“Sure. Very funny.” And not surprising. I doubt Whitlock would want anyone blabbing about what he’d been up to. “And the other one?”
“The guy’s a junkie.” I hear him make a sound of frustration. “We managed to track him down to a crack house. Man was practically drooling on himself. Couldn’t get a word of sense out of him. Totally spaced out.”
“What’s he on?” I frown. If we can get him into a clinic, maybe we could get him cleaned up enough to get some useful information from the guy.
“Whatisn’the on, is the question,” Reed scoffs. “Guy has veins like railway tracks. We shipped him off to one of our rehab centers but there’s no telling when he’ll be reliable.”
I curse under my breath. Might take longer than we have.
“One thing’s for certain, though. He lit up when we talked about Whitlock. And not in a good way. Babbled like a madman. Barely made sense, but the kernels were there.”
Yip, no doubt in my mind that these guys were the reason those pages were torn from that journal. Who knows what else they’re responsible for. Though the blame for Andy’s misery rests squarely on Whitlock’s shoulders. He’s going to pay for that if it’s the last thing I do.
“Thanks for keeping me in the loop,” I tell Reed. I know he doesn’t need to do this. Though it’s useful sharing resources this way. Ideally, I’d like to handle this whole thing through the right channels. But, however it works out, Whitlock is going down.
“Sure thing. Remember, it works both ways, right?”
“Definitely,” I answer. Though I know he’s hoping I’m going to be feeding him dirt on Raoul and Dario and there’s no way that’s going to happen. Some ties run too deep and I’m not interested in betraying my own blood just so Reed can get further up the rungs of his career ladder. I hear him start to say something when I hear the beep of another incoming call. It’s Raoul.
“I have to go. I’ll stay in touch,” I tell Reed, switching to the other call before he can respond.
“We’ve spotted her,” Raoul gets straight to the point. My heart thunders in my chest and it’s not from the jog down the stairs.
“Jesus! Where?”
“Midtown. Joint called Taiping Gardens.”
“I know of it,” I mutter. The place is a regular hangout for Chinese mobsters. “Please don’t tell me she_
“She was with Whitlock,” Raoul finishes the sentence I didn’t want to hear. “My guys have been on his tail since he got back from Columbia. Saw her going in to meet him around 7 last night.”
“Fuck.” Though if I’m honest with myself, I’ve known all along it would be our best chance of locating her.
“Came out a couple of hours later. She didn’t leave with him,” he adds. I expel an audible breath.
“Did they track her afterward? Where did she go?”
“They lost her.”
“For fuck’s sakes!”
“I know. I’ll be cracking some heads later. But the woman’s become as slippery as an eel. She came out with a group of them, peeled off into a throng of pedestrians, and managed to give my guys the slip.”
I feel frustration and fury meld but manage to fight it down.
“Goddammit,” I say under my breath.
“We’ll find her again, Mateo,” Raoul reassures me. “If she’s made contact with him once, she’ll do it again. Next time, we’ll be ready.”
“We should have been ready this time,” I mutter. “And next time, I’ll fucking be there.” He makes a sound of agreement, probably knowing it’s pointless to disagree. I can’t leave this in someone else’s hands. I don’t know what Andy has planned, but I know it’s going to land her in trouble. My only chance of saving her is making sure I’m around when it happens.
Chapter 15
Andy Carter
The door of the limo swings open and I step out, not objecting as Mark takes my hand to assist. When he’d invited me to his home this evening, I’d been sure this would be my chance to get him alone.
I was wrong. When the cab dropped me outside his apartment block, he was waiting beside a black stretch limousine. Again, I’d been sent a card with instructions before joining him. It’s 9.30 p.m. – a little late for dinner – and this time I’m dressed in a black evening dress. No underwear, once more. I haven’t allowed myself to think about his hands on me again.
