Gabe: The Alvarez Security Series (36 page)

They filled him in on the eyewitness reports of the abductions. Henry made a bee-line to Gabe, grasping him by the arm.

“Gabriel, you have to find them,” his voice shook, tears in his eyes.

Gabe stared into the weathered face of the man who had been like a father to Jennifer and held tightly to his shoulders. “I will. Promise,” his voice bit out.

He and Vinny met with Matt and Shane to find out what the police had discovered. The detectives had little to go on at the moment, other than what the residents had told them. “No one got the license number of the van, but several noted that it appeared that white paint covered some former writing on the side. Three men were seen; all with painter uniforms on.”

Gabe’s heart was pounding as his mind raced.
Where the fuck are you, baby?
You gotta hang on until I can get you.
He looked over as Vinny’s phone rang and watched his brother take the call. Vinny’s eyes came to his as he just said, “Roger, out.”

“Tony’s got Sherrie. Monty, the Senator’s aide, is FBI. They’re heading here.”

The rapid fire news was more than Gabe’s brain could process and he found himself staring dumbly at the others. Matt moved to the side as he took a call. “Got it, babe.” Disconnecting, he said, “We may just have a break. That was Lily. She’s got a bead on the van from the alley video cameras.”

“Does she know where they are?”

“Not yet, but she’s working it—”

The squeal of tires sounded as Tony rushed to the scene. The brothers-in-arms met on the sidewalk, eyes staring unabashedly at Monty, who joined them.

Gabe took an angry step towards him but was held back by Vinny. “What the fuck do you know about this?”

“I’ve been trying to keep her safe,” Monty bit back. “She’s been getting too close to our investigation, but she’s like a dog with a bone when she’s got a crusade to fight for,” Monty bit out.

“What investigation?” Vinny asked, still pulling his brother back.

Monty stood silent, staring at the men in front of him.

Gabe jerked out of Vinny’s grasp and descended on Monty. The two men were close in build, but Gabe had a couple of inches and at least twenty pounds of pure muscle on him. Leaning into Monty’s space, he repeated, “Not asking again. What investigation?”

“Since this one,” he said, jerking his head toward Sherrie standing to the side listening avidly, “my cover’s been blown to hell. Jesus fuck.” He shook his head for a moment then lifted it, taking a deep breath, he continued. “Michael Gambelini. Mob boss. Head of a gang of ruthless extortionists. Has his illegitimate gains so buried in legitimate companies that he’s been impossible to trace. And known to most as the real-estate mogul, Michael Gibbons.”

“Goddamn it,” Shane cursed. “I knew that motherfucker was too slick to not have his hand in something.”

Matt looked at Monty saying, “We’ve been looking into the extortion claims of the buying of some of the properties around here.”

“I don’t give a fuck who you all are investigating unless they can lead us to Jennifer and Ross,” Gabe growled, holding on to his temper by a thread.

A firm grip on his shoulder had him turning around and staring into Henry’s eyes. “Former Air Cav, Vietnam, Sergeant Henry Coghill. Reporting for duty.”

Another man stepped up next to Henry. “Infantry, Vietnam, Private Clarence Hardison. Reporting for duty.”

Two more, older men joined them, followed by more and more. Each identifying their former military units and all volunteering.

The air whooshed out of Gabe as he battled back the tears. He realized at that moment that his group of brothers-in-arms just expanded. He felt the presence of his friends at his back and knew without turning around that they were just as moved as he.

Tony, knowing Gabe was unable to speak at the moment, stepped forward. “Proud to know you. We’ve got to plan, but we won’t leave you out. Got a room we can use?”

Cora slid next to Henry, tears still streaming down her face as she looked up at Gabe. “I never served in the military, but try to keep me the hell out of this! Follow me gentlemen,” she said as she turned and led the group inside to the large dining hall.

Monty followed, already on his phone to his superiors. Tony knew he was letting them know the investigation had taken a turn and his cover was blown. He almost felt sorry for him…almost.

As the police detectives and Tony’s men circled one of the large tables, they listened to what Matt and Shane could tell them about their investigation. BJ worked furiously on his laptop while Matt coordinated on the phone with Lily. Matt looked up, distress on his face.

“The police just found the van about fifteen blocks from here. Empty.”

“Goddamn it,” Gabe cursed.

Shane looked at Monty as he got off the phone. “You gonna tell us what you know or is the Bureau gonna make us beat the shit outta you?”

Rubbing his bruised chin, Monty replied, “Your friend over there already tried that.” Sighing, he said, “I just got verbal confirmation to work with you on this kidnapping.

“Michael Gibbons runs a legitimate real estate company that brings in millions for him alone. Goes to all the right functions. Wife, kids, charity events. The whole package. Several years ago an informant that had just started working with the Bureau turned up dead. Beaten, tortured, and his body found in pieces at the river’s edge.”

“What had he given you?” Tony asked.

“Info on extortion. It seemed that when an owner of an old warehouse or building resisted selling cheap to whatever buyer was coming along, they suddenly signed gladly or were eliminated.” Turning to the detectives, he continued, “You were getting wind of some of this, but by then we had been working for almost two years on trying to find the ties to Gibbons. When his father had their name changed, he did it in a way that really covered his tracks.”

Gabe stood up, fists on the table, leaning over toward Monty. “You fuckers knew about this Gambelini for two years. Knew the local detectives were working on the extortion without the resources you have. Knew that it was continuing so innocent people were getting hurt. And you fuckin’ did nothing about it?” he roared, veins standing out on his neck.

“Going in early without solid evidence would have done nothing to stop him,” Monty bit back. “I do my job just like you do yours.”

“The hell you do,” Gabe argued.

“You get a mission, you plan it out. Don’t fucking tell me that there isn’t collateral damage sometimes,” Monty yelled back.

Suddenly the eyes of the little boy standing in a room with explosives strapped to his waist flashed back into Gabe’s vision. The eyes that wanted to trust that someone would care enough to stop what was inevitable. And the eyes that stared at him as he turned, running away with their mission accomplished as the explosives detonated. His vision began to blur as he held his breath.
Breathe, fuckin’ breathe bro,
he heard in the distance.

Taking a ragged breath, his vision began to clear as he felt Vinny push him down into a chair. As his mind cleared of the memory, the dark eyes of another little boy filled his vision.
Ross.
Eyes that looked into his, trusting him to take care of him. And big blue eyes, trusting in his love. Pulling in a huge gulp of air, he looked around the table. Tony, Vinny, and Jobe all knew what was on his mind. Nodding, he stood staring Tony in the eyes.

“Not again. Not happening again, Captain.”

Tony nodded. “Then let’s do what we can to get those fuckers.”

Monty said, “We’ve been working on the link between the dirty politicians and Gibbons. One of them is State Senator Reno. He’s eyeing the White House in a couple of years and has been in Gibbons’ back pocket for a while.”

“He supports Jennifer. He’s always worked with her,” piped up Henry from behind the group.

Monty shook his head. “Only on the surface. Behind the closed budget sessions, he sabotages her cause.”

Gabe’s hand tightened into a fist once again. “So where do we begin?”

“My guess is that Gibbons wants this building and, since he’s been unable to persuade the owner to sell, he had him killed without knowing that it was willed to Ms. Lambert.”

Tony nodded as Matt said, “We figured that put a target on her back.”

“But it’s just a building,” Cora spoke up from the corner. “I don’t understand.”

“This is much bigger than just a building. It’s money. Greed. But more importantly, power and politics,” Monty said.

“Look, this building is on the corner of a busy street that will bring top dollar. If he has the rest of the block without this building, he’ll get maybe a million or less for the back part of the block. With this building, he could sell it for tens of millions. It’s also about power. He gives up on this, his reputation takes a hit. Right now, he has inroads to politicians who are up and coming. He wants Senator Reno in his back pocket so that when he helps him get to the White House, he’ll have a President literally under his thumb.

“None of his tactics worked on the former owner and now he’s desperate. Ms. Lambert inheriting this has made him act irrationally.” Looking right at Gabe, Monty continued, “That may be the break we need to get him.”

“At what cost, you bastard?” Gabe growled.

BJ looked up from quietly working on his laptop. “Tony? Pulling some shit together with Lily. There’s a news reporter that Jennifer talked with a couple of months ago who died in a mysterious house fire before the article could be printed.”

Gabe looked over sharply, his mind racing with things that Jennifer had told him since they had been together. “Look up some of her co-workers. She said some strange things had been happening. Especially her boss, Chip something. Hell, that’s gotta be a nickname. Try Charles.”

BJ went back to work on the laptop, with Lily coordinating. The others gathered around several maps of the city, looking at the possible places Ross and Jennifer could have been taken. No clues. Nothing. Gabe felt the claws of fear creep up this throat as the realization began to sink in that they had no way of knowing where she was.

Matt took a phone call, walking away so that he could hear over the clambering voices behind him. Disconnecting, he hurried back looking at Shane. “We’ve gotta go. Some woman just showed up at the station, claiming to have information that will take down Michael Gibbons.” As he gazed around at the incredulous expressions shooting his way, he grinned, “Disgruntled mistress.”

“Thank God for a pissed off fuck,” Shane responded, as the group disbanded.

“What can we do?” Henry asked as Gabe began to move out with the others. He turned, his large frame dwarfing the others. Touched by the ravaged look on the elderly man’s face, he then looked at the similar expressions on the other residents. “I don’t know right now, Henry. But pray. Just pray that I get to them in time.”

Cora approached, taking her husband’s arm. “That we can do, Gabriel. That we can do.”

T
he darkness that
Jennifer had descended into began to slowly recede. Nothing made sense.
I just want to sleep. Just a few more minutes, Ross. Ross? Oh my God!

As the memories of earlier came crashing back into her mind, she struggled to open her eyes. Blinking at the harsh lights above, she lifted one heavy hand to shade her vision.

She was laying on a pallet and tried to sit up. Nausea rolled over her as a sickly sweet odor drifted by. It reminded her of the scent of the cloth held over her nose. Forcing herself to breathe in through her nose and out her mouth several times helped to quell her rolling stomach.

Pushing herself to a sitting position she noticed that she was actually on a cot with a thick blanket tossed over her. A quick glance downward sent relief through her consciousness.
Thank God, I’m still dressed.

As the fog lifted slowly from her brain, she saw that Ross was not in the room with her.
Oh Jesus. Where can he be? And where the hell am I?
She rubbed her face with her hands trying to regain her focus. Standing on shaky legs, she grabbed at the wall to steady herself as she perused the room. Large, mostly empty except for the cot and a chair. The window was boarded up with plywood and the only door to the room was on the opposite side.

Exposed wiring and plumbing ran along the walls with drywall finished in some places.
Wherever I am, it’s being renovated. Oh shit, that means probably no one is living here to help me.

Walking to the door, she first placed her ear on it to see if she could hear voices. Nothing. Taking the knob, she gently tried to turn it. Locked. Of course. She quietly slipped over to where the window was, trying to see through a crack between the plywood and frame. Other than a slight hint of air coming through she could not see anything. It seemed to be night time, but she could not be sure.

Frustrated, she looked around to see if there was something to pull the plywood out but there was nothing in the room.

By now her head was clear but that only served to make her fear sharper.
I’ve got to find Ross. He must be so afraid. Oh Jesus,
she prayed again.
Please keep him safe.

*