SEIZED Part 3: Steamy Romantic Suspense (Seize Me Romance Fiction Series) (5 page)

Carrie

I brace myself for what this man is about to tell me on the phone.

“Carrie, I hate so say it, but yes—that’s exactly what we suspect is going on. We think Neon’s play is to manipulate Blake into giving up his position on the force, and bringing him in to join her team. Or worse, she may convince him to stay on the force and play both sides.”

I shake my head. Of course something this twisted is going on. Of course! My life is crazy. It’s almost like a children’s story gone wrong. The evil witch tries to get back her handsome prince, and a young maiden gets lost in the process. Only it’s a modern day nightmare of a fairytale—with needles and blood diseases and prostitution and death.

“What do you want me to do about it, Jason? What could I possibly do? She’s obviously twisted up enough already. Surely adding me to the mix is not good?”

“You’re already involved, Carrie. You were there during the attack, and you got away. You’re close to Blake as well. You said yourself she phoned and threatened you.”

“And if you have all this information why can’t you organize a raid on her apartment buildings and be done with it?” I ask.

“It’s never that simple, Carrie. Many of these victims are so addicted to drugs, they cover for Neon. They say she’s their friend; that she’s not a pimp, and they go so far as to say they are with her of their free will. It’s the drugs. We need hard evidence to bring her down. We need to witness the transactions. And that’s where you come in.

“We want you to use your relationship with Blake to draw Neon out. We also want you to accompany us to point out whether April is one of the women she’s pimping from her apartments. We are not looking for you to engage Neon directly. Not on your own. Other than a few private conversations with Blake, on the phone or in person, you will not be in physical contact with Neon or anyone else. I’ll give you more details when we meet in person.”

“I have to ask. Is this about Neon or Blake?” I can’t believe I’m still thinking of protecting him after everything that’s been said. I don’t want to throw Blake under the bus. Still, I want to know.

“Blake’s loyalties are still unclear. He won’t know about the operation at all. Although he may show up, you’re going to have to lead the charge in compelling him to go to Neon.”

I’m starting to think Jason is giving me tidbits and not the big picture. He continues to avoid my questions about Blake, and coming to think about it, he isn’t saying much about April either. This tacit avoidance makes me even more uneasy.

Fear surges around the joints in my fingers as they hold the phone. It swirls into my chest and I can barely breathe. This is real fear. If they don’t know whether Blake will protect me, there’s no guarantee April will be safe after I poke the sleeping bear that is Neon.

I’ll be walking into a situation which could hurt me emotionally, and it may hurt April physically. Am I really strong enough to be in the same area code as Blake’s ex-girlfriend, April’s attacker and Blake himself, if it comes down to it? I have no idea. Jason is saying one thing, but my gut is telling me I may be agreeing to take a massive risk.

“Agent Cooper, how much of everything you’ve told me is grounded in evidence, and how much is speculation?”

“Carrie, all I can ask is for you to trust that we’ve come to these findings through a thorough investigative process. Can you do that? Do you trust me?”

Trust. There’s that word again. I hate the word just as much as the act of giving it to yet another man. Still, what choice do I have? This operation he’s looking to undergo gives me more involvement than anything Blake ever offered. I have a chance to help find April, so for the moment, I have to try out this trust thing again.

“I think so.”

“Good, trust is a habit, it’s a muscle. When you use it, it gets stronger. You might be afraid, but I will help you get through this, okay?”

His voice is so calm and self-assured, I can’t help feeling better. If I trust him, I could be heading into one of the most dangerous situations I’ve ever been in. There’s a decision to be made.

“Okay. Yes. I’ll do it.”

We set up a time to meet before I hang up the phone. The notes on my laptop suddenly look incredibly detailed. I begin to see everything in extreme close-up, the way our sight focuses in when the adrenalin is pumping. The pixels of the screen almost throb in the light reflected off a mirror behind me. This is one of those moments in time where my life is about to change forever. Knowing this and then making the decision to go ahead anyway is on me.

A birthday notification pops up in my email box. Without Facebook, I probably wouldn’t remember anyone’s big day, so I head on to the site, make the appropriate encouraging comments, and end up distracting myself with some memories from the past. Looking through photos makes me melancholy.

It’s a sad day when your history seems so far away. Even the photos of me from a few weeks ago look like a different person. My happy smiling face looks foreign. If that girl had any idea of what she’d face less than a month later, she would never have left Iowa. Life just falls down around us sometimes. There’s no warning.

I pay the waitress and head back to my room. For a moment, I cry. I know it’s not productive, but I can’t help myself. A dark mood has settled over me. It has everything to do with finding out about Blake’s lies. Who knows if anything he’s told me is the truth.

I picture my heart inside my chest. Instead of healthily beating, it’s a shriveled up prune, black and rotting. Somehow, it’s still keeping me breathing, and seeing every detail in the fabric of the comforter on my bed.

This is where the rubber hits the road. If I’m serious about helping April, now is the time to do something. Who would have thought my pre-teen detective fantasies would become a reality. The irony is ridiculous. I’ve never been more scared in my life.

The idea of manipulating Blake to get in front of to his ex; trying to turn them against each other; and entrapping her or the both of them for human trafficking;
and
saving my best friend in the process—well, it’s horrific.

              The most important person in this is April. I care about uncovering what Blake’s been doing, but more than anything, I want my friend back. I want us to be back in Iowa and to have all of this forgotten. Lately, every time I want to share something, I forget she’s not here. I miss her deeply, and I haven’t stopped lately to imagine what she’s going through.

April is beautiful, the blond hair and perfect body will make her a target for every sleazebag on the block. If they put her on the street it will likely be the end of her. She’s not strong enough to cope with something this awful.

I picture the way she held her shoulders when she was speaking at her parent’s funeral. Only I knew how hard it was for her to stand up there. From the outside, she looked like a model of strength. The truth is she had to be highly medicated to pull it together that morning. It’s that image that finally spurs me to take action. I get up and prepare myself for the meeting. It’s now or never, because my courage will fail me otherwise.

The bureau sends a car for me and reception calls up when it’s ready. Jason has told me to wear clothes that aren’t too restrictive because after my contrived argument with Blake, I may be sitting in a car with his team for hours, to see if he leads us to where Neon may have April working the streets.

He does not want me to wire me up because he feels Blake won’t hurt me if we meet in person. What’s more important to them is where Blake will go after our feigned disagreement; after I purposely tell him I’m still investigating what went down at the warehouse, and implicate Neon.

I follow his instructions with another trusty pair of yoga pants and a white cotton t-shirt that I match with sneakers. Gym clothes are becoming my standard wardrobe essential for this trip. I guess I can’t complain.

I head downstairs and meet a woman from the FBI who’s waiting at reception for me. She’s dressed in almost the exact same outfit as me, except in a different color scheme. She signals for me to follow her to the car, and smiles kindly at the doorman as we leave. I briefly wonder where she keeps her gun—there aren’t pockets in any yoga pants I’ve ever bought. Plus, how would she hide that bulge?

Once I’m in the front passenger seat, she turns to me and smiles kindly. “Carrie, it’s good to meet you. I’m Agent Christina Robinson. I’ll be helping to brief you on what will happen today.”

Remembering my manners, I shake her hand smile confidently. I may be scared shitless on the inside, but if I don’t tell a soul, it feels less real. “Nice to meet you. So you’re working on this case too?”

I ask it casually, and manage to keep up a flow of conversation as we inch into traffic.

“I am. I’ve been on the team tracking Neon since last August. She’s smart and she’s brutal. You’re helping us take a predator off the streets. You’re doing a good thing.”

“Would you do it if you were me?”

“Honestly, Carrie, I believe I would. If I were in a position to help a friend, I would do it. Are you having second thoughts?”

“No.” I say it with finality, but I’m more worried about my heart. I feel overwhelmed. Everything that’s happened in my life has led up to this, and I don’t think I can deal with any more heartbreak.

“Good. We’ll brief you at the local field office, and afterward, we’ll be off to get you in front of Blake in New Jersey.”

“Hang on a minute. Did you say we’re going to meet Blake in New Jersey? Agent Cooper said all I needed to do was speak to Blake, maybe talk to him at the hotel, then sit in the car with you to point out April if I see her.”

“Yes that was the original plan, but one of our surveillance teams spotted Blake in New Jersey. If he’s still there by the end of our briefing, we’ll take you to the Blue Star warehouse, and have you phone him from outside. We have to be able to adapt and adjust as we go. Is that still okay with you?”

I nod, but I feel I’m in over my head. What else about their plan is going to change on the fly like that? I’m hoping they won’t get to where they suggest hanging a piece of meat around my neck and laying me out to be eaten by Neon.

After a short drive, we pull into the parking lot of an office building that looks unremarkable in every way. There’s no indication it’s a government building—no signs outside, no government seals painted on the floor at the entrance, and nothing on the tired-looking glass door that slides open to admit us to reception. It seems the FBI that they create in movies doesn’t actually exist. I feel a little disappointed. I was looking forward to a little intrigue.

She walks me through an equally uninteresting set of wooden sliding doors, and finally the inner sanctum of the agency begins to unravel in front of my eyes. It reminds me of the main floor of a stock exchange. The center pit is sunk down and accessible by stairs that I’m careful not to trip over. I want to make a good impression for my entry. When Jason turns around to signal his hello, I feel official. I hope I’m doing the right thing.

There’s something magnetic about the place. Large screens mounted on the wall project various images of people, maps and structures. Staff are busy on their phones, and quiet beeping is coming from the several computer monitors. There’s a raised room at the back, with a giant screen behind a huge boardroom style table, and too many chairs to count.

Everyone seems to move quickly, like their work is urgent. It’s authority in action. I don’t know if this all has to do with April’s case, but I feel more secure she’s in the hands of these guys now. Blake just never seemed like he was fully in control of the investigation.

Control is clearly what Jason specializes in. My mind briefly flashes back to this morning and the way he licked his lips at one point. The corners of my mouth turn up a little. Thank God I can still enjoy a giggle despite the gravity of the situation.

“Hi Jason, how are you?”

“I’m well thanks. Carrie, has Agent Robinson filled you in yet?”

“Yes she has. Thank you, Agent Cooper,” I say, upgrading to the super professional tone he set on the phone this morning.

I’ve had enough emotion lately to last a lifetime and I’d rather we work as professionals—it’s a level I understand. They lead me to a vacant boardroom and the three of us sit down.

Jason is rushed to start. “Okay, so you’ll need to be fitted for a wire.”

I’m tempted to roll my eyes. It seems like I agreed to hang fresh meat around my neck, after all. His plans are like shifting sands.
What the hell have I gotten myself into?
He keeps talking and I tune him out long enough for him to notice.

“Everything okay, Carrie?”

“Can we go back to the part about wearing a wire? I’m a little confused. If I’m only speaking with Blake, why do I need a wire?”

“Simple. It’s safer this way. We can monitor what Blake says to you and keep you in closer contact.”

Before I can raise a concern, he goes on.

“Once you’re wired up, we’ll show you some photos of the people in Neon’s organization. She has a few different scouts in the area. It’s likely they would have notified her last time you visited to the warehouse. You may have seen one in passing and didn’t realize they work for her.

“After that, we’ll take you to the area, and let you off so you can phone Blake from the front of the Blue Star building. We’ll have eyes on you and be very close at all times. If Blake comes to get you in person, we will follow him. You will insist on taking a cab back to your hotel, so he won’t have to worry about taking you back there himself. We’ll have one car meet you a few blocks from Blue Star, to rendezvous with our surveillance cars that will track Blake. Then, we all wait and watch.