Chapter Twenty-One
UNEXPECTED brEAK
Wanting to catch Cutter and Charleston was one thing, but the reality was proving more difficult.
Sure, they wanted to send in a couple of marshals looking for Cutter, but finding him was a whole different story.
By the time they’d gotten to the place Cutter had supposedly been hiding, the building on Second Street had been vacant.
It was a fucking merry-go-round. Every lead put Charleston one step ahead.
The hours ticked by. By the end of the first day, they were damned tired.
And losing daylight.
“I say we call it,” Wallace said with a grimace.
Forty minutes later, they were back at the Seattle U.S. Marshals Office.
Wallace dropped into a chair in the conference room and rubbed a hand across the back of her neck.
The thought of getting back to the hotel room for some privacy sat paramount on Whip’s mind.
The conference room door opened.
Boone walked in with Davis close behind him.
Neither man looked particularly tired.
Which usually meant somebody else was about to be.
Boone waited until everyone settled down.
“We’ve got a break.”
That got Whip’s attention.
Davis tossed a manila folder onto the conference table.
“One of our confidential informants came through this afternoon. Oscar Charleston is attending a charity gala this Wednesday night.”
“On a Wednesday?” Knox sounded incredulous.
Cho snorted. “Around here, rich people don’t wait for the weekend to dress up.”
A few quiet chuckles circled the room.
Davis opened the folder.
“Our informant believes Charleston is meeting someone there. We don’t know who. We don’t know when during the evening. And we don’t know why.”
“What we do know,” Boone said, “is this is the first time we’ve had advance notice of one of Charleston’s meetings.”
“So, what’s the play?” Axel asked.
Davis looked around the table.
“We’re not making an arrest.”
Nobody spoke.
“We watch.”
He slid several photographs across the table.
“Every person Charleston speaks to gets photographed. Every interaction gets documented. We want names, faces, times—everything. If he leaves with someone, surveillance follows. Nobody burns the operation unless we have probable cause.”
Boone folded his arms.
“Whip. Axel. You’ll attend the gala.”
Whip blinked.
“In tuxedos,” Boone added.
“I didn’t bring a suit,” Whip said.
“Beth has already solved that problem,” Boone replied. “The Tuxedo Club. Ten o’clock tomorrow morning.”
“Yes, sir.”
“That’ll be all.”
Boone gave a nod to Davis, and together, the two men left the room.
Silence fell when the door closed.
Whip looked at Axel.
“Guess we’re going to a party.”
“Guess so.”
“You guys are lucky,” Knox grumbled. “I want to go to a party.”
“You can crash it after they get their pictures,” Alvarez soothed.
“Fine,” Knox muttered.
Whip slanted a glance at Axel only to find the man watching him.
“So…” Whip rubbed his hands together. “We’ve still got a few hours until dark.”
“Oh!” Alvarez said. “We could hit Radiator Whiskey.”
“Count me out, guys. I gotta get home to the kids,” Wallace said.
Cho had plans with her girlfriend and declined as well.
Boone and Davis headed for the door.
“Then it’s just us.” Alvarez slapped his hands together. “Good food, good drinks. The place is always busy.”
“On a Monday?” Knox asked.
“Every day, my man. Every day.” Alvarez grinned and closed his laptop.
Whip held Axel’s gaze.
“Sounds fun.”
“Loads.”
Heat settled low in Whip’s stomach at the look Axel gave him.
But he shoved it down. They were going out with the team.
Sometimes…some things were worth waiting for.
They spilled onto the sidewalk together.
“It’s about a fifteen-minute walk,” Alvarez said, pointing downhill.
Knox stopped. “Walk?”
Alvarez looked over. “You’re twenty-six.”
“I know.”
“You’re a deputy U.S. marshal.”
“I know.”
“You chase fugitives through the woods.”
“I know.” Knox sighed dramatically. “I was really hoping for a government vehicle.”
Whip hid a smile. Knox’s idea of hardship changed dramatically when nobody was shooting at him.
A second later, Axel hooked an arm around his shoulders.
Just…there.
Like he’d been doing it for years.
Whip looked over.
“What?” Axel smirked.
“You’re leaning.”
“I am not.”
“You’re literally hanging on me.”
Axel glanced down at his own arm, shrugged, and made absolutely no effort to move it.
“It’s comfortable.”
Whip snorted. “You planning on letting me walk?”
“No.” Axel’s mouth dropped close to his ear.
“You’re a pain in the ass.”
“Told you that a year ago.”
“Aw.” Knox formed a heart with his hands.
“Don’t start,” Whip warned.
“I wasn’t going to say anything.”
“Good.”
“I was just going to ask if you wanted us to walk twenty feet behind you so it looked more romantic.”
Axel answered before Whip could.
“That’d be nice.”
Whip barked out a laugh.
Knox pointed accusingly.
“There it is! He’s smiling. I knew we’d break him eventually.”
“You didn’t break anything,” Whip said.
“No,” Alvarez agreed. “Axel did.”
Whip groaned. “I am begging every single one of you not to turn this task force into a couples retreat.”
“Too late,” Knox said. “Last night it was condoms. Tomorrow it’s tuxedos.”
“The tuxedos are work,” Axel replied.
“Details.” Knox grinned.
Axel squeezed his shoulder as they crossed the street.
Whip found himself smiling again.
Maybe waiting hadn’t been such a bad idea after all.
Radiator Whiskey hummed with quiet conversation, clinking glassware, and a slow blues guitar drifting through the room.
The place was busy without being crowded. Couples occupied most of the booths, a few people sat at the bar, and a hostess stood behind the podium near the entrance.
She looked up, fear written plainly across her face.
Whip slowed.
Alvarez’s eyes narrowed.
Axel frowned. “What’s wrong?”
Whip didn’t answer. He walked to the host stand instead.
“You okay?” he asked quietly.
The young woman looked from Whip to the others before giving the smallest shake of her head.
Without taking his eyes off her, Whip eased his jacket back just enough for her to see the badge on his belt.
“Deputy U.S. Marshal,” he murmured.
Axel shifted, resting his hand on the weapon beneath his jacket. He didn’t pull it, but kept it there like he was waiting for the threat.
Knox spun and faced the door, covering their flank like it was the most natural thing in the world.
Relief flooded her face.
She reached beneath the podium and slid a crumpled cocktail napkin across the counter.
Axel glanced down as Whip unfolded it.
HELP ME.
Whip looked back up.
“Who?”
The hostess’s eyes flicked toward the dining room.
Not her head.
Just her eyes.
Whip followed her gaze, dismissing a couple by the window, an older pair near the bar, then two businessmen halfway through dinner before his attention settled on a booth tucked into the corner.
A woman sat rigidly across from a man, her hands folded in her lap. She wasn’t looking around. She was staring at the tabletop.
“What are we going to do?” Alvarez asked.
“We go over there,” Whip answered.
“What if he’s armed?” Alvarez argued.
“Then we disarm the fucker,” Axel said.
“I got it. Follow my lead,” Knox said.
“Knox,” Whip hissed, but the young marshal was already halfway across the room.
“Oh my God, Jeff? I can’t believe it’s you!” Knox crowed as he walked right up to the booth.
The guy looked surprised as hell.
Whip circled behind the booth while Axel moved in from the opposite side.
“Wrong guy, pal.”
“What? Dude…you could have a twin out there.” Knox laughed, then turned to the woman. “I’m Knox.”
“Fuck off,” the guy snarled, making the mistake of lifting his shirt just enough to reveal the pistol tucked into his waistband.
“Whoa…” Knox held up both hands, grinning. “Is that real?”
The man closed his hand around the butt of the pistol.
Whip reached over the seat back, caught the man’s wrist, and wrenched his arm upward before the pistol cleared the waistband.
Axel slammed the guy’s head forward against the top of the table.
They all heard the crunch of a nose breaking.
It was over in seconds.
The man groaned, and when Whip shoved him out of the booth, he landed on his ass and stayed there.
“Federal Marshals,” Alvarez said, dropping to one knee as he slapped zip ties around the guy’s wrists.
“Call the police,” Whip told the stunned hostess.
She hurriedly pulled out her cell phone.
“Are you okay, ma’am?” Whip came around the side and crouched next to the woman.
She finally lifted her face. Her long hair fell back, revealing a nasty bruise around one eye and a split lip.
“I broke up with him. He did this. I just wanted to break up with him.”
“You did a good thing,” Whip assured her, keeping his voice low and soothing.
“He’ll go to jail on assault charges and pulling a weapon in a public place with intent,” Axel said, coming to stand beside him.
“Thank you.” Her eyes found Knox and then the hostess. “Thank you for everything.”
The sirens reached them before the local PD roared onto the scene, coming through the door. They were all lifting their badges, but Alvarez ended up knowing one of the police. He had met the man at his cousin’s barbecue last month.
Night had dropped over Seattle by the time the incident was wrapped up, and they were given free food and drinks on the house.
“How’d you think of that?” Alvarez asked Knox.
“I saw it in a movie once,” Knox said, grinning around a bite of burger.
Alvarez sputtered into his beer and laughed. The great movie debate kicked off between the two, and Whip stayed the hell out of it. He liked action movies as much as the next person, but he’d much rather watch Sci-Fi than anything.
“Whatcha thinkin’?” Axel’s deep voice whispered against his ear.
They were sitting side by side on a booth seat across from Alvarez and Knox. Beneath the table, Axel had pressed their thighs together and left it there.
“Movies.”
“You want to watch a movie when we get back to the room?” Axel kept his voice low, for him alone.
Their gazes met.
“It’s not top of the list.”
Axel’s smile was slow and wicked, and Whip felt his heart kick up a hasty beat.
Tonight was theirs.
Tomorrow, they’d take care of the bad guys.