“Katie, Katie, Katie.” Moreno took a few steps closer. “What am I going to do with you?”
Play dumb and innocent. You have no idea what crawled up his pants making him mad.Her insides were quaking. Could they all hear her heart pounding in her chest from where they stood?
“I had a few problems with some business transactions yesterday,” Moreno explained calmly, but she could hear the anger beneath the surface. It was how he’d spoken to her right before he’d left the nasty bruises on her arms.
“I’ve been racking my brains trying to figure out how the cops knew where and when these business transactions would take place. It seems someone must have told them and it makes me angry to think that someone would betray me in such a way. You wouldn’t have any idea who would do that to me, do you, Katie?”
Moreno’s dark eyes narrowed showing his volatile mood. She shook her head quickly and said, “Everyone knows it would be stupid to cross you, Mr. Moreno. I don’t know who would have done this.”
“The thing is,” Moreno continued as his hands dug into her arms where the bruises had finally healed, “that you were in here a few nights ago when many of myassociatesand I were discussing these very same transactions. The night you were a little moreopenwith us. Don’t you find that a little odd, and maybe coincidental?”
“I’ve been in here many nights for the last few years, Mr. Moreno,” she cried as his hands dug deeper into her skin. “I honestly haven’t paid any attention to what kind of business you discuss. It’s all pretty boring to me.”
Moreno pushed her hard and she landed on the floor near the card table. She cringed as he approached but she couldn’t crawl out of the way fast enough to avoid his hand across her face. “Now why don’t I believe you? Give me the truth. Did you talk to the cops?”
She let out a tiny cry of pain and wondered if Chris and his pals were listening in yet. Hopefully, or her career as a waitress was about to end right here. Her shoulders hunched as Moreno let his hand fly one more time.
Another whimper escaped her mouth and she moaned, “No, Mr. Moreno, I swear, I never talked to the cops. I wouldn’t do that to you.”
If someone didn’t hear her soon she might not make it out of this room alive. Moreno’s mood was dangerous and Barone was scowling. Crap. It was still early and the Feds weren’t expecting anything to happen yet so they probably weren’t listening.
She’d told Chris if she was ever in real trouble she would scream her head off and run from the room. Sonny stood in front of the door making sure no one came in, or in her case, went out. She swallowed hard and hoped she’d have the chance.
Chapter 19
“Hey, Philip,” Chris greeted as he slid inside the paneled van parked a few streets over from Surf. “You all set with beverages and snacks for the night?”
The balding, gray haired man moved his ample girth back a few feet in his chair and glared at him. “Go ahead, make jokes, Shaunessy. One of these days you’ll lose all that thick, blond hair, you’ll put on a few pounds, and you won’t get all the cushy assignments anymore. Then you’ll find yourself pulling surveillance like me. You need to find yourself a nice lady who can cook and she’ll fatten you up something good.”
He laughed at his friend as he started twisting knobs and typing in codes but his mind immediately went to Meg. She wasn’t a bad little cook, and even though he liked to cook himself, he thought about how much fun they’d had making some of their dinners together. If all went as planned tonight, they wouldn’t be doing that any more. His mind should be on business for now. Thoughts of what he wanted to do with Meg could come later. Once they’d put Moreno behind bars.
Phil was all set up to listen in on Moreno as well as follow the many operations in play. Once they’d been carried out, a small team would go in and arrest Moreno. Chris planned on being front and center when that happened. Phil would bring him his sidearm once the team was ready. He couldn’t sit around the club with it hanging out of his belt. It would take all his control not to blow Moreno’s head off with it considering all he’d done to Meg.
Plopping on a stool, he picked up a set of headphones to listen in. Making sure the equipment was working before he went inside the club. He’d wait an hour or so. It wouldn’t do to show up earlier than usual. He couldn’t have Moreno getting suspicious. The man might be a bit twitchy with the arrests from yesterday.
He wanted to see the slime bag’s face when they cuffed him and hauled him away. Actually breaking his face for all the pain he’d put Meg through sounded good too. Unfortunately, his superiors might frown on such an action.
Philip adjusted a few knobs until the static cleared away. Chris perked up when Moreno yelled angrily, “I need to know who told the cops. Convince me it wasn’t you.”
A groan came across the equipment and he almost stopped breathing. Fear resonated from Meg’s voice. “It wasn’t, Mr. Moreno. I swear. I’m here most of the night and I sleep late. And the guy I’m staying with, he doesn’t like me to be away from him. He’s only here for a little while longer. I wouldn’t have the time to go to the cops.”
“If it wasn’t you, then who the hell was it?”Moreno’s voice exuded anger. “When was the last time we swept this room for bugs?”
Chris assumed he was talking to someone else and he wondered who was in the room with Moreno and Meg.
“A few days ago, Sal, but I can do it again.” Damn, it was Sonny.
The sound of a door opening and closing came through the headphones and Chris looked at Philip with concern. “We need to get her out of there.”
“We don’t have anyone ready to go in yet,” Philip answered. “Most of the guys on this case are at the different warehouses waiting for the shipments to come in. We weren’t expecting anything from Moreno on this end. My job was to make sure Moreno didn’t change any of the times or locations at the last minute. If we go in now and arrest him, we don’t know how many of the people who work there are loyal to him. They could make a call and change or cancel the shipments. Then we have nothing and this whole op is blown sky high.”
Philip was right, but he couldn’t sit here and listen to the terrified voice of Meg as Moreno verbally abused her. He had no way of knowing if her wince had come from fear or pain.
“You just sit there until we figure this out.” Moreno’s voice was quieter now but no less lethal. He got nervous when he didn’t hear anything from Meg. Then the door opened again and Moreno said, “Good, sweep the room.”
He sat nervously knowing Meg had the electronic device on her. She must have known what trouble she’d be in too as she spoke up.
“Mr. Moreno, I swear I didn’t do anything. Let me get changed and start work. I’ll even be real nice to your friends tonight if you want.”
