Operation: Midnight Rendezvous (17 page)

“Morning.”

She sat up abruptly at the sound of his voice. He was standing in the doorway, a grocery bag in his arm. “I didn’t hear you come in,” she said.

“I thought you might like some lunch,” he said. “It’s been a while since we ate.”

“Where are we?”

“In a safe place.” His gaze flicked over her, then he met her eyes. “How are you feeling?”

“Okay.” The image of him undressing her came to her unbidden. Jess tightened her hand on the blanket she clutched to her chest and hoped he didn’t notice the blush. “I remember going into the water. I don’t remember much afterward.”

“By the time I pulled you out, you were hypothermic. Semiconscious. I got you to the car and brought you here.”

“Thank you.” She looked around. “Where is here?”

“An RV park and campground a few miles from the coast.”

She nodded, pursed her lips. “And my clothes?”

“In the dryer.” He set the bag on the counter in the galley. “I’ll get them for you and then fix us something to eat. Then we need to talk.”

“I want to take a shower.”

“In that case, let me run the engine for a few minutes. It’s faster than the generator.” Turning from her, he opened a small cabinet above the dining table and pulled a set of keys from a hook inside. “Water will be hot in ten minutes.”

When Jess finally got in the shower, the hot water felt delicious cascading over her sore muscles, and she couldn’t get enough of it. By the time she turned off the faucets, the water was beginning to run cold.

She found Madrid in the galley. He’d pulled down a fold-out table and set out paper plates. “I made omelets. I hope that’s okay.”

Jess’s stomach grumbled at the sight of the omelet neatly folded on her plate. Next to it was a large glass of orange juice and two slices of toast. “Nice.”

He poured coffee into a plastic cup and handed it to her, his dark eyes meeting hers. “I wouldn’t go that far.”

Jess took the cup, but she didn’t take her eyes from his. He had the longest lashes of any male she’d ever met. “You didn’t tell me you cooked.”

“I haven’t told you a lot of things.”

“I bet.”

He grinned at her over his cup.

She smiled back. “You must have a lot of hidden talents.”

“You have no idea.”

She wasn’t sure where the banter was coming from.
Something to break the tension and stress of the past few days. After all, it wasn’t as if they didn’t have more important things to discuss. Like what they were going to do about the horrors they’d discovered on board the
Dorian Rae
.

Gathering her thoughts, she took the bench seat at the settee. He sat across from her and they delved into their food.

It was strange sitting down for something as mundane as a quiet meal. Jess couldn’t remember the last time she’d eaten; in the past few days she’d been too scared to even think of it. But looking at the omelet, she was suddenly famished.

Midway through the meal, however, the questions buzzing around in her head would wait no longer. “What are we going to do about what we found last night?”

Madrid forked some of the egg. “Well, we know the Lighthouse Point PD is involved in human smuggling.”

“Not to mention murder.”

“Goes hand in hand.”

Thinking of Angela, Jess shook her head. “How do we stop them?”

“We find the head of the operation and cut it off.”

“Someone with the Lighthouse Point PD?”

“Could be, but I doubt it. This is a big operation, Jess. Far-reaching. International. A lot of people are involved. The Lighthouse Point PD simply allows them to operate in the bay.”

“They get paid to look the other way.”

“Those photos we took last night would have
helped.” He grimaced. “The camera was in the duffel, though, and I lost the duffel when we got ambushed.”

“If they find it, can they ID you?”

He gave her a wry smile. “I’m too careful for that, but we could have used the tools outside.” A sign hissed between his lips. “The
Dorian Rae
is key. I need to find out who owns and operated the ship.”

“How do we do that?”

“I put in a call earlier this morning.” He set his hand against the cell phone clipped to his belt.

“The MIDNIGHT Agency.”

“Yeah.”

She thought about that a moment. “Are the police still looking for me?”

“You’re a person of interest.”

“In other words, I’m still a suspect.”

His gaze met hers. “You’d be a hell of a lot safer if I turned you over to the feds.”

Surprise rippled through her that he would even think of it. “We’ve been over that, Madrid.”

“And my stance on it hasn’t changed.”

“If I let myself be taken in, you’ll lose your ace in the hole.”

A hard glint entered his eyes. “You turn yourself in and I won’t have to worry about some goon sneaking in here in the middle of the night and cutting your throat.”

She hoped he didn’t see the shudder that ran through her. “Or I can spend the next week sitting in a jail cell while Angela’s real killer is covering his tracks and working to frame me.”

“You know I won’t let that happen.”

A rise of anger shot through her. “I have no intention—”

A knock at the door made them both jump up. Drawing his pistol, Madrid crossed to the door. “Yeah?”

“It’s Vanderpol. Open up.”

Madrid’s hand slid away from the gun. He opened the door, leaned against the jamb. “About time.”

A tall man with military-short hair shook the rain from his trench and stepped inside. Dark, intelligent eyes swept from Madrid to her, then back to Madrid. “Cutter will send me to Siberia if he finds out I met with you.”

“I’ll be lucky to wind up in Antarctica.”

“Can’t argue with that.” His eyes sliding back to Jess, he extended his hand. “Jake Vanderpol.”

His hand was large and rough as it encompassed hers. “Jessica Atwood.”

He grasped her hand for an instant too long, then released it and turned to Madrid. “I got the information you needed.”

A silent communication passed between the two men. Jess suddenly felt like an outsider.

“She knows.” Madrid motioned to the table and settee.

Jess sat. Madrid slid in beside her.

“Okay.” Vanderpol took the bench opposite them and tugged a small notebook from the pocket of his trench. “The
Dorian Rae
is owned by a shipping conglomerate based in San Francisco called Capricorn Intercontinental Shipping.”

“Owner?”

“High roller by the name of Gabriel Capricorn.”

“Clean?”

“Not squeaky, but not quite dirty enough to head up a human smuggling ring.”

“If not Capricorn, then who?”

“I got a hit on his VP. Slick guy by the name of Randall Yates.”

“What kind of hit?”

“Got busted in 1997 for smuggling in ten illegals from China.”

“Female?”

“Yup.”

“Conviction?”

“During trial, eight of the women testified that they were stowaways.”

“And the other two?”

“Disappeared off the face of the earth.”

Madrid seemed to digest the words, his expression dark and thoughtful. “He was acquitted?”

“Yup. And get this. He used to run a shipping corporation out of Seattle. Owned a couple of massage parlors.”

“Interesting combination.”

“It is if you consider who worked the booths.”

“Don’t tell me. Illegal immigrants.”

“Mostly from China. Immigration busted him a dozen times but he always beat the rap. Cost of doing business, I guess.”

“Prostitution?”

“He was never charged, but if the shoe fits…” Jake lifted his shoulder, let it fall.

“When did he hook up with Capricorn?”

“Two years ago.”

“Sounds like a match made in heaven.”

“Or hell, depending on your perspective.”

The two men fell silent. Jess’s mind spun with everything she’d heard. It was as if the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. “So how do we stop them?” she asked.

Both heads turned to her simultaneously. Looking into their eyes, Jess knew they were going to try to shut her out. Because she was a woman. Because they were professionals and she wasn’t. The reasons didn’t matter. She wasn’t going to let them do it.

“Angela was my friend,” she said. “These people tried to frame me. They tried to kill me. They tried to kill Nicolas. I need to do this.”

The two men exchanged looks, and Jess got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her worst fears were solidified when Madrid addressed her. “I want you to go back with Jake. Ride this out from a safe place.”

“No.” Anger surged. Jess rose abruptly. “Don’t try to shut me out of this.”

“You can help from MIDNIGHT headquarters.”

She shot Madrid a furious stare. “Don’t patronize me.”

He rose. “Jess, you’re going to have to trust me. Please. You’re more of a hindrance than a help here.”

“I’m a hindrance because you’re so obsessed with locking me out that you haven’t even considered using me as bait.”

The RV went silent. In her peripheral vision Jess saw Vanderpol’s gaze flick from her to Madrid. But Madrid
never took his eyes off her. His laugh was fraught with annoyance and incredulity. “No dice.”

“They think I can ID Angela’s killer. They think Nicolas saw it. Or maybe they think he told me who it was. Whatever the case, they want me dead.”

“No.”

“You know it’s the best way to smoke out these bastards. Maybe the only way.”

“I know it’s the best way to get you dead!” he shouted.

She blinked, surprised by the vehemence behind the words. Knowing that for whatever reason she wasn’t going to get through to him, she turned her attention to Vanderpol. “Dangle me in front of them and they’ll bite.”

Vanderpol’s expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. But he didn’t say no.

Madrid, on the other hand, wasted no time with his refusal. He crossed to her, wrapped his fingers around her arms. “I know what these people are capable of, Jess. I’ve seen their handiwork. They’re brutal and savage and I won’t let you end up like Angela.”

“Then let me do this.” When he only stared at her, she lifted her hand. “Let me help, damn it.”

He winced when her palm brushed his cheek. Grasping her wrist, he lowered it to her side. “I won’t be the one to sign your death warrant,” he said, and walked away.

J
AKE
V
ANDERPOL
and Mike Madrid stood outside the RV in the lightly falling rain. “You sure she’s not involved?” Jake asked.

“She didn’t kill Angela, if that’s what you’re asking.” Madrid shot him a hard look. “I’ll bet my life on it.”

“You might just be doing that, partner.”

Madrid was getting wet, but he didn’t care. He was too annoyed. Too damned worried about Jess. He felt as if he were losing control of the situation. He knew firsthand there was no better way to get someone hurt. Why the hell couldn’t she just cooperate?

“You might consider taking her up on her offer.”

Madrid’s gaze jerked to Jake’s. Anger swept through him that the other man would even suggest it. “I don’t want those bastards anywhere near her.”

Jake frowned. “Look, Madrid, it’s none of my business, but it seems to me you’re not thinking clearly about any of this.”

“I’m thinking clearly enough to know if I dangle Jess or the boy in front of these bastards there’s a damn good chance I won’t get them back.”

“Cutter thought it was a good idea.”

Realization reared up inside Jake, followed by another quick punch of anger. “Cutter knew you were coming here.”

“He knows a lot of things.”

“Did he ask you to try to talk me into using them, Jake?”

That the other man couldn’t meet his gaze was all the answer Madrid needed. “Cutter can go straight to hell.”

Jake did meet his gaze then. “This is about keeping things in perspective, Madrid. Think about it. You have a key that could stop untold misery. Yet you’re unwill
ing to use it because of something that happened a long time ago.”

“Shut up about that.”

“These bastards could be bringing in hundreds of women a year. God only knows how many of them don’t make the journey. You have the power to stop it, but you won’t.”

“I won’t risk an innocent woman’s life to do it. If that’s what you want, then you can go to hell, too.”

Unfazed by the remark, Jake shook his head. “You’re screwing up, my man.”

“These bastards murder indiscriminately. What the hell do you expect me to do?”

“I expect you to be a professional.” Jake closed the distance between them and jabbed a finger into Madrid’s chest. “Evidently you’re too wrapped up in having sex to manage.”

“This isn’t about sex, damn it.”

“Yeah, well, I hope she’s worth it, because you’re an inch away from kissing your career goodbye.”

For several tense minutes the only sound came from the tinkle of rain against dry leaves and the rustle of wind through the trees. “You know as well as I do the woman and that kid are your best bet for smoking these bastards out of their holes,” Jake said finally.

Madrid shook his head. “I’ll find another way.”

“For your sake, I hope you can.”

At that, Jake Vanderpol turned and walked away.

Chapter Fourteen

The RV smelled of her when he walked inside. A light, airy scent that reminded him of summer meadows and wildflowers. A scent that made him long for something elusive and put a knot in his gut because he knew it was the one thing he could never have.

Hanging his jacket in the cubbyhole beside the door, he headed to the stove to make coffee.

“What were you two talking about?”

Madrid turned to see her standing in the hall just outside the lavatory. She’d pulled her hair into a ponytail, revealing a long and slender throat. Staring at her, all he could think was that he wanted to put his mouth on her.

“Agency stuff.” His voice came out as a growl as he turned back to the stove. He didn’t want to face her feeling like this. He knew one touch from her and he would do something he’d regret for the rest of his life.