Dark Waters (2013) (36 page)

He stopped walking and dropped to his haunches with his hands clasped over his head. What the hell had he been thinking?
That he could make love to Anna—the girl he’d spent half his life “in love” with—and not fall for her completely and irrevocably? Did he enjoy torture?

Obviously he did.

Because he was going to torture himself with the memories of last night for the rest of his stupid life. He blew out a massive breath and realized someone had stopped to stare at the spectacle he was making of himself. He straightened, gave them the stink eye.

People had been staring, for one reason or another, his whole life.

He carried on walking, through the main doors, following signs for Ward Ten. He was supposed to be in NYC by tomorrow night. He found the elevator, forcing himself to ignore the claustrophobia as the doors closed and the walls pressed in on him. When Anna was in protective custody, he’d take off to the Big Apple. He didn’t want to be the center of all that fuss, and no way would he reveal his true identity to a gallery full of press people, but he wanted to get off the island. Maybe on the way back, he’d pick up the jeep in North Dakota, and he and Finn could road-trip back, a final bond of brotherhood before the poor bastard got married.

He strode down the corridor, but when he got to Ward Ten, it was geriatrics. Davis’s ex-wife might have lost her mind years ago, but she wasn’t that old.

“Excuse me.” He stopped a nurse who gave him a thorough once-over before she smiled.

“What can I do for you?” The words combined with the look were suggestive.
Very
suggestive. Brent was flattered, but his body didn’t respond.

Good girls, every goddamn time. It was a curse.

“I’m looking for a patient by the name of Katherine Plantain. I was told Ward Ten, but it looks like I’m in the wrong place.” Brent used charm that felt rusty as old nails. He leaned over the desk
and showed off his dimples. “I don’t suppose you could help me out?” A bad feeling had wormed its way into his gut.

“Are you family?” Her eyes twinkled.

“Favorite nephew.”

“I just bet you are.” She glanced at his ring finger then her nails tip-tapped on the keyboard. Frown lines appeared next to her eyes. “I don’t see anyone of that name booked in.”

He turned the monitor which earned him a sharp “Hey!” from the nurse, but he was already running back down to the elevator, pressing buttons to get him to the main entrance where he’d last seen Anna, his heart scrambling in his chest.
No, no, no
. He put his cell phone back together, battery and SIM card, and dialed the number of the burner cell he’d given her as he strode past the coffee shop, kicking himself. It rang and rang and finally was answered but there was nothing but silence and then a rush of air and a crash as if someone had tossed it.

Brent froze in his tracks, then whirled around in a circle, not knowing what the fuck to do. “No!” he yelled. Security headed his way, but he swung away from them and outside into the fresh air. His heart pounded.

Where was Anna? How could he have let her out of his sight, even for a minute? Sure he was angry, but he knew how dangerous these guys were.
Stupid, stupid fuck
. He called Finn.

His brother answered with a pissed-off, “We just landed. And don’t think I’ve forgotten that stunt you pulled on me the other day. You and I still need a little
chat
.”

“I can’t find Anna,” Brent interrupted another verbal ass-kicking.

“What do you mean? I thought you were going straight to the hospital.”

“We did. I dropped her off at the entrance to park the car and she’s vanished. Worse, there’s no record of the mother being admitted.”

Finn swore. “Stay there. I am coming to get you.”

Brent clutched his head to keep it from exploding all over the sidewalk. “I can’t stand here doing nothing.”

“Holly’s going to call her dad”—the deputy commissioner—“and we’ll set up extra security at the airports and seaports. They’ll want somewhere quiet.” Not hard on an island the size of Scotland, but with just a fraction of the population. “But they need Internet access if they’re doing what we think they are doing, and they’ll want weapons.” Finn was thinking out loud, using his ex–Special Forces background to figure out what the bad guys might do next. “They won’t travel through public channels. They’ll find a different way.” The same way Brent had.

“Anna was carrying a cell phone but I think they tossed it.” Brent gave Finn the number and heard Holly in the background, then the sirens went off.

“Use your contacts and I’ll use mine,” Finn shouted above the din. “Call everybody you can think of who might see or hear something about these bastards. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes. Wait for me.”

Finn hung up and Brent just stared at the phone. He’d spent most of his adult life trying to push his brother away because he’d told himself he didn’t deserve family, didn’t deserve happiness. He’d killed their father and had never forgiven himself, no matter how many years he’d served in prison. But he hadn’t meant to kill him. And the drunken fuck hadn’t given him much of a choice. He’d been protecting a kid too small and injured to defend himself, and if he hadn’t lashed out, Finn would be dead.

It was time to accept that he’d been punished enough and maybe, just maybe, he deserved another chance.

But Anna had been taken…

Shit, he felt sick.

He’d once again let down someone he loved—and he didn’t even bother pretending he didn’t love her with his whole heart, even if she’d probably never feel the same way about him. The last few hours he’d spent in her company, he’d been back to his bitter
distant self, because that was how he dealt with things. Because in the past, showing any sort of emotion was a weakness that could get him killed. But he wasn’t in prison anymore—he was supposed to be free, except he was trapped by his past as surely as he’d been by those iron bars.

It was time to give himself a chance, but first he had to find Anna. He started dialing. He called two old “friends,” then got a call back. But it wasn’t from his contacts. It was from Jack Panetti.

“Sorry it took a while to get back to you.”

Christ
. Brent closed his eyes. The poor bastard was in the hospital because of the people who were after Anna. They weren’t fucking around.

“But while I was lying around doing nothing, I managed to help prove your boy, Davis Silver, in most likelihood was set up for fraud by a guy called Ed Plantain.”

“What?” Brent lowered himself to a nearby bench, feeling like he’d had his brain smashed in. “Tell me.”

“One of my guys did a search for any other bank accounts that had been set up using the same PC that was used to create the bank accounts Davis supposedly set up nine years ago.” Brent’s brain hurt. “My computer guy went back fifteen months prior and hit the jackpot. He found another cluster of private bank accounts set up in the Cayman Islands, but the only money ever deposited in them was the opening balance.”

“And they were set up in Ed’s name?”

“Correct. He set them up in the April, his wife died in May.”

“And you think what?” Brent’s brain was too screwed up to deal with this information. Anna was
missing
.

“I think he planned to steal money, either to pay for his wife’s treatment or to get the hell out of Dodge and leave her to it. But she died. I’m just speculating here, but I’m guessing a year later he set Davis up for the fall, although I don’t know his motive.”

The wife,
Katherine
. She was the motive. “Ed Plantain was there to pick up the pieces when Davis’s wife’s life went to hell.”

“There’s something else…”

Pain clutched at Brent’s chest, but he didn’t have time for a coronary.

“Last Friday, Davis Silver deposited over sixty million dollars into those old accounts of Ed Plantain’s.”
Holy fuck
. “Trace is tracking the money, but I’m pretty confident the trail is going to lead us back to the Holladay Foundation. Given the setup and the players, I’m thinking some sort of illegal mercenary operation.”

These guys were killers, that was for damn sure.

“So Davis knew it was Ed who’d set him up,” said Brent. When had he found out? Why hadn’t he told someone?

Because he hadn’t wanted to upset the woman he still loved with all his heart.

Christ, love sucked. “I’m going to rip that asshole apart.” Ed Plantain had stolen Davis’s life. Brent could hear sirens and stood up, waving his hand in the air as the cruiser came into view. Holly pulled up with a screech of brakes and a rush of exhaust fumes. Finn climbed out. Holly carried on talking into her radio. The sirens went quiet.

Jack was still talking to him on the cell. “I want these bastards, Brent. Personally I don’t give a shit about Plantain, but I sure as hell give a damn about the guy who shot that cop in front of me and then put a bullet in my back. Whatever is going on, I want them held accountable. You understand me?”

“I understand.” Something ugly tightened in Brent’s gut. “These guys are going down for what they’ve done.”

Finn’s blue eyes pinned him as he waited for him to end the call. “Holly just spoke to the captain of that cruise ship Anna’s mother and stepfather were on. The steward went down to the Plantains’ cabin to check on them at her request, and discovered another woman tied up and locked in the bathroom. She claims Ed Plantain locked her up when they discovered their respective spouses had
both
been abducted. She wanted to report it and Ed didn’t. He got violent when she told him she was going to do it anyway.”

“Sonofabitch.” All these lives disrupted for sixty million dollars. Hard to believe it was worth it.

“Airline records say Ed Plantain flew back alone and landed back in Victoria early this morning.”

Easy to guess the scenario. The bad guys had had enough of chasing Anna around the country and had instead taken Anna’s mom as leverage to draw her to them instead. And Ed had lied to Anna to make sure she didn’t suspect or back out. Brent couldn’t believe he’d let her meet the weasel alone, but his feathers had been ruffled by the fact he’d fallen for her after telling himself not to. He’d taken his eye off the goal.
Fuck
. This was all his fault.

“Holly already put out a be-on-the-lookout for Ed and his car, which has GPS tracking. They’re trying to get a trace on those phones, but it can take a few hours to get warrants and the phone companies onboard.”

“Meanwhile, they could be doing anything to Anna.”
Christ
. He remembered the guy he’d tackled at Anna’s home. The thought of her being abused or killed drove a spike through his heart. “My PI found the money Davis moved. Figures they’re mercs.” Holly heard him and held up her finger to tell him to wait one minute. “The cops need to freeze those funds.” Although that still might not keep Anna safe.
Shit
.

Finn grabbed his arm and lowered his voice. “I know what you’re going through, Brent. I was there last summer and it feels like someone is ripping your heart out with needles, but I’m here for you.”

Brent hadn’t forgotten, though he’d been numb from losing Gina at the time. He didn’t know what the hell he’d do if he lost Anna too. Finn hugged him hard and Brent closed his eyes before finally wrapping his arms around his brother and squeezing tight. Even after everything he’d done, Finn was still there for him. He’d never fully accepted it before, but he did now.

“Keep reaching out to those contacts of yours that Holly likes to pretend don’t exist. Don’t give up hope.” Finn dug his
fingers into his shoulder. “We’ll find her. They need somewhere quiet. Somewhere with computer access. Somewhere they can disappear.”

“Could be anywhere.”

Holly joined them, looking scarily official, armed, and in her uniform. Thank God she was on his side, although he hated having to follow the rules.

Finn’s phone rang and he checked the display with a frown. “It’s Laura Prescott from Bamfield.” His brother’s face turned hard as he listened to whatever Brent’s neighbor had to say. “Laura, I want you to listen to me very carefully. I want you to go to Thomas’s over at the marine lab
right now
. Get the hell out of there, but make it look like you’re just going to the store. No nosiness, got it? No heroics.”

Finn hung up on her. “Big-ass boat moored at your dock. A couple guys she doesn’t recognize patrolling your grounds.”

Holly went back to her radio. Brent turned ice cold inside. Would they be
that
bold? Why not? They’d already committed kidnap and murder. “It’s remote and has Internet access. But it could be a diversion or a coincidence.”

“Not likely. It’s a good spot. Last place we’d look as the cops only just finished processing the crime scene in the woods there. And hell, it would be a bonus if you and Anna just showed up unexpectedly.”

Brent shook his head. He couldn’t get his mind around this. “Anna hasn’t had time to reach the cabin yet.”

“Unless they had a helicopter,” Finn said quietly.

Brent was backing away from Finn. Finn watched him with that steady blue gaze.

“I’ve got a police chopper on standby,” Holly shouted through the open window. “And people checking for any unauthorized helicopter activity in the Alberni Valley area.”

Finn opened the front door of Holly’s police cruiser and motioned for his brother to get in. “I’ll sit in the back for a change.”

Brent stopped moving. Christ, he hadn’t realized how badly the thought of getting in the back of a cop car scared him. But his brother knew. His brother had always known.

“Let’s go,” Holly ordered.

Brent climbed in the front seat and held on as Holly whipped out of the parking lot. Sirens blaring, lights flashing. His heart was pounding but his mind was starting to focus. As long as they didn’t know where there money was, Anna was safe. Of course
safe
wasn’t the same as unharmed, but he pushed those thoughts aside so he could function. With luck they wouldn’t be too far ahead of them. With
luck
this wasn’t some giant wild goose chase. But right now they didn’t have anything else to go on.