Captive, Mine(4)

“Sleep well, Sergeant?”

The man gave Lake a faint smile utterly devoid of warmth, then sipped from the white lid of his paper coffee cup. “She up yet?”

“Any minute.” Lake pointed to the Crown Victoria in the side parking lot, its white exhaust rendering the glare of the headlights into ghostly beams. “She’s been briefed on the hand-off. Out the side entrance, 5:15.”

“Why the side? Why didn’t you bring her out?” The sergeant put a huge fist over his mouth, stifling a cough.

“All that matters is that we got her here. Delivered, safe and sound. But the marshals take things from here.” Lake shrugged, feeling the first chill of the air through his heavy coat. “They made it a condition of Cross’s deal. Don’t really have much leverage to argue with them.”

The trooper fixed Lake with a cold stare. “I’d have never let you come this far, if it were up to me.”

He gave the trooper a grim smile. “Why did you then?”

“What the DA wants, the DA gets. Like you said — not much leverage to argue with.”

Lake looked around. “Where’d your back-up go?”

“Sent ‘em home last night.” The trooper’s flinty gaze looked him up and down. “I’ve got things handled.”

A shadow crossed the beams of the car’s lights, the mist of the exhaust swirling. Lily’s form paused in front of the vehicle. She was bundled in a dark mid-length coat, the hood lined with ash-colored fur. Her luminous eyes looked back, catching the gleam of the lights.

Lake gave her a nod.

Almost there, bad girl.

The driver’s side door opened, a tall, slender man walking around the front, buttoning up his brown jacket. Lily moved back a step, watching the man closely, then glancing back toward Lake. The man said something to Lily, opening his coat and showing her something in his hand. She nodded. The man touched her gently on the upper arm, then ambled over to Lake and the trooper.

“Deputy United States Marshal DeSalvo. WITSEC.” The man showed his identification, the distinctive gold star next to the photo and credentials. He gave the trooper a wide, amiable smile, a well-trimmed beard darkening his jawline. “Sergeant Foster?”

“Good to meet you,” the trooper said, shaking his hand. He quirked an eyebrow at the marshal. “Just you?”

The marshal cocked a thumb toward his car. “My partner hates the cold. Florida native.” He shook his head, rolling his eyes.

The trooper chuckled. “She’s all ready for you. No problems getting her out of the city.”

“Good. Thank you for all your help, Sergeant.” DeSalvo glanced at Lake then back to the trooper, his expression cooling. “This him?”

“Ah yes. Private security for Ms. Cross.”

“Lake Freeman.” He extended his hand. “I thought you marshal guys had a tin star?”

DeSalvo glanced down at Lake’s hand then back to the sergeant. “Only on television, Mister Freeman.”

The trooper cleared his throat, his square jaw clenching. “I don’t like it any more than you do, DeSalvo. DA was very clear though. Freeman goes with her.”

The marshal looked down, cursing under his breath. Then he gave the trooper a half smile and shook his hand once more. “Transfer is complete, Sergeant. Thanks again.”

“Do you need me to ride along? I can bring you to the state line, at least.”

“I’m afraid not, Sergeant.” DeSalvo gave a dismissive wave in Lake’s direction. “As much as I’d like better company, WITSEC requires we travel without escort.”

“Right, I got it. She disappears.” Foster tightened the chinstrap on his hat. “Well, it’s your show now. Have a good day, Marshal.”

The trooper turned away, only giving Lake the smallest of nods. “Freeman.”

Prick.

DeSalvo stepped close. “One thing, Mister Freeman. You’re tagging along only. You do what I say, when I say. Clear?”

Lake snorted, holding out his hand toward the car and the waiting Lily. “Shall we?”

“You wait right here. I’m going to speak with Ms. Cross first.”

DeSalvo walked back to Lily, and they spoke for a moment. The marshal looked back at him, scowling, Lily’s voice rising, a finger jabbed in Lake’s direction.

The girl had fire, there was no doubt about that. The apple didn’t fall far from the tree with the Cross clan. Too bad she used that fire to run that smart mouth of hers. Then the image of her on her knees, looking up at him with fright in her eyes, popped into his mind. Keeping those kind of thoughts away was something he had to do — no exceptions.

He turned away, rubbing a palm over his lips. He wasn’t about to fuck up this last job because he couldn’t keep his shit wired tight. No, there was no room for this. Not now, not ever. There was only this one last step, then none of it would matter anymore.

It’s going to matter a helluva lot to her.

But that couldn’t be helped anymore. Perhaps once — but that Lake was gone now. He shook his head, cursing under his breath.

DeSalvo opened the front passenger door, helping Lily inside with a hand on her arm. Then, straightening his jacket, he walked back toward Lake. DeSalvo raised a hand with a smile as the sergeant pulled out of the parking lot with a short, sharp squawk of the cruiser’s PA system.

“So”—the marshal glanced back at the idling car with Lily inside—”you ready to do this?”

“Of course. You went a little far with that ‘by-the-book’ shtick, don’t you think?”

“Eh, it’s fun, you know? Gotta have fun with this shit when you can.” DeSalvo cracked a grin devoid of warmth or compassion, his white canines gleaming in the low light giving him a predatory mien. “You’re welcome to sample her before it’s done. Boss doesn’t care as long as it’s done — really done. Quick, clean. No mess.”

Lake felt the hair on the back of his neck stand up. “The deal was delivery, that’s it.”

“And you’ll get your cut.” DeSalvo tipped his back toward the car. “No sense in passing up a good thing though while you’re at it. Perks of the job? She’s a little piece. Even better than I thought. Almost a shame, really.”

Ransoming the little brat was one thing. He knew how much she meant to Emmanuel Cross, and once he got wind that the cartel had her, Lake knew the man would nix everything. He’d sit in a jail cell until the end of time waiting for his daughter to be returned. Once the case fell apart, the DA would have no choice but to take what he had and throw everything at Cross. She’d be released, but her father would know: as long you’re in prison, you continue to keep your mouth shut — because she’ll always be there, still vulnerable.

The cartel stays safe, and she stays safe. There was a time Lake would have bristled at the very idea of a job like this, but that time was no longer. The Cross family was of no concern to him — even though he’d been hired by the one to protect the other.

They were accessories to drug dealers. Perhaps she wasn’t, technically — but she sure wasn’t an angel either. It didn’t matter anymore though. It was the last run, the final job. And he’d end it there.

One last mission… then he’d be done with what he’d become. And the world would be rid of Lake Freeman and the work he was so good at.

This was something else entirely. Brutalizing and defiling a captive was not anything he’d ever sign up for. This was not part of the plan, something outside mission parameters. His mind raced, weighing timing, risks, chances, likelihood of success. Improvisation was rare and dangerous — but it was sometimes a necessary evil. The bitter irony that it would be so urgently called for now on the last mission of his career was not lost on Lake.

DeSalvo was sloppy, but he was dangerous too. Lake had checked out the background of all the cartel goons he could, and DeSalvo, corrupt though he was, still would be a problem.

A US Marshal-sized problem.

* * *



Lily looked back at Lake from the front seat with a twist of her lips. “Why are you sitting back there?”

“Mr. US Marshal doesn’t like me very much.”

“A lot better scenery,” DeSalvo said softly, looking left as he changed lanes, the engine thrumming pleasingly as he worked the Crown Victoria around a slower-moving eighteen-wheeler.

Lily snapped a look at DeSalvo, her mouth opening, then faced forward once again. She’d kept her coat on, even with the heater working nicely. The eastern sky was just beginning to lighten behind them.

“Where are you taking us, Mr. DeSalvo?”

“Rick, please,” he said, giving her a quick smile that looked to Lake like a death totem. “I’ll give you the details when we get closer. Protocol, sorry.”

She waved a hand, with a small, resigned sigh.

“I’ve got a question, Ms. Cross.” DeSalvo reached into the pocket of his coat, retrieving a pair of leather gloves. He alternated holding the wheel with one hand and then the other, pulling the gloves on with his teeth. “What would you be prepared to do to save your life?”

Lily’s big eyes turned slowly to DeSalvo. “I don’t… what’s that supposed to mean?”