Radiant Surrender (CSA Case Files Book 6) (30 page)

“Schultz has his hands full at the moment and from the evidence my team is pulling together, there won’t need to be any hearings after today,” Crest said, stating the truth as he saw it. “Unfortunately, Weaver doesn’t know this and currently has his men in place to take you out to secure his future. He thinks without your testimony the charges will be dropped and he’ll be able to continue along whatever path of corruption he’s on. It doesn’t benefit me or my team to protect you now that Weaver has imploded.”

“You’re bluffing.” Ryland met Crest stare for stare, but he wasn’t about to back down. Of course he didn’t have any evidence against Weaver that would stand up in a Senate hearing. Time was running out and Kevin, with the assistance of Ethan and Jax, were clearing the building at this precise moment. Hell, a part of him wanted Ryland to maintain his stance of silence just so Weaver could put an end to Ryland’s reign of terror. “What would it matter if Weaver used someone else to eliminate Coate? Weaver has a mile long payroll list and has made sure they can’t talk.”

“You talked,” Crest pointed out, making it seem that he had all the time in the world when each second that passed made it harder to extract Ryland from this hotel. “Why?”

Something in the window, even though the shades were pulled, must have caught Ryland’s attention because the man moved swiftly, albeit gracefully, to take up position in the foyer. Crest went on the assumption that it was the light of a scope, but it didn’t really matter at this point. Kevin’s voice came through Crest’s earpiece, alerting him to the fact that the hotel was now clear. It was time to move and he didn’t have the information he wanted.

“I needed Weaver out of the picture,” Ryland stated, as if that would clear up the air. “You were the one who could do that for me. It’s a win-win.”

“Not so much of a win now,” Crest said, out of time and deciding that he’d given Ryland enough rope. It was time to walk away. “Weaver has the place surrounded with his men. I’d give you a weapon as a courtesy if I thought you wouldn’t shoot me in the back, so I guess you’ll have to make do with what you can find. I hear the kitchen has some sharp knives if you possess that kind of skill.”

The sound of gunshots could be heard loud and clear through the heavy door. The Gentry Security agent that was posted inside immediately drew his weapon and waited for Crest’s orders. There was no way in hell that Crest would allow Ryland to be taken out by Weaver. He’d given his word to Schultzy and by God, he’d keep it. He’d managed to get word to his friend that something big was going down, but it was a crapshoot if he could be here in time when the shitstorm hit. From his position it looked like he was just dealt a load of crap.

“Take him upstairs,” Crest barked, withdrawing his 1911A1 and striding to the door without bothering to see if his order was carried through. Someone had been able to make their way up the staircase without any of his people knowing. Lach was on the other side of the door with a couple of Gentry agents, but damn if there hadn’t been a mistake somewhere. “SITREP.”

“One shooter located in stairwell. Covered.” Lach answered via a secure handheld radio system they’d all been issued. Crest carefully opened the door before joining Lach and the two other agents that they’d recruited from Gentry Security who currently had their weapons trained on the stairwell door fifty feet down the hallway. The third agent had the elevator bank covered. “Kevin and Connor are starting on the first floor and will flush the target our way.”

“Whoever it is, he had to have been positioned there before we cleared the building.” Crest ran through their options and came up with little alternative but to try and remove Ryland from the premises if there was more than one threat in the building. The original proposal had been to siege the hotel and prevent Weaver from being able to use the men under him to falsely arrest Ryland and subsequently execute him en route to detention. Schultz was in the midst of preparing a safe transfer and it was only a matter of hours before agents under his command would have come to relieve CSA of their burden, but that plan was blown all to fuck. “What’s your status, Connor?”

“Multiple targets on the perimeter. Entrances secure.”

“One shooter in the stairwell,” Crest said, having every confidence that his team could eliminate the threat that was inside the building. “Flush him out.”

“Copy,” was said by several voices.

Kevin and Jax were working their way up the stairwell. Ethan gave his position at the elevator bank and explained that he was pulling the brakes and having the elevators remain on the first floor so that no one could use them as an escape route. Taryn was the only one not on the immediate premises for she was operating their communications command center. She was close by should they need her though.

The door swung open behind Crest and within a few milliseconds he had his barrel pressed against Ryland’s forehead, finger on the trigger. The man was smart enough to keep his hands up even though he was in possession of a weapon. There wasn’t a tremor in his fingers, indicating he was confident of the outcome. Crest resisted the urge to pull the trigger, eliminating one problem before turning his attention to Weaver. After all, he gave the man a promise.

“Let me draw her out before someone gets hurt. Weaver either fed her a bunch of bullshit and sent her on a suicide mission or he didn’t realize that you were one step ahead of him.” Ryland let the weapon he’d taken from the agent inside dangle from his fingertips. “Let me try and talk to her.”

“Her?” Crest asked as Lach took the weapon from Ryland’s hand. Crest didn’t remove the barrel of his gun. He’d given all the rope that he was willing to give. “I’m done playing games, Ryland. I’ll take both of you out along with Weaver. You have two seconds to tell me what I need to know or the game ends.”

“Weaver is smarter than you give him credit for,” Ryland said, still stalling for time that Weaver wasn’t giving them. “You need to—”

Crest lowered his weapon and fired a round into Ryland’s leg. The angle of the trajectory wasn’t enough to kill him, but it was enough to cause adequate pain. The building was secure with the exception of whoever was in that stairwell. It was an easy elimination due to the fact that
she
was surrounded. There was only one way out…surrender or be killed. Ryland leaned against the frame and bent over, grabbing the wound with his fingers.

“Son of a bitch,” Ryland painfully laughed in astonishment. “I didn’t think you had the guts.”

“The next goes in the middle of your chest. Who’s in the stairwell?”

“Yvette. She’s the only one who would have been able to get close to Coates. He was the ringleader and promised Weaver position and power if he’d do the dirty work in positioning certain people within the government.” Ryland barked another laugh as more blood flowed through his finger. Crest figured it was a coping mechanism, but he didn’t give a shit. Yvette Capre? Her body had been in the morgue, DNA had been done, and Taryn had essentially buried her half-sister. The voices in his earpiece had gone silent. “She’s got nothing to lose, Crest.”

Lach fired his weapon, giving Crest the indication that Yvette was either panicking at the knowledge they had her trapped or she wanted to finish the job she was hired to do.

“Was she given a contract on your head or is she here to try and extradite you from this situation?”

“I didn’t even know she was alive until you told me about Coates,” Ryland admitted, removing his tie and using it as a tourniquet. Once it was knotted off he wagged a finger at Crest. “Do you know who this suit was made by?”

“Again—an answer or a bullet?” Crest asked, ignoring Ryland’s attempt to delay the inevitable.

“Yvette, I know you can hear me,” Ryland called out, never breaking eye contact with Crest and looking as calm now as he did when he’d been enjoying his drink with the exception of the pain in his eyes. Crest was certain it was from the physical trauma and not emotional. “Whatever Weaver promised you isn’t coming through. He’s done.”

“We’re in position,” Ethan said, his voice coming through Crest’s earpiece loud and clear.

Gunfire exploded around the building at the same time that Connor declared more agents had descended. Ryland or Yvette couldn’t hear the exchange, but Schultz’s men were going head to head with Weaver’s agents. It wouldn’t be long before the building was stormed and there was only one command he could give that wouldn’t endanger his team or Ryland.

“Take her out.”

Ryland cursed underneath his breath at the same time that Kevin and Jax stormed the space where Yvette should have been. Lach and the other agents had their weapons trained down the hallway, expecting her to burst through the door. Crest never wavered his pistol from Ryland’s head.

“Target’s gone! Target’s gone!”

Crest could hear Kevin and Jax giving each other information as they continued one flight up to the roof of the building, but what he hadn’t expected was for more gunshots to be fired from within the penthouse. Yvette must have used the roof as an access, although he couldn’t fathom how. The wood splintered next to Ryland’s head as the second bullet pierced the man’s shoulder up high. Crest saw a movement on the stairs and returned fire, forging ahead with Lach by his side. He heard a woman cry out as he hit his intended target. His motto of adapt, improvise, and overcome seemed a little harder to execute when Yvette Capre landed at the bottom of the stairs with a grenade in her fist…pin out.

Chapter Twenty-Eight

J
essie paced back and forth, eyeing Townes’ friends who were currently standing their posts around the apartment. One of them was in front of the coffee machine and watching it brew. She thought Townes said the main man’s name was Briggs but she wasn’t certain. He wasn’t exactly the type of man she thought Townes would be hanging around. Briggs reminded Jessie of the federal agents she worked with, with his square jaw, GQ haircut, and by the book attitude. The man even followed her to the bathroom and stood outside the door. It was starting to piss her off and she would have laughed at the fact that she was missing Townes if it hadn’t been for the reason. Hours had passed and she’d yet to hear a word from Gavin—nothing at all.

It might have been her and the fact that the weekend was cut short, but it was as if she could feel him pulling away from her. Jessie wrapped her arms around herself, trying to take the cold away. The night had brought a slight chill even in a warm room and the apartment felt colder than she knew it was. She was still wearing her lightweight blouse that she’d changed into once they’d reached town, which did nothing to keep her warm. She needed Gavin here to pull her into his arms and take away the doubts that were building up inside of her.

“You’re more than welcome to use the burner phone that Crest left behind,” Briggs said, looking over his shoulder in his apparent disagreement. “I wouldn’t have allowed it, but he calls the shots.”

Jessie resisted the urge to tell him that there was a reason Gavin called the shots and not him, but she figured she’d better keep her mouth shut. She’d not been involved in CSA for a while and she knew that Gavin was considering expanding the team. God help them if Briggs was a part of it…his rigid mentality wouldn’t get him far. The team thought outside the box on the majority of their cases and that’s what made them unique.

“I think I’ll do that,” Jessie announced, pleased that there was something she could do to get under this man’s skin. Talking to her sister would give her something to do to take her mind off of the person she really wanted to talk to. Was he safe? Jessie thought of calling Taryn, but she knew from the calls that Gavin had made on the way here that the entire team was all involved with whatever was happening tonight. She dialed her sister’s number, knowing full well that Briggs would destroy the phone once her call was completed. She waited, hoping her sister would answer or else Jessie had just wasted a phone. “Sarah? Hey, it’s me. Have you spoken to Mom and Dad?”

“I’m so glad you called,” Sarah said in a low voice. As a matter of fact, her sister was practically whispering. Jessie turned away so she was facing the wall, not wanting Briggs to get an indication that something was wrong. “Uncle John is here.”

“What?” Jessie asked, needing the words repeated. She had to have misunderstood.

“You heard me. He rang the doorbell fifteen minutes ago,” Sarah murmured, obviously out of earshot from the uninvited guest. “I had to ask him in. We haven’t seen him in years, but I’m getting a weird vibe from him. Something is wrong and I don’t know what to do.”

Jessie felt her palms start to perspire. Sarah didn’t know John’s true identity and it needed to stay that way. The less her sister knew the better. Jessie needed to be there, but there was no way that Briggs would allow her to leave this apartment, let alone be the one to drive her to Wisconsin. Some of Townes’ men were watching Sarah’s house, but they wouldn’t interfere unless they thought Sarah was in danger.

“We haven’t seen him in years and all of a sudden he shows up out of the blue? It’s late, so he’s got to be leaving soon.” Sarah said, her anxiety coming through loud and clear. “Shit.”