Chapter 16
Raider could barely breathe let alone focus on what was happening around him. Piper had been pregnant. Pregnant. He’d always wanted a family. A large one. Piper said yes to two with a possibility of three, but Raider had wanted six. He’d given up on that ever happening once she’d kicked him out. Just the thought that it had been a reality at least for a little while and she hadn’t told him. The idea of all they’d lost, all he’d lost demolished something in him. He wanted to shake her. What the hell had she been thinking? Why didn’t she tell him? She’d wanted it to be a surprise. Well, she got her wish. Even five years later, it was a hell of a surprise.
The vehicles had come to a halt and Chambers had gotten out of the car and was walking towards them. “Piper, I’m so glad you’re okay. You gave us a hell of a scare. What a clusterfuck last night was! So glad it all worked out.”
“Yeah, me too,” Piper said.
Her voice was strained, and she was pale. There was no way Chambers wouldn’t know something was wrong. Raider’s first instinct was still to protect her from anything, including her boss’s potential prying.
He gave himself a mental shake. He needed to let her go. She’d made it clear she was done with him. She’d had five years to process the loss of their child. He’d had five minutes. She should be worried about him! Instead, she was just quiet and pale. This whole thing was like getting hit by shrapnel. Emotional shrapnel that was going to leave permanent damage.
Chambers gaze darted back and forth between the two of them. “Do you have the thumb drive?”
Raider studied Chambers. He was sweating and he looked like he hadn’t slept in days. Know the feeling. Raider wasn’t sure he’d ever sleep again after Piper’s bombshell. He frowned. He needed to get through this and get away. He needed time to process…his loss. Both of them.
“Did Baker and Wells make it?” Piper asked suddenly. “We heard gunshots. I was worried.”
“Er, not sure. Haven’t seen them. Don’t know anything about it. We can send a team to the neighborhood to look.”
Faint alarm bells were ringing for Raider, but he’d be damned if he could put his finger on why. He glanced toward the other vehicle behind Chambers’ car. No one had gotten out of it. He jammed his hands in his pockets and touched a button on the cell phone. A little insurance just in case.
“Who’s in the SUV?” he asked.
Chambers glanced over his shoulder. “No one, just some team members. I brought them along but since there’s no issue they’re probably staying in the A/C.”
Raider nodded but his gut told him something was way off. The passenger window was down in the SUV, but he couldn’t see inside. Whoever sat there wasn’t worried about staying cool. “Where’s Fielding?”
“Like I told Piper, he’s back at the office. He’s waiting to hear about the thumb drive. You have it, right Piper?”
She nodded. “Yeah, we have it.”
“Great. You can just give it to me and then we’ll get you back to the office and debrief you.” Chambers was really sweating now. It was not warm enough to justify that kind of perspiration, even with a suit and tie.
“Did you guys get Denlo and his boss?” Raider asked nonchalantly.
Chambers cleared his throat nervously. “Picked them up at the house. Denlo screamed bloody murder, but Kasinski came quietly.”
Icy fingers gripped Raider’s heart. He glanced at Piper. Did she pick up on it? He shifted his weight so he’d be ready to move while trying to get her attention without being obvious, but she was oblivious to him.
She was frowning and then she cocked her head. “Wait, how did you know…” her voice died as her eyes widened. “It’s you,” she said. “You’re the mole. You’re the one that got Marta killed.”
Piper couldn’t believe the man she’d called boss and mentor, a man who’d been a friend for years could be the mole. How was that even possible?
But the facts fit.
And if she had any doubts the gun in his hand that was pointed at her was a clear message.
“How could you?” she demanded. Her heart rate skyrocketed, and heat crept into her cheeks. She closed her hands into fists. “Marta is dead because of you. Why?”
John just kind of shrugged. “I needed the money,” he said simply. “Pauline took me to the cleaners in the divorce. I can’t afford to pay her alimony, pay for the kids, and still live. I got tired of working my ass off for so little.” The normally affable animation left her boss’s face. All the friendliness was gone. Now he’d morphed into just another cold, calculating killer. His eyes had even gone flat.
Bile rose in her throat. She wanted to puke. “But Marta died!” Piper just couldn’t get her brain around it. “You brought Marta into the division. You were her mentor. How could you let Kasinski kill her?” His treachery was unfathomable to her.
“The same way he’s going to let me kill you.” Kasinski appeared on Piper’s right flank. “You are a real pain in the ass. I stomped through the fucking forest all night looking for you. I’ll take that thumb drive now.” He shoved his hand into her belly.
Instinctively, Piper moved closer to Raider. She wanted to protect him. If this was her moment to go, she was fine with it. but she couldn’t deal with it if she got Raider killed. She should have never brought him into this. How crazy did she have to be to endanger him, while she still loved him so much? She shook her head, scattering the damning thoughts. “You killed Marta.”
“Yes,” John agreed. “That didn’t really go according to plan. You and Marta weren’t supposed to be in the warehouse. If you’d both just stayed outside… but no. Both of you were always so impulsive. I should’ve known better than to have you two there at the buy. That wasn’t the way I wanted it to go, but I couldn’t think of a way to keep you out of the operation. If anyone is at fault, it was Marta”s. She sealed her fate the moment she went into that warehouse.”
Pain and anger lanced Piper’s brain. The son of a bitch.
John raised his gun higher. “And so did you. If you’d just let the whole thing go, it would’ve been fine. But no. You had to push and push.” He made a face and said in a high-pitched voice as if to mimic her, “The man with the snake tattoo. He did it. The Snake, we have to find him.” Malice dripped off his words like water off a leaf during a rainstorm.
He dropped his voice to normal. “Honestly, I got so tired of hearing about it. If you’d have let it go, then we wouldn’t be here. This job never needed a driver. If you’d just let Marta’s death go, then I wouldn’t have had Slick reach out and you wouldn’t ever have to be here. But you always knew better than anyone. So tenacious, like a fucking pit bull. Your theory was starting to get some interest from the higher-ups, and I couldn’t risk that. You never know when to quit. And you have such an over-developed sense of justice. I knew you’d get on the plane. No way you could let the opportunity go by. Hell, if you’d followed the rules then I’d be screwed but no, you had to jump in to find the perp responsible for the death of your colleague.” A slow, mean smile lit his face. “How’s that working out for you?”
Piper didn’t know what to say. She had no idea who the cold-blooded killer in front of her was. Not her boss John. No, it was a total stranger, one she never knew existed.
“Give me the thumb drive,” Kasinski said and held out his hand.
Piper once again moved closer to Raider. She was now almost touching him. If nothing else, she might be able to give him a fighting chance. She owed him that after what she’d done. She searched for something to distract them. Maybe with enough time to think, Raider could come up with a plan. “What happened to Denlo? Where’s he?” she blurted out.
“Dead,” Kasinski said, his voice full of disgust. “That asshole let you get away and then he started to bitch about everything. He was in a panic about you guys escaping. Said the boss was going to kill us if we didn’t get the thumb drive back. He was out of control and falling apart so I put him out of his misery.”
“The shots,” Raider said.
Kasinski smiled. “You should have seen his face when I put the first slug into him. He didn’t see it coming. Always the best way if you ask me but Denlo was right about one thing, my life is over if I don’t produce that thumb drive.” He waved his gun. “I won’t ask again.”
Piper’s heart surged faster and sweat ran down between her shoulder blades. She turned to John. “What are you going to do about us? What will you tell the others? Where does Fielding think you are right now?”
Her boss shrugged slightly. “Fielding is the least of my worries. He never spent much time in the field, so he has no real idea of what goes on. I had the team breach the house at dawn. Once they found it empty, they had to sit around and discuss how to deal with it until forensics showed up. Now I have the backup team out driving around looking for the van along with Denlo and Kasinski. Eventually, they’ll find Denlo and the van. It’s parked behind someone’s house in the same neighborhood. But it might take them a while. Probably not until people are allowed back in. Kilauea has been good to me.” His mean smile was back.
“But what will you tell him happened here?” she pushed.
“I’ll tell him the truth. Kasinski killed you both and then got away. It happens. It’s horrible but it happens. I’ll be so broken up about it, I”ll have to take some time off. Then I’m gonna head to the Caribbean and get lost. No more alimony payments, no more paying for the kids, just me in the sunshine with a rum drink in my hand.” He had a far-off look in his eye as if he was already seeing himself on that beach. Wait, was he humming “Margaritaville”? God, she hoped he stepped on that damn pop top and lost a leg to gangrene.
“Now,” he said as he snapped back to the present. “Give us the thumb drive or I’ll take it off your cold dead body.”
Raider startled her with a snort of laughter. “You already told us you’re gonna kill us. Not like you’ve given us any incentive to hand it over. Once you have it, we’re dead anyway.”
“Just give me the fucking drive,” Chambers snarled.
Piper turned her head slightly. Then she glanced at Raider who met her gaze. He heard it too. She was sure of it. She glanced around. If they could get to the SUV, they could get away. She gave Raider the tiniest of nods. She was on board for whatever he was planning. There wasn’t a doubt in her mind that she would do whatever it took to get him out of this alive. He deserved to enjoy his retirement. Enjoy the rest of his life. Maybe he’d meet someone and have those children he wanted so badly.
She swallowed hard and then stared at her boss. “Come and get it you son of a bitch,” she said.