Page 8 of Love Above Law

"I want you to continue being the go-between for us and the MC until we can apprehend Santino," Kurt instructs me. He's about to speak again when his phone rings. Kai comes to stand beside me. I'm practically being put in charge of the rest of this case, and I have to play nice with a bunch of criminals to get what we want. It's not like we don't use informants every day—some of them are less than desirable citizens themselves. I need a crash course on The Kings of Retribution MC. I need to know exactly who I'll be dealing with.

"Career-wise this is big, Lex. If you play all the cards right and bag Santino along with all the evidence the DA needs to put him away for the rest of his life—" he whistles, "hell yeah." Kai crosses his arms over his chest. "You got this," he tells me.

Everything he says is true, but my only concern is getting that slimy piece of shit off the streets and hopefully drowning out all the people who do his bidding in the process. I want nothing more than to take down his corrupt empire.

"Change of plans," Kurt tucks his phone away. "We have less than an hour to catch the next flight back to Washington."

Kai grabs his duffle bag and starts shoving his things inside, and I do the same. We all meet in the hallway in less than ten minutes with a cab waiting for us downstairs.

"Anyone call Mackey and Stamos?" I ask the moment we step off the elevator and into the hotel lobby.

"Yeah, they said they would meet us at the airport," Kurt says as he chucks his bag beside the rest of ours in the trunk of the car.

"If one of you lucky bastards gets to sit next to Stamos I wanna trade seats with you," Kai announces on the ride to the airport.

"This isn't the time to let your dick do your thinking for you, Kai. Keep to yourself. At least until this case is put to rest." Kurt warns him, and the cab rolls to a stop at the airlines drop off point outside. Filing out, we grab our shit and head inside. After making it through security, we spot Mackey and Stamos near a café across from our gate.

From then and the entire flight back home everyone kind of keeps to themselves. I hear Kurt and Mackey talking about the latest football stats behind me and notice Kai sleeping in his seat across the aisle. I take the opportunity to read up on all the information Dean was able to dig up online and from records regarding this MC. By the time I'm through reading I'm conflicted. Although it looks like they have been involved in small arms dealing and a handful of cases where they were once persons of interest in the deaths of a few other rival MC members, they appear to be upstanding and respected members of their small-town community. They give back in every way they can. Penance maybe? Either way, I don't plan on getting cozy with them or letting my guard down.

In the conference room here at our office a few hours later, we are all sitting around the table as everyone waits for Jake Delane's phone call. Straight up six my phone rings. "Agent Taylor," I answer.

"What's the word?" Delane gruffs.

I don't hesitate. "You agree to go straight. No more guns making their way into the hands of other criminals and we can promise you and the members of your club won't be touched. Consider this a clean start." The line goes silent. I feel myself leaning forward searching for a sound.

"Deal." Delane finally answers, and I sink back into my chair.

"Alright, now let's get down to business. Tell me everything you know." For the next fifteen minutes, I listen. I hate to admit it, but I'm impressed with the level of intel he was able to give me. It turns out the biker knows his shit. Santino is right there in Polson, Montana. To be more precise in a cabin on the east side of town near the country club. Approximately eight hours away from Seattle. Practically right under our asses.

We start going over the next phase in the investigation now that we have a fixed location on Santino. A pile of folders Kurt tosses lands on the surface of the table gaining everyone's attention. "This is what we dug up on Santino's location. I've contacted the local law enforcement in Polson, and they are more than ready to assist us in any way possible."

"The woman—Leyna Martinez. As of right now, she has been unharmed. The bikers themselves were able to see her, but knowing Santino, that won't last long. He's an opportunist. The bikers know as well as we do Santino will sell her to the highest bidder." Having an innocent person caught in the crossfire makes the operation more complicated. If it were just Santino and his men in that house, we could go in with a little more force but having this woman in the home somewhere means we need to be extra careful on how we approach the situation.

Delane also told us his suspicions with the shipment Santino wants them to make sure gets delivered to its destination. I agree his assumptions are accurate. We have more agents taking care of that intel right now. "This is liable to take weeks. The shipment in question hasn't come in yet so as of right now it's a waiting game until Delane contacts us again. So, let's order some food and make those extra pots of coffee because it is going to be a long night," I tell everyone sitting around the table.

* * *

Weeks of preparation have finally led up to this moment. Kurt, Kai, Stamos, Mackey and I are sitting at the local precinct just before daybreak ready to move in on Santino. Dean stayed behind because his wife went into labor three weeks early and family trumps everything. Kurt has been on his phone for the past ten minutes and finally walks back over and joins the little circle that has formed around the coffee station as we discuss how we hope things will play out with a few of Polson PD's officers we will be working alongside.

"Just got off the phone with the DA's office. At 2:00 am this morning they intercepted the shipment. Thirty-two young women were in the back of that truck along with two million dollars worth of cocaine."

"The condition of the women?" Stamos asks.

"Dehydrated, and weak but all of them alive. They are being treated at the local hospital. Once all of them are stable, they will begin the process of finding out who they are and where they are from." Kurt gives Stamos a reassuring smile.

I glance at the clock on the wall. "It's go time."

Thirty minutes later everyone is in position. In total there are eleven people in the home; five staff members, four of his henchmen, Santino and Leyna. Santino who we have determined from surveillance is located on the west side of the home and Leyna is being held on the opposite side of the estate. I have the task of finding her.

Once on his property, we find a dead guy just outside the front door. I eyeball my team, but we'll have to identify the body later. With no time to waste the signal is given and everyone moves with lightning speed. Upon entering the home, we find most of the staff quickly since they were getting ready to start their daily routines downstairs. Knowing their shocked screams will alert the rest of the house everyone splits heading in opposite directions. With my back against the wall and my weapon drawn and ready to fire, I make my way up the stairs to the second floor of the cabin.

"Down on the ground motherfucker," I hear Kai yell from the bottom of the stairs. Peering over the railing, I find him hovering over a large dark-haired man lying on the floor with his gun trained on him. Looking to my left then my right, I step into the hallway. Two doors. One to my left and one at the end of the hall. The first door to my right winds up being a bathroom, so with precaution I make my way to the end of the hallway and pause just to the side of the final door. I listen for any movement before I hear a faint. "Hello." Leyna?

Wrapping my hand around the handle, I try to turn it, but it's locked. Taking a step back, I kick the door in. Standing in the middle of the room illuminated by the glow of the rising sun and holding a lamp in her right hand is the most striking woman I have ever laid eyes on. At that moment I feel my center of gravity shift, and I sway. What the fuck was that? I take a small step forward causing her to move back. "Leyna Martinez?" I ask her.

"Don't come near me," she warns and raises the lamp a little further.

Knowing I need to gain her trust I slowly slide my gun back into its holster and put my hands out. "Leyna, my name is Agent Taylor. I work with the FBI. I'm here to take you home to your brother Gabriel."