Alpha dogs, p.4
Alpha Dogs, page 4
part #6 of Witness Protection Series
“Are you sure we’re safe here?” she asked with concern. “I can’t help feeling tense.”
“Your husband’s guards were killed by those two intruders, whoever they were, and they’ve been eliminated. No one saw you leave with us, and we weren’t followed,” Jackie informed her. “Even if someone else shows up and discovers you’re missing, there are a dozen motels between here and there. Since the guys checked us in, even the desk clerk doesn’t know there are any women in these rooms. As long as we stay inside, we’re safe.”
“We have to leave sometime,” Lindsey reminded her. “What if they do find us?”
Jackie smirked and casually shrugged. “Then I suppose heaven help them.”
“You have that much confidence in those guys?” Lindsey asked with surprise while indicating the men in the connecting room.
“They range from badass to scary,” Jackie replied while adding a humored chuckle. “So, yeah, I have that much confidence in them.”
Lindsey attempted to relax, although her rigid body language suggested she failed miserably. “I’d feel better if I could call my dad and tell him I’m okay.”
“We’ve already contacted your father,” Jackie informed her. “The less contact we have, the safer you are. We don’t know how resourceful your father-in-law is.”
“Resourceful enough,” Lindsey replied and stared at Jackie. “If he wants me badly enough, and I promise you he does, he’ll stop at nothing until he gets me. I’m not even sure I’m safe at any of my father’s safe houses.”
“He knows the score, and he’s already coming up with a plan to keep you out of Vinny Cicco’s hands,” Jackie informed her then offered a tiny, reassuring smile. “You should try to get some rest. We’re leaving in a few hours just before sunup tomorrow.”
Lindsey gently rubbed her chilled shoulders and shifted nervously. “That’s easier said than done,” she replied then looked around the room. “Maybe if I took a long, hot bath I’d be able to relax.”
Jackie wondered why women always thought a hot bath was the answer to all their problems. Personally, she didn’t understand the attraction. Perhaps if she had insight into how women thought, she’d understand. She had to remember to ask Pinto one day.
“The door is secure, and we’ll be right outside the bathroom door,” Jackie announced and offered a reassuring smile. “You’ll be fine.”
Lindsey finally relaxed enough to enter the bathroom and run her bathwater. Jackie made herself comfortable on the first bed closest to the secured door. Bogart appeared in the connecting room doorway and looked around.
“Where’s the girl?” he asked.
“Taking a bath,” Jackie replied and eyed her brother. “Are you on first watch?”
He frowned at the question and nodded. “I don’t know how, but I swear they’ve found a way to cheat at rock, paper, scissors,” Bogart remarked and entered the bedroom. He flopped down on the vacant bed, causing it to creak, and made himself comfortable.
Jackie eyed him suspiciously and wondered about his odd mood since she’d picked him up from his weekend trip. “You seem preoccupied since your visit with Monique and Colleen,” she remarked. “Everything okay?”
“No, not really,” Bogart remarked then groaned and sat up straight. He stared at Jackie a moment while frowning. “They asked me to go riding with them because they thought they were being stalked.”
Jackie suddenly straightened as her interest was piqued. “Were they?”
“Turns out they were,” Bogart replied and shifted, unable to get comfortable. The subject obviously bothered him. “It was Colleen’s MIA father.”
Jackie immediately jumped to the side of the bed and faced her brother. She couldn’t deny she was shocked. “The one Colleen believes to be dead?”
“The Army deserter,” Bogart added.
“You didn’t tell Colleen, did you?”
“No, of course not,” Bogart replied then groaned and again flopped down on the bed. “I told him never to come around again, or I’d turn him over to the authorities.”
Jackie remained tense while deep in thought then eyed Bogart. “You made the right call.”
“Did I?” he asked while eyeing her. His expression hardened. “He should be punished for his crimes.”
“And then Colleen would find out her father not only didn’t die a hero, but he betrayed his country and abandoned her and her mother for his own selfish reasons,” Jackie remarked then vigorously shook her head. “No, you made the right call. She’s at a tough age as it is. I think we should spare her the drama. Perhaps her mother will tell her one day when she’s older.”
Bogart groaned softly. “Yeah, that’s sort of what I thought too,” he replied but remained distracted. “I hate lying to the squirt, but it’s not as if he’s going to hurt her. I mean, he’s her father.”
“Just let it go, Bogart,” Jackie announced and again attempted to relax. “I’m sure he’ll move on now that he’s been called out.”
Over the next hour, Bogart spent most of his time between watching T.V. and peering out the window. He finally turned to Jackie from his position near the window.
“What do women do in the tub so long?” Bogart finally asked.
“Beats me,” Jackie remarked then grinned deviously. “I only enjoy a lengthy bath when there’s mixed company involved.”
Bogart chuckled at the comment. “My favorite water sport.”
Jackie took her cue, jumped off the bed, and approached the bathroom door. She gently knocked and waited. Lindsey didn’t respond.
“Lindsey,” Jackie announced through the door. “You okay in there?”
There still wasn’t a response. Jackie knocked a little louder. When she didn’t get an answer, she removed her lock pick and easily sprung the lock. Bogart remained a few feet back while Jackie entered the bathroom. To her surprise, the tub was filled with water, but the bathroom was empty. Jackie looked at the open window and wondered how the woman could even fit through it.
“What the hell--?” she cried out then turned to Bogart, who approached. “She flew the coup.”
“What? Why?”
She shook her head. “I guess she didn’t believe we could protect her,” Jackie huffed then hurried past him. “She’s had an hour head start, but check out back just in case. I’ll wake the guys.”
Bogart ran for the motel room door while Jackie headed for the connecting door.
§
Kirk and Gil each took a car and drove away from the motel in opposite directions in search of Lindsey. Zack and Bogart searched the surrounding area by foot, in case they could still locate her. Jackie waited in her motel room with Monroe, who paced the length of the room with his cell phone to his ear.
“You can tell Dexter if his daughter doesn’t want to be in our protective custody, there’s nothing we can do about it,” Monroe insisted to the person on the other end. “That’s called kidnapping. Maybe in his world that’s acceptable, but that’s not how we do things in the real world.”
“I’m sure he doesn’t want you abducting his daughter against her will,” Sal commented on the phone from the other end.
“He told us to get her back even if she protested,” Monroe lashed out. “That’s authorizing abduction.”
“I’m sure he didn’t mean it that way,” Sal added with a groan. “I’ll talk to him. If you can’t convince her to return with you, at least keep an eye on her until her father can reach you.”
“Well, we would, Sal,” Monroe countered with irritation, “if we knew where she went. She could have made it to the highway and hitched a ride to just about anywhere. Dexter hasn’t exactly been helpful. He doesn’t even know her associations in this area. Apart from checking nearby bus terminals, we don’t really know where to start.”
“She didn’t have any identification or money,” Jackie added while she stood by the motel window and stared outside.
“Jackie made a good point,” Monroe announced into the phone. “She didn’t have identification or money. Not even a cell phone. That means she hitched a ride. Without knowing her known acquaintances, there’s no way we’ll be able to find her.”
There was a strange pause. “I know someone who might be able to help, but you won’t like it,” Sal insisted. “A former employee of Dexter’s who knows the girl.”
“Who’s that?”
There was another long pause. “Mac.”
Monroe rolled his eyes and groaned at the thought. Jackie eyed him suspiciously wondering what he was told that he’d reacted so poorly.
“That’s not going to go over well,” Monroe remarked while shifting uncomfortably. “We didn’t exactly leave her on the best of terms.”
Now Jackie was interested in the conversation. “Who?” she practically demanded.
“Mac hates us and would probably kill Zack the first opportunity she’s given,” Monroe informed Sal over the phone while casting a glance at Jackie.
Jackie’s eyes widened in horror. “Mac?” she practically cried out and shook her head defiantly. “Oh, that’s definitely not floating,” she insisted. “Zack will go ballistic.”
“Perhaps she’s unwilling to help,” Sal responded from the other end, “but it wouldn’t be a bad idea to exhaust all options first before giving someone like Dexter bad news. At least let me call Mac and talk to her.”
Monroe rolled his eyes and shook his head. He reluctantly sighed. “Fine,” he muttered into the phone. “Call Mac and see if she’s willing to help, but I’m pretty sure she won’t.”
Monroe disconnected the call and cast a look at Jackie. She folded her arms across her chest and glared back at him.
“Inviting Mac into our circle is a bad idea,” Jackie reminded him.
“He gave me little choice,” Monroe replied while flopping on the bed with disgust. “She worked for Dexter and may know Lindsey’s friends.”
“She’s not going to help us,” Jackie insisted while throwing her arms in the air. “She wants to kill Zack, and she’s not overly fond of the rest of us after we abandoned her at that hotel.”
“And when she tells Sal no we’ll be able to say we tried,” Monroe announced while straightening. “We did everything we could. If Lindsey doesn’t want to be in our protection or go back to her father, we can’t force her. It’s that simple.”
“We rescued his daughter from her captors as commissioned,” Jackie informed him with confidence. “We completed our assignment. What Lindsey does with her freedom is her decision. Dexter can’t make her come home to him, and we’re certainly not going to abduct her for him.”
“And I agree with you,” Monroe insisted while staring at her. “But I also understand it from Sal’s point of view. We want to be able to tell Dexter we tried everything to get her to come with us. If we don’t at least talk to the girl, we won’t know why she’s afraid to be in our protective custody.”
“At least when Mac refuses to help, it’ll fall on Mac and not us,” Jackie remarked with a sigh.
“Exactly.”
Chapter Six
An attractive woman in her mid-thirties walked briskly through the dimly lit parking garage. It was a little after three o’clock in the morning, and the parking garage was void of life. Her soft-soled boots made little noise even though most women’s boots would echo throughout all three levels. Macbeth, frequently called Mac, was a dark-haired beauty by most standards. Although her fresh face and athletic frame suggested she was a high maintenance, classy woman, the truth was less flattering. Mac approached her moderately beat up, older car and casually swung her keys. In the early morning hour, the creepy parking garage would bring about some cautiousness in most women, but Mac didn’t seem the least bit concerned. She unlocked and opened her car door.
When the passenger side door opened, Mac jumped back a step with surprise. A young, shabbily dressed man stepped out of her car and immediately met her gaze across the car roof. Mac stared at the man she’d never met getting out of her car.
“Who the hell are you?” she demanded with a hostility that would frighten most. “And what the hell were you doing in my car?”
“I’m Kane. Just Kane,” he announced almost cheerfully as he leaned on the roof of her car. “I’ve been looking forward to meeting you, Mac. It was late when I arrived, and I didn’t want to disturb you, so I thought I’d take a little nap while I waited.”
“You slept in my car? Not creepy at all,” she muttered while maintaining her distance from the man who barely made the legal drinking age. “How do you know my name? I’m sure we’ve never met.”
Kane, no last name, was oddly handsome with an almost steampunk sort of appeal. His brown hair was kept short although moderately spiky on top. He had a neatly trimmed beard that almost resembled a five o’clock shadow, although it obviously wasn’t. Had he been clean-shaven, he’d probably look like a teenager. Slightly shorter than average, he didn’t appear to be very muscular and not impressive in his moderately worn clothes. His piercing blue eyes were commanding and lent to his appeal. Kane casually walked around the back of Mac’s car while keeping his hands in his pockets and the same strange grin on his face. Mac set her bag on the roof of the car and faced the man as he approached. Her look was stern, and her body language suggested she was fight more than flight at that moment.
“Stop right there,” she announced firmly as her eyes narrowed while piercing through his. It was obvious if he got too close, she would strike. “I’m in a hurry, so I don’t have time to kick your ass right now.”
He smiled and chuckled in his throat. Mac tilted her head with a slightly bewildered look while studying the odd man. She started to wonder if she had met him before.
“Do I know you?” she asked. “Something about you seems familiar.”
“No, we’ve never met,” he replied and leaned against the car’s back fender while folding his arms across his chest. “I’m on a quest, and I’m told you hold a piece of the puzzle.”
She stared at him with mild bewilderment. “Okay,” she remarked already having lost interest and shook her head. “I’m going to leave now. If you’re still there when I put the car in reverse, I’m going to run you over.”
“I’m looking for someone,” he announced as he straightened.
“Good for you,” she scoffed while opening her car door with a little added vigor.
He pushed the car door shut, stopping her from getting inside.
She glared at him through angry, hateful eyes. “You have no idea who you’re fucking with,” Mac snarled and flicked her wrist. The switchblade knife in her hand was already snug against his crotch although her eyes never left his. “Back the fuck off. I’m not in the mood.”
His eyes fell to the knife and its location. Kane seemed oddly trusting that she wouldn’t stab him and remained unusually calm under the circumstances. He casually held his hands in the air and mocked her with his charming smile. That he didn’t take a step away from the blade to his crotch was almost unsettling.
“Sorry if I’m putting you on the defensive,” Kane announced. “It’s a bit of a character flaw, I’m afraid. Bad gene pool, or so I’m told.”
Mac drew a deep breath, removed the switchblade from its undesirable location, and seemed less hostile. “What makes you think I can help you? Who are you looking for anyway?”
“Zack Kinsley.”
She didn’t even give the name a second thought and immediately shook her head without hesitation or flinching. “Never heard of him,” she casually announced. “You may want to recheck your source.”
Mac reached for the car door. He again reached for the door to stop her. Mac blocked his hand, striking it away with precision and force. He chuckled as if finding it amusing.
“Fast reflexes,” he announced and gave her some space. “My source is reliable. Police saw you in a parking garage with a man who had been identified as Zack Kinsley. I believe there was a shootout in that same building the night you left with the man in question.”
Mac stared at the young man and casually leaned against her car door while folding her arms across her chest. “Is that his name?” she asked while cocking her head. “I didn’t ask. I wasn’t in his company that long. If you did your research, you’d know we checked into a motel that evening and checked out less than two hours later. That’s the extent of our relationship and the last I saw your Zack Kinsley.”
“You’re sure you haven’t had any contact with him since?” he asked as if he didn’t believe her. “It’s important I find him.”
“I suppose he owes you money, huh?” she remarked then smirked. “He owes me a pretty penny too. If you see him, tell him Mac wants the fifty he owes her.” She raised her brows. “Now, if you don’t mind, I have places to be. If you feel the need to continue this conversation, please come back another time, and I’ll gladly kick your ass.”
Kane chuckled at the comment. “Wow, sexy and dangerous,” he announced cheerfully. “I may just take you up on that.” He stepped away from her car and extended his hand to the door. “Thank you for your time, Mac. I’ll see you around.”
She snorted a laugh and smirked almost playfully. “Not if I see you first.”
Mac opened the car door, snatched her bag from the car roof, and jumped into the driver’s seat. As she backed the car out of the parking spot, she cast a look at the handsome, strange man. He smiled charmingly and waved goodbye.
§
It was a little after four o’clock in the morning when Zack and Bogart returned from their sweep of the area surrounding the motel. The weary men entered Jackie’s room where the others waited and flopped on their respective beds. Jackie shifted uncomfortably and glanced at Monroe before seeing Gil and Kirk dart into the connecting room. For some reason, they didn’t want to be present.
“She must have hitched a ride,” Bogart announced while shutting his eyes, obviously exhausted. “We covered every inch of ground between here and the highway.”
Zack appeared to be asleep already. Monroe seemed tense while running his fingers through his hair. He eyed Jackie, who only glared back at him before he turned his attention to the men sprawled out on the beds.
