Queen of Hearts (27 page)

“Where are you going?” I asked.

He smirked. “I have something to take care of.”

I frowned. “What? You aren’t leaving me here by myself, Vince.”

He raised an eyebrow and pulled a pack of cigarettes from the pocket of his shirt, tapping one out and slipping it into his mouth. “You’re right. I’m not. Get in the car.”

I shook my head, confused. “Where are we going?”

Giving me a light shove, he pushed me toward the car. “We’re going on a little trip, and we need to leave now, so get in the car.”

Like a light bulb switching on in my brain, I let out a small gasp. “I thought you trusted Flynn to handle this.”

He blew a large plume of smoke out of his mouth, directing it in the air away from me, and stepped forward. “I trust Flynn, but he’s a pussy. He won’t kill his father. I will.”

I wanted to be insulted, but he was right. I had serious doubts about Flynn killing his father in cold blood. He was no pussy, as Vince so eloquently put it, but that was his father—good, bad, or indifferent.

“Well, are you coming or not?”

I blinked several times and nodded.

Hell, yes, I was going, but I didn’t even have real shoes on.

“Give me ten. I need shoes—and my gun.”

I heard him chuckle as I hightailed it back to the room to gather my gear. “That’s my girl.”

M
y head was about to explode. I hadn’t seen anything but bush and dirt and road for hours, and everything was getting on my nerves. Vince was chain-smoking like a fiend, the radio waves were nonexistent, and I was nervous as hell.

After about three and a half hours on the road, I gave up and fell asleep. With nothing but my own insane thoughts to keep me company, I decided to shut down.

Vince woke me a while later when he stopped at some dusty little town to fill up on gas and coffee. I got out, stretched, took some deep breaths, and looked around.

There was nothing. Deserted and empty. Mostly, I noticed how peaceful it was. Away from the hustle and bustle of Las Vegas, my lungs filled with new life. My bravado had returned and my motivation was clear.

The quaint convenience store called me like a beacon. I grabbed handfuls of sugary treats and the biggest cup of coffee I could pour. My body was tired, but my brain was going strong. I just needed a little more power to get me to the end of the road.

“Do you have a plan or something, or are we just rushing in there with our guns blazing?”

Vince chuckled around his cigarette, puffing as he held it between his teeth and opened the door to the car. “I’m not sure yet.”

“Great,” I drawled out. “That sounds pretty solid. Fuck me...”

He tossed the garbage food on the console and shut the door on me, still smiling as he cleared the front of the car and got inside. We were about an hour or so away from what I calculated, so I thought it was a good idea to get some kind of action plan in place.

I turned in my seat and ripped a bag of snack cakes open. “Do you know anything? Did Flynn at least fill you in before he left?”

Taking the lid off his coffee, he blew into it slowly and stared out the windshield. “Flynn is going in wired. They flew into Reno, and the FBI dialed him in before they flew out to Elko. The house is south of there, so they are probably just getting there.”

“Fucking wired!” I shrieked. “That’s incredibly stupid! He’s a fucking idiot!”

“Actually, he’s a genius. His father won’t expect that, and if he gets paranoid and checks, he’ll already be in. That’s when he’ll need the balls to kill the fucker. If he kills him right away, he won’t have to deal with any of it.”

“Christ,” I swore. “Let’s get back on the road. If they are already there, we could be too late.”

He turned the ignition and revved the engine. “You ready for this?”

I was more than ready. My adrenaline was pumping, and my mind was on the game. We were back to being a team. Bonnie and Clyde, ready to fuck things up. That’s when we were at our best. When I was young, Vince was on top of his game, and he taught me well. We were simpatico, working toward a common goal. The people we loved were in danger, and that’s what drove us.

Guns blazing, it was.

“So tell me what I need to do. What happens when we get there?”

He pulled back onto the highway, and we went over our strategy. Flynn had given him a brief overview of the ranch house, and thankfully, Vince never forgot a detail.

“We’ll walk in through the back end of the property. We’ll drive up through the hills, and it will take us back there. I have a pretty good idea of where we can get in, but we’ll probably have to wing it. Once we’re inside, listen for voices and move slow. Make sure you know what’s behind you, and what you’re walking into.”

I nodded, waving for him to continue.

“Doyle always covers his bases. I had to take out about fifteen guys before I found where he was holding your dad. They’ll be armed, so make sure you’re ready to shoot. Shoot to fucking kill, Janie. You hesitate, and you’re dead. They won’t give a shit who you are.”

“What am I supposed to do once we’re in there? Get Kelsey out?”

“Go on instinct. That’s the best I can tell you. Remember that time we tossed that club and the owner found out? What did I tell you?”

“Fuck up anyone that got in my way.”

“Damn right. If you think it’s the right thing to do, do it. Keep yourself alive, keep Flynn alive, and keep me and Kelsey alive. That’s all you need to do.”

It sounded like a shitty plan to me. I was afraid of what I would walk in on. If I found Flynn hurt, I wasn’t sure what my instincts would tell me to do. Move along and find the core of the disease, or help my lover. It felt like a lose-lose situation.

“The FBI has the place surrounded. We’ve got backup—just make sure you don’t get in their way if they storm the place. You hear cops, you drop, you hear me?”

“Got it, boss,” I told him. “Drive faster. We need to do this.”

T
wo hours later, we crept across the property toward a house that just didn’t fit the description I had in my head. It was rugged and nondescript, bigger than I expected, but nothing grandiose.

“You sure we’re in the right place?”

He nodded. “Follow me.”

I looked back and forth, waiting for the boogey man to jump out at any minute. I halfway expected to find snipers and SWAT teams, but there was no one. Only us.

It was dark by then, so we only had the light of the moon and the glare from inside the house to guide us. Somehow, that made it easier. My senses were lit and my reaction time was precise.

As we got closer, I heard voices, so I sneaked around the side where it was darker and well hidden. Blood pumped through my body vigorously, my heart on overload. The thrill was racing through me and trumped the fear. Finally, it felt like we were going to be in the clear and able to go on with our lives.

Vince went straight for the back door, and my eyes widened as he stepped over the threshold and through the door without difficulty. My hands shook as I walked around the other side of the house toward the front. I wanted to get a better feel for where things were—doors, windows, all escapes possible. My worst fear was getting caught up inside without a way out.

I peeked around the corner and saw three men standing on the elevated porch smoking cigarettes. As I looked closer, I saw one of them was Flynn. I blinked several times to clear my focus. He looked calm and composed, like there wasn’t a care in the world.

I ducked down so I could further investigate and look for Kelsey without being found. It wasn’t easy. There weren’t many bushes or shrubs to hide behind, and that was a problem. Being out in the open, dark or not, was incredibly stupid.

As I kneeled down, my knee dug into a rock, and I groaned. It hurt like a bitch, and I bit down on my fist to stifle the wail I wanted to let out.

“You hear something?” one of them questioned.

I stilled, forcing every muscle in my body to seize while I waited for them to catch me. It didn’t happen. Moments later, I heard chattering again and their footsteps as they went back inside.

“I’m going to have a heart attack,” I said to myself.

Climbing back onto my feet, I slithered toward the door where Vince had gone inside. If he could get in, so could I.

The steps creaked with each step I made, and I cringed. The boldness I’d felt earlier was fading. Without Vince to guide me, I wasn’t sure what to do once inside.

I turned the knob, and luckily it opened quietly and quickly. I slipped inside and stood back against the opposite wall and took in the room. I didn’t see Vince, so he’d obviously gotten through the room and into another without being discovered. I walked west through the house and found a door standing halfway open. It was dark inside, so I slipped through the crack and quietly shut the door behind me.

Pressing my ear against the wood, I listened for anything that would give me a clue as to what was going on. My hand went to the back of my pants and I gripped the gun I’d shoved there.

I heard a rustling behind me and spun around, pointing my gun out in front of me.

“I know you have a listening problem, but I’m starting to think you are hard of hearing.”

I gasped.

Flynn.

I lowered the gun and tried to catch my breath. I felt around in front of me until I found his chest. “How did you know?”

He chuckled and pressed his finger against my lips. “I’ve been trying to call you for hours. I knew when I couldn’t get a hold of you
and
Vince that you two were up to something.”

“Where’s Kelsey?” I felt all over his chest, his arms, down his back. I couldn’t stop touching him, or thanking God that he was alive. “Vince already got inside.”

He nodded. “He sent me a message about ten minutes ago.”

I pinched his nipple. “You were waiting for me!”

“Shhh,” he whispered harshly. “You’ve got to stay quiet. My dad is in the other room.”

“Kelsey?” I mouthed the words, trying to stay as quiet as possible. I didn’t trust my voice to stay as low as a whisper. I was too pumped up.

He pointed behind me. “She’s safe. She’s in the other room, and Vince has an eye on her. No one will touch her. I have the door locked.”

“So what are they doing?”

They’d been there awhile, and I couldn’t believe Doyle was just chilling out, going with the flow. No, that guy had an agenda.

“They’re waiting for a call from Kristine. The FBI will have her contact Kelsey via cell phone, and then we’ll go from there.”

My stomach dropped. “I’m afraid.”

He held my face, kissing my forehead. “Just stay put, and it’ll be okay. I don’t want you to leave this room. I’m already going to be distracted knowing you’re in here. Don’t need you in the line of fire.”

He dropped another kiss on the top of my head and walked to the door. “I mean it,” he said, turning to face me again. “Stay put, and stay quiet.”

I agreed and felt my heart sputter as he left the room. I hated that he was going to be in the same room as his father. I hated that Doyle was his father, period.

The room I’d snuck into was some kind of pantry. There were shelves filled with cans and boxes and crates piled up on the floor. Everything seemed out of place and haphazard. I piled a couple crates up as quietly as possible and sat, not sure how long I would have to endure being closed up in there by myself.

For a long time, I heard nothing. No movement, no voices... nothing. It started to freak me out. To take my mind off things, I picked at the chipped nail polish on my fingers. I needed a manicure, and thinking about that was better than the alternative. After a while, loud voices erupted, and I jumped off the crates and went to the door, ear to wood once again, and listened.

I could clearly hear Doyle, and my heart sank.

“Where are you hiding her? Did you really think I wouldn’t find out they were here?”

I gulped and pressed my hand against my chest, trying to stop the panic. He knew we were there, and it was not going to go over well. Honestly, I wasn’t sure how he would take it. I was no threat to him, not compared to everything else he was facing.

“Why are you being so paranoid? I brought the girl, didn’t I? Just wait for Kristine to call. You can get what you want, and I can get on with my life!”

I heard Doyle order one of his men to grab Flynn, and I lost it. My hand was on the doorknob, and the force of my grip jostled it. I froze.

“Just as I expected. That’s why you’re so worried about anyone going in there.”

I lost my footing when the door crashed open. Light spilled into the dark room, and the tall figure of Doyle Maguire stood in the doorway. He glared, pure hatred spilling as he fixed his eyes on me.

“You don’t know how to stay out of trouble, do you, whore?”

I panicked and reached for my gun, only to remember I’d set it down near the crates. Backing up slowly, I kept my eyes glued on him while I tried to get to my piece.

“Grab her and take her into the other room.”

Two men walked in from behind him and came at me. I backed myself against the wall and screamed out for Flynn.

Doyle cackled.

“My own son,” he snapped. “Betrayed by my only son!”

The men dragged me out of the small space and into the kitchen. I fought against them, kicking and hitting and trying to get my fingernails into them to make them let go. It was useless, obviously, but I wasn’t going down without a fight. We’d gotten about halfway through the hall when Flynn appeared with gun aimed.

“Let her go.” His voice was calm—lethal. That darkness was back in his eyes. The cold, empty darkness of a man with everything to lose.

“You didn’t have to hide your little woman in the closet, son. I assumed you were going to drag her along.”

My eyes didn’t leave Flynn’s. All my faith, every ounce of trust was thrust into his hands. With our eyes locked, he told me silently that he had this. I had nothing to worry about.

“Put the gun down, son. You’re not going to shoot me.”

Flynn didn’t flinch. He crept forward until his father stepped forward and aimed his gun at my temple. “Put the gun down, or she’s done.”