All the bluster dissipated at his easy acceptance. She opened her mouth as though she wanted to say something, but her brother's patience had expired.
"Let's go, CeCe." Vinny walked up and gently took her arm, tossing a brotherly warning glare at Jeremy.
CeCe glanced over her shoulder at Jeremy, telling him with one look how disappointed she was... in him. He couldn't get a word past the lump in his throat so he said nothing as she moved away with Vinny.
"Ready to go, J?" Blade strolled up.
"Sure." Jeremy swung around and followed Blade, sorting through all the facts and the unknown as he walked. He wanted to figure out what was going on with the feds before he left town to rejoin BAD. Blade might be able to help. "You know anything about a guy called Dorvan?"
Blade scratched his chin and stopped at the driver's side of his customized silver-blue Corvette that had started out as a 1972 model. "Not really."
Jeremy climbed in and waited to continue until Blade had cranked the engine and exited from the parking lot, just ahead of Vinny's dark sedan.
"You in a jam with this Dorvan, J?"
"I don't know," Jeremy admitted. "What about a guy named Starface? Has a birthmark shaped something like a star on the left side of his face."
"Funny you should mention him. Heard something on that one just yesterday." Blade leaned back, his long arms easily reaching the steering wheel. "He's in town for a score of some sort."
"Drugs?"
"Naw." Blade merged into Atlanta traffic heading north of Clairmont Road on Interstate 85. "Nobody knows. Just happened to hear about him because of word that Ziggy Gambino has men here ahead of his arriving sometime this week. Speculation is he and Starface got something cooking, but no money moving yet."
Jeremy turned that around in his mind. Starface had been sent to prison for getting caught in a net that snagged some of Ziggy Gambino's men. Jeremy hadn't been involved in that case. He'd ended up in the same cellblock as Starface for another mission, but he'd learned that Ziggy wanted the family that had sold his operation to the feds. His little empire had taken a beating since then.
Ziggy was after payback, but when he hadn't retaliated in the first two years everyone assumed he wouldn't.
Was Starface helping Ziggy go after retribution?
How did photos fit into all of this?
Jeremy looked over at his driver. "I need a favor."
Blade just nodded. "Told you back in the pen when you stopped a guy from shoving a knife in my gut you never had to ask. Just tell me what you need."
Jeremy had contacts all over the country he could call on but had never expected to tap one so close to home. Blade's resources were in a limited geographic area, but he could find out anything on anyone in his circle. His body shop was totally legit and making money, but he still had close ties to those working under the radar of law enforcement.
"Starface is looking for a photo card of some sort," Jeremy explained. "Find out what's on it."
"You got it." Blade parked in Jeremy's driveway and left the car running.
"One more thing," Jeremy added before climbing out of the Corvette. "I need you to fix CeCe's fiberglass base, but I'll pay for that. I'll have it ready for you to pick up tonight."
"You got it. Call you as soon as I have something."
"Thanks." Jeremy got out and glanced at CeCe's empty driveway. Was she already gone?
He unlocked his front door, went through the house and out to his garage. Might as well clean CeCe's base to get it ready while he killed time waiting to hear from Blade. He pressed the button to open his garage door.
Vinny was pulling a dark sedan into CeCe's driveway.
Jeremy couldn't make his feet move to back out of sight. This might be the last time he saw her.
CeCe stepped out of the car and her gaze shot straight to Jeremy as if she, too, wanted a last look. Then she lowered her head and walked to her front door.
Vinny, on the other hand, headed for Jeremy's garage.
Jeremy snatched up a shop rag and grabbed a can of acetone off a shelf and squatted down to clean her base.
"You're not going to try to find CeCe once she's gone, right?" Vinny said more as a statement than a question when he stepped inside the garage. Big brother issuing warnings.
"Get out of my garage."
"I want to talk to you." Vinny said that in the most reasonable, let's-just-talk voice.
"What the fuck do you want?" Jeremy wasn't in a reasonable, let's-just-talk mood. He soaked the rag then rubbed the top of the fiberglass. Acetone fumes burned his throat on each clenched-jaw breath.
"To clear up something. I'm not her keeper. My family loves CeCe and we're all trying to give her what she wants."
When Jeremy didn't comment Vinny went on. "None of us were happy about her moving away from the family where we couldn't easily protect her, but she's had her mind set to do this for a long time."
"Why are you telling me this?" Jeremy paused in his cleaning.
"To let you know we will do whatever it takes to make her happy and keep her safe, even from bad choices."
"You worried about her hanging around a criminal?" Jeremy shot a sarcastic eyebrow up at her brother. "Considering how she grew up that ought to make her feel warm and fuzzy, right?"
"You don't get it, do you?"
"Guess not." Returning to the cleaning job, Jeremy said, "Why don't you explain it to me?"
"You've hurt her like no one ever has had a chance to before."
Jeremy put the rag down, fury ripping through him when he stood to face her brother. "I'm not a fucking criminal, regardless of what the FBI told her. She's choosing to walk away, not me. So how do you figure I hurt her?"
"Because you let her fall for you without telling her the truth. Since you do have a criminal record and can't level with her, she's never going to change her mind and stay even if she's hurting. That's why I need to know you won't come after her once this is over."
Jeremy wondered if Vinny was guessing or reading his mind, because, hell yes, he'd intended to go after her as soon as he could. Once he found out what Starface, Ziggy Gambino, and the FBI were after.
And once he determined it had nothing to do with the DeMitris as CeCe proclaimed. Because he believed her.
And he loved her. He just hadn't realized that until he watched her walk away. How could anyone expect him not to go after the woman he loved?
He'd take on the entire DeMitri organization to find CeCe and get her back.
Vinny sighed and shook his head. "You can't do this to her. She'll never settle down with someone she thinks is hiding anything from her and our father won't clear you as acceptable for her. If you really care about CeCe, you won't make me and my brothers ensure you stay away."
"Don't threaten me." Jeremy turned his back on Vinny to dismiss him and hoisted the base up on its side.
A plastic box smaller than a matchbook fell out and landed between his feet.
"That wasn't a threat, just notification," the attorney brother clarified.
Jeremy's phone rang. He ignored Vinny and pushed the base back down flat. Then he flipped the phone open and bent over to pick up the plastic case.
"Got some news," Blade reported before Jeremy could say hello.
Jeremy's heart skipped a beat at what he held in his hand--a plastic case covering what appeared to be a photo memory card.
"What?" he finally said to Blade and glanced at Vinny, whose eyes were locked on the plastic case in his hand.
"Starface is after a photo card with pictures and a video of a meeting between the heads of two major families. One out of Russia and one from Chicago."
"What was the meeting about?" Jeremy kept his voice down but Vinny was tuned in to every word.
"If my source isn't off the mark, and he's a good one, two powerful families are teaming up to wipe out the upper to middle operations in North America so they can split the continent."
"No way." Jeremy stared at the card i
n his hand. His heart started thumping at the realization of what this meant. "Thanks. I'll call you back." He flipped the phone shut and started for CeCe's house only to have Vinny step in his path.
"We don't have time to screw around," Jeremy said. "Go get CeCe. I think the FBI turned her loose as bait."
Vinny cursed and spun around, moving fast for a wide-body man.
Jeremy ran inside his house to the computer in his office and shoved the card into a slot. He punched up the keys and played fifteen seconds of the video. Enough to realize Blade's sources were dead on the mark.
The two families teaming up had the money and power to wipe out anyone who wouldn't immediately fall into line behind them.
The Chicago family was the one who had thrown Ziggy Gambino's operation to the feds. Ziggy would pay anything, and kill anyone, for this card that he could use to screw over the Chicago group.
Either way, the end result would be a mob war if the card went anywhere but to the FBI.
"Sunn!" Vinny yelled from the kitchen, then his feet pounded toward him.
Jeremy ejected the card and had it back in the plastic case in his pocket by the time he turned to CeCe's brother.
Vinny's natural deep olive skin tone had paled three shades lighter. He heaved a breath from running. "She's gone."
Jeremy's phone rang. CeCe's number popped up on the caller ID. He lifted his finger to his lips for Vinny to stay quiet then answered. "Sunn."
"Everything made sense when my tracker found out you were involved," Starface said. "Can't really blame Dorvan for not anticipating you, but my new guy took the extra time to find out who had helped your girl here last night at her house. Now it all makes sense. Sam the Man was taking the card to you so who are you dealing with?"
Jeremy's whole body clenched at the reference to CeCe. He'd play along since Starface assumed he was involved. He slid into his criminal persona, hoping for his best performance yet since CeCe's life depended on it.
Seven
"When have you ever gotten information for free?" Jeremy countered to Starface in a cool voice that said more than words. His hands clutching the cell phone were damp, though. He'd faced crazed killers in prison, whacked-out druggies in a bust, and terrorists with automatic weapons.
Nothing had ever scared him the way he feared for CeCe's life right now.
"Always a first time," Starface crooned, chuckling. "I've got something you want and you have my merchandise."
Jeremy had one choice. "Where do you want to meet?"
"Be in Buckhead by five, have your phone handy, and don't screw with me or you'll get her back in pieces." The phone line died with a sudden click.
"I'm calling the FBI." Vinny reached for his cell phone.
"Wait!"
Vinny closed the phone. "I'm listening."
Jeremy nodded, thankful Vinny understood they were both after the same thing. Getting CeCe back alive. "She's only in this spot because the FBI used her so I don't trust them not to put her in further danger."
"You got an idea?" Vinny's professional attorney veneer faded away, leaving the hardened eyes of a brother willing to do whatever it took to protect his sister.
That was nothing compared to what Jeremy would do. He nodded. "I'm going to make a swap with Starface for the card."
Vinny's eyes narrowed in thought for a moment before his shoulders settled with resignation. "My skills are in the courtroom, not in the field. I don't want to take any chances with CeCe's life. I'll call in backup," he said, clearly indicating his family in Ontario.
"No time. We have four hours. That's it. I am trained in the field so we do this my way." Jeremy waited for an argument.
If he didn't know better he'd swear the new shift in Vinny's eyes was respect, and just maybe a little trust. That would be funny if not for the fact that what Jeremy had in mind was going to prove to CeCe he was as much a felon as Starface.
And if that animal touched her, Jeremy would kill Starface with his own hands.
Vinny spoke in his attorney voice again, as if advising a client. "You do realize if the FBI finds out you gave the memory card to Starface, you'll fry, and I can't help you."
"Already figured all of that out. All I need you to do is your part while I do mine." Jeremy expected Vinny to want to come with him, but her brother would only get in his way.
"Agreed."
JEREMY TAPPED HIS fingers on the steering wheel. He'd parked his Tahoe half an hour ago at the IHOP restaurant in the triangle made by the Peachtree Street and Roswell Road intersection. Most central spot he could think of in the tony Buckhead area. Five o'clock rush hour through the middle of Atlanta had settled in for the afternoon and nasty weather tripled the road rage factor for the packed interstates.
Rain poured over his windshield and thunder rocked the heavens.
His cell phone rang. He answered, "Sunn."
"Ready to deal?" Starface chuckled.
"Where?" Jeremy ignored the chuckle. He believed in the old saying that "he who laughs last laughs best."
Starface gave him directions to a closed nightclub three miles away. Jeremy spun across the intersection at the entrance and cut through side streets. When he reached the nightclub, he drove around to the parking lot in the rear where empty beer cans floated in a low spot filling with water. The jersey jacket he pulled on had been made with fine aircraft cable running along the inside from the top to carry weight without pulling down on the material. He shoved his Walther P99 into the right-hand pocket reinforced with the cable to carry the barrel level without broadcasting the weapon's position.
Other than that, he always carried a knife in his boot. The habit was a holdover from being a teenager when staying alive counted more than worry over breaking the law.
Jeremy keyed up a text message on his cell phone ready to send to Vinny and slipped the phone carefully into his right front jeans pocket. He threw the keys under the seat and climbed out. Fat raindrops battered his face and lightning speared the dark skies.
Before he reached the back door of the out-of-business nightclub, Jeremy eased his hand into his left jacket pocket shielding a pair of pliers and the photo card. He slipped his right hand in his jeans pocket in a casual pose as if waiting for someone.
The back door opened on its own, as he'd expected.
Jeremy folded his left hand around the handles of the heavy pliers and gently closed the teeth snug, then withdrew his hand with the photo card pinned into view.
"Tell Starface I have the card." Jeremy waited for a response. They could shoot him, but anyone with half a brain wouldn't risk the chance that one simple squeeze could ruin the card or that he might not have the real one.
"I told him," a voice called out. The door yawned all the way open.
Jeremy entered, thankful the weather outside had turned the sky dark so that his eyes could adjust faster. Stale smoke and body odor ghosted through the air as he followed a rangy guy close to his height and build. Starface's backup was late forties and carried a 9mm Browning with the ease of man who rarely made a move without it.
When they reached the bar area, Jeremy called out, "Where is she?"
Across the dingy room, Starface stepped into view from around the corner. Smiling, he tugged on a rope attached to something out of view.
CeCe appeared at the end of the rope, which was tied around her waist. Sheet-white terrified and stumbling, she stopped next to Starface.
Fury roared through Jeremy but he couldn't get her out of here if he lost his focus. And he would get her out of here. He only wished he had one minute to tell her that he loved her.
He gently fingered the key on his cell phone in his pocket to text a message and prayed it went through.
"Okay, let's trade," Starface demanded, holding up the end of the rope to make his point.
"Send her over here then I'll hand your man the card."
"No. Put the card on the bar and I'll let her go."
Jeremy laughed as though he and Starface w
ere cutting up with each other. "Like you really expect me to do that. You know my word is solid."
"It was in the pen, but I haven't seen you in a few years so..." Starface shrugged, indicating his lack of faith.
"You owe me," Jeremy threw out.
Starface frowned, twisting the birthmark into a hideous shape. "How you figure that?"
Jeremy couldn't look at CeCe when he said, "Sam the Man was going to the feds. If I hadn't cut him a better deal someone else would have and we wouldn't be standing here." He didn't have to see CeCe to know she understood what he'd said. He heard her sob at his admission of being involved.
Of all the things he'd endured, breaking her heart would be the hardest to live with.
"How'd you find out about all this?" Starface wanted to know.
"Ziggy covering his bases," Jeremy said, sticking with his story. He had to get her free now. "You're late delivering. He's got money out all over town looking for this card." Blade had come up with that little tidbit when Jeremy was on his way down to Buckhead.
Starface cursed something low and vile.
CeCe flinched back, drawing Jeremy's attention to her. She looked through him as if he were dead, which he had to be to her by now.
Time to move this along or things were going to get dicey. "We dealing or not?" Jeremy snapped.
The room tensed with all four of them waiting on someone to make a move. Starface finally untied CeCe and waved his arm toward Jeremy telling her to go.
CeCe couldn't decide if she wanted to cry with relief or out of rage. She was too terrified to do either at the moment with both her and Jeremy's life in danger.
This Starface guy would not let Jeremy just walk out of here.
She moved across the room on shaky legs, her eyes on the backup man pointing the second gun she'd faced in two days. She swallowed and turned her attention to Jeremy, who didn't look anything like the man she'd spent the last three weeks falling in love with.
Gone was the easygoing charmer.
Danger radiated from Jeremy, his rigid stance threatening anyone who twitched the wrong way and that look on his face more feral than anything she'd ever witnessed.
Regardless of how deep he was in this mess, she knew without a doubt in that moment that he could, and would, kill anyone in this room who hurt her.
That might be comforting if he was law enforcement, but not after admitting he was involved in this whole scheme. Had known Starface in the pen. She'd berated herself for hours over judging Jeremy by a double standard. If she could just stop time and tell him she was sorry, that she owed him as much of a chance to explain as he'd offered her.