No One to Trust (16 page)

He hated lying to her of all people,
especially after what they’d shared only hours before, but if it
meant keeping her safe and saving her brother, he’d make the same
decision again.

As they neared the marina where Lizzy was
going to tell Orlando to meet her—and where six members of the SWAT
team were already set up—the driver slowed and pulled into the
parking lot of a deserted international mini mart.

Grant turned around in the front passenger
seat. “It’s time Lizzy.”

Swallowing hard, she looked at Porter with
wide eyes. It was two in the morning. Enough time had passed that
it was perfect to contact Orlando. The criminal had to believe that
Lizzy would never endanger her brother and it wasn’t public
knowledge that she and Porter had ever dated. If she played it
right, she should be able to convince Orlando she’d had to wait to
sneak away from Porter’s protection.

“You can do this,” Porter murmured. He
reached out and took her free hand, squeezing reassuringly. While
he hated that she was involved in any of this he was proud of her.
After the way she’d handled herself on the phone with Orlando
yesterday afternoon he had no doubt she could pull this off.

Nodding, she punched in Orlando’s number and
pressed send. “I want to speak to Benny,” she said when someone
answered. Moments later her voice softened as she spoke to her
brother. Then suddenly she was abruptly cut off and her entire
demeanor changed.

Porter knew Orlando had likely taken the
phone from Benny. The bastard wouldn’t let her talk to her brother
very long. Just enough to convince her that he was all right.

Expression hard, she straightened against the
seat and she squeezed Porter’s hand as she spoke to Orlando. “I’m
at the Dinner Key Marina on my parent’s boat. Slip 302. It’s on the
east side—” There was a brief moment of silence. “Well if you know
where it is you won’t have a problem meeting me there.”

Another pause then she said, “It took me a
while to lose Porter Caldwell. My boss assigned him to watch me
after what happened so it wasn’t easy.” A brief beat of silence.
“I’m not meeting you anywhere else. Benny and I will be leaving on
my parent’s boat. I’m not letting you try to screw us over.”

Porter, Grant and their driver all listened
in silence as Lizzy continued convincing Orlando to meet her. When
she threatened to hang up and turn the notebook over to his
competitors, things wrapped up quickly.

The second she ended the call she dropped the
phone into her lap and took a deep breath. Her face was pale and
the hand he held was clammy, but when she looked at him all he saw
was raw determination in her eyes. “He’s going to be there. Let’s
go.”

Porter shot Grant a quick look. His brother’s
face was grim but he didn’t say anything, just slid out of the
passenger seat. The moment he’d shut the door behind him, the
vehicle jerked to life as the driver steered out of the parking
lot.

Lizzy looked out the tinted window as Grant
got into another SUV then she turned back to Porter, confusion on
her face. “What’s going on?”

“He’s heading to the marina to get in place
with the rest of the guys.” Grant and his boss had only involved a
very small fraction of the SWAT team and a few guys from vice they
trusted. There was no way in hell they’d chance this leaking to
Orlando. Not when he was finally within reach.

She withdrew her hand from his. “Why aren’t
we going with him?”

Porter wanted to reach for her again, but
decided against it. “Honey, they can’t allow a civilian to be part
of this operation.”

A frown marred her lips and he could see the
understanding in her eyes. “So…you lied to me?”

“I didn’t—”

“Yes, you did. You sure as hell didn’t
correct Grant when he told me I’d be waiting on that boat to lure
Orlando. When he reassured me his team would be covering me the
entire time and that they only needed to bring Orlando out into the
open to prove he’d kidnapped Benny. You sat there and held my hand
and didn’t say one damn word!” She crossed her arms over her chest
and scooted a little closer to the door—away from him.

“I promised you I’d help bring Benny home
alive. If you refused to work with them and didn’t call Orlando, or
tried to meet him on your own, you and Benny would have been
killed.”

“Why didn’t you just tell me the truth and
give me a chance to make the right decision?” she asked
quietly.

The accusations he saw in her dark eyes
sliced right through his chest, making him feel even shittier.
“They needed to make sure you would call Orlando. This operation
had to go off without a hitch. Everything you said to him needed to
be believable.”

“Did you know about this before or after we…”
Even in the darkened vehicle he could see her cheeks flush red. She
glanced at the driver then back at Porter.

“After, but…I knew that once they had the
notebook you wouldn’t like whatever plan they came up with.” Might
as well go with full honesty.

Her lips thinned. “I don’t understand why I
can’t be there. Grant said Orlando was never going to make it to
the boat. What if he gets to the marina and doesn’t have Benny?
What if—”

“You’re a civilian. There is no way in hell
they’d allow you to even remotely be a part of this. There’s an
undercover policewoman on the boat so in case he sends someone to
scout it out first, ‘you’ will be there. But you have no place
there.” Something he had no doubt she understood perfectly
well.

With her arms crossed, she turned in her seat
away from him and stared out the window. “You shouldn’t have lied
to me.”

He scrubbed a hand over his face. “I…I know.
And I’m sorry for that. But not for anything else. Even if for some
insane reason Grant would have allowed you to be involved, I
wouldn’t have.”

Her head whipped back around, her eyes
blazing. “You wouldn’t have
allowed
me?”

“Damn straight.” If she thought he’d ever let
her walk head first into danger, she was out of her mind.

Her dark eyes narrowed and she opened her
mouth, no doubt to blast him, when his cell phone buzzed. Porter
tensed when he saw Grant’s name. “Yeah?”

“Lizzy still with you?” His voice was
grim.

Of course she was. Porter tightened his grip
on the phone. “What’s going on?”

“I need to talk to her.”

“Grant—”

“Sorry man, I’ve gotta talk to Lizzy.” There
was no room for argument in his brother’s voice.

That alone told Porter something very bad had
happened.
Please don’t let it be Benny
, he silently prayed.
His gut twisted as he handed the phone to her. “It’s Grant, he
wants to talk to you.”

Her eyebrows drew together. “What about?”
Porter shook his head as she took the phone and held it up to her
ear. “Grant?…Wha…I don’t understand…But…How…” Tears started rolling
down her cheeks as she dropped the cell.

Porter picked it up and started to speak to
his brother when Lizzy broke into a sob. “Benny’s dead.”

A vise tightened around Porter’s chest.
Shit.
He ended the call and shoved the phone in his pocket.
He’d get the details later. Right now Lizzy needed comforting. He
attempted to pull her into his arms but she jerked away from him,
slapping at his chest. “Don’t touch me!”

He reached for her again, desperately wanting
to offer support. “Lizzy—”

With a pale face and shaking hands, she
shoved his hands away. “Oh God, I’m going to be sick.” She slapped
a hand over her mouth. Tears tracked down her cheeks as she
struggled with her seatbelt so he unsnapped it.

Her face was ashen and she made a blind grab
for the door handle so he tapped their driver and motioned to the
gas station they were approaching on the right side of the road. A
neon sign proclaimed they were open twenty-four hours.

Nodding, the guy pulled in to the brightly
lit station. There weren’t any other cars there so they got a spot
right out front. Lizzy—still holding a hand over her mouth—jumped
from the vehicle and darted for the glass doors before Porter had
even unbuckled himself.

He thought about calling Grant but decided to
go in and wait for her. She’d likely want some privacy while she
got sick but he’d be waiting outside the door when she was
done.

The store was quiet, the young female Asian
clerk texting on her phone barely glanced his way when he entered.
Once outside the unisex bathroom door, he knocked lightly.
“Lizzy?”

“Go away.” Her voice was muffled but he could
hear the tears in it.

“Lizzy—”

“Just give me a couple minutes!” She sounded
angry, not that he blamed her. He knew once it fully hit her that
Benny was dead she’d be a wreck. And he planned to be there for
her.

He wanted to call Grant back and demand
answers. Wanted to know how the hell Benny had been killed and who
had done it. Guilt ran rampant through Porter as he wondered if
they should have done something differently. He’d never know until
he knew the details.

When he heard Lizzy quietly crying inside the
restroom it was like knives being dragged across his skin. He
raised his hand to knock again but knew her well enough that she
wouldn’t appreciate the intrusion. Hating that she was stuck in a
fucking gas station bathroom crying, he took a step back and headed
down the aisles until he reached a cooler of doors and pulled out a
water bottle for her. He might not be able to ease any of her
sorrow but he could at least take care of her the best way he knew
how.

When he heard the bell above the door jingle
he automatically glanced toward the front of the store. A young
Spanish guy, maybe in his early twenties, was at the counter buying
cigarettes. That wasn’t what interested Porter though. The guy had
a black and blue bandana shoved in his back pocket.

Ducking down, Porter made his way over a few
more aisles until he had a perfect view of the front of the
station. There was a blue muscle car that looked just like the one
he’d seen outside the motel. There was no one else inside though.
So this guy was alone.

Porter peered around the edge of the aisle to
get a good look at the guy. Just flirting with the sales clerk, not
paying any attention to his surroundings. Which meant he hadn’t
been following them. The area of town they were in wasn’t exactly a
rough neighborhood but it was on the cusp of a bad neighborhood.
The same one the Seventy Ninth Street gang frequented.

Just great.

Any other day it wouldn’t have mattered.
Setting the water on the ground, Porter hurried around the corner
of the aisle so that he was walking parallel to the glass windows.
He wanted to get as close to the door as possible, but still remain
hidden from the guy.

Porter was too far away to get to Lizzy and
there was a big gap of space between the aisles of food and the
short hallway where the restroom was. Nowhere for him to hide his
approach. He just prayed she stayed inside. If she did, they
wouldn’t have any issues. If she came out and the guy at the
register recognized her, things could get shitty.

As the guy pocketed his change then grabbed
cigarettes and a candy bar, Porter saw Lizzy stride out of the
restroom. Her head was down as she wiped tears from her cheeks and
her skin was abnormally pale beneath the harsh fluorescent
lights.

The young male hadn’t noticed her. His back
was to Lizzy as he turned toward the front doors. Crouching a few
inches lower, Porter remained hidden behind the first row of canned
sodas and beers. Every muscle in his body was tense as he readied
himself for a fight even while he prayed it wouldn’t come to
that.

For a brief moment, he let a small breath of
relief escape. Then the guy turned back around.

It was as if everything moved into slow
motion. The gang member headed back for the register but paused
when he saw Lizzy. He reached into his pocket and Porter took a
step forward, only stopping when the guy pulled a phone out.

He looked at the screen, then back at Lizzy.
Then
he reached into his jacket pocket.

Porter didn’t pause to wait and see if he
pulled out a weapon. Silently, he moved out from behind the long
row and rushed at the guy.

Though he didn’t make a sound, the clerk made
a slight yelping sound, causing the dark-haired guy to turn in
Porter’s direction. In the guy’s hand was a .45 semi-automatic
pistol.

Porter was vaguely aware of the woman behind
the register screaming and Lizzy letting out a strangled sound, but
all his focus was on the gang member. Without losing momentum, he
opened his arms and tackled him, not giving him a chance to raise
his weapon. Porter had one of his own, but this wasn’t a situation
that called for it.

As he made contact, the guy let out a loud
grunt as he slammed into the tile. His head hit the floor and
bounced up. Porter heard the gun clatter to the floor, but that
wasn’t enough. With a sharp punch, he jabbed the guy in the ribs.
This guy had tried to kill Lizzy, or scare the hell out of her,
twice.

The dark haired guy began to struggle and
even though Porter would have loved to beat the shit out of him, he
wrenched one arm up and twisted him over until he was face down.
When he tried to fight Porter, he raised the arm higher so that if
the guy moved, his arm would snap. A dark part of Porter wouldn’t
mind if the guy’s arm broke. It wouldn’t be punishment enough.

Out of the corner of Porter’s eye he watched
Lizzy picking up the fallen gun. A quick glance at her made his gut
clench. She looked almost frozen with shock. Her eyes were wide and
her face even paler than before. “Are you okay, Porter?” Her voice
was wobbly and watery and damn it, he wanted to slam this guy’s
head into the tile again for that.

“I’m fine, honey. Get behind that aisle and
keep the gun close to you.” He nodded with his head, hoping she’d
follow directions. Once she was out of sight, he glanced over his
shoulder at the door. He twisted the gang member’s body so that
they were facing the front of the store and Porter’s back wasn’t
exposed.