Operation: Midnight Rendezvous Part 19

"Yup."

"Conviction?"

"During trial, eight of the women testified that they were stowaways."

"And the other two?"

"Disappeared off the face of the earth."

Madrid seemed to digest the words, his expression dark and thoughtful. "He was acquitted?"

"Yup. And get this. He used to run a s.h.i.+pping corporation out of Seattle. Owned a couple of ma.s.sage parlors."

"Interesting combination."

"It is if you consider who worked the booths."

"Don't tell me. Illegal immigrants."

"Mostly from China. Immigration busted him a dozen times but he always beat the rap. Cost of doing business, I guess."

"Prost.i.tution?"

"He was never charged, but if the shoe fits..." Jake lifted his shoulder, let it fall.

"When did he hook up with Capricorn?"

"Two years ago."

"Sounds like a match made in heaven."

"Or h.e.l.l, depending on your perspective."

The two men fell silent. Jess's mind spun with everything she'd heard. It was as if the pieces of the puzzle were finally coming together. "So how do we stop them?" she asked.

Both heads turned to her simultaneously. Looking into their eyes, Jess knew they were going to try to shut her out. Because she was a woman. Because they were professionals and she wasn't. The reasons didn't matter. She wasn't going to let them do it.

"Angela was my friend," she said. "These people tried to frame me. They tried to kill me. They tried to kill Nicolas. I need to do this."

The two men exchanged looks, and Jess got a bad feeling in the pit of her stomach. Her worst fears were solidified when Madrid addressed her. "I want you to go back with Jake. Ride this out from a safe place."

"No." Anger surged. Jess rose abruptly. "Don't try to shut me out of this."

"You can help from MIDNIGHT headquarters."

She shot Madrid a furious stare. "Don't patronize me."

He rose. "Jess, you're going to have to trust me. Please. You're more of a hindrance than a help here."

"I'm a hindrance because you're so obsessed with locking me out that you haven't even considered using me as bait."

The RV went silent. In her peripheral vision Jess saw Vanderpol's gaze flick from her to Madrid. But Madrid never took his eyes off her. His laugh was fraught with annoyance and incredulity. "No dice."

"They think I can ID Angela's killer. They think Nicolas saw it. Or maybe they think he told me who it was. Whatever the case, they want me dead."

"No."

"You know it's the best way to smoke out these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds. Maybe the only way."

"I know it's the best way to get you dead!" he shouted.

She blinked, surprised by the vehemence behind the words. Knowing that for whatever reason she wasn't going to get through to him, she turned her attention to Vanderpol. "Dangle me in front of them and they'll bite."

Vanderpol's expression revealed nothing of what he was thinking or feeling. But he didn't say no.

Madrid, on the other hand, wasted no time with his refusal. He crossed to her, wrapped his fingers around her arms. "I know what these people are capable of, Jess. I've seen their handiwork. They're brutal and savage and I won't let you end up like Angela."

"Then let me do this." When he only stared at her, she lifted her hand. "Let me help, d.a.m.n it."

He winced when her palm brushed his cheek. Grasping her wrist, he lowered it to her side. "I won't be the one to sign your death warrant," he said, and walked away.

JAKE VANDERPOL and Mike Madrid stood outside the RV in the lightly falling rain. "You sure she's not involved?" Jake asked.

"She didn't kill Angela, if that's what you're asking." Madrid shot him a hard look. "I'll bet my life on it."

"You might just be doing that, partner."

Madrid was getting wet, but he didn't care. He was too annoyed. Too d.a.m.ned worried about Jess. He felt as if he were losing control of the situation. He knew firsthand there was no better way to get someone hurt. Why the h.e.l.l couldn't she just cooperate?

"You might consider taking her up on her offer."

Madrid's gaze jerked to Jake's. Anger swept through him that the other man would even suggest it. "I don't want those b.a.s.t.a.r.ds anywhere near her."

Jake frowned. "Look, Madrid, it's none of my business, but it seems to me you're not thinking clearly about any of this."

"I'm thinking clearly enough to know if I dangle Jess or the boy in front of these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds there's a d.a.m.n good chance I won't get them back."

"Cutter thought it was a good idea."

Realization reared up inside Jake, followed by another quick punch of anger. "Cutter knew you were coming here."

"He knows a lot of things."

"Did he ask you to try to talk me into using them, Jake?"

That the other man couldn't meet his gaze was all the answer Madrid needed. "Cutter can go straight to h.e.l.l."

Jake did meet his gaze then. "This is about keeping things in perspective, Madrid. Think about it. You have a key that could stop untold misery. Yet you're unwilling to use it because of something that happened a long time ago."

"Shut up about that."

"These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds could be bringing in hundreds of women a year. G.o.d only knows how many of them don't make the journey. You have the power to stop it, but you won't."

"I won't risk an innocent woman's life to do it. If that's what you want, then you can go to h.e.l.l, too."

Unfazed by the remark, Jake shook his head. "You're s.c.r.e.w.i.n.g up, my man."

"These b.a.s.t.a.r.ds murder indiscriminately. What the h.e.l.l do you expect me to do?"

"I expect you to be a professional." Jake closed the distance between them and jabbed a finger into Madrid's chest. "Evidently you're too wrapped up in having s.e.x to manage."

"This isn't about s.e.x, d.a.m.n it."

"Yeah, well, I hope she's worth it, because you're an inch away from kissing your career goodbye."

For several tense minutes the only sound came from the tinkle of rain against dry leaves and the rustle of wind through the trees. "You know as well as I do the woman and that kid are your best bet for smoking these b.a.s.t.a.r.ds out of their holes," Jake said finally.

Madrid shook his head. "I'll find another way."

"For your sake, I hope you can."

At that, Jake Vanderpol turned and walked away.

Chapter Fourteen.

The RV smelled of her when he walked inside. A light, airy scent that reminded him of summer meadows and wildflowers. A scent that made him long for something elusive and put a knot in his gut because he knew it was the one thing he could never have.

Hanging his jacket in the cubbyhole beside the door, he headed to the stove to make coffee.

"What were you two talking about?"

Madrid turned to see her standing in the hall just outside the lavatory. She'd pulled her hair into a ponytail, revealing a long and slender throat. Staring at her, all he could think was that he wanted to put his mouth on her.

"Agency stuff." His voice came out as a growl as he turned back to the stove. He didn't want to face her feeling like this. He knew one touch from her and he would do something he'd regret for the rest of his life.

"You know he's right."

He stiffened. "I know using you or Nicolas as bait would be the fastest way to get you both killed." Coffee forgotten, he turned to face her. "Are you willing to risk his life?"

"Not his." She stared at him, her gaze unflinching. "Mine."

"No way."

"You'd rather have countless young women dying?"

"I'd rather find a better way."

"There is no better way!" she shouted abruptly. "d.a.m.n it, I want my life back. I want to feel safe. I want Nicolas to be safe. I want the b.a.s.t.a.r.ds responsible for Angela's death to pay for what they did."

Suddenly furious, Madrid crossed the s.p.a.ce between them. Grasping her upper arms, he shook her. "I will not have another death on my conscience!" he roared.

Jess blinked, opened her mouth to speak, but said nothing. Seconds later she managed, "What?"

He hadn't meant to say it. Dredging up the past was the last thing he needed, especially with a woman who was all too willing to lay it on the line. For the span of several heartbeats he stood there, holding her arms, his heart pounding.

She stared back at him, her eyes wide and startled. "What are you talking about?"

Until this moment he hadn't realized the root of his resistance to using her as bait. The source of the knot in his gut. Over the past five years he'd learned to live with it. He'd learned to use it as part of what drove him to do his job and do it well.

"Madrid, talk to me."

He didn't want to discuss it. He didn't want to reveal his greatest fear. His deepest agony. Or the deep, dark pit that was his past. But looking into her eyes, he knew she wasn't going to let it go.

Releasing her, he let his hands slide down her arms. "Let it go, Jess."

He started to turn away, but she stopped him. "Whose death are you talking about?"

"Not just one life." Slowly he turned to face her. "Two lives. Two innocent people gone forever. Both deaths were my fault."

Outside, the rain had begun to drum, now pounding hard against the sheet-metal roof. Inside, his heart kept perfect time, increasing with the torrent.

"Who?" she asked.

"It doesn't matter."

"It matters to me."

He didn't want to say the words. Even though five years had pa.s.sed, they still ripped open something inside him. "My wife and child."

For a moment she just stood there, staring at him, her eyes wide and filled with pain. Not for herself. For him. He didn't want her sympathy. He sure as h.e.l.l didn't want her pity. All he wanted was to keep her safe, because he couldn't bear the thought of her being hurt because of him.

"I'm sorry," she said.

"It's done. In the past." He grimaced. "I'm a wiser man for it."

She seemed to consider that for a moment. "I can't see you being at fault for something like that. You're too careful. Too good at what you do."

"I wasn't five years ago." The smile that curved his mouth was sharp. "One day all that recklessness caught up with me."

In the worst possible way, a little voice reminded him.