Chapter 40
Chapter Forty
“Ican’t believe she just left.”
Kenna bit her lip at Maizie’s words and looked out the windshield at the dark night sky, heavy with clouds that probably meant snow would be falling tonight.
They’d talked to the cops for hours and eventually let them look through the RV.
It wasn’t like there was anywhere inside that Zeyla might’ve been hiding, but it at least assuaged their curiosity to look.
Over the comms channel they had open, Jax said, “We should probably get out of town as well. It’s going to look suspicious, but I don’t want to be around when the cops start pointing fingers.”
Kenna wanted to finish this, to see for herself that Ellayna and her family really were safe.
Then she’d feel all right about leaving town.
“If this guy never shows, we can talk about packing up. I’ll call Preston, and he can give up the fight to get that software company to admit what they were doing. ”
Given that her team had MSI messing with them, and someone who wasn’t Zeyla had murdered two people, it would be safer to leave. Preston was going to be another story.
She’d managed to reach him earlier but hadn’t had the chance to talk for long. He’d been in a meeting with people he refused to identify, even though he told her they could put pressure on the company to admit Shawn had been right.
As if appealing to someone’s sense of decency was going to work in the world of cutthroat business? She had told him good luck, even though she didn’t believe in luck. She could’ve prayed for him to get a result, but even that would’ve been halfhearted.
Preston wanted it all to go public, which meant whoever was doing wrong had to admit the truth. She was mostly worried he’d come across Shawn and Marcus’s real killer and get himself in trouble, but the guy didn’t listen to her.
“If the feds or the police here have questions, we can give them Bear’s number,” Kenna said.
“Or the president’s.” Jax stood over at the far end of a parking lot under a streetlamp, so she could see his outline from here. The killer who’d been contracted to take Ellayna and kill her family was on his way.
Actually, he was hitting the point where he was late.
After hours of conversation with the police, Maizie and Jax realized they had a reply from the guy.
In the end, they convinced him that Jax was a wealthy socialite with money to burn and a serious grudge against his business partner.
He wanted the guy gone with no witnesses and no trace—no body left to be found.
Maybe the guy needed cash, because he’d agreed to meet when Jax insisted their agreement be made in person.
It wasn’t ideal, and they didn’t even know who this guy was.
There hadn’t been time or a way to dig into his background.
Even the bank account on the invoice MSI had sent them had been nothing but a dummy account where money landed and was transferred somewhere else within seconds.
Wired to another country, somewhere with more lax financial laws, where records weren’t a necessity.
“Maze, did you make any progress tracing more of those accounts?”
In the back seat of their car, Maizie sighed aloud. “I have another fifteen, at least. It goes around and around in circles, is split up, transferred again, divided, and then it lands in an account in one large amount. Then it’s divided again and moved to multiple accounts.”
Jax said, “What about that forensic accountant you were working with a while back?”
“I sent what I have. I’m waiting for her to get back to me.”
Kenna watched her husband, noting he didn’t display any impatience. She would be pacing up and down. But when playing the character of a guy with way too much money, he’d opted to be cool as a cucumber.
She, on the other hand, wanted to yell at Zeyla.
The woman had given them all the slip. Out the bathroom window.
Or no one had noticed her slip into the bedroom, where she could have used the hatch in the floor that went through to the storage area underneath.
It was supposed to be for security purposes.
The only thing she’d left behind was the phone—and on the screen, Kenna had found a message to her that hadn’t been sent.
I’ll miss you.
As if that made up for the fact that all of them would worry for the rest of their lives where she was. If she was okay.
Kenna scrubbed the tears off her cheeks and felt Maizie’s hand on her shoulder. She squeezed the young woman’s hand, not wanting Jax to be distracted by their emotions right now.
“I see someone.” Jax’s voice crackled over the open comms line.
Thank You. Hopefully, they would discover who had hired the man for the job MSI had intercepted.
Even if he hadn’t completed it, they had surmised that the first payment was sent.
The second would’ve been made after the job was completed, but that didn’t happen.
Had he tried to contact the buyer to explain?
Car headlights split the darkness on the far left side of this parking lot.
No one else would be out here tonight in this derelict spot with cracked asphalt and rundown buildings.
Businesses that had closed years ago when the economy leaned away from manufacturing and toward more white-collar jobs in downtown high-rise buildings.
“How will we know if it’s him?” Maizie asked.
“We’ll see if he goes near Jax,” Kenna said. “And then we’ll know from what he does next.”
Which was why she’d insisted her husband wear a bulletproof vest, while she and Maizie sat in the armored car.
With Zeyla gone and Preston busy, she needed to call Stairns and see how he felt about coming here to lend a hand with protection.
The team was far too scattered, and she didn’t like it.
Across the lot, the car turned in a half circle and parked where she could see the headlights. Too far away from her for the occupant to know she and Maizie were sitting over here, but their vehicle would be visible. Thankfully, the tinted windows would disguise their presence.
Kenna worried her lip between her teeth. She wanted to distract herself with a drink of her water, but then she would only need to pee, and she would be the one derailing this operation. She needed to continually give her worries to the Lord. Trust that they were doing the right thing.
A single occupant got out of the driver’s side of the car. Male. Not quite as tall as Jax, he had stocky shoulders and short legs but a longer upper body, which gave him a squat appearance.
He approached Jax, his stride not so much slow but definitely measured. Hands in sight. Probably a gun on his person somewhere—maybe more than one. A guy who lived with caution, not knowing if a bullet would be around the next corner.
“You’re the one?” Jax asked.
“If you have the money.”
Jax motioned to the duffel by his foot. For the sake of the ruse, they’d filled it with stacks of junk mail they’d retrieved from a recycling center before it could be processed.
Bundled pieces of paper that would look enough like money the guy would be convinced they’d brought the cash.
Until he unzipped the bag and saw the truth.
He would know this wasn’t about purchasing his services by then.
“If I’m gonna hire you, I’ll need to know you are who you say you are.” Jax still looked relaxed.
She took a moment to admire how good her husband was at undercover work. And all the other things that made him so innately Jax. He would pass a whole lot of great qualities to their child.
“You wanna see my resume?” The guy had a low voice with a gravelly edge to it. At least, it sounded like that through the comms channel.
Kenna had asked Maizie about analyzing his voice and putting it through a program that might be able to find a match from the internet and social media. But without a better recording of his voice, they wouldn’t be able to get a definitive answer.
“You say you’re legit.” Jax shrugged. “How do I know you aren’t just some guy on the dark web taking money and screwing people over?”
“Fine, you want proof I’ve done this before?” The guy dragged a cell phone out of his pocket and tapped the screen before holding it out. “That enough for you?”
Jax didn’t move.
“Swipe the screen.”
Jax pushed off the light pole and moved closer. The guy was fast, but Jax had been expecting something to happen. As he reached out his hand, the contract killer grabbed his forearm and punched Jax in the side with the cell phone hand.
He probably hadn’t expected the thickness of the vest to meet his fist. But then, Jax had injured ribs.
Kenna’s stomach clenched, even though she knew what Jax was going to allow to happen. She watched her husband twist his hips and land a punch of his own. The two grappled, hitting at each other in close quarters.
Jax got his leg hooked around the other guy’s, but the contract killer forced it and got control as they tumbled to the ground. Using barely a second to get the upper hand, the killer ended up on top.
Kenna winced, trying to keep her thoughts to herself. That looked like it hurt. He was already injured from the explosion at the hospital. She gasped.
The guy had Jax pinned now. Not exactly the plan, but then none of them had anticipated the speed with which he’d gained control.
Come on.
The killer leaned over him. “I’ve killed people for less than that disrespect.”
But he would hardly get contracts if he treated people like that. Why take the meet if it wasn’t his norm?
Jax said, “So I shouldn’t check that you’re for real before I hand over a hundred thousand dollars? I could’ve hired someone off the street for ten grand, and they could’ve put a bullet in a guy’s brain no problem. I came to you because you were recommended.”
The guy shoved off Jax but didn’t get far. Jax moved as well. The guy straightened, kicking off Jax’s grip on him before striding over to the duffel. He unzipped it and looked inside, swearing loudly.
Jax had already rolled over on the ground, raised a gun, and pointed it at the guy.
The contract killer reached for the back of his belt.
“Got your gun.”
The guy swore.
“Fine, I lied. But I can pay you. It’s just for answering some questions and not for killing anyone.”
The guy froze where he stood, on the wrong end of a gun—his own gun.
Jax shifted and got up, first on his knees, and then he rocked and stood in one move. “You still get a hundred thousand. I’ll have it sent to whatever account you want. But I want answers.”
The killer would know he was never going to be able to run faster than a bullet. Even if he tried, there was too much of a chance Jax wouldn’t miss. He had to agree, or he was going to lose his life—or a leg.
The guy’s body language radiated anger and frustration. “What do you want to know?”
“Who hired you to kidnap Ellayna Feathers and kill her mother and brother?”
“I didn’t do that job.”
“I know,” Jax said. “Because they’re still alive. I want to know who paid you the first half for the job.”
“Why? They weren’t there; they were already gone!”
Jax asked, “Did you tell whoever hired you that or try to give their money back?”
The killer laughed. “Not my fault I couldn’t do the job. Someone else got there first.”
“How did they contact you?”
“Why do you care?” The guy shifted, his movements jerky.
Jax said, “Not your concern. I just want everything you know about these people. So I can find them.”
The guy shook his head. “How do you think they found me? Same way you did.”
“I meant what I said about paying you. And I don’t want to shoot you, but I will if I have to. All I want is their information.”
Kenna watched the guy look at his boots for a second. Assessing his options.
He finally looked up. “You know what happens to people who talk? Won’t matter if you paid me or not. Fact is, you might as well put a bullet in my brain. I’m done anyway.”
“I’d love to talk you into quitting,” Jax said. “I’ll know I made the world a better place tonight.”
“A do-gooder?” The guy laughed. “This gets better and better.”
Kenna spotted a flash of movement in her rearview. But it happened so quickly she wondered if she saw it. Nothing else happened. Jax faced off against the guy, and she was fine here with Maizie in the car.
Jax said, “I’ll give you an email address. Or a phone number. You send everything about these people you have to the place I give you. When I can confirm it checks out, I’ll deposit money into your account.”
“So, I send a text, and you let me walk away? I don’t get paid until later?”
“I’m keeping this gun.”
Kenna would have as well. Better than getting shot in the back when the guy left. It was probably going to turn out to be the weapon in some unsolved crimes, so she figured they’d be turning it over to the police.
It might even be the gun used to kill Marcus Neerwood and Shawn Terrance.
Kenna caught a quiet whirring outside the car and only just recognized she was hearing it when her door opened. Someone pulled Maizie’s door open at the same time.
The dome light above her went on.
Maizie yelped as she was dragged out of the car.
Kenna said, “Hey, what—”
Across the parking lot, Jax yelled, “KENNA!”
A stinky cloth was shoved in her mouth before she could finish what she was saying. The smell of it rushed up into her nostrils, and she tried to pull it out. Her fingers glanced over a hand on her face, and she scratched at it.
But the chemical did its job, and everything went black.