“She's got a few social media accounts, but they were all created after she left Ross. All she does is talk about roller derby. She had an e-mail when she was married. I got into it, but there's only junk mail. Not an e-mail from her mom, an e-card, nothing. I think he kept her pretty well cut off from everything,” Emery said.
“The girl is like, Miss Roller Derby USA or something. Those hips of hers are dangerous. I watched some YouTube clips. She's a mean one on the track.” Kathy glanced at Aiden. “You should go watch her. Hell, I'd go watch her and I don't care for sports.”
Madison's hips. Aiden didn't want to hear anyone else talking about those.
“Did you find anything else?” Aiden dropped his half-eaten slice of pizza back into the box. It was hard to feign disinterest when he wanted to know more about the woman who'd come apart in his arms.
“Not a lot. I pulled her financials.” CJ set a manila folder on the workbench. “She's got a savings account, but it's all coming from her paycheck, which is legit. Looks like she's trying to put herself through school at the community college. She's got two years under her belt, and if I had to guess, she's studying accounting. There's nothing suspicious about where her money is coming from, and it's not like she's spending more than she makes.”
“What about the cops? There's a Detective Matt Smith looking into her.” Aiden glanced at John. “You know him?”
“What? You think all cops know each other?” John snorted. “I never worked Miami.”
“Cops would stonewall me if I asked them for help.” CJ shook his head. The local police had become particularly unhelpful once the Hoovers asked them to back off.
“Okay, then someone needs to get close to Matt Smith.” Aiden glanced at the twins, who stared back at him with identical
Who me?
expressions. “Come on. He's a guy. It'll be like winning at go-karts to get information out of him.”
Roni rolled her eyes. “All right. Fine. We'll work on him, but no promises.”
Tori just glared. The girls kept a low profile. Flirting with a cop was asking a lot of them, but with so many cars on the track, they had to have everyone in the pit.
“What else do we know about this chick?” Julian asked, finally showing some interest.
CJ glanced at his folder once more. “She works at Everglades Air, a private airstrip outside of the city, which is owned by her high school best friend's parents, she lives in a sailboat and the slip is paid out until the end of next year, her car was stolen and burned out, she owns a motorcycle and has no speeding or parking tickets, though there is a dropped charge against her for assault.”
“And you can't get the detective's notes on her?” Julian asked.
Aiden shook his head. “Not after that mess last year. If Smith knows anything, he's probably being smart about it and not putting it in her official record.” He scrubbed the side of his face. “What are we doing then? Sitting on Madison until she gives us something we don't even know how to use?”
“Evers wants it, so we want it,” Julian replied.
Great. Aiden wanted to end this thing, and Julian would be satisfied to live the rest of his life taking the bastard's toys. Would it ever end?
“Can we guess what's on the drive?” Aiden hadn't seen records of Michael Evers placing a single bet. Dustin was no stranger to the tracks in the city. There were at least a dozen different kinds of racetracks in Miami.
“He told you it was labeled âRacing.'” Kathy shrugged. “It could be anything. Bank records, an admission of guilt, exchanges with the Colombians, who knows?”
Aiden didn't like not knowing, or the flimsy nature of their nonexistent plan. They were still idling at the starting line while everyone else was burning rubber around the first turn. There was a lot to make up for, but how? How did they get ahead of Michael and Dustin?
“Okay. Gabriel and John, can you see if any of your street contacts know anything about the Eleventh?”
“I want Emery to help me dig into Madison's past,” CJ said.
“And we're on cop duty.” Roni rolled her eyes.
“Then I guess it's you and me on this chick, bro.” Julian smiled at him, but there was nothing pleasant about it.
“Great.” Aiden glanced at CJ. “Anything else we should know?”
CJ shifted his weight from foot to foot. He was a built man, with salt-and-pepper hair. “We're getting pressure to produce results.”
Aiden shrugged. “What else is new?”
“He means, if we can't get something done, they're going to pull us and put different field agents in our places,” Kathy said.
“The fuck they will.” Julian snarled. “That is not the agreement we made.”
CJ wheeled on him. “It's been three years, Julian. When we started this, they thought a year, tops, to get the kind of evidence we needed to bring Evers down. I saw the report you made, and you said yourself it would be an easy thingâexcept it hasn't been. The man has someone covering his tracks so well we can't get a read on him. We're relying on an external hard drive that a woman we don't know if we can trust
might
have. That's not the kind of firm results you promised them. So before you go snapping my head off, remember that I catch the shit before it hits you.”
“Whatever, I'm out of here.” Julian stalked toward one of the exits. No one stopped him as he slammed it shut after him.
The FBI had changed Julian. The fighting had become a constant way of life in dealing with him.
He glanced at CJ. “I'll handle this. Everyone, go get some sleep. We have a lot of ground to cover.”
Aiden followed Julian, stepping out onto the sidewalk. Julian leaned against his GT-R, tapping a package of cigarettes on his palm.
“When did this happen?” He nodded at the smokes, another disturbing sign of the depths to which Julian was falling.
“It's not happening. I had them for Mexico.”
“Was that where you were?”
“Don't get on my case. It's my job.”
Aiden withheld a sigh. “I don't give a rat's ass who made you do what. You just disappeared. That's not how this is supposed to go down.”
“What? You're playing mamma now?”
“Why are you picking a fight? I'm tired, you're being a dick, and there's enough shit going around that everything stinks.”
“I didn't pick a fight,” Julian snapped.
Aiden stood next to the car. While Julian might lean on it, that didn't mean anyone else could.
“What happened in Mexico?” Aiden didn't want to know. He'd long since learned it was better for him if he didn't, but something had happened there that had Julian stirred up.
Julian stared down the street. It was the kind of stare that wasn't seeing the physical stuff, but memories. The ones that haunted your sleep and waking hours.
“It was kids and old people,” Julian said, pitching his voice low.
Aiden didn't reply. What could he say?
“They sent me down there to work with a DEA undercover. All the suits are in a buzz and want a piece of what's going down. The border's still pretty hot, and the drug cartel has been pissing people off. I'm not sure why, but a coyote was getting a truckload of people across the border at an illegal crossing point and the cartel massacred them. Whole truck, full of kids and people's grandpas.”
“Fuck.” Aiden scrubbed his face with his hand. They'd seen some atrocities serving overseas and seen some of the worst humanity had to offer. And yet, sometimes the worst was in your own backyard. “What did you do?”
“Suits wanted to pull us out, rethink the whole thing, talk about their dicks. Whatever.”
Aiden had a bad feeling about this. Hadn't Roni told him Julian had gone C4 happy?
“The DEA guy and I decide to slip across the border while everyone else is packing up. We knew where the cartel boys had their headquarters, so we lit it up. Made sure there was nothing left of them.” Julian shrugged. He acted like eliminating an entire arm of the border drug cartel was what you did after changing your oil.
How many had died? What about the innocents caught in the blast? Death was a car they'd learned to handle in the wake of the terrorist attacks of 9/11. What had begun as something to do with their lives after high school had turned into a mission. One that had honed them to kill and move on. But Aiden had never quite gotten on well with the moving-on part. No matter how horrible the person they had to killâthey were still a person. With family, a life, maybe a job and loved ones who would mourn them. Mexico was still so poor in many areas that the only way to make money was the drug trade. How could he fault someone for doing the only thing they could to put food on the table for their children? He didn't agree with it, but he also understood it.
Julian couldn't be completely untouched by what he'd done. The FBI needed someone to end a job, so they sent in Julian. The closing act.
“I'd like to just get in my car and go. Drive away from all of this.” Aiden tipped his head back and gazed up at the stars.
“They'd find you. Bring you back.”
Aiden glanced at his best friend. Or at least the man who looked like his best friend. This person was a stranger sometimes. Had he tried to leave them at some point? It wouldn't surprise Aiden, considering all they asked of Julian. They'd seen and done enough during their service to leave scars on their souls.
“If we can finish this, we could be done,” Aiden said. He didn't see how an external drive and the ex-wife of a boss would bring down Evers, but maybe they were just the wedge in the door.
“Don't kid yourself. This'll never be done.” Julian's laughter was rusty, bitter.
“Hey, man, why don't we get out of here? Go back to my place and grab a beer? I still have that fight taped.”
“Yeah, okay. I could go for a beer.”
Aiden wasn't too keen on spending time with Julian in this state, but keeping him close was better than turning him loose on the streets. Who knew what the ghosts would have him do?
Chapter Eight
Madison stared out of the hangar, the cool sea breeze bringing with it the scent of salt and rain. Out in the distance, dark clouds gathered over the water. The tropical storm all the pilots were worried about was not picking up speed to become a hurricane, but it was sure messing up their flight plans. Between the tropical storm south of them and spring downpours up north, almost all of the flights in and out of Everglades Air today were canceled.
The mechanics hadn't even bothered to come in. The only people here besides her were security and the guys in the tower.
She'd come into work hoping for a day of rerouted flights to keep her mind busy, and instead, all she could do was replay those last minutes with Aiden over and over and over again. Why hadn't she stopped herself? Couldn't she have pushed him away and kept a little piece of her self-respect? Leave it to her to completely muck up a situation.
Her phone vibrated and she cringed. Since it was during work hours, she couldn't ignore it. She peered at the screen and Aiden's number flashed across it. Again.
He'd already called her twice, once from each number he'd given her, but she hadn't answered. She knew she couldn't avoid him, but how did she act after last night?
Only one way to find out.
She sighed and clicked the green answer button.
“Hey.”
“Sleep late?” The low pitch of his voice brought the memories into sharp focus in her mind. The way his stubble had scraped her cheek, the tight grip on her body, the way he'd had her bent over the bike.
“Uh, no. Been working.”
“Everything okay?”
“Yeah. Shouldn't it be?”
“Yes, but I wanted to make sure.”
“Well now you know.” She turned and her hair whipped around into her face.
“Are you outside?”
“Yup. It's an airstrip. We do our business outside.”
“Someone's sassy in the morning.”
She pressed her lips together. Her morning habits were going to stay an off-limits topic.
The silence dragged on to become awkward.
Madison paced a couple of feet and turned around.
Should she bring up last night? Apologize for the wet spot?
God, could her life get any more embarrassing?
“Okay, well, let me know what happens,” she said.
“Are you trying to get rid of me?”
Yes.
“No.”
“Any chance you could get off early and meet up with me?”
She seriously doubted he just wanted to hang out. This was about the drive. Business.
“Mm, maybe. It's pretty slow today, but don't bet on it.”
“Make time. I'm not going to be able to stall Dustin forever.”
“I know, I know. Got to go, plane's coming in, bye.” She ended the call and stared at the dial pad. Her and her stupid crush. Should she trust him already? When she thought about it, there was no reason to trust himâexcept he'd been completely honest and straightforward with her. But that didn't mean he wasn't hiding something, did it?
Madison walked out of the hangar and to her office, a little addition on one side of the main building for administrative purposes. When she'd first worked at the strip, she'd been a janitor, did some security and whatever else needed to be done. Over the years and her different employments, she'd worked her way up. She stepped into her office and closed the door behind her.
If her job didn't need her, maybe she could figure out which of the many locations she'd stashed her things when the divorce turned ugly.
There were a few places the boxes could be. She needed to make a list and then a few calls. The entire task took no more than twenty minutes. Three storage units and two friends, none of whom were answering.
The office line rang and she grabbed it.
“Everglades Air. How may I help you?”
“Madison, it's Nathaniel.”
“Hey, I was just about to call you.” She smiled, a reaction not many had to their boss, but Lily's parents had become her family.
“I just talked to the boys in the tower and nothing else is coming in or out today. The rain's mostly going to miss us, but it's hitting everyone else. Why don't you go on and get out of there? I don't like the idea of you on that bike if the weather report got it wrong and we get some of that storm.”
“You don't have to do that.” And yet it was just like him to worry about her as if he were her own father. She was lucky.
“No, no, I know, but I'd rather you be home safe. Or, you could come over here for dinner. Unless you and Lily have practice tonight?”
“Not tonight. We don't practice the night before a bout.”
“Oh, that's right, that's right.”
“Are you coming tomorrow?”
“Wouldn't miss it. My wife had shirts made for us.” He grumbled about it, but Madison doubted there was any ill will behind it.
“Great, I'll see you guys tomorrow then.”
“Not tonight?”
“I've got some school stuff I'd like to get ahead on while I've got the time. The summer semester's going to start soon and between classes and practice, I'm not going to have a lot of time to get the reading done, so why not get a jump on it now?”
“Think you could talk some of this sense into Lily?” He chuckled. Lily was naturally bright, but not inclined to go back to school. Her grand plan involved doing hair and painting, not exactly jobs her business-oriented parents understood.
“I'm not even going to try to go there.”
“All right, all right. Get on the road, okay?”
“Thanks.”
She hung up the phone and stared at it for a moment.
The weather radar had Miami clear until well into the afternoon.
Did she go searching on her own? Or call for backup?
If she didn't tell Aiden she was looking for the drive he might become suspicious. She wanted him to trust her for some crazy, stupid reason. Maybe knowing he trusted her would make her feel better about trusting him.
She took a deep breath and hit dial on Aiden's number, the second one he'd given her. It rang and rang. She bounced on the balls of her feet and stared out of the window.
It was going to go to voice mail.
“Hey,” Aiden said. The sound of a radio and the garage filtered through behind him. Duh. Of course he was at work.
“Oh, hey.” She sat down, suddenly at a loss for words.
“Madison. Everything okay? What's wrong?” His tone completely changed, dropping to that deadly pitch.
“Nothing, sorry, I just got off work. Unexpectedly. The rain's messed with flights. So . . . yeah.”
“Do you know where Flagler Dog Track is?”
“The Magic City Casino?”
“That's the one.”
“Why not just meet at Classic Rides?” It was a strange place to meet, but it wasn't like her life had been normal since she'd left her mother's house.
“If one of the Eleventh guys is watching the garage I don't want them to see you. You're more mobile on the bike, but also vulnerable. Cops following you?”
“No, they don't check up on me during work since we have security here.”
Thoughts of the Eleventh had worried her, but honestly, she could only handle so much. The Eleventh might be the straw that broke her.
“I'm taking care of the Eleventh. Don't worry about it.” A door closed in the background and the sound of the tap turned on.
He sounded so sure of himself, like he knew what he was doing. Only a crazy person could trust him. Maybe she'd hit her head a few too many times in practice, because she did. When Aiden said he'd take care of it, she didn't doubt him.
“What time?” She glanced down at her jeans and tank top. If she'd thought she was going to see Aiden before she went home, she'd have dressed cuter.
“Ten minutes ago.”
“I'm on the road.”
And damn it if butterflies weren't kicking up a storm in her stomach.
* * *
Madison peered up at the sky and bit her lip. The clear morning had turned gray and was beginning to rain in earnest. She stood under the awning at the once-sparkling casino and stared out at the parking lot. For some reason, despite all the people around her, she felt vulnerable. Unprotected. Her cop shadows had no idea where she was, and what if Aiden was right? What if the Eleventh, or worse, Dustin, followed her?
“Come on,” a deep voice said behind her. A hand pressed against the small of her back, propelling her out from under the covered drive in front of the casino.
She glanced up at Aiden. His eyes were obscured by sunglasses and his lips were tightly compressed. It was crazy how relieved she was to see him, but she was not going to admit that to him.
“Hello to you, too. What gives? I've been waiting for twenty minutes.” She veered toward her bike, but Aiden grabbed her hand and pulled her in the other direction. “My bike's over there.” She'd parked next to a light pole so it was easy to find.
“We'll come back for it later, just move.”
“What the hell?” she grumbled, but something about the way he spoke or the way he carried himself made her excuse his lack of an answer. For now.
She had to quicken her step to keep up with him. The orange car he'd driven the first time they'd met sat a few rows back. He pushed her a little harder.
“What's the rush?” she asked again, glancing around.
“Just get in the car.”
He stayed with her all the way to the passenger-side door and unlocked it for her. She'd have called him a gentleman except he didn't stick around to close her door, and she didn't think he was doing it to be polite.
“What's going on?” she asked.
He sank into the driver's seat and twisted to peer through the back window. “I'm being followed. That's why I didn't come straight to you. I had to see what they'd do.”
“What? How do you know that?” She turned, but couldn't see anything through the rain-splattered glass.
He had been right. Andâhe'd used her as bait?
“There's a Shelby Mustang I saw earlier today at a light near the shop. Now it's parked two rows back.”
“How do you know it's the same one and not a different car?”
“Because it has blue-on-blue stripes. That's not stock. It's a custom paint job and it stands out.” He clicked his seat belt into place and tugged. “Buckle up and hold on.”
The engine roared to life with a vengeance that shook the whole car.
Madison scrambled to grab the nylon strap. She shoved the clip into the buckle as the car shot backward, throwing her forward into the belt. It locked, holding her safely in place, but the inertia whipped her head around. Tires squealed and she smelled burning rubber one second before the acceleration of the vehicle shoved her into the plush seat.
Her heart pounded in her throat and she couldn't suck down enough oxygen.
The car skidded and fishtailed. Aiden steered them around a turn and gunned the engine. From the corner of her eye, she caught a glimpse of blue.
“Take a damn breath already and stop squealing,” Aiden said.
Madison clamped her lips together. If she was making any noise at all, it was his fault.
He turned hard and cut off a pickup truck, but in a matter of seconds the irate driver was eating their exhaust.
“Who was that?” she demanded.
“Who do you think?”
“How am I supposed to know?”
“It was the Eleventh.” He kept glancing in the rearview mirror.
At the next intersection, he turned, and turned again on the first side street they came across. They pulled into the parking lot of a nondescript building with no sign out front to denote what type of business it was. He shifted into park, pulled his cell phone out of his pocket, and tapped the screen a few times before holding it to his ear. Every few moments he'd twist this way and that, looking up and down the street.
“Hey. Something's up. Eleventh is tailing me,” he said to whoever was on the other end of the line. “Uh-huh . . . Okay . . . That's not good . . . Keep me posted.”
“What's not good? What about my bike? Were you just going to let them shoot me?”
“What? No.” He frowned at her. “We'll get your bike later. It's raining too hard for you to ride that thing now. The tires are practically bald. You need new ones.”
“Thanks, Captain Obvious. When I can afford new ones, I'll get them.” She glared at him, but he was just stating the truth. Another paycheck and she'd have the summer semester covered, then she could concentrate on new tires.
“And your lawyer did what?”
She laughed. “What lawyer? Dustin scared away the few I could afford. I got nothing from the divorce.”
Madison stared out of the window. Well that was a mood killer. For several moments neither of them said a word. The only sounds were the idling of the engine and the rain hitting the car. It was kind of soothing, actually. She'd always liked the rain.
A warm hand closed around hers. “We're going to get him.”
She turned her head to face him. “I'll believe it when I see it. Sorry.”
“I get it.” He swiped his thumb back and forth across the back of her hand, each movement sending tendrils of awareness curling through her body.
There was no doubt that Aiden believed it when he said he'd take Dustin down. But one man against Dustin, his boss, and all their thugs? The cops couldn't even protect her from Dustin. How could Aiden do what a whole police force couldn't?