Severed Threads (40 page)

Devon’s mouth dropped open. “I know Chase screwed up royally but do you really want to see him dead?”

She paused only a moment. “If he doesn’t cooperate, what choice is there?”

Her eyes were on Marcos as he glanced around the room. At the adjacent bedroom, the closed bathroom door. The wardrobe closet leaning against the wall. He reclaimed her arm and moved across the living room floor, arriving in front of the canvas-covered trunk.

“
Open it,” he demanded.

She lifted the latch and raised the lid.

“
Now empty it.”

She pulled out the heavy Pendleton blanket and laid it aside then waited. Marcos motioned for her brother to join them.

“
Get in,” he barked.

“I can’t,” Devon protested. “It’s too small.”

“Then I shoot and stuff you inside.”

Devon threw Rachel an apprehensive look before relinquishing his stand. He tucked in his arms and legs and curled into a ball. Marcos placed the gun at the back his head. The maligning expression on his face was a clear indication he planned to kill Devon all along.

“Don’t…please,” she pleaded. “He did what you asked. He’s going to suffocate in there anyway.”

Marcos’s mouth twisted into a wicked smile. “Huh…I didn’t think of that.”

He slammed the top of the trunk shut. Then he slid his knife into the lock and snapped it off, trapping Devon inside. His calls for help would remain silent to anyone living nearby.

“
Just you and me now,” Marcos told Rachel. He tucked his gun in his belt and gave her a little shove toward the open doorway. “Time to go. My treasure is getting lonely.”

* * *

The guy was either the stupidest criminal he’d ever met or hungry for a death sentence. Either way, Devon was grateful his phone wasn’t detected in his breast pocket. He was also grateful that he knew exactly where Marcos was headed.

Having gained access with the superintendent’s pass key, Novak arrived five minutes after Devon’s muffled call. It took him another fifteen minutes to break open the trunk, however, he had the foresight to call his partner and alert patrol cars in the area.

As they drove to the marina, Devon answered every question, bringing Novak completely up to speed. When he finished, the seasoned agent cast him a sidelong glance.

“
This wouldn’t have happened if you’d listened to me in the first place.”

Devon wasn’t about to be criticized. “
None
of this would have happened if you hadn’t used me…or my sister.”

“I had no way of knowing she was going to be involved.”

“But you knew about me.”

Novak stole a sidelong glance. “Not right off. Pollero liked everyone thinking I was his bodyguard, but in reality I was part of a sting – posing as a launderer, picking up his drug money, making deposits in legitimate banks then wiring funds to traffickers in Mexico. His guys would tell me they were bringing me two hundred-fifty grand and show up with a cool million. In a matter of months, Pollero was climbing the ladder, approaching Class One. You know…one of the big money makers. I was told to do whatever necessary to gain his trust.”

Devon massaged his aching hand while Novak continued.

“
We’d coordinated a major bust at a pick-up point. They got tipped or Pollero got nervous, either way no one was at the location and our plans got scrapped. Marcos showed up at my place an hour later and brought me back to the warehouse. That’s when I discovered you and your partner. I had no way to get word out without Viktor getting suspicious.”

As they wove around cars, Devon studied the passing streets, keeping a watchful eye out for the red Lamborghini.

“
Anyway, no one anticipated Selena going rogue,” Novak added. “Guess she got a charge out of laundering her brother’s money in your firm. With you promising to double his earnings, it turned into a vicious game of cat and mouse. Only this time, Selena was guarding the cheese.”

“So, I’m still asking. Was it worth it? Did you get what you were after?”

“We’ll know that for sure after we grab Zane and his brother. If our theory proves right, he’s a big link in their chain – helping traffickers, smuggling dope. Selling off stolen goods from dive expeditions to pad their pockets.” Novak pulled into the gravel parking lot at the marina. “Got yourself tangled up in a nasty sharks’ nest.”

“Sharks don’t have nests.”

“These guys do. Stay here.” Novak was out of the car, charging into the crowd of officers from every department in a twenty-mile radius. Moments later, he returned with a scowl on his face. “State troopers found Jeremy Zane floating face down with a rope tied around his neck. He was hooked to the bollard on Fifty-Seven – the same slipway Cohen checked a boat out of this morning. Unfortunately, the only witness we have is the drunk who was sleeping in the neighboring skiff. Right now my partner’s in the Crow’s Nest pouring coffee down the poor sap’s throat…hoping to give the detectives on this case a lead.”

“What about my sister?” Devon asked. “Where is she?”

Novak hesitated a moment before answering. “The SPPD thinks Olivares might have spotted a patrol car near the marina before detouring west on 107. They figured he had to be going close to eighty when an oncoming truck clipped him and sent his car sailing over the side and straight into the Pacific.” Novak shook his head and lowered his voice. “Sorry, man, but I have to tell ya. If your sister was with him, it’ll be a miracle if she survived.”

Thirty-Four

Chase hated leaving Rachel alone, but with the lives of his crew at risk, he knew she would’ve insisted on coming along. After the phone message he received from Devon, a muffled call back in his kitchen was all it took to insure Rachel would be looked after. No one, in Chase’s opinion, was better suited for the job than the brother she’d risked her life to protect.

After arriving on
Stargazer,
Chase sat with his men and hatched out a battle plan. When the time was right, Ian would stay on board to protect their ship. As soon as
Legacy
divers crossed their threshold, he would contact the Coast Guard for assistance. Until then, it would be Zane’s word against Chase’s and catching them red handed would be far more effective.

Wade and Blaine dropped over the side.
Chase soon followed and swam toward the open hatch where the last chest of gold waited. He signaled to Blaine and Wade to hide and hold their breaths to prevent two unknown divers from seeing their bubbles too early. Following his orders, Blaine and Wade hid behind the
Wanli’s
hull and waited as the invading divers swam closer.

When the marauders were only five meters away, it happened. Blaine couldn't hold his breath any longer and blew out a stream of bubbles. The invading divers abruptly turned. Blaine and Wade reached down and pulled out their knives. The gold triangle logo on the first diver’s wetsuit was all the proof they needed. They were indeed members of
Legacy’s crew,
just as the matching insignia on their ship indicated. The invading divers had come there expecting to claim their unjust rewards.

Chase released a flare, signaling Ian.

As the third
Legacy
diver approached, Chase doubled back and came up behind him. While he struggled, trying to pin his opponent, Wade’s assailant pulled out his knife. But Wade reacted quickly, catching his thrusting arm. Chase watched from a distance as they spun round and round, turning upside down and back up again, each trying to overpower the other. Although enmeshed in his own battle, from Chase’s perspective, both men had nearly the same strength. Neither one could get an advantage.

A quick look to his left told Chase that Blaine wasn't so lucky. When he sprang on his opponent, the diver was able to hit him in the arm with his knife. While still grasping his wound, Blaine flipped his fins toward the diver’s face, in an obvious attempt to dislodge his mask and regulator.

Chase wanted desperately to come to his aid, but his challenger now had his back pressed against the ship’s hull and the edge of a blade at his throat. He growled into his regulator and pushed hard, managing to free himself. But his opponent struck out again. Chase diverted the knife from his stomach, however in doing so, it grazed his left shoulder. He took his right hand away to press his wound, leaving himself open for attack. Realizing his folly, he raised his hand in time to catch the diver’s plunging arm. He twisted around in
Aikido
fashion and drove the weapon back into the man’s lower body. Looking down, he realized his hand was still on the end of the knife, buried in his opponent’s black wetsuit. After a moment, he extracted the knife. The man lost his mouthpiece in the midst of a scream and swam away in a panic.

Meanwhile, it appeared that Wade was in big trouble. The
Legacy
diver he’d been fighting was now holding his shoulder down, preparing to stab him. In an instant, Wade grabbed a second knife from the left side of the man’s air tank and shoved it into his mid-section. The diver halted his attack. He slowly began to fall to the left. Wade pulled the knife out of the diver and pushed him away. As Chase watched in morbid fascination, the diver sank, landing on his air tank then sprawling onto the ground.

With Wade now safe, Chase scanned their surroundings, looking for Blaine. He spotted him on the ocean floor – his arms beside his body, his head tipped back, touching the ground. From his mouth bubbles escaped as the rapture sought to claim to him. Chase swam with all his might to join him.

As blood seeped from Blaine’s body, Chase became painfully aware of the damage that had been inflicted. He forced the regulator back into his mouth, wishing Blaine had been left to guard the ship instead of Ian. He motioned Wade to take Blaine back to the surface as quickly as possible. As they both swam off, he looked around for Blaine’s attacker, determined to even the score.

At first Chase saw nothing. Then he saw bubbles rising from below. As he swam closer, the
Legacy
diver reached for his knife, but Chase was fast in the water. He grabbed the man’s shoulders and threw him to the rock-covered ground, causing him to lose his knife. Chase waited nearly a minute but the man remained completely motionless, as if knocked unconscious. Given time, he would eventually drown.

Movement overhead activated Chase’s defense mode. Another diver remained in the area and he wasn’t about to be caught unaware. He swam several meters away, stopped and turned

around. To his surprise, the first diver was gone. There were no bubbles to find him. No indication of which direction he’d gone. Chase circled the ship and came to the conclusion that the man was either holding his breath or hiding inside the ship. No matter… his air would soon run out.

After two minutes, the first possibility became reality. He saw bubbles coming from an open hatch. He swam there, ready to fight and charged with his knife. But this time, the diver was able to stop his attack. Using a discarded pulley, he knocked the knife out of Chase’s hand. But Chase’s instant reflexes kicked in. He grabbed his assailant’s mask, ripping it from his face.

While searching for his missing knife, the
Legacy
diver struggled to restore his mask. When it was finally back in place, Chase was there as well. He grabbed the diver’s arm, pulling him forward and delivered a powerful thrust, connecting serrated metal to the man’s shoulder bone. Chase pushed away, withdrawing his knife, leaving the diver writhing. Before Chase could confront him again, the coward retreated, swimming for home with all his might.

The second diver suddenly reappeared overhead. As he drew closer, his fair complexion and close-cropped red hair were a clear giveaway.
Skylar Zane.
What was he doing here? It appeared the marauder’s greed had blinded his judgment and lead him straight into the lion’s den.

Chase circled around and came up behind him. He was waiting for the right moment to strike. With a flick of his blade, Zane’s air hose was cut. A squall of bubbles escaped instantaneously. Panic grew in his enemy’s face as he looked up and discovered Chase was holding him down. By his best estimate, Zane had no more than one minute to break free and rise from a depth of thirty meters. Otherwise, he would drown.