Angel: A Linear Tactical Romantic Suspense Standalone Page 20

  And considered it a victory when she didn’t flinch or turn away.

  “I’m almost done,” she said after a moment, and he dropped his hand. “Do you want to look it over?”

  “Only if you think there’s something I need to double-check to make sure Michael gets the message. Otherwise, no.”

  A pained expression settled on her face. “We are dealing with real money this time. The stuff in the safe deposit boxes is truly valuable. It belongs to the people of Oak Creek.” She rubbed her fingers over her forehead. “Losing even more to the Reiss family . . .”

  “They’re not. It’s never going to get that far. All we need is for Michael to show up for the meeting with you to hear about the bank. Once he shows up, he gets arrested. We’ll worry about Godlewski and anybody else later. I’m sure Michael will be more than happy to turn on them to work out a deal.”

  Jordan nodded but the worried look didn’t leave her face. Nothing was going to make that happen until this was over. At least they’d found her truck abandoned just outside of town, and she now had that back in her possession. That had made her feel at least a little better.

  The debate continued behind them. “All I’m saying is that you guys are obviously not idiots when it comes to forming names. So how come the best you can come up with for me is Kenny G and Jackass?”

  That just led to a slew of new and even more obnoxious suggestions.

  “Okay,” she whispered. “It’s ready to send.”

  Gabe placed his hand over hers. “Do it.”

  With the click of one key it was done. “Now, we wait.”

  She didn’t pull away, and he didn’t let go of her hand as they turned and faced the ridiculous debate behind them. Kendrick was sprawled out on the couch, obviously enjoying himself despite all the comments. He ran a hand over his shaven head.

  “Gabe, thank God you’re done. Help me school these idiots on a better name for me. I’m a little surprised nobody has pulled out any racial suggestions yet.”

  Gabe rolled his eyes. “Probably because nobody can think of anything fitting for someone who’s half black and half Chinese.”

  “Actually, I’m half black, one quarter Chinese, and one quarter Korean.”

  “So you’re half black, half Asian.”

  “And one hundred percent awesome.” Kendrick leaned back and grinned.

  “Oh my God,” Finn actually started clapping his hands. “He’s black and Asian. He’s Blasian.”

  Aiden sat up straighter in his chair, eyes all but glowing. “Blaze.”

  “Oh, hell no,” Kendrick muttered.

  Zac walked over and slapped him on the back. “Welcome to the team, Blaze.”

  Kendrick immediately started listing all the reasons why that would not work as his code name, but the guys were having none of it. They began gathering the equipment they would need to track Jordan when her father contacted her, everyone using the word “blaze” at least once every time they talked.

  Gabe had worked with Kendrick long enough to know that the nickname didn’t really bother the man. Sometimes he just liked to argue for the sake of arguing.

  Everybody carrying on and talking all over each other the way families do—and that’s what this was, a big, loud, obnoxious family—obviously amused Jordan a little. But at least her face had lost that pale, pinched look. She still had a lot ahead of her, even after her father was arrested, but she no longer looked like she might buckle under the pressure.

  An hour later, the signal they’d been waiting for arrived.

  “He’s responded,” Jordan said.

  Even though she hadn’t raised her voice much more than a whisper, everyone fell silent. For all their joking and sniping, the Linear guys were soldiers at heart and focused when there was a mission at hand.

  Gabe sat next to Jordan, for moral support more than anything, as she returned to the keyboard to respond. She typed rapidly for multiple minutes.

  “What did he say?” Gabe asked when she finally stopped typing. “Is he going for it?”

  “It didn’t look like it at first, but I think I convinced him.”

  “How?” He didn’t want her putting herself in danger.

  She stared at the screen. “I told him you hadn’t trusted me and had been watching that account. I told him about how my house burned down and there was nothing left for me here, that this town has treated me like garbage since he left, and that it had only gotten worse over the past year. It’s time for me to move on, and whatever we take from the safe deposit vault will just be severance pay.”

  If Gabe thought it had been quiet before, that was nothing compared to the quiet now. For the first time in his life, he understood the phrase deafening silence.

  There was way too much truth in Jordan’s words. It was almost impossible not to believe them.

  “Rainfall . . .” Gabe wasn’t sure what he could say to make this right, he just knew he had to try.

  She finally turned and looked at him. “He bought it. That’s what matters, right?”

  No, that wasn’t what mattered. What mattered was that there was something so damaged and broken in Jordan’s heart. What mattered was that he had added to that. What mattered was that when she talked about there being nothing left for her here, she actually believed it.

  But she was wrong. There was so much for her here. And he intended to prove that to her.

  But before he could say anything or move any closer, she held out a hand to stop him. “He wants to meet in thirty minutes. That doesn’t give us much time. Everything else will have to wait.”

  Gabe’s jaw clenched. It was only because of the fact that Jordan wouldn’t be safe until they handled Michael that he gave her a nod. “All right. But after, we talk.”

  He was very aware that she didn’t answer him one way or the other.

  Chapter 31

  Thirty minutes later, Gabe was sitting with Kendrick, a.k.a. Blaze, a mile to the north of an abandoned warehouse. Zac and Gavin were in their vehicle on the southeast side.

  Michael had chosen the meeting spot wisely, halfway between Oak Creek and Reddington City, nothing nearby. Views from the second floor of the warehouse would allow him to see anybody moving toward the building, plus gave him numerous points of exit if he needed it.

  Jordan was going in with multiple disadvantages, and that did not sit well in Gabe’s gut. If things went south, he and the guys might not be able to make it there quickly enough to get her out. Of course, no one could move quickly enough if Michael decided his daughter was a liability he had to take out right then.

  “I don’t like this.” He pressed the button on the communication system that allowed them to all speak with each other and hear what Jordan was saying.

  The guys didn’t respond right away, probably because it was the thirty-sixth time he’d said the same thing in the past ten minutes.

  “She has the recording device, she has the tracker, and Sheriff Nelson is standing by waiting for our call,” Zac explained again.

  Until they were sure they would be able to take down Michael, they hadn’t wanted to get into the red tape of bringing in official law enforcement. If the cops took over, Gabe would have to trust Jordan’s protection to someone else, and there was no way in hell he was doing that.

  When he and the Linear Tactical guys just happened to drive by an abandoned warehouse and catch a fugitive inside, then they would call the police to move in.

  “As soon as Jordan confirms her dad is there, we move in,” Gabe said.

  “Roger that,” Gavin replied.

  Through his binoculars, Gabe saw Jordan pull up in her truck. “I hope you guys can hear me,” she muttered.

  Gabe wished like hell he could reassure her, but the unit she wore only sent, didn’t receive. “We can hear you, Rainfall,” he whispered. “And we’re not going to let anything happen to you.”

  Hopefully, this would all be over in five minutes, and Jordan could concentrate on rebuilding her life.r />
  But less than a minute after walking inside the warehouse, Jordan spoke, and it wasn’t to her father. “Allan, what are you doing here? Where’s Michael?”

  The curses from the other three men on the communication link were just as vile as his own. Michael wasn’t there.

  “If you’d got it right the first time, bitch, we wouldn’t be in this situation.” Jordan cried out, then there was some sort of muffled noise.

  Gabe knew right away what had happened. Allan had punched her.

  “I’m going in.”

  “If you do that, we lose our only chance at getting Michael,” Gavin said quickly over the comm unit.

  Kendrick grabbed his arm. “Let it play for a minute, Gabe.”

  It was Jordan’s words that convinced him. “I’m okay. I’m okay.”

  Gabe knew she was talking to him. Knew she wanted him to stand down. But fury burned like acid in his gut.

  “You won’t be okay if you fuck up again,” Allan responded, thinking she was talking to him.

  “When is Michael going to get here?” Jordan’s voice was shaky, but she was still going forward with this. Gabe had to let her.

  “Good girl,” Finn whispered.

  Jordan had so many more people who cared about her than she thought.

  “Michael isn’t coming,” Allan spat. “You and I are going to go to the bank. If everything is as you say it is, we’ll meet with Michael afterward. If not, well, let’s just say you and I are going to have a little bit of fun before I kill you.”

  Goddammit.

  “Does she have what she needs to actually get in and out of the vaults, or did you give her fake information?” Kendrick asked.

  “It’s real. She should be able to get in and out with no problem.” And thank God.

  “Do we let this play?” Finn asked. “Track them afterward? Allan all but promised they were going to Michael.”

  “If not, we better move right now.” Kendrick brought the binoculars back up to his eyes. “Because they are on their way out to Jordan’s truck.”

  Everything inside Gabe balked at putting Jordan in this danger, but she would remain in danger as long as Michael was out there. “Let it play.”

  Jordan was relatively silent on the ride into Oak Creek. Allan, not so much. He talked about how the two of them would be a good team. How he’d always known she’d wanted him even though she’d played hard to get.

  Gabe wanted to kick his own ass for ever suggesting Jordan wanted what this guy offered.

  Then break Godlewski’s jaw so he never made the mistake of talking to her again.

  Gabe and the Linear guys kept ample distance from the truck as they drove back toward Oak Creek to keep Allan from spotting a tail. Plus, they had the tracker; proximity wasn’t necessary.

  Finn called in and had Violet and Aiden waiting at the bank in case they needed to move fast to get Jordan out. Gabe didn’t think it was going to be necessary, but he was glad to have them there.

  Gavin and Finn drove into town and parked near the bank, but Gabe and Kendrick stayed on the outskirts. If Godlewski saw Gabe anywhere nearby, this would all be over.

  Kendrick took off his headset so no one else could hear him and turned to Gabe. “Once she goes in that bank and actually accesses safe deposit boxes under your security care, that makes you an accessory. If this goes sideways, if whatever they take is not recovered, you’re going to be tried as an accomplice. You better be sure you trust this woman.”

  “I do.”

  It was too late anyways because Jordan and Godlewski were walking into the bank. Godlewski provided the teller with the electronic master key code Gabe had given Jordan, and a few minutes later they were escorted into the vault.

  Jordan’s transmitter was silent for long minutes.

  “Anybody else getting anything?” Finn finally asked.

  “Her transmitter probably doesn’t work inside the vault,” Gabe replied.

  Kendrick looked at him with one Blasian eyebrow raised. Gabe had to admit, there were a lot of factors beyond his control—a lot of ways this could go bad quickly.

  Every minute that they couldn’t hear what was going on became more tense.

  A few minutes later Violet’s muffled voice came on the line. “Okay, they’re coming back through the lobby. They’re about to exit. Wait, shit.” She stopped speaking abruptly.

  “Violet had to change positions so Godlewski wouldn’t notice her.” It was Aiden’s voice on the line this time. “Jordan made him go back to the cashier. Handed the cashier something. Said something, but we couldn’t hear. Now they’re exiting.”

  “Okay, they should be heading to wherever Michael is hiding,” Gabe said. “Everybody stay back. We’ll follow them on the tracker.”

  It was almost over. All they had to do was follow her to Michael.

  “Fuck,” Finn said. “I’m not getting any reading on the tracker. You getting a reading, Blaze?”

  Gabe looked over at Kendrick, who had the laptop resting on his legs. “No, nothing.”

  “No reading at all?” Gabe asked. “If it’s been destroyed, it should read as off-line.”

  “According to this, it’s still online, we’re just not getting any signal.”

  “Everybody reboot. Immediately. If there’s not something wrong with the transmitter, then it’s our reception.”

  Kendrick looked over at him. “Both computers out at one time? Unlikely.”

  Fuck. Gabe knew that.

  “Neither the transmitter nor the tracking device has worked since they came out of the vault,” Gavin reported.

  Kendrick pinned Gabe with a stare. “We might have just played exactly into Jordan’s hands. You heard her earlier today, that shit she said to her dad about not having anything left here, about how the people in Oak Creek have treated her. If there is anyone in the world who had a reason to want revenge on a town, it’s Jordan Reiss. How long was she just supposed to take it, Gabe? And then her house burned down, the last remaining thing that had tied her here? I sure as hell wouldn’t blame her for taking everything she could get and running.”

  Gabe scrubbed a hand down his face.

  Before he could respond Aiden clicked on the line. “Guys, we’ve got a problem. Jordan’s transmitter and tracking device are both sitting here inside the vault. Looks like she ditched them.”

  And now they had no way to follow her.

  Chapter 32

  Jordan knew she was in trouble the moment she stepped inside the vault with Allan and her transmitters started emitting feedback. The high-pitched squeal couldn’t be ignored and there was no way for her to shut it off on her end. Hopefully, Gabriel would hear what was happening and shut it off from his end.

  “What the hell is that sound?” Allan asked, searching around. “Security’s going to be in here if we don’t get it shut off. Do something!”

  She looked around like she didn’t know where the sound was coming from, trying to buy Gabe some time, but the feedback squeal just continued.

  As she knew he eventually would, Allan figured out the sound was coming from her.

  “What the fuck?” Allan reached over and grabbed her by the hair, jerking her head back. “That noise is coming from you.”

  He pulled her shirt open and quickly found the transmitter and tracker taped to her chest. His fist crashed into her stomach and all the air seemed to be sucked from the room. Jordan doubled over in agony, trying for long moments to suck in enough oxygen to survive.

  “What are you doing, bitch? Because if the cops are on their way in here, I can promise you you’re not making it out of this room alive.”

  Allan yanked both pieces of technology from where they were taped to her torso and ripped at the cord. The noise stopped.

  He grabbed her by her hair and pulled out a knife, pressing it to the side of her throat enough to pierce her skin. “Are you working with the cops?”

  Jordan’s brain worked at a frantic pace. Was this still salvageable
?

  She pushed at his chest. Strength was the only thing someone like Allan would understand. “No, dumbass, I’m not working with the cops. I was making my own recording in case you and Daddy Dearest decide to double-cross me. Now are we going to do this or what?”

  He let her go with a little laugh. “All right, I guess I can’t blame you for trying to make sure you had some insurance.”

  She pushed at his chest again and this time he let go of her hair. “Don’t hit me again or I’ll leave your ass here, and you’ll get nothing.”

  Things were already spiraling out of control. The plan had never involved bringing anyone all the way to the vault. If the info and codes Gabe had given her this morning weren’t real, she was in trouble.

  Allan put his knife away and pushed her forward. “Fine. Let’s get this done and get out of here.”

  She took the electronic key, the master key Gabe had given her, and approached the first box. She almost cried in relief when it opened with a resounding click.

  Thank you, Gabe, for trusting me. You just saved my life.

  “Okay, this is more like it.” Allan rubbed his hands together with glee. “Which boxes have the most good stuff?”

  She had no idea. That had all been a bluff to entice Michael.

  “I don’t know. The boxes aren’t in the order they’re supposed to be.” That didn’t even make sense, but she went with it, trying to play off of what she knew about Allan. He hated this town.

  “Damn town can’t even get stuff in numerical order,” she continued. “You start opening boxes and going through them while I look through the system for more information.”

  “Fine,” he spat, taking the master key from her. “But we’ve got to hurry. Eventually they’ll get suspicious about us being here too long.”

  He turned back to the boxes and she tried to figure out what she could do.

  “Diamonds!” She turned to see Allan pouring a few diamonds out of a velvet jewelry bag into his hands. “Aww, and a death certificate for Mr. DiMuzio’s mother. I guess we’re stealing the family jewels. I never liked them anyway. Adam was okay for a while until he decided he was too good to mess with you anymore.”