Chapter 13 #2
She stepped away to conduct her conversation, but it only took a minute and she was all business.
Walking back to the group at the table, she looked all pro, dressed in a business suit albeit with a short skirt and stiletto heels showing off her legs.
The years had been kind to her. She was only a year younger than Dane, but she looked ten younger.
“Remy will meet us on the island when we get back. We’ll strategize the arrest then.”
In Dane’s opinion, she was getting ahead of herself, assuming they’d have enough for an arrest, but then Dane didn’t know what else Remy might have up his sleeve, knew full well he had more than Elena had shared.
Dane led Joe, Acer and Elena into the library where they found Peter with Shana and Nora Kimble drinking coffee and tapping on a computer. No Gables in sight.
“We confirmed the meeting with Victor Yannis’s campaign manager,” Dane said. “Tammy Peal.”
“The feds are going to suspect something is up—they’re going to know you’re going off island. Philimino will tell them,” Kimble said.
Shana gave him a look, like she wanted him to change his mind. He knew she didn’t want him to go for a lot of reasons and fear of the feds was the least of them.
“It’s better that way. Tell them I’m meeting with Benito Stravana. We want to talk to him before he’s transferred. The truth. We’ll make it happen. They won’t know Joe will meet with him in my place. They’ll assume we’re tying up loose ends.”
“I thought Benito’s mind was going,” Kimble said.
“That’s what they tell me, but it doesn’t add up.
He’d always been the schemer in the husband and wife team.
I don’t know if Natalia could have pulled it all off on her own, especially with all the contacts and team they had in place.
But we’re not counting on getting reliable intel from him.
If he can confirm that Natalia had nothing to do with the threat received by Madeline, it’ll be enough to bolster our suspicion about Yannis and Ziffer. ”
“Never mind Benito’s mind. How are you going to deal with the ankle bracelet? You never quite explained that,“ Elena said.
“Joe will be wearing it.” Dane said.
“I don’t want to know,” Kimble said, eying Peter.
“Oscar,” Peter said.
Dane gave him a smile. “You arranged the interview with the prison warden, right?”
“Earlier today,” Peter said. “I spoke with the deputy warden. It’s funny, yesterday when I called I had trouble getting through to the warden, but he’s out at a scheduled site visit today and the deputy warden is in charge.”
“Acer—you contacted Oscar, right?”
“Yeah. He’ll be at the governor’s mansion before Joe has to leave to get to the prison. Barely. You’ll be cutting it close.”
“Not a problem. We can make it work. No choice. There’s no way we’re postponing this, giving anyone a chance at another pot shot at Peter.”
“Then let’s make it happen,” Peter said, looking at his watch, “In three hours.”
*****
“I’m going with you.” Shana said the minute the door to their guest room closed behind them.
He didn’t bother answering her. He didn’t want to argue. There was no way she was going. They both knew it. To Shana’s credit. It took no more than one long tense minute for her to drop her hands from her hips, drop the determined scowl from her face.
If she hadn’t turned away as her eyes shone with possible tears, he would have dropped to his knees and given in, given her anything she wanted.
As it was, the stab through his heart froze him, made it impossible for him to speak without his voice breaking.
Damn this torture. Were they destined to go through this same back and forth, this turmoil every time one of them was taking a risk, for the rest of their lives together?
She went to the bed and laid down, facing away from him, fully clothed.
When he collected himself after a few beats of hardening himself back into the granite souled man he’d been for as long as he could remember, since his father had gone off on a mission leaving him to take care of his mother, never to return, he went to the bed and lied against her, wrapped his arms around her.
He needed her, warm and soothing even in her cool anger, even with her back tensed against him.
They’d gotten no more than two hours sleep when the alarm on his watch went off. It was five am. He rose without disturbing her, putting a blanket over her.
Leaning over her he whispered in her ear, knowing she would hear him, knowing she was awake though she hadn’t stirred.
“I’ll be back later tonight. You’re barely hanging on with the demands of taking care of yourself. You’re not ready for an active excursion.”
He didn’t add that she should know better.
Didn’t accuse her of wanting to chaperone him with Elena.
Thought about reassuring her that he had no feelings for Elena, but that would have been an exaggeration.
Only a slight one. His feelings were wild and unsettling, mostly disturbing and distrustful.
They weren’t the same kind of feelings he had for Shana. Not even close.
Turning to him, the hurt and accusation open on her face and her wounded eyes.
“Babe, I’ll be back in bed with you before you have a chance to miss me. I promise.”
As he checked his Glock, loaded amo and slipped on a shoulder holster, he heard her rise from the bed. The sun was strong now, over the horizon and shimmering off the water into the window. He held himself steady as he slipped on his jacket. When he turned, he found her standing at the door.
He bodied up to her, pressing her up against the closet door, taking his fill of her scent in the process and almost wishing he could lock them in the closet, cut themselves off from the world at large for a little while and lose himself in lovemaking.
She softened against him, her tension easing, but she still said nothing. A sure sign she was conflicted. He pressed his advantage. Literally.
“When I get back, I’ll wake you. Rest up until then. Save your strength for what counts most.”
“Making love to you? Satisfying your gigantic appetite for—“
“For you.”
He saw it then, the moment when her resolve melted and whatever problem she had disappeared, forgotten, puddling away under the heat of their connection, that elemental attraction between them that refused to be defied.
“I’m only letting you go because I know you have to be back. Because you’re wearing that ankle bracelet and there’s no way you’ll give the feds an excuse to throw you in jail again.”
*****
The helicopter ride was noisy and cold, but they landed on the helipad of the governor’s mansion within forty-five minutes of take-off. Without the bullshit of an airport, they were inside Peter’s private den meeting with Rick Racer by eight a.m. Ahead of schedule.
Rick met them and waved them inside the back door, down a hall and into the library which was apart from the rest of the house. Not that it mattered. Madeline was still away with the children. It was Dane’s goal to be able to have Peter call her tonight to tell her she could come back home.
“I don’t suppose Oscar is here yet?” Dane said as they assembled in the imposing room. Rick closed the door behind him.
“Help yourself to coffee.” He pointed to the side of the room where Peter usually kept the liquor. Dane knew where to find it, but a shot of tequila wasn’t in the cards on this trip. Acer went over poured two cups of black and brought one back to Dane.
“I haven’t heard from Oscar, but Tracy Peal is a go. I have a guy watching her office to make sure she doesn’t try to run out the back door.”
“Why would she? What did you tell her?”
Rick laughed. “Relax. Kidding. I sold it as a meeting that would be beneficial to her, that we had some information to trade that could advance her and her boss.”
“And she bought it?”
“Not sure, but she’s the kind of woman who suffers from a severe case of FOMO, so I’m sure she’ll be there to find out.”
“FOMO?” Acer said.
“Fear of Missing Out,” Elena said. She flicked a glance at Dane.
He didn’t say anything, spared her the accusation of suffering the same affliction.
Maybe that was part of the problem, she wasn’t judicious enough before she jumped at what she thought were opportunities—like witness protection and joining up with the U.S.
Marshall’s office. Or maybe her problem had been that she loved shiny new things, always wanted the next adventure.
She hadn’t been as motivated by the public service angle as Dane was, or Shana.
It was funny that he could see that now. Never bothered to consider it before.
“So now we wait?” she said.
“No. Now Joe and I compare notes and prep for transferring the ankle bracelet.”
“Compare notes?” Joe said.
“What are you going to ask Benito Stravana when you get in to see him.”
“I’ll show him the photo that was sent to Madeline and see if he cops to sending the threat. Offer him a reprieve on his transfer as encouragement to cooperate.”
Dane nodded. “See if you can get any more from him.”
“Like what?”
“Like about any rumblings about our jail in the mid-west,” Elena said.
“He’s not going to know shit about anything. He’s compromised. We’ll be lucky if he knows his name,” Acer said.
“If he’s not as bad as we think, find out anything you can,” Dane left it at that. He had a feeling that the Stravano’s threat at the same time as Guy Ziffer’s threat may be more than coincidental, but he had nothing to base it on except the mathematics of probability and his gut.
And then there was Elena’s involvement. That was piling on too much for him to think there weren’t any connections. Dumb luck didn’t do it for him.