Bayou Heat (23 page)

“Yeah. I want you to stay here. Nic made it perfectly clear
that if anyone other than you or I show up, the meeting is off. That means only
one car.”

“You’ll have no backup, it could be a setup.”

“Better I get ambushed alone than the both of us.” Rob got
out of bed and started getting dressed.

“Maybe in your world that would be better, but it sure as
hell isn’t in mine.” She was so angry that her teeth chattered as she crawled
across the bed to go stand in front of him.

“You’re not going.” His words were hard and cold.

She ripped the shirt he was about to put on out of his
hands. “Don’t ever tell me what I can and cannot do. If you don’t take me, I’ll
follow you alone if I have to.”

Rob took the shirt back and pulled it on. “Don’t ask me to
take you. I can’t put you in that kind of risk.”

“But you can put yourself in danger without any concern
about how I feel? Do you think what I said last night isn’t true? I mean,
professing my love in a morgue wasn’t exactly romantic, I know, but I meant
every word I said.”

Rob stopped what he was doing and moved toward her one slow
step at a time. “I don’t ever remember having those words said to me before and
I could care less where we were when you said them.”

Eris retreated until she was trapped between the wall and
his body.

“What you don’t understand is that I feel the same way about
you and it terrifies me to the deepest, darkest depths of my soul that I won’t
be able to protect you.”

“And there’s no guarantee I’ll be safe if you leave me
here.” Eris wrapped her arms around Rob’s neck and kissed him as if there were
no tomorrow. When she finally broke the kiss, he was breathing as hard as she
was and his erection was pressing into her.

Rob stepped back but kept his eyes on hers. “I couldn’t save
my mother from herself, so don’t make me regret this decision, princess. Now
get dressed, we don’t have much time.”

Eris smiled as she darted past him. “I need a gun.”

* * * * *

Rob waited until the door to Nic’s office was closed before
speaking. “Where’s the informant?”

“I’m going to be calling him here in a couple of minutes.”
Nic glanced at his watch.

“I thought this would be a face-to-face.”

“My person changed his mind at the last minute and decided
not to show. He’s scared and I don’t blame him. I did manage to get him to
agree to talk with you…or I think I did. We won’t know if I succeeded until he
answers the phone.”

Rob walked Eris to a chair and stood behind her, the need to
protect her so powerful it almost blocked his ability to function. He was
scared in a way he’d never experienced before and that left him very unsettled.
It took a concentrated effort on his part to push his feelings aside and focus
on the job at hand.

“How can I trust this person, or you?”

Nic gave him a dark look. “You can’t.”

Rob took a deep breath and knew he was most likely screwed
either way he went on this deal. “If I find out you’re jacking with us, I’ll be
back.”

Nic gave a short bark of laughter as he dialed. “Now wouldn’t
that be fun.”

There was a short, one-sided conversation between Nic and
the other party before the call was put on speaker.

“I don’t have much time.” The voice was deep and male, not
that of a young kid.

Rob listened closely, hoping to identify the owner. “Who
contracted the torch job on the FullMoon House of Voodoo?”

“I don’t know, but the person you need to ask that question
is Victor Castillo. He coordinates all the contracts for 9W.”

“The lawyer with offices over on Ibenville?”

“Yes, he’s a long-standing member and works solely for 9W.
He’s going to be your easiest target. Every morning at four thirty prompt he
jogs alone along the south bank of Lake Pontchartrain.”

“Why not go after Adel Rodriquez and skip the middle man,
he’s their current leader?” Rob asked.

“If you want to be buried six feet under, then go for Adel,
but if you want to live, then Castillo is your man. Gotta go, I’ve already
taken too long.”

There was a moment of silence while Nic disconnected the
call.

“Call back, I still have a few questions.” Rob clenched his
fists.

“By now he’s destroyed the phone he was using. He wouldn’t
chance having the call traced.”

Rob ran a hand down his face. More information would have
been a plus, but he’d been given enough to work with. “At least I have a name
and place to start asking questions. How’s your work going?”

Nic shrugged. “Slow and frustrating. I’m not a patient
person.”

Rob laughed. “You never have been.”

Eris turned and looked up at Rob. “You two know each other?”

“We went to school together,” Nic answered quickly. “Then I
moved out of the country for a few years, before moving back a couple of years
ago.”

Rob added, “Last year, Nic helped LD clear up some stuff
involving Marie.”

Eris looked over at Nic. “Really? I’d like to hear about
that.”

“That’s a long story. It’ll have to wait until we have the
time.” Rob cut the conversation off before Nic could continue. “I appreciate
the help, Nic. Let me know if you ever need anything.”

“Just put the information to good use and watch your back.
9W won’t stop until you’re either dead or you’ve taken care of the problem.”

Rob held out his hand to Nic. “Don’t worry, we’ll be
careful.”

* * * * *

“Everyone good with his assignment?” Rob asked the small but
select group of men in his living room.

The men all agreed.

“Good, I’ll meet you there. We don’t have much time.”

Rob stood as the group left the apartment. There wasn’t a
lot of time for them to get into position. In a little over two hours he’d
pulled together a team to abduct and question Victor Castillo.

“You got everything handled?”

Rob turned his attention to LD. “The easy stuff is taken
care of. You and Nate have everything covered here?”

“Eris will be safe with us, don’t worry about her,” LD said.

Rob looked over to where Nate and Eris stood talking on the
other side of the room. “I’m leaving her with the two of you for that very
reason. Now I need to make her understand why I’m doing this.”

LD gave him a pat on the back. “Good luck with that one.
Hey, Nate, let’s make one more pass through the building before locking down
the fort.”

The door closed behind the two men, leaving him alone with
one very angry and scared woman. Rob crossed the room to where she stood. “I
know you don’t agree with my decision but I’m not changing my mind this time.”

She turned to him and he could see the shimmer of tears in
her eyes. “This is a stupid, reckless plan. At least wait until tomorrow
morning when you have more time to organize your people.”

“Waiting until tomorrow sounds good, but we need to hit fast
and hard before 9W can be warned. Surprise is our best weapon at the moment and
if we wait, we could lose it.”

She looked at him with fear-filled eyes. “Those guys of
yours scare me.”

“Those men are some of the best around and will pull off
this little party without a hitch.”

“These gang members aren’t your everyday criminals, Rob. If
they find out you were behind this they won’t stop until you’re dead.”

“I’m dead anyway, remember? We both are. But this will solve
our problem, and when I come back, we’ll have years of unfinished business
ahead of us.”

Eris threw her arms around his neck. “You better, because if
you don’t I’m going to kick your butt.”

He captured her mouth with his and wished he could stay
there forever. He broke the kiss and stepped back. “I’ve got to go.”

He walked away, and with every step he took it felt as if
his guts were being ripped out. The odds were stacked against him and he knew
he very well might not be coming back, which made leaving the one person he’d
given his heart to even harder.

* * * * *

The morning sun was starting to rise as the boat Rob was
riding in cut through the still waters of the bayou. Off to his left he could
now make out the second boat and the group of men riding in it. Looking back
over his shoulder, he motioned toward a small, muddy patch of land. The driver
changed direction and the other boat followed. A few minutes later, the motor
was killed as the boat slid to an easy stop.

Rob stepped out of the boat he was riding in, dragging
Victor Castillo with him. The humidity hugged them like a damp blanket. Sweat
drenched his shirt as he and another man carried Victor across the soft
swampland. Victor’s mouth and eyes were covered with duct tape. His arms were
securely bound behind him and zip ties held his ankles together. They propped
the man against a cypress tree. Reaching down, Rob pulled the tape from the
man’s mouth, putting the strip of tape in his pocket before stepping back.

He and his men remained silent as Victor ranted and raged
about what was going to happen to them. Then finally the silence got to the man
and he stopped talking.

“Here’s the deal.”

“Fuck you! I’m not making no deal.”

Rob turned to the others. “Let’s go.”

They all turned and started back toward the boat.

“You can’t leave me here like this!”

Rob stopped and turned back to the man. “Yes I can, and I
won’t lose a single night’s sleep over it.”

Another round of profanity escaped Victor and Rob waited for
this bout of anger to pass. Victor might buy expensive suits for work and
two-hundred-dollar running shoes to help keep him in shape, but even those
items didn’t wash away the years of growing up on the street.

Victor finally ran out of steam. “What’s the deal?”

“I’ve already got people back in New Orleans spreading the
rumor that you rolled over and are talking. You tell me who hired 9W to take
out Eris DuBose and my men will retrieve your passport and drive you to Miami,
where you can catch a plane leaving the country. Otherwise, I’m going to leave
your sorry ass here.”

“You’ve signed my death certificate, you know. It doesn’t
matter how far I run, I’ll spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.”

“I don’t give a fuck. You have five seconds to make up your
mind or we’re leaving and this time we won’t turn back.”

“Some woman came into my office the other day, laid down a
shitload of money and said she wanted Eris DuBose dead.”

Rob closed the distance so he was standing next to the man.
“Then what?”

“I asked her when and where. She said she didn’t care where
but the sooner the better.”

“How long ago was this?”

“This evening will make forty-eight hours.”

“9W put together a hit that fast?”

“We can take anyone out, anyplace, anytime, in less than
seventy-two hours.”

“Describe the woman to me.”

“You’ve got enough information.”

Rob stepped forward and swung his leg. Victor screamed as
Rob’s foot connected with his crotch. “I’ll decide when the questioning is
over.”

Victor fell over as he curled into a ball of pain. When he
found his voice, it was rough and hoarse. “She was about six feet tall, fine
body with long, strawberry blonde hair. Green eyes, but I’m almost certain they
were colored contacts.”

“How was she dressed?”

“Tight, short and green, like her eyes.”

“Did you see a car?”

“The bitch’s car was as hot as she was.”

“What was it?”

“Black, sleek, imported sports car. I didn’t get the make,
but you don’t see many of them cruising the Quarter.”

“Voice, was it deep or high?”

“Man, that bitch talked like she’d been suckin’ cigs all her
life.”

“That’s a lot of detail to remember.”

“In my line of work, it pays to be observant, Jackson.”

Rob raised an eyebrow but didn’t respond. Victor was on a
fishing expedition and he wasn’t about to take the bait. “Last question, could
the woman have been wearing a wig?”

Victor cocked his head to the side as he considered the
question. “Her hair was perfect, almost too perfect if you know what I mean. I
guess it could have been, but if it was, it wasn’t a cheap one like the local
hookers wear.”

Without another word, Rob turned back toward his boat where
his driver waited. He was sure Victor told him what he knew and there wasn’t
anything left to gain here. The remainder of the men moved to Victor and took
hold of him, dragging the man to his feet.

“Damn you, Jackson, you sonofabitch! I’m not the only one
who needs to be watching over his shoulder. You mother fu—”

Victor’s words were drowned out as the motor roared to life
and the boat pulled away. Looking back over his shoulder, he watched as
Victor’s mouth was covered with tape and then he was tossed into the other
boat. Rob faced forward and pushed the man’s idle threats to the back of his
mind. The odds of Victor living past the next seventy-two hours were extremely
low and that didn’t bother Rob one bit because the man had negotiated a
contract to kill Eris. If by some chance Victor did live, Rob would deal with
that later. Right now there was a more serious threat at hand.

* * * * *

Eris stood with her arms crossed and watched the forensic
experts who Rob and LD brought in turn Victor Castillo’s office upside down. It
was extremely interesting and nothing like the television shows. “Shouldn’t you
have called Olson or Tarrington?”

“No. Security services and private investigators don’t have
to follow the same rules as the police. Once we involved them, then all our
hands would be tied. This way, we can turn over to them what we want.” LD
answered as files were carried out the door.

She watched as Victor’s computer was carted out the door.
“I’m guessing they are never going to hear about this.”

Even though she tried to keep the bitterness out of her
voice, she failed miserably. Rob turned and looked her in the eyes and still
she saw no flicker of emotion.