Bad Boy's Touch (Firemen in Love Book 3) (37 page)

“Or maybe it never existed in the first place.”

I would have loved to get Harvey screwed for that bomb – it'd put him away for a really long time – but if there was a chance of Victor pinning it on Brett, I wasn't going to give him the opportunity.

“You, ah, wouldn't have maybe paid a visit to the West Bay Apartments last night?”

“I was at home, worried to death about the men you arrested for no reason.”

“I'd say dealing a kilo of coke was a fine reason.” He grunted. “Regardless, Harvey made me look like a fool. I have no qualms with blaming it all on him – if you hurry on over here with that safe.”

I slid a knife into my boot. Always good to have a backup weapon.

“Victor, you've no qualms with pinning shit on
anybody.
”

“If I were you, I'd do exactly as I ask before you end up next on my list.”

He wasn't kidding. Thank God he'd be locked away by the day's end. This man didn't deserve to be chief of police. He didn't even deserve to walk another day free.

I just had to play my cards right. No sudden moves that'd scare him off into hiding again. Because if that happened, we probably wouldn't have another chance to nab him.

“Be at my house with the safe after nine tonight.” He paused. “Oh, and I shouldn't have to remind you, but do come alone.”

I laughed to myself as he hung up on me. Wonder if he had any clue the FBI had come to arrest him – not give him a job? I couldn't wait to see his face as agents swooped out of the shadows to take him in.

Brett crept up behind me and put his arms around me. His arm brushed my gun, and he flinched.

“I got mixed feelings about you carrying that thing.”

“And
I've
got mixed feelings about you running headlong into a burning house. It is what it is.”

He kissed my neck and for a moment, I forgot my anger. We'd been intimate last night, both of us needing the comfort of each other's touch so badly.

It wasn't wild and kinky like the first few times. This time, it was slow and gentle and full of so much emotion. I felt a
connection.
How had I not seen it before?

“Wish I could be there with you when you bust Victor,” he grumbled. “But Hank's got me on the night shift, and for some reason, those FBI guys were cagey about me coming along for the ride.”

“They don't want any chance of failure. It has to be me going in there alone; you know that. If he thinks I came with others, he'll run.”

I gazed out the window at the rising moon. Dusk had just fallen; wouldn't be long now.

“I'm worried about Harvey,” Brett admitted. “The guy's snapped. He caught the jail on fire and let loose a bunch of bad guys. We haven't seen him since then.”

“If he's smart, he probably saw the writing on the wall and ran away. Hope not, though. If I'm denied my chance for justice... For revenge...”

“They'll nab him. Then you'll have the satisfaction of helping put that guy away for life come trial time.”

Brett kindly took Charlie with him to work. Jenna left for class and called to say she'd be spending the night with a friend.

Good. I didn't want them moping around here worrying about me.

Shortly before nine, I met up with Alex. He and three other agents worked out of a van parked behind an abandoned building.

“Remember, we'll be with you every step of the way,” he said, fastening the tiny speaker to my shirt. “Try to get him talking, to admit his connection with Freddy. Keep him going as long as you can. Soon as he starts getting suspicious, or if there's even a hint of danger, we'll come in and make the arrest.”

“Uh, ma'am?” Alex's partner, Will, pointed to the gun on my belt. “Sorry, but you can't take that with you.”

“Are you kidding? You want me to confront a dangerous madman with no firearm?”

“He sees the gun, he'll know something's up. The goal here is to make him trust you. Lull him into spilling what he knows. You're not supposed to be shooting him.”

“Ah, well, that's too bad.” I reluctantly handed my weapon to him.

As I drove through the hills to Victor's house, I tried to keep my mind on the mission – but Brett was all I could think of.

I wanted him here with me. He'd helped me get this far, and it didn't seem right he wasn't by my side at the end.

After following the winding road into the woods, I arrived. I'd been here many times before – times I wished I could forget. As I struggled to load the safe onto a handcart, I could feel the FBI agents watching me from the shadows.

That only made me more nervous.

Victor emerged from his house as I began pushing the safe up the driveway. He wore a big smile, the kind he used to have when I came to visit, back when we were dating.

What a fool I was to be blinded by this sick bastard.

“At last,” he said, eyeing the safe. “Come inside, dear, and let's see if everything's intact.”

“And if it is? Are you going to leave me and my friends alone?”

He chuckled. “So you do know where they are. Don't worry, I have no interest in them anymore.”

I pushed the cart into his house without him offering to help. The place was quiet; he seemed to be here alone. Perfect.

“Just leave it there in the main room,” he pointed. “Would you like a beverage? I have a wonderful selection of wines. Remember how we used to drink chardonnay together on the patio?”

“I'd rather not. Here's your damn safe.”

His greed ran out, and he knelt down to check out his bounty. But when he spotted the drill hole in the dial, he scowled.

“You've opened it.”

I said nothing, just waited for him to make the next move. Cursing to himself, he swung open the door and scooped the money-filled envelopes onto the floor.

As he counted the money, I prayed he didn't mention the ledger. He didn't, but his face did get steadily redder.

“Is this all there was?” He glared and thumbed through hundred-dollar bills. “I know you took a sizable chunk to purchase those drugs – which I will be keeping as compensation for your theft.”

“It's all,” I lied. “No more money. I gave what was left to you.”

I could tell he didn't believe me. He began muttering to himself and stuffing the money in a big bag.

“Barely two hundred thousand? No, there should have been much more than that. He must have hidden some of it elsewhere.” His eyes narrowed. “Perhaps he gave it to his little girlfriend.”

“What are you talking about? He didn't give Melody anything.”

Victor circled me like the shark he was. “I think you know more than you're letting on, dear.
Who
didn't give her anything, hmm?”

“Well, Freddy, of course. She doesn't have anything, I assure you. She's alone, scared, and living in a shitty apartment with no money after his house burned down.”

“You're a clever woman, Madison. More so than I thought at first.” His jaw clenched. “You're also quite the liar.”

“What...?”

“Earlier, you assured me you hadn't been to her apartment. How would you know where she lived if you hadn't?”

Oops.

“You were there. You're the reason my squad couldn't locate the bomb – because you took it.” He thrust his finger in my face. “What did you hope to gain by doing that?”

“What do you think? If they found the bomb, you would have made a show of it. Blamed Brett and my brother for it.”

He seemed to relax for a moment. “Your brother... Charlie, wasn't it? Amazing how he suddenly shows up after so many years. I must wonder where he has been.”

“Your lapdog Harvey was behind that,” I snapped. “He framed him and had him thrown in a Mexican prison for years, all because he sold his son the drugs that killed him.”

“A tragic story,” Victor muttered.

Alex told me to keep my cool, but now, faced with the man who'd caused so much pain and trouble for so many people, how could I?

“You've been helping Harvey for years, haven't you? You changed police records to protect his reputation.”

He raised his eyebrow. “You've been quite the little snoop, haven't you? Yes, I did use my position as chief to alter a few details here and there. Harvey couldn't stand knowing his son was an addict. It was as if he thought by changing the police reports, perhaps the truth would change, too.”

“What I don't get is why. Why would you go through that for him? It was so you could blackmail him, wasn't it?”

He hauled the bag of money over his shoulder and started off toward his office.

“It was a mutually beneficial relationship.”

“You gave him the names of people involved with his son's death, so he could get his revenge.”

He shrugged. “What he did with that information was none of my business.”

“Bullshit! He wanted to take out anyone who hurt his kid, and you knew it. You let it happen. You
let
him start those fires. How could you?”

“The story of the scary serial arsonist.” He grinned. “Makes for a good headline, doesn't it? Besides, what do I care if Harvey takes out some useless criminals? That is our job, isn't it – to punish those scum for their crimes.”

“In a court of law, not by burning their houses down!”

In his office, Victor spilled the stacks of money on his desk. He then began fanning carefully through each one, as if looking for something hidden between the bills.

“To be honest, I haven't given Harvey any leads in years now. He loathes drugs, and he's something of a vigilante. When he found out the city's meth and crack problems went far deeper than he originally thought, I suppose he snapped.” He picked up the next stack. “I've actually been worrying about him for a while now. I never expected him to attack Ventura himself.”

“You and Freddy were working together. Had been for a long time, hadn't you?”

For a moment he looked surprised, but said nothing.

“That's why you let him run his drug ring all this time, because you were benefiting from it. He was paying you hush money in order to keep the police off his back.”

Victor paled. It was unusual to get under his skin. That's how I knew I was on the right track.

“How did you...” He waved it off. “Never mind. Yes, it's true we had something of an arrangement. Harvey, of course, had no idea. It was all kept very secret, very quiet. Somehow, he found out – and made Freddy his next target.”

I felt for the microphone on my shirt when Victor wasn't looking. How much more recording did they need? I thought the FBI would have made an entrance by now.

Maybe they needed something bigger, something that would put him away for life.

Yes, that was it. I had to reveal who he really was.

“Anyway, if you've had enough asking nosy questions, please see yourself out. I expect you to be at work tomorrow, bright and early.”

“No, I do have one more question.” I smiled. “Just curious – exactly how many names did you have before you became Victor Patterson?”

He stammered for an answer. It sure was fun making him sweat for once.

“I don't... How did you...” He ruffled his graying hair. “Goodness, you surprise me, Madison. To think, I loved you and never knew you were so scheming and manipulative.”

“Oh, please. You've never loved anybody in your life.” I tried to hold back my disgust for him. “You're a deranged sociopath. Whenever one of your criminal schemes goes belly up, you run away and start a new identity for yourself instead of owning up to what you've done.”

I had him stunned speechless. Alex probably was none too pleased, but the satisfaction of ruining his day was just too addictive and delicious to stop.

“Why are you so shocked, really?” I continued. “Harvey destroyed my home and ruined my family's life. Of course I'd do some digging into what happened – and as if by miracle, my search led me to the truth about you.”

He regained his composure and tried to put his hand on my back. I slapped him away.

“I want to know who you really are... Nick.”

“Shut up,” he hissed. “Don't call me that. Nick is dead. He died long ago. Shot by those dirty police who only wanted a piece of dad's action.”

Oh, boy. Talking about his self in the third person was a pretty good sign Victor had lost his marbles completely.

“Tell me about you and Freddy. You were the one who got him out of jail after he killed those women. You arranged it all: the hand-selected jurors, the dirty lawyer, probably even a crooked judge to top it all off.”

“Dad helped,” he said, eyes darting here and there as if he'd slipped into another personality. “He knew people. He worked with Freddy when he was just a kid. I knew if we got him out of prison, we'd have him by the balls for life.”

“So how did he come to start up a drug empire?”

“He's just one of many working for dad around the country. I kept him on a leash and protected him from the law at the same time. In return, he paid me a cut of his profits.”

So that explained the ledger.