Cold Spite, page 28
part #1 of Cold Justice® - Most Wanted Series
“I’m saying that perhaps he’s still tricking you and maybe it would be worth waiting a little longer before Melody spends time alone with him…” Delilah was clearly searching for the right words, but Cas figured it was a hopeless cause. The woman had plans and obviously didn’t want to change them without concrete proof her kid was in danger.
“Mrs. Zimmerman, I beg you—"
“Enough. I don’t need you to tell me how to parent. You can both leave now.” She held her arms out wide and herded them along like stray cows. “Out. We have to get to the airport. Melody,” the woman shouted up the stairs and the sound of feet pounded down toward them.
A girl wearing deep pink leggings and a white top with sequins hesitated on the first landing, staring at them, a giant pink teddy bear clutched under one arm. Her sandy hair and blue eyes were identical to her father’s.
Nicole opened a closet door and pulled out coats and boots. “Here, put this on.”
“I don’t want to go to Weisiana!”
Frustrated, Nicole shot them a glare. “You enjoyed spending time with your father on Tuesday, didn’t you?”
The kid nodded reluctantly.
“He bought you that teddy and ice cream.”
The bottom lip stuck out. Words mumbled. “I wanna stay with you and Papa.”
“Papa and I are going away on a short break. You’re going to meet the rest of your family.”
No wonder the kid was confused.
“I wanna come with you!” The girl stamped her feet and looked furious.
When Cas had been her age, he’d have given anything to belong to a family, any family, but all too often it wasn’t as wonderful as his young mind had envisioned.
Little Melody knew she was surplus to requirements and was soon going to be replaced with a younger model. Her survival instincts were screaming, but not because she was in fear of her father. She was terrified of losing her mother.
Cas leaned down and admired the girl’s bright pink roller case with a unicorn on the front. “Is this your case? I love the horse.”
“It’s a unicorn.”
“No kidding.”
She nodded reluctantly. Then she started sniffling, but Nicole held up her hand in a silent signal that suggested her patience was at an end.
“We have to go now, or we’ll be late. We have to pick up Grandma, and she’s going to take you through to the gate. Get your coat on.” She picked up her own jacket. “Everything you need is in your case. The flight attendant will help you put it on and take it off the luggage rack. You have your phone so you can text me when you arrive, a tablet for reading and watching movies, and coloring books plus something to eat on the journey in your backpack. You like flying, remember?” Nicole coaxed.
Melody shook her head vigorously.
Sympathy rose inside Cas, a desire to calm the kid. Because whether he and Delilah liked it, short of kidnapping Melody Scanlon, there wasn’t much they could do to prevent her seeing her father. Frazer had said he didn’t think Scanlon would harm the child. They had to hold onto that.
“Would you like me to put your luggage in the trunk of your car for you, Mrs. Zimmerman?”
Delilah’s brows rose, but he could hardly watch a pregnant woman struggle with a heavy load, especially when she was already dealing with an understandably recalcitrant kid.
Nicole looked surprised. “Sure. Thanks.”
They slipped their shoes on as she opened an interior door to the garage. There sat a Lexus RX and a fully electric Prius. “Melody. In.” She popped the trunk on the Lexus, and Cas put both their suitcases and bags into the rear compartment. The kid climbed into the backseat with a mutinous expression.
“Thank you.” Nicole opened the garage door. “You can leave through this way.”
Delilah looked torn.
“I appreciate the concern, but Melody is going to be fine,” she said firmly. “Next time call before you visit.”
“Could we get your cell number?” he asked.
She gave it to them, and Delilah typed it into her phone.
“Have a nice vacation.” Cas followed Delilah back to the rental car, wishing he believed the kid would be safe with a man who’d tried to blow him up two days ago.
Chapter Forty-Eight
Nicole felt frazzled and irritated as she pulled into traffic after dropping Melody at the gate with her mother, who would accompany her all the way to the aircraft. Someone on the other side would make sure she got to her father. She was no more unsupervised than when she went to school. Less so, considering the number of kids in each class.
Thanks to those FBI agents, Melody had kicked up a fuss and acted like she was on her way to her own execution.
At a red light, Nicole opened the center console and searched for some headache pills. Preston didn’t like her taking medication while she was pregnant, but he wasn’t the one in pain and what he didn’t know wouldn’t hurt him.
She hadn’t figured out how to tell him she wouldn’t be having a natural birth. She knew what childbirth felt like and had no intention of going through that without drugs. Coming up empty she dragged her purse onto her lap and dug around, closed her fingers around a bottle of Tylenol and thumbed the cap open.
She dry swallowed two tablets as the light changed.
She cursed the fact she’d left her travel mug at home because she’d been put off her game by the fact the Federal Bureau of Investigation had arrived on her doorstep.
That reminded her…
She called Joseph. It went to voicemail, which irritated her. He better get used to taking her calls if they were going to coparent.
“Calling to say Melody is at the airport, and you have her flight number. Call me as soon as she lands and you have her in your care. She has to text me every day, assuming you want this to become a regular occurrence.” She sounded bitchy but whatever. This guy had cheated on her and then run drugs across the border. He’d destroyed their life together, not her.
She hesitated. “The FBI came to see me today. I hope for your sake they’re mistaken about everything they think you’ve done.” Distance made her brave enough to add, “Don’t do anything stupid, Joseph.”
Her fingers clamped around the steering wheel as she maneuvered through busy traffic onto I-5 N toward Harborview Medical Center where Preston worked as an administrator. It began to rain, and she turned on the wipers. Nicole felt sweaty and sticky and gross. Not how she wanted to greet her husband or start her vacation.
Why had the FBI ambushed her like that? Did they enjoy scaring the hell out of a pregnant woman? Or making her feel guilty for being a bad parent? Like either of those agents appreciated how difficult it was to raise a child? They’d made her feel like the criminal.
Even before Joseph had been arrested, he’d often been deployed. Military spouses deserved medals for being single parents, not to mention their own pension—although Joseph had lost all that after his conviction.
She bit her lip. Could he be behind these deaths? Had she made a terrible error in judgment letting Melody stay with him?
She’d lied to the FBI about Joseph scaring her, but prison had changed him. Humbled him. She could tell he was sincere in his desire to reconnect with his daughter.
It was Virgil who really frightened her.
She shuddered. The way he used to watch her, even with Joseph right there…
He gave her the creeps but Joseph had said his brother wasn’t around that much, and he would surely protect his daughter from his brother.
Of course, he would.
Not that Virgil had ever tried to hurt her or behaved inappropriately. Staring wasn’t a crime.
She got off on James Street and turned right on 9th. Another car followed her, probably heading to the emergency room.
Preston had an assigned space, so she pulled into it. He’d taken an Uber to work that morning, so they didn’t have to leave both vehicles at the airport. It was dark now. She hoped she wasn’t underdressed. He’d told her casual, but perhaps this was too casual?
She’d grab her long cardigan out of the case and dress the outfit up if needed.
She was excited to have a week in Hawaii where they could relax on the beach and enjoy some them time. Once this baby came along, things would be chaotic for a while. She doubted Preston would be any more hands-on than Joseph had been. What was it about men who prided themselves on being all the things that they couldn’t even change a diaper?
She texted him that she was here and sat with the engine idling, even though Preston didn’t like to pollute the atmosphere more than they had to. But she was cold. She huddled her shoulders on a shiver. Made her wonder why he didn’t drive the Prius all the time, rather than her.
She shouldn’t complain. He was a good husband who didn’t go off for months at a time nor trick out the vehicles with bricks of cocaine—at least, she hoped not.
This was a busy spot. People going in and out of the hospital as the shifts changed over.
Preston texted that he was on his way down. She fixed her makeup, then got out, opening the cargo space and carefully easing her long gray cashmere coatigan out of her bag before zipping it closed again. She shrugged into the sleeves and then dashed around to the passenger side.
Preston liked to drive, and she honestly didn’t mind avoiding Seattle traffic. She got in and, after a moment, turned off the engine.
She reapplied her lipstick in the vanity mirror and twisted to smile when he opened the driver’s door.
Except it wasn’t Preston. Someone she’d never seen before stood there wearing a black slicker with the hood pulled low over their face, aiming a long black pistol at her.
She opened her mouth to scream but no sound came out. They fired twice, each shot punching into her body, the noise making her flinch, although it didn’t hurt. Not at first. Then the shock died away, and pain set in, slicing through her and lancing her with streaks of red-hot fire.
The person was gone before she could react. They closed the door, and she slumped back as the interior lights slowly faded.
The baby. Oh, my God. The baby.
Her hands searched for the wounds and pressed against the warm flow of blood. The lights of the hospital mocked her. Blood pumped out of her wounds, and she could feel herself fading too.
Chapter Forty-Nine
It was Murphy’s Law that they’d ended up at the gate next to the one Melody Scanlon was flying out of, and that her flight was delayed. They’d separated as soon as they’d spotted the issue. Cas headed to a bar that overlooked the general area. Delilah nursed a coffee at the gate. She’d removed her wig and blazer before they’d gone through security.
Delilah caught the kid staring at her once and had forced herself not to smile or interact even though that was her instinct. The older woman beside her must be Nicole’s mother. Grandma was reading the kid a book as she clutched the teddy to her chest.
After Melody’s flight boarded and Grandma hurried away, Cas came over and sat next to her. He took her hand in his. Kissed her knuckles.
“She’ll be okay.”
“I hope so.” Delilah swung to face him. She couldn’t dwell on it. Not anymore. She’d done her best to get Nicole to change her mind, but it hadn’t worked. “Any news on Holtz?”
Cas shook his head. “Not that I’ve heard.”
Nothing was going the way they wanted it to.
His cell rang, and she watched him grimace before he answered it. “I have to take this.” He fished earbuds out of his pocket and slipped one in before answering. “What’s up, boss?”
There was a short pause. “No, immediate updates. Nope. Pretty much status quo as this morning. Still waiting for the data searches to come up with something to place suspects near the murders and bombing. Awaiting DNA back on the Clarence Carpenter murder and anything they got off the IED. The Scanlon kid is on a flight to New Orleans to visit her dear old daddy. I assume that means Scanlon will stay put in his hometown for a few days, which is good news.”
He covered his earbud and winced when the gate agent started the boarding process. Delilah saw him flick on the mute button until he spoke again.
“If you want me to come in to debrief, I can make it in about 90 minutes.” He pressed mute again as whoever was on the other end of the call replied. “OK. Cool. I’ll be in tomorrow. Oh, yeah, you’re off to the wedding this weekend. I forgot. Have a good time. I’ll call you if there are any developments.”
Delilah felt her eyes getting wider and wider, but she held her tongue until he ended the call.
He took the earbud out of his ear and slipped it into the case in his pocket. “What?” he said without meeting her gaze.
“You said your boss gave you permission.”
“No, I didn’t.”
“You let me assume…”
The gate agent was calling for every zone, and the gate was almost empty now.
Still, she stopped him joining the end of the line by catching his arm. “You risked your job to be here today.” She wasn’t sure how to feel about that. “This job means everything to you.”
He gave her a soft, sad smile as they both stood. He cupped her face. “Not everything. You are not the only one willing to sacrifice the job for someone they love.”
She followed him onboard unable to speak.
Chapter Fifty
Joseph was leaving his meeting with his parole officer when his burner rang.
“It’s done.”
“Both packages?” Joseph glanced at his brother who was driving. They’d been sure to be seen in Thibodaux, even hitting the coffeeshop and flirting with a pretty little creole barista and her friend.
“Not both.”
Fuck.
Virgil sent him a look and Joseph shook his head. “The deal was both.”
“I’m not the only one who has failed to live up to the deal, partner.”
They had to be careful what they said even on a burner phone. Neither trusted the other not to record it amongst other things.
Joseph growled at the censure. “A minor delay.”
“Perhaps. But the second package is of no consequence. The location was busy, and I had to get it done before they headed off into the sunset. You’re the one who initiated the timetable.”
“Fine. Whatever.” Joseph would deal with the motherfucker some other time. Maybe a couple of years down the line. When Preston Zimmerman had relaxed and forgotten all about Joseph and the fact he’d stolen his wife. He wondered if the guy would fight for custody of his stepdaughter. If he did, Preston was going to meet his maker a hell of a lot sooner.
“I saw him, you know.”
Scanlon froze. Questions tumbled through his brain, all too dangerous to ask.
“He was at the house before she left for the airport.”
The fuck? “Did he see you?”
“No. I left as soon as they arrived.”
“They?”
“Some other agent. At first, I thought it was her…”
“She’s dead.” Even if he never got Demarco, killing that bitch had been satisfying as hell.
“Yeah. This one wasn’t as pretty.” His partner in crime huffed out a breath. “When will you fulfill your end of the bargain?”
“Soon.”
“When?”
“I said soon.” Motherfucker. He didn’t like to be questioned, but he couldn’t upset this person. He rubbed his hand over his face. “The law will be all over me for the next few days. You know that. As soon as they verify my alibi, I’ll plan the next move.”
“Maybe I’ll do it myself.”
“You do and you’ll be looking over your shoulder for the rest of your life.” He wasn’t giving up Casta Demarco. He wanted to watch him bleed out. Spill every drop into the dirt where he belonged. Prove which one of them was the better sniper, the better SEAL, the better man. “I’ll live up to my part of the bargain. Now get off the phone and get rid of this burner. Switch to the next one. Can’t risk anyone connecting the two of us. Not now. Not ever.”
Joseph rolled down his window and tossed the cell into the depths of the bayou.
Chapter Fifty-One
They drove back to Quentin Savage’s townhouse in separate vehicles. She could see Cas’s headlights as he followed her.
At the complex, she pulled on the long blonde wig and dashed through the incessant rain that seemed to have followed them from one coast to the other. She was getting heartily sick of the disguises and subterfuge, not to mention the weather. She wanted to bring Scanlon in for questioning or at least knock him off his game by confronting him and seeing what he did when he saw her alive. Force him to make a mistake.
But tugging a tiger’s tail when they still didn’t have any proof was a bad idea, especially when his seven-year-old daughter was the person who might be on the receiving end of any retaliation.
It was well after midnight as they headed inside the door.
They tossed their bags in the entranceway and closed the door on the wet night. Cas grabbed her hand and spun her up against the wall. Then he lowered his mouth slowly to hers, and she melted on impact.
His hands were undoing the buttons on her shirt when her cell rang.
She pulled away reluctantly. “I have to get that.”
“Let them call back.”
She laughed and considered it for a second. Then she dug into her pocket, and Cas rested his forehead against the wall and cursed in Spanish.
“It’s Yael. Let me quickly see what she wants. Hello?”
“Delilah? Are you okay?”
“Yes, I’m fine. Why?”
“You haven’t heard?”
At the other woman’s tone Delilah straightened away from the wall. Cas watched her like a sparrowhawk. “Heard what?”
“Nicole Zimmerman was shot to death outside the hospital where her husband worked.”
Delilah reached out for the wall and found herself being supported by Cas’s strong arms. He maneuvered them to the couch, and she put the call on speaker. “When?”
