out and grab the back of the chair Agent Wyatt was sitting in to steady herself.

He stood up next to her. “Miss Thurston, you can’t leave.”

“Are you arresting me?” she tested.

“Not yet, but I’m detaining you for further questioning.”

“I want to call my lawyer,” she demanded. A stray tear escaped from the corner of her eye.
Damn you, Ayden!
This had to be him. How he did it, she didn’t know. But if it was the last thing she ever did, she would find a way to prove it.

Growing Closer

San Antonio, Texas

Tuesday Evening

Gray looked around the custom bike shop. He was still having a hard time getting past the fact that Ayden owned this place. He had never been here, having used a Harley dealer offline to get all of his parts when he was restoring Stella. This place was something else though; they had parts for just about every bike ever made, as well as three bays for restorations and five for repairs.

He stood upstairs in an office with a large glass partition that looked out over the shop and the bays the mechanics used. The office was colossal, with two large desks and plenty of professional looking office equipment. Even Mick looked small sitting in it. Gray would have never figured these guys for being so business savvy.

As soon as they had arrived, Mick had gone straight to the refrigerator in the office and grabbed two beers. He gave one to Gray then opened one for himself as he slunk down into one of the chairs. As Gray stood looking out at the activity going on downstairs, he was somehow reminded of the
Wizard of Oz
. He’d watched that movie a lot as a kid. The people downstairs were busy polishing things and making them shiny while the Wizard sat up here behind his smoke screen and pulled their strings.

Just as he had that thought, the door to the office opened, and in walked Christopher Ayden Styles. Gray tried not to show his disbelief. As of the time he’d left San Antonio this morning, Ayden had still been enjoying the facilities at the Bexar County Hotel, awaiting trial. Danielle must have done a bang up job in court this morning.

Gray looked at Mick. He wasn’t surprised. That must have been the phone call he had taken on their way back to town earlier. Ayden and Mick hugged, and then Ayden grinned and held his arms out to Gray. He hugged him, thinking he now knew what it was like to hold the devil.

“Ah! It’s good to be home,” Ayden gloated, holding out his arms and looking around the office. “Sit, both of you. Tell me about the meet.” He went and took a seat behind the big desk.

Mick set the black duffel bag on the desk in front of his boss and sat back down in his chair. Ayden opened it and pulled out one of the bricks, packaged tightly in clear wrap. He put it to his nose and closed his eyes as he inhaled the scent. As far as Gray knew, packaged cocaine didn’t smell like much, unless you were a German shepherd, but Ayden seemed to be enjoying it. He finally put it down and said, “Did the Mexicans give you any trouble?”

Mick made a noise; Gray wasn’t sure if he was trying to say something or if he was adjusting something in his tight jeans.

“Mick, I’d appreciate it if you saved your grunting for the animals,” Ayden told him. “Use your words, like your foster mama taught you when you were twelve.”

“They were little smart ass Vatos,” Mick said at last. “But once I told them I didn’t want any shit, it went okay.”

“So their boss didn’t make an appearance?” Gray couldn’t tell if Ayden was happy or not.

Mick didn’t speak. He shook his head, and as he did, Gray watched with horror as crumbs from what he could only hope were his most recent meal flew out.

Ayden smiled. “I didn’t think he would. Last I heard, the fat bastard was holed up in some shithole of a house in Brownsville.” He looked at Gray then and said, “So Caleb, what do you think of my little place here?”

“It’s damn impressive,” Gray praised. Unfortunately, he was being honest. It was sickening sometimes how decent people scraped by while pond scum lived among the elite.

“It’s my pride and joy,” Ayden said. “Did Mick show you around?”

Gray looked at Mick, who grunted again. “Um, no, sir. We haven’t been here long,” Gray told him.

“Come with me,” Ayden said. “I’ll give you the grand tour.”

Gray followed Ayden down the stairs to the ground floor. Mick stayed behind in the office, obviously tired from his day of strenuous activity. Ayden took him to the parts room first. It was spotlessly clean; none of the parts, even the ones stacked on shelves or hanging from the walls, had a speck of dust on them. The munchkins must be very interested in keeping the Wizard happy, Gray thought. He took him to the restoration bays next. There must have been half a million dollars’ worth of Harleys and equipment in there. When they moved on to the mechanics’ bay, again, the price on the equipment had to be a hefty one.

“How long have you owned this place?” Gray asked.

“I bought into it about eight years ago. It was an established business; the guy just needed an investment partner, or so he thought. It’s a different place now than it was then—because of the improvements I’ve made.”

“So, does your partner handle the day to day operations?”

Ayden laughed. “No, I actually got lucky and the old bastard died of natural causes about five years ago. I bought out his kids a few years after that, so now it’s all mine. I’ve got some pretty decent mechanics working for me, and my restoration guys are geniuses. The day to day operations I handed over to my brother Wesley, who was worthless for any other purpose. It turns out, though, that he had a head for business.”

As they headed back towards the stairs, Gray caught sight of something that peaked his interest—a large vault under the stairwell. It looked like a giant metal gun safe.

Gray tossed his head in that direction and said, “What’s in there, the armory?” and then he laughed like it was a joke.

Ayden stopped and looked down. When his eyes returned to look at Gray, he was dead serious. “You never know when Armageddon is coming.”

******

Sutherland Springs, Texas

Tuesday Night

Zack and Eva lay in the bed, tangled in each other’s limbs and the sweaty sheets left behind from their love making. It had been a marathon session, even for them. This was the place she felt the safest. With Hank’s disappearance and the creepy guy at the bakery, she hadn’t wanted their love making to end.

Once Zack had caught his breath, he said, “You know, I’m not able to take on the full MMA matches anymore because of my lung injuries. I’m wondering if I should run this activity by my doctor as well.”

Eva giggled. “What if he says you have to retire this too?” she asked him.

“I’d have to shoot him.” Zack hugged her into his side. “You want something to drink?”

“I would love some water,” she said.

He pulled her into him even closer and kissed the side of her face. “I love you, Eva.”

She smiled lazily and said, “I love you too.”

Reluctantly letting her go, Zack went into the kitchen, but returned a few minutes later with two bottles of cold water and an envelope in his hand.

Eva sat up, took the water, and said, “What’s that?”

“I grabbed the mail while I was down there. It’s addressed to you, postmarked Mexico.”

Eva took it out of his hand and looked at it. “That’s weird,” she said as she tore it open. “I don’t know anyone in Mexico.”

“A secret Latin lover, perhaps?” Zack joked as she took out the handwritten letter inside and read it. Then he frowned. He must have saw her face suddenly go pale and the hand she held the letter in begin to tremble. “Eva, baby… what is it?” he asked her.

“It’s from Hank,” she said. She flipped the envelope over once more. Matamoros, Mexico was where it had come from, but she suspected it hadn’t been her brother who had mailed it. In spite of the water, her mouth felt dry.

“What does it say, baby?” Zack persisted. She handed him the letter and he read it. Then, confused, he looked at her and said, “Why is he writing like you knew he was leaving that day? Eva? You didn’t know, did you?”

Eva looked at him. Clearly, he knew by her face that she didn’t. He didn’t say anything else, but instead he took her in his arms and held her until she was ready to talk.

When she was, she said, “They got him, Zack.”

“How do you know, Eva? Maybe he really is hiding out in Mexico. Is the letter in his handwriting?”

“Yes,” she confirmed.

“Then I’m sure they don’t have him. Baby… I don’t think they’d keep him alive long enough to write a letter if they did.”

Eva pulled away from him and got out of the bed. She had a bad feeling in her gut. It was the same bad feeling she used to have every time her brother called, wanting her to bail him out of some kind of trouble. Zack sat in the bed watching her, but he gave her space to figure it out.

She reached for the letter once more and read it again. “I think they have him, Zack. He’s trying to tell us by pretending that I knew he was going home that day. There’s no other explanation for the way he wrote this.”

“So what is their end game here, Eva? Why keep him alive and let him write you a letter that says they’re still following him?”