Risk Read online

  “Okay, please don’t arrest me! I swear to god I didn’t think I was doing anything wrong and I really needed the money. I’m broke and I need that money, badly. Two guys came by and they paid me six hundred bucks to tell you what floor to go to. Said they were helping a friend set up a proposal surprise. He told me you’d met here at work. I can’t believe I’m so stupid. I just really needed that money. I don’t know anything more than that, but, I overheard the one guy saying to his boss on the phone that AWFA would fall; if that means anything.”

  Once I caught up with her talking and gathered she didn’t have anything to do with the kidnapping, or AWFA, I let her go. I went ahead and took the six benjamins as evidence.

  She was sad.

  “Well, next time, don’t take money for things when you don’t fully know what is going on.”

  She left the room, her face etched in misery. I felt bad for her and tagged the hundreds into evidence as her property so that she’d eventually get the money back. Then I spent about an hour talking to people. There were more than a few that my fellow agents had brought down to be questioned.

  Unfortunately, they didn’t really lead anywhere except a scared high school kid with an eighth of mushrooms and three joints in his backpack.

  We didn’t turn up anything of substance about the dicks who’d grabbed me and I was beyond frustrated. It seemed impossible, but nobody else saw my captors. Well, nobody aside from Ben, and I really didn’t want to call him in on this as a witness.

  After talking to a couple of the security staff and being told about the inexplicably blank security tapes from that evening, I realized that whoever had lured me here had been pretty damn smart about it. Gerry called me to come back to the office. He had agents pull cameras from blocks around and he wanted me to look at the feed and see if the people that were flagged were involved.

  I turned away from my fruitless search of the building and left it in the hands of one of the newer agents who had come with us. “I’m heading back to the office. Continue to canvas and make sure someone chats up people at the closest businesses in case something happened or was said later that might help.”

  “Yes, ma’am. If we find anything?” the youngest of the group asked.

  “Call me, Quinn, or Gerry.” I gave them a reassuring smile and headed for my car. Then I drove back to the office and went right for the coffee.

  It turned out that I wasn’t the only one with the need for caffeine.

  Chapter 12

  “WE’VE GOT A list of AWFA members that seem to have a lot of ties within the organization.” Quinn attempted to thrust the papers into my hands as we met at the coffee pot.

  “Time to round up the usual suspects.” I grinned, dodging them and grabbing the handle of the carafe full of sweet energy giving goodness.

  “So do we just go down the list?” Alex asked. “Or do you want to divvy it up amongst us?”

  “I think the four of us should split the list and check out everyone. I’ll take James with me, you two can go together.” Quinn, aka the master of smooth, was trying to get Al and I together to talk and, as much as I appreciated it, I felt like it was neither the time nor the place for our personal conversations.

  “How about you and I go together and Al and James go together?” Alex looked at me, his expression read as slightly hurt. I could see he’d been enjoying the idea of us playing Fred and Daphne to Q’s Scooby.

  But, and maybe this was selfish of me, I didn’t want to work with Alex right now. I wanted to be free to investigate the case and not have to spend the entire time bickering about Ben.

  I swallowed my grumpy mood, poured a cup of coffee to go for Alex, Quinn, and myself, and turned to leave.

  James was already holding a cup of fresh joe or I’d have poured one for him, too. Even though it was his coffee.

  “Yeah, okay.” Quinn gave me a concerned look as he added sugar to his coffee. I waved him off to let him know I’d tell him later and he seemed to understand.

  “Can I talk to you, Sam?” Al asked me.

  “Yeah, sure.” Damn, I was hoping he wouldn’t ask. We walked a bit away from the group.

  “What’s up between us that you don’t want to work with me?”

  “Nothing, I just think Quinn and I will be more effective together. We’ve been working together a long time and have a really good track record.”

  “Is that all it is?”

  “Yes.” I was being honest, mostly.

  Quinn and I had worked together for a few years now and we really were a good team. Alex and I were good together, too, but it was different. Not as well practiced, I guess.

  Besides, I wanted to really focus on the case and I didn’t want to waste a moment on personal garbage. It was probably unfair of me to just assume that Ben was what he would want to talk about, but it seemed to be the pattern so far.

  “Okay, if you’re sure.”

  “I am. I think it’ll work faster this way.”

  “Okay.” He held my gaze as if searching to see if I was lying.

  Convinced, he motioned for us to head back. We rejoined the rest of the team and started working on a game plan for getting a hold of all the AWFA officers. Quinn had called Gerry and had filled him in while Al and I were talking.

  We’d been looking forward to these busts for months. Me, especially. Getting these hate spewing monsters off the streets made me feel much safer.

  “Okay, so we have twelve names,” Quinn said. “Each of us will take six. Make sure you call in when you’ve found someone, no matter what.”

  “I want everyone on this case … I want you guys digging into these people all the way back to when they were in diapers, if need be,” Gerry barked from Q’s phone’s speaker.

  “You’ve got it, boss,” James told him.

  “Be careful,” Gerry barked again. “AWFA members aren’t always exactly pillars of the community. If you feel uncomfortable at all, listen to that instinct and call for backup.”

  Al spoke up, “We are dividing the list in half.”

  “Good idea. Be careful out there. I can’t wait to hear what all these bastards have to say for themselves.”

  “Thanks, boss.” I meant a lot with that thanks. He had stood up for me my whole career and I’d always appreciate Gerry for everything he’d done to help me.

  “Call me when you’ve checked someone off the list and sent them to the office.”

  “Yes, sir.” We all said it together.

  Everyone smiled a little. It’s good when a team is on the same page. Synergy is key in working together.

  “I’m sending agents to you now to help you bring the AWFA members back.”

  “Thanks.” I was grateful for the help.

  “Thank Sal, it was his idea.”

  “We will.”

  “Talk with you soon, I hope.”

  “Us, too.” Quinn hung up his phone.

  About fifteen minutes later we had a handful of agents ready to ride with us.

  “It’s time to go, guys. Let’s find these assholes and bring them in.” I handed Alex his half of the list and he smiled weakly at me and left with Brady and half the agents Sal had sent us following behind.

  Q and I took our list and agents, then made our way to my car.

  Our first stop had been a bust as the woman we were seeking had moved to Hawaii three months earlier. Our next was fruitful and we sent AWFA’s treasurer back to the office. I was hopeful she’d be able to help us identify the account we had a hold of.

  The third name on our list was near impossible to find. We went to his work, home, and favorite bar, but nada. After leaving messages at all his known locations we put a question mark by his name. Hopefully he’d call us when he got the notes. The following name revealed a vice president in the organization.

  She, too, was missing. Couldn’t find her anywhere. I circled her name and wrote a note that we needed to find her and number three. Our fifth stop revealed a man who refused to speak a
bout his “beloved AWFA.” I was unimpressed and sent him back to the office with another agent.

  Gerry and Sal would break him. Sal Guzeman might be under suspicion, but I knew in my heart he wasn’t AWFA. He was just as determined as I was to stop them.

  The last name on the list was a woman who was married to the third name we’d been given. She, too, was missing.

  James and Alex called in. They had one more stop to make, but all of their names had checked out so far. I did a bit of digging on my cellphone and came across an off-the-books apartment registered to the fourth person on our list.

  “Hey, Q? I just found a secret address for VP lady and you’ll never guess where it is.”

  “Really? Cool. Where’s she at?”

  I relayed the address to him and, after he agreed it was creepy, we called Gerry.

  “Jackson.” My boss was nothing if not succinct.

  “Hey, boss.”

  “What’s up?”

  “My final address is the same one I was sent to earlier.” I got the heebie-jeebies over it.

  “The same building where you were kidnapped? Interesting.”

  “I thought so.”

  “Let me speak with her mother first. She’s on the city council and I owe her an explanation before I send agents bursting into her daughter’s vacation home. I’ll call you back.” Gerry hung up and I turned to Quinn.

  “I don’t like this. Why are special concessions being made to a trafficker just because her mom is a somebody? And while we are at it, why on earth did someone try to kidnap me from the same building?” This was going to get way more complicated and far more annoying than it needed to be if we were going to have to be all diplomatic to the scum who helped sell people into slavery as sex toys.

  “Concessions get made, that’s politics in a nutshell. You know that. As for the whole kidnapping thing, there’s a lot about that which troubles me. Not the least of which is why go after a fed?” Quinn’s voice quavered in his anger.

  “Maybe we’re poking into all the right places. I don’t know. I’m not a fan of the idea she could get special treatment just because of who her mom is.” I shrugged and took out a pack of gum.

  I offered a piece to Quinn, he declined. I popped the piece of gum in my mouth.

  “None of us do. Unfortunately, that’s the way the world works these days.” Q sighed wearily.

  “It shouldn’t.”

  “I agree. Sadly, I don’t make the rules.”

  “I wish you did. The world would probably be a lot better off.”

  “Especially on mandatory taco Tuesdays, or donut Saturdays.” He winked.

  “I take back my earlier assessment and would like to change it to the world would be a lot fatter off.” I grinned and tossed him the keys.

  “I get to drive?” His grin reminded me of Mikey in the Life cereal commercial when I was a kid.

  “You bet, pard.”

  “Awesome.”

  Chapter 13

  “SO, THIS WOMAN is supposed to be high up in the AWFA ring?” Quinn looked happy.

  Then again, everyone who drove my car looked happy; she was a helluva ride. In case you couldn’t tell, I love my car.

  “Yeah, apparently she’s the vice president.”

  “Ah, sounds like a real gem of a human being.”

  “So, is anyone meeting us there?”

  “No. We are strictly there to ask questions.”

  I didn’t like it. “Something’s not right about that, Q.”

  “Her mom is pro-were.”

  “Oh, this ought to make things so much more fubar-ed than they already are.”

  “Right? Well, here we are.” Quinn pulled into the lot and I held my breath as he stopped at the valet stand.

  I didn’t like to valet. I always wind up with extra mileage. Quinn pulled out an FBI tag and put it on the dashboard before getting out of the car.

  A valet rushed over and Q pointed out the placard. “Don’t mess with that car, understand?”

  Good old Quinn! I smiled in relief. I should have known he wouldn’t do that to me.

  We entered the building and went to the information board. Her name, Deidre Page, was listed next to her apartment number. Quinn went to ask the concierge for a spare key and get some information. I headed on up to the room.

  I figured I’d take the stairs, get some exercise, and wait for him there. Maybe I’d poke around on the way and see if I couldn’t find any sign of my captors from earlier. I could really use the exercise. Work had kept me busy and I hadn’t had time to run. I’d even found myself ordering hasenpfeffer and eggs at the local diner.

  My jaguar didn’t think it was as good as the fresh bunnies we found in our yard. I disagreed. Pulling chunks of rabbit fur from my mouth tends to ruin the meal for me. That said, it seemed to make her happy which made her easier to deal with. Maybe not being able to run had something to do with her snarkiness of late. As I neared the door a scent hit me and I recoiled as if it had been a physical slap. It was horrible.

  The door was ajar and wafting from it was not any kind of odor I had ever scented before. It reeked in a vile way that brought to mind putrefaction. Something not entirely human, but no were I’d ever smelled. Considering it was entwined amongst the scents of rotten meat and spoiled eggs, I was surprised I could find it.

  I opened the door and stepped into the apartment. The scent rolled over me and I gagged, tongue sticking out of my mouth in an expression that would have made Gene Simmons proud. I was trying to cleanse my palate, well, my jaguar was trying to. I turned and put my tee shirt above my nose and inhaled my own scent. Note to self, get a new deodorant, because that was definitely not ocean breeze I smelled.

  I took some time to adjust to the smells, dropped the shirt, and continued moving. As ripe as I happened to be, the smell was still better than the schnozzload that’d hit me before. I popped a mentholated cough drop that I’d found in my pocket. I was glad I’d left it there.

  I closed off my nose as I moved toward the scent of death. My jaguar recoiled, hiding her metaphysical nose behind her nonexistent paws.

  The meat is bad; why do you keep going forward?

  It was the first time she’d ever given herself a voice, or maybe it was the first time I’d given her one.

  I was shocked and could only open and close my mouth, fishlike, for a few moments while I recovered enough faculties to answer her in my mind.

  I have to see what is in there. If it’s a person, I owe it to their family to bring them home.

  You persons are weird. Rotten flesh only brings disease. You should keep the dead away from your den.

  I couldn’t disagree with her so I countered with: Metaphysical jaguars and the shifter they’re attached to aren’t so normal, either, though.

  I guess. She yawned and curled up around herself.

  I’m Sam. How are you able to talk?

  I know. I’m Jix. I am able to learn from your memories and the information stored in your mind. Now, I am tired and am going back to sleep, unless you have need of me. She showed me the word Jix in my mind, but pronounced it yeesh.

  Nice to meet you, I guess. Um, sweet dreams.

  Okay, so I’m sure I probably meet eighteen totally-cuckoo-lock-me-up-and-throw-away-the-key credentials, being as I am now talking to a South American based cat that doesn’t exist anywhere except for in my mind, but who can still, thankfully, speak English.

  Hello, Alice, Wonderland called, they want you back.

  Who is Alice?

  Nobody important. Go on back to sleep. Also, can we work out a way that I can have a bit of privacy? I don’t think it’ll work so well if you’re always up in my business like this.

  Oh, sure. I just was lonely. I miss being able to be around the others. Your job keeps us away from them. We run alone or with the tiger, and he’s nice, but, I want to run with my mate.

  I don’t, though.

  Why not?

  Because he is not my mate.
r />   It was the only way I could think to phrase it so that she could understand.

  But he should be. We are one and they are one. We are meant to be. How do you not understand what is so simple? Are all persons this not good at listening to nature? Or are you special? She circled in my mind, teeth bared, muscles taut, ready for battle.

  Insult me all you like, but the feelings I have for Ben are not real.

  Is this not real? She thrust forward in my mind and I looked to see my han—paw in a partial shift.

  Yes. I know you are real; our bond is real.

  I was trying to get her to see my point of view and was relieved to see my hand shift back.

  Why do you not trust me when I say that it is our destiny to be with them?

  Because I don’t buy that I have zero choice in who I love, and I love Alex. I choose him.

  I opened up and showed her all of my best memories of Alex. I gave her the times he tucked me in on his couch, and took care of me when I was broken and in need of help. I continued and showed her more of the times he brought me back to myself and taught me how to love myself. The time he taught me to stand up for and value myself.

  Do you see why that man is my mate?

  I understand. She retreated and went quiet.

  Oh, joy. So I had conversations like these to look forward to. What the fuck was going on? Why was she getting so strong? I’d have to talk to Ben and see if his cat had a name and an entire personality. She was far more than the animal totem meets Jiminy Cricket I’d started with.

  I tried to focus on how I’d deal with that as I moved onward through the odor of putrefaction and deeper into the apartment. I failed. Hundreds of car air fresheners hung from the ceiling, causing a riotous scent, and I was fairly certain of what I was going to find.

  I reached the bedroom, clearing each room and closet as I went. It was time consuming, but better safe than sorry. There was no mistaking the stench now. With the smell being this strong, there was no chance of survivors. The little pine trees hanging had foretold the story. Whoever had done this wanted a delay in finding the body. So far, they’d done a bang up job of it.

  I entered the back bedroom and saw her on the bed, spread eagle, tied at the hands and ankles. Pieces of her thigh were missing and there was a plate nearby that held small piece of steak roughly about the same size chunk as what was missing from the girl, minus a few bites.