Operation Date With Destiny (18 page)

Destiny shook her head sadly.
“
Over the last year I
’
ve been looking into it. Unfortunately, that drug lab was only one part of his organization. Rothman
does all the dirty work
—
he
’
s
Tre
’
ago
’
s hands on the outside.
He spends his time overseeing Tre
’
ago
’
s investments all over the world.
As long as Tre
’
ago has Rothman and his attorney out there, his businesses are going to continue to make money.
”

“
So
, he
could potentially go on indefinitely calling the shots from the inside?
”
Summer asked.

“
Yep.
Although something
’
s going on there…I don
’
t know what
exactly
.
I know Rothman
’
s been spending a lot of time going back and forth into South America and Mexico.
It
’
s not surprising—the people and places he deals with are pretty volatile
,
but t
here
’
s obviously some kind of problem
accessing his investments for him to be so anxious about getting hold of the portfolio
now.
”

“
So we need to shut down these investments. Dry up his money,
”
Tate said firmly.

“
Easier said than done. I haven
’
t been able to find where most of his investments are coming from,
”
Destiny said quietly.

“
Well we know where the drug lab is. That
’
s gotta
’
be a pretty major one
,
”
Ma
loney put in, coming into the conversation as he stepped in behind his wife and took her in his arms.

“
You said he
’
s got an attorney working for him? If we take him down—then surely that puts a major kink in his production line—he
’
d need a corrupt attorney to access his funds…so if we took him out of the equation…
”
Johnny
said, letting the idea mull over between them all.

“
Life would suddenly get a whole lot more uncomfortable for Tre
’
ago inside,
”
Del finished with a gleam in his eye.

“
We have to find him first,
”
Destiny cut in.
“
I
’
ve been trying to find
out who this guy is. He
’
s like a ghost—I can
’
t find a lead on him anywhere
.

“
But not impossible.
”
Willow said.
“
Leave that bit to me.
”

Tate frowned.
“
It
’
s finding authorities who aren
’
t already in Rothman
and Tre
’
ago
’
s
pocket
once we track them down that
’
s gonna
’
to be tough. We need to get Cartwright onto this.
”

Destiny knew the name, but couldn
’
t place it straight away.
“
Wait.
Who?
”

“
The original lawyer who took our case when Tre
’
ago first went to prison.
”

“
Can we trust him?
”
S
he was wary of trusting anyone
,
anymore.

“
He
’
s the
only
one I trust. He
’
s got contacts in the feds and he
’
ll be able to help from the inside.
”

“
Wait a minute,
”
Destiny said, rubbing her fingers against her temples.
All eyes turned in her direction at her sudden demand
. “
I don
’
t think we should get anyone else involved in this.
”
Things were moving too
fast and
Destiny didn
’
t like this feeling of having everything suddenly out of her control.
“
Look, I know you guys have every right to want justice
for what Tre
’
ago
’
s done in the past
. I
understand that
…but you can
’
t get mixed up in all this. This stuff is dangerous. He
’
s
killing people
and he doesn
’
t care who gets in his way.
Getting involved will only
provoke him. I
’
ll find a way to get these guys and I
’
ll handle it.
”

“
You can
’
t do this alone.
”
Willow told her calmly.
“
And you
’
re right—we do have a right to make sure he pays.
T
here
’
s no way we
’
re going to sit on the sidelines and hope for the best on this one.
”

“
Will you please talk sense into these people?
”
She turned to
Johnny
and begged.

“
Darin
’
I learnt a long time ago not to even bother trying to change their minds once they were made up. Don
’
t waste your breath. Just go with it,
”
he shrugged.

Well he was no damn help!

“
Look
, you can
’
t go anywhere for a while—your brother needs time to recuperate and so do you. You
’
re both more than welcome to stay here
for
as long as it takes.
”

Destiny shook her head, suddenly feeling more than a little vulnerable.
“
I can
’
t ask you to help me anymore than you already have. Not after…everything,
”
she ended lamely, avoiding Johnny
’
s steel-eyed gaze
.

Tate shrugged a shoulder,
“
You didn
’
t ask. We offered. End of discussion.
”

End of discussion?
Destiny thought gaping at the men as they turned their attention to other matters.
What discussion? There hadn
’
t even been a discussion.
She hated this feeling. She never depended on anyone—she made her decisions and she lived with the consequences—some of them were too appalling to even try and contemplate—too raw and painful to think about so she didn
’
t, instead she looked down into her coffee cup, sightlessly, closing her eyes briefly against the mix of relief and anguish that suddenly washed over her.

A little voice of reason piped up sternly against her pride and stubborn nature
.
You have to think of Jackson right now.
And it was right—she had her little brother to think about. Destiny sighed
.
She couldn
’
t place Jackson
’
s life in more danger by heading stateside just yet.

“
Okay.
Thank you.
I
f we could hang around just until Jackson
’
s back on his feet again
, that would be great
.
”
But then she
’
d get out of these people
’
s lives. They didn
’
t need any more grief from a Tre
’
ago…father or daughter!

Chapter
Eleven

The next evening, tired of being inside,
Destiny decided she needed a walk to clear her head and made her way outside. The resort was a large log and stone building which looked very similar to a ski resort she
’
d stayed
at
once in Utah. There were a few variations though,
this one
clearly designed for the tropics with wide plantation blinds and open breezeways between the buildings. Scattered around the open foyer were comfy looking lounges nestled around bamboo tables, and Destiny felt as though she
’
d just fallen down some kind of weird rabbit hole. One minute she
’
d been fighting for her life in the jungle—the next she was walking through some kind of private resort in paradise!

She stepped from the paved pathway down onto the beach and the sand was cold beneath her bare feet, but it felt good.
She was a bundle of confused and stretched emotions lately. She didn
’
t like that one little bit.
She liked her life simple.
Uncomplicated.
But ever since her world was turned upside down twelve months ago nothing had been uncomplicated.

She
’
d pushed away her parents to try and keep them safe—but that hadn
’
t worked, and now she had to live with the fact she
’
d never see them again. And
here she was, suddenly with
a teenage boy to take care of. She was responsible for his wellbeing. She was a
guardian,
not just his sister anymore.
What was she supposed to do with a teenager?
He couldn
’
t even stand the sight of her.

And then there was Johnny Tupperoni. She frowned as a little flutter of awareness ran through her at the thought of him. She headed further down the sand to stand by the water edge. The waves washed across her feet as they kissed the beach only to quickly withdraw and run back into the ocean again like giggling children playing a game
.

The moon was bright, making the white sand glow almost florescent against the inky blue blackness of the ocean before her. She took a deep breath filling her lungs with the salty scent of sea and sand and allowed her tired mind to simply enjoy the moment.

Her head turned slightly as a sound caught her attention and saw a figure heading towards her. Turning back to the ocean, she fought her conflicting emotions as she waited for his arrival. By the time Johnny came to a halt beside her—she was still unsure how she felt about his appearance. Part of her was annoyed at the fragile solitude she
’
d so rarely enjoyed had been intruded upon—while another part—a part she
didn
’
t
even know she had, jumped up and down like an excited teenager at his appearance.
“
I would never have pegged you as a guy who owned his own island
,
”
she said after a few minutes of silence.

“
I
’
d never have pegged you as a straight-laced accountant. In fact still don
’
t believe that.
”

“
I
am
an accountant.
”

“
Can
’
t see my accountant handling an M16 in a jungle or takin
’
out crazed henchmen
no matter how hard I try to picture it
.
”

“
Maybe you need a new accountant,
”
she shrugged.
“
Clearly you
’
ve been looking in all the wrong places.
”

“
Apparently.
”

“
I
’
m really worried about all this, Johnny,
”
she said quietly, her gaze fixed once more on the dark horizon beyond.