“I’ll watch over Buck.” She continued shifting her gaze between her stepbrother and Rocco. The dog looked downright tame after devouring his snack. “I’ll cover them while you take care of the search.”
He sensed Di wasn’t willing to give up the weapon. And really, he couldn’t blame her. Not after everything he’d learned.
Jarek needed to call for backup, but he didn’t want to do that until he was convinced Buck was no longer a threat. He rose, setting the crowbar aside before moving among the crates, looking for something he could use.
A roll of packing tape caught his eye. He grabbed it and returned to where Buck was lying cuffed on the floor. The packing tape wasn’t necessarily strong enough to bind wrists, but it would work as a gag.
He wrapped the tape over Buck’s mouth and around his head. At some level, he was concerned about how compliant Buck was. He’d expected more from a man who’d threatened to feed him and Di to the fish.
“Okay, I’m calling for backup.” He didn’t have his phone, Lupo had taken it. “Do you still have your phone?”
“No.” Di gestured to Buck. “Use his.”
He bent over Buck and pulled his phone free and dialed 911. Before the call was picked up by the dispatcher, he heard a banging outside the warehouse door.
“Open up! Police!”
Jarek shoved the phone into his pocket and moved toward the door. Reaching down, he found the handle and swung it up, expecting to see his fellow officers, Calvin Wynn and Tyler Parker. They’d been at the loading dock, and he imagined they’d come to investigate the Davos Delivery warehouse. Maybe they’d even run into Lupo who’d folded like a deck of cards under pressure.
But it was narcotics officer Ray Bond who stood on the other side. “Brooks?” Ray looked just as surprised to see him. “What are you doing here?”
“Arresting Buck for drug trafficking.” Jarek was glad to see the narcotics officer. He gestured to where Di stood holding her weapon on Buck and his dog. “Did you know he was in charge of the drugs coming into the city?”
“Ah, no, I didn’t. I heard the gunshot and came to investigate.” Ray stepped inside the warehouse, his gaze sweeping the scene. When his gaze landed on the dog, Jarek got the distinct impression that Bond recognized the animal. He was about to warn Di, but he was a split second too late.
Bond pulled his weapon, aiming it directly at Jarek’s chest. “Move back and don’t say a word. Di, you need to drop that weapon.”
No! Ray Bond was dirty! Jarek didn’t look toward Di as his mind grappled with the truth staring him in the face. Di had been right all along. There had been someone on the inside working against them.
This was how they’d been found at every turn.
No wonder Buck had been so confident in his ability to continue his drug business. And it also explained why Buck had gone along with being handcuffed without putting up a fight. He’d been biding his time because he’d known all along that Ray Bond would be showing up to save the day.
And he and Di had walked right into the trap.
“I knew there was a reason I didn’t want to date you,” Di said in a scathing tone. “You’re scum, just like my stepbrother here.”
“Stepbrother?” Ray’s eyes widened in surprise. “Well, well. Isn’t that interesting? Apparently, Buck has been keeping secrets from me.”
“Yeah, you should know his mission to kill me was personal,” Di said. “There’s no love lost between us, right, Buck?”
Buck made a grunting noise from behind the tape.
“Toss your gun, Di,” Ray repeated. There was no sign of Jeff Schnor, and Jarek wasn’t sure if that meant Ray was the only dirty cop involved or if his partner was keeping watch outside. Bond casually reached up to close the garage door behind him. It slammed to the ground with a thud. “You should have dated me, Di,” Ray added, his eyes narrowing with anger. “I could have saved your life. Now you’ll have to die with your pal Brooks.”
Jarek turned his torso away from Bond. He wished he hadn’t left the crowbar on the crate not far from Di. It was too far for him to grab it. Then he remembered the phone he’d used to call dispatch was still in his pocket. Had the call gone through? He hoped and prayed it had and that the dispatcher was listening to what was being said right now.
If the call had gotten disconnected, they were in deep trouble. Even if he could try to stall for time, he was concerned a legitimate police response wouldn’t arrive in time.
All he could do now was pray for strength and guidance to escape the new threat.
15
Di silently kicked herself for not being prepared for Bond to arrive. She wasn’t surprised to learn he was dirty, but she was angry with herself for not moving out of the warehouse quicker.
Now it was too late.
She held Ray’s gaze as she lifted her hands, the nose of the weapon pointing toward the ceiling. “Okay, you win. You caught us. But tell me this, Ray. Why in the world are you working with drug dealers?”
