Saint (13 page)

“Gabe’s a little touchy on that subject.
But he’s right, you know.” Francis hitched a foot on the step, resting his
forearm on his thigh. “And you said yourself this isn’t just about Juarez. You’re
taking on all the people who have a stake in his operation. Powerful people who
don’t want him convicted any more than he does, because they know there’s a
good chance he’ll roll over on them and cut a deal to save his own ass. More
than likely, he’ll never see the inside of a cell. They’ll give him immunity,
maybe a few fines, sentence suspended. And if he gives up all his contacts,
they’ll offer him Witness Protection, same as you and any other Federal
witness. What will you do then, Angelface?”

“Why don’t you just come out and say it,
Francis? You think I’m naïve and stupid. That there isn’t any justice in the
system, so why bother?” And she was getting really tired of them looking at her
like she was some sort of nutcase. She knew Juarez was dangerous—he’d been
trying to kill her for the last six months, hadn’t he? But he wasn’t the first
to ever get entangled in the legal system by a courageous citizen looking to
right a wrong, and he wouldn’t be the last. Because as long as there were
people like her out there, people who believed in the system, there was hope.

“I don’t think you’re stupid, honey. Hell,
you managed to do what the Feds have been trying to do for more than a decade.
It takes smarts to get the drop on somebody like Juarez. But is risking your
life to put him in prison going to bring Jimmy back, or just make you feel
better because you can say you didn’t sit back and do nothing?” Francis shook
his head, disgust and regret settling into the lines on his face. “This is Will’s
fault. He knew this would happen. He’s had his eye on Juarez for years and he
finally got the chance to make good through you. Too bad he didn’t calculate
the survival odds correctly. But then, he was never good at math.”

“What…what does that mean?”

“It means whatever happens now is up to the
colonel.”

* * * * *

Seth pulled his truck to a stop outside the
shed and shut off the ignition. He didn’t want to face Maria Carvania. He didn’t
want to care. He knew, now
,
why Will had insisted he take her—the DEA agent knew he probably
wouldn’t make it to trial.

“Nice night.” Francis appeared out of the
shadows to lean against the cab door. “Joan made it in this afternoon.”

“Gabe?”

“Mmm, hmm.”

“What is it, Francis?” Seth asked wearily.

“My best guess? Juarez isn’t the only one
looking for your package.”

“Meaning?”

“Meaning she intends to go after every
official who ever took a bribe from the scum. She’s in for the whole ball of
wax. Gabe nearly came unglued. When Joan showed up, I think she figured out the
rest.” After a moment’s silence, Francis said, “I didn’t think you’d do it.”

“I’m not. Just a precaution.” That’s what
he’d been telling himself every waking hour since he’d met Maria Carvania. And
the fact-finding mission to D.C.—nothing more than necessary preliminary
legwork any good handler would do before plotting out a course of action. Now
that he knew which side was up, he had a plan.

“Joan will be disappointed,” Francis said.

“Joan will get over it. How is she?”

“Climbing the walls.” Francis stepped back
as he exited the truck.

“You were supposed to remedy that while I
was gone.”

“I tried. We were having a regular tea
party ’til Joan showed up.”

* * * * *

Maria glanced up as her bedroom door opened,
surprised when Seth stepped into the room instead of the sweet-talking Francis.
“You’re back,” she said unnecessarily, sliding from the bed. He looked tired
from the long drive and was in need of a shave. His jaw was covered with what
looked to be two days’ worth of stubble. Over the last several weeks his hair
had grown out some and a lock of it hung down over his forehead. “Any sign of
Will? Did you find him?”

“I found him.”

Relief flooded through her. Now she could
get off this mountain and away from this group of warmongers posing as
babysitters. “Good,” she breathed. “I have to talk to him and straighten this
mess out.” She dragged her duffel from beneath the bed and began pulling what
few clothes she had out of drawers. “This whole situation has gotten way out of
control. I know what Will did and you were right to refuse to get involved.”

Harris said nothing, just stood silently
inside the doorway, watching her.

“I’ll make him understand this isn’t right,
that this isn’t what I agreed to and that I want no part of it. I can make him
listen.” When Harris still didn’t reply, she paused, shirt in hand, to look at
him. Not that he was the most animated guy in the world, or even very talkative,
but today something about him was different. Grim lines edged his mouth. His
stoic features were harder than usual. Stone hard. And those feral blue eyes
were…

A burning feeling slicked across the back
of her neck. “You’re not going to take me to Will, are you?”

He shook his head.

“Why?”

He offered nothing in the way of
explanation except to say, “Will can’t help you anymore. I’ll make arrangements
to transfer you to a safe place until the trial.”

“Transfer me? What am I, baggage? No, I
need to talk to him. Can he be reached by phone? Can I at least send him a
message?”

“No.”

Frustration, fury and frenzied panic
swirled in her stomach. She slung the shirt she was holding down on the bed. “This
is just some sick game to you guys, isn’t it? You don’t have a real war to
fight, so you’ll use any excuse that comes down the pike to play war games and
show how macho you are. Well, I’m not going to be part of your weekend show. If
you won’t take me to Will, tell me where he is and I’ll find him myself. Then
you’ll be rid of me like you wanted and you can all go back to doing whatever
it is you do.”

“The boys didn’t play nice this week?”

He really was the most exasperating man. “Tell
them the mission is over
and they can go home. I won’t have Juarez’s murder on my conscience.”

Harris let out a travel-fatigued breath and
crossed his arms. “Maybe you should tell me what, exactly, you do want, Maria.
Juarez isn’t enough? You want to take a sledgehammer to all the cogs turning
the wheel too? Woman, do you have any idea how many people are out for your
blood?”

Hadn’t Will explained any of this to him?
It felt like all she was doing, as far as Harris was concerned, was going
around in circles. “Matter of fact, I do. Two senators, a congressman, the
governor of California and several port authorities. You name an official,
Juarez has ties to them. I didn’t decide just yesterday to add them to the
list. I have taped conversations, documents, names, addresses, dates… Even the
names of fake corporations they used to hide the money. And here’s the
unbelievable part—I managed to get all that without the Marines’ help, thank
you very much.”

“What’s in it for you?”

The tone of his question made her uneasy. “Not
that it’s any of your business, but my magazine gets the exclusive and I get to
clear Jimmy’s name.”

“Ah, fame.” He smiled coldly. “Now we’re
getting down to it.”

“It’s not about the publicity!” How dare he
assume she’d risked so much for something as fleeting as fifteen minutes in the
spotlight. Maria closed her eyes and thought about Bethy—her future, her
safety. Jimmy’s senseless death. Her mother’s heart attack when she could no
longer cope with the stigma from family and friends. “My editor at the magazine
knew I was fishing for something—I never gave her any specifics—and offered to
let me do it my way if I gave them an exclusive.”

“All of this just to clear your brother’s
name?”

“You make it sound dirty and crass.” She
sank down on the end of the bed, massaged her forehead. “I had no idea what I
was going to find, if I was going to find
anything
. But once I had the evidence in my hand…I-I couldn’t ignore it.”
Just like she couldn’t ignore her mother’s plea from a hospital deathbed.
Couldn’t turn her back on the morals and standards drilled into her head over
the years by her father and grandfather. It was no longer only a matter of
vindicating Jimmy, she simply couldn’t turn a blind eye to the things taking
place in her own backyard. Her father would have done the same had he still
been alive.

She had the means to stop Juarez and, in
the process, ensure Jimmy didn’t get lost in the melee, his name omitted or
skipped over in favor of the attention-grabbing headlines and trial coverage.
Benito Juarez might be the star of the show in all the major papers and
television, but Jimmy and others like him would have a tribute. And her mother
could rest in peace.

She felt cold and angry inside. Suddenly everything
was falling apart around her and there didn’t seem to be a damn thing she could
do about it. It hurt to think Will had sold her out for glory. Was Francis
right? Had Will really known things would turn out this way? She didn’t want to
think so.

How could she make Harris understand?
“Seth, hasn’t there ever been someone you’d do almost anything for? Even though
you knew the odds were against you and it would change the course of your life?
Your very soul?”

Something hot and painful flickered
momentarily in his eyes. “I’ve done and seen things no man should. And like
Francis and Gabe and Joan, I sold my soul to the devil for a cause I believed
in. You’re heading to a place you don’t want to be, Maria. And once you get
there, you can’t get back. The question is, how far are you willing to go to
save a dead man’s reputation? Because I can tell you from experience, you’ll
lose more than you gain. Cut your losses and walk away now.”

And forget the people who’d died helping
her get here? Forget her family and what they’d suffered through? “I can’t. I
made a promise and I have to keep it.” She couldn’t allow herself to dwell on
what would happen if she failed. The course was set and she would see it
through to the end. “Take me to Will. Please.”

She didn’t register the movement until he’d
already grabbed hold of her. “What—?” The breath was knocked from her lungs as
he hurled them both bodily through the glass.

The second they hit the ground, Harris
dragged her to her feet. “Run!” he barked. But she couldn’t move. Her lungs
spasmed frantically to draw in needed air.

“Run dammit!” He shoved her hard, forcing
her lungs to work. “Run for the trees, I’m right behind you.”

She took a second to get her bearings,
frantically searching the surrounding darkness for the line of trees he’d
referred to. Then she heard it—the sound that had catapulted Seth Harris into
action. Helicopter blades.

An explosion rocked the shed to her right
and sent her into a dead run in the opposite direction.
The trees. Reach the trees.

She chanced a look over her shoulder but
Seth wasn’t behind her. Where was he? Had she run in the wrong direction?

Shouts from the men filled the night air as
another explosion shook the house.

The trees. Reach the trees.
From out of nowhere, a bright light appeared overhead, blinding her
momentarily. She veered left but the beam followed. Closer. She wasn’t going to
make it.

She doubled back and split off to the
right. The spotlight caught her in its glare for an instant before she changed
direction again, this time running in a zigzagging pattern. Shit,
shit!
Why hadn’t she paid attention to
the landmarks?

The woodpile loomed in front of her. Without
a second thought she dove over it, careening into a pile of logs.

There was another explosion. The sound of
sporadic gunfire. Smoke filled the air as debris rained down. It was like
Arizona all over again. Through it all the spotlight bobbed drunkenly around
the woodpile, sweeping outward, then in again until it was almost directly on
top of her. She prayed. She cursed. She pressed her body up against the wall of
wood and tucked her head down.

It was hard to estimate how long the sound
of beating blades, yelling and cursing and gunfire went on. It felt like
forever. But then suddenly the helicopter that had swooped down out of nowhere
vanished into thin air and it got quiet, except for the hissing and popping of
whatever was on fire. Maria squeezed her eyes shut, concentrated on trying to
get her breath back to some semblance of normal. Harris hadn’t wanted her here
to begin with, but now…he was bound to be seriously considering dropping her
off the edge of this mountain.

Seth moved through the smoke, calling for a
head count. “Francis?”

“Here.” The preacher stepped out of the
shadows near the back of the house.

“Gabe…Gabe?”

“Sonofafuckingbitch!” The Marine came
striding around the edge of the house. “Motherfuckers blew up my horse and I
just bought the damn thing!”

“That’s what you get for driving a brand-new
Mercedes into a war zone.”

“Kiss ass, Francis.”