Rogue Alliance (20 page)

             
“Very thou
ghtful of you,” Brennan quipped, “w
hat was his response?”

             
Brennan watched her from the corner of his eye as they walked the Warf. She bl
inked a few times before answering.

             
“
He wasn’t concerned with our conversation in the least. He was more concerned with our interaction in general.”

             
“What do you mean?”
Brennan asked, pace slowing.

             
Shyla stopped and faced him.

             
“What I mean
is that Victor is a jealous man and
his only concern was whether or
not you made a pass at me.”

             
Brennan reached up and pulled the scarf down, revealing the bruising on her neck.
             
“Is that how you got this?”

             
Shyla brushed his hand away and took a step back.

             
“You don’t
need to
worry about me. You just worry about keeping our story straight when he asks. And he will ask, Brennan. He’s worried that you might like me. But he also trusts you, as much as he can trust anyone. So keep that in mind.”

             
She walked ahead.

             
“There’s a S
tarbucks on the corner up there,” she said, “l
et’s get something warm to drink.”

             
He let her lead the way.

TWENTY-ONE

             
Shyla retrieve
d
her recordin
g device
at the first opportunity when they returned to the Shannon
.
She had placed it below deck in the living quarters
, assuming
the two
men
would have their meeting in
the
more comfortable
atmosphere
.
She gave it one quick glance
, hoping she’d been right
. It looked as if
it h
ad been recording and
,
god willing
,
there would be quantifiable evidence on it
. She was anxious to get home and have a bit
of privacy so she could
listen.

             
When she joined Victor and Brennan
back
on deck
,
they were talki
ng in hushed voices and she guessed
Victor was relaying a piece of news from his meeting with Cougar. He looked serious but not
too
concerned. They raised their heads and gave
smiles when they noticed her presence.

             
“Did you enjoy yourself, Shyla
?”
Victor asked.

             
“I did. Especially once the fog lifted and the sun came out. It’s so beautiful isn’t it?”

             
Victor sauntered toward her.

             
“Are you in any rush to get home?”

             
She couldn’t wait.

             
“Not particularly. Why?”

             
Victor gave Brennan a quick knowing glance.

             
“Well, something came up in my meeting with Cougar. It appears there’s an issue with one of our contacts in Los Angeles
.
I’d like to deal with
it
right away so I don’t lose a very important cl
ient. Damage control, you know?
”

             
“Cougar, is that the guy’s name?” Shyla suddenly remembered Quentin mentioning the contact in San Francisco having the name of an animal.

             
“
Yeah, odd, huh? A
nyway,
it’s a quick flight and shouldn’t take more than an hour or two once we land. But if you’re in a hurry, I can skip it and make arrangement to go tomorrow.”

             
The look on Victor’s face indicated he really did
n’t want to wait that long. W
hat could he be so anxious to a
ddress?
Maybe she could get a bit more intel. After all, LA was her old stomping grounds.

             
“Wow, LA. I’ve never been ther
e before. Sure lets go. Why not?
I’ve got nothing better to do.”

             
“Great,” Victor beamed, “t
his guy I have to meet wit
h isn’t nearly as neurotic as the last
. You can come with me
downtown
. See the sights a bit.”

*

             
Shyla was desperate to listen to the tape before they landed in LA. If there was anything she needed to know or look out for, she wanted to
have a heads up right away. Her mind was racing as they boarded the plane. She put her hand to her forehead and winced.

             
“Are you okay?” Victor asked.

             
“I sometimes get migraines. I think one’s coming on now.”

             
“Is there anything I can do?
” Victor asked, gently guiding her to a seat, “d
o you have something you can take?”

             
Shyla leaned back in the chair.

             
“Yes, I have a prescription in my purse. If I take something and lay down for a bit, I might be able to fend it off before it goes full blown.”

             
“No problem at all. I’ll put yo
u in the back. It
s tight quarters
but there’
s a small bed and it
’
s dark. I’ll close the drapes and let you rest.”

             
Her fingers trembled as she allowed
him
to
help her up.

             
“That would be perfect, Victor. Thank you.”

             
Once she settl
ed
, she burrowed under the covers, pulled out the recorder and plugged in a pair of headphones. It was risky
,
but she had to know what was on that tape.

She closed her eyes and listened to introductions. Cougar had a ver
y gruff, raspy voice
compared to Victor’s smooth tones.

             
“It’s been a few months since we met last,” Cougar said.

             
“Yeah, well you guys
conduct business well
down here
. The best I’ve got, in fact. Things
are always quiet in these parts, n
othing like LA
. I
t seems there’s always a mess down there to clean up.”

             
“Yeah,
” Cougar snorted,
“
I’d say. Like that mess with Ricardo’s girlfriend- the cops were all over that one, still are. She must have really pissed you off. You get your hands on Ricardo yet?”

             
There was a pregnant pause.

             
“Ricardo? What are you talking about?”
Victor asked.

             
“Ricardo’s girlfriend turned up dead in
a pig trough just south of LA…
”

             
“Yeah, I heard about that. Ricardo’
s got a history so
I called and checked up on him, made sure he didn’t do it.
But he rolls with some questionable thugs so any
one of them could have done it if Ricardo pissed them off enough. He says he’s got no idea who killed her, seemed pretty choked up about it though.
”

             
“Yeah, I bet he was choked up,” Cougar chuckled,
“h
e was probably shittin’ his pants when you called, worried that he’
d be next.”

             
“What
in
the hell are you talking about, Coug? Are you saying that people think I killed Ricardo’s girlfriend?”

             
“Sammy. Her name was Samantha. And, now that you’re talking like that, I don’
t. B
ut I sur
e as hell bet that Ricardo did.”

             
Another pause.

             
“Okay, Coug,
w
hy would anyone think that I had anything to do with this
,
and why would Ricardo worry about being next?”

             
“Well, Boss, word is that Ricardo has been doin’ ya dirty- scrimping off the top, mixing your blow, not to mention the fact that he’s been using too.
He and his girlfriend were both snortin’
your powd
er and spending your cash faster
than a
watery shit. I thought you knew,
which is why I, and others, assumed you
had
handled the girl and were probably looking for Ricardo.”

             
Only a thin static filled the air.

             
“Uh, Boss?”

             
“That’s fascinating news, Cougar
. I appreciate you sharing
. I wish someone had fille
d me in earlier, though.
I had no idea.
”

             
Shyla heard the festering rage in Victor’s voice.

             
“Well, I
’m sure they would have,” Cougar said, “as
I said before, we all assumed
you did, and thought
it was you who took care of the girl.”

             
“Well
,
it wasn’t. But I do want to have a chat with Ricardo. Now I understand why he was so sketched out the last time we talked. I chalked it up to bereavement. Now I know better.”

             
Shyla hit the pause button. Shit. They were heading to LA to have a talk with Ricardo. This was not good at all. She had no idea whether or not Ricardo would recognize her. She’d been on his tail for the better part of the past year before she’
d been relocated to Redding. The prospect of blowing her cover left her heady.

             
But she couldn’t afford to not go either. Victor had just discovered how Ricardo had been stealing from him, taking advantage of him. She was sure he meant to do more than just
have a harmless chat
. If there was any possible chance she could prevent
a murder, she had to go
.

             
Her heart was racing and her mind was trying to catch up. The sounds of the plane engine shifted. They were in descent. Time t
o think was
running out.

             
She tossed the blanket
aside, sat up
,
and hid the recorder in her bag. She took a deep sigh and pulled her pony tail tighter. There was a meeting to attend.
She’d better
get her game face on.

*

             
It
was amazing how only an hour flight could make such
a vast difference in weather. LA
, as usual, was brilliant with sunshine. Heat beating down from rays of the sun reflected off the city of black asphalt and sweltered up in
shimmering
waves.

             
Home, sweet
home, thought Shyla as they drove through town in a black limousine. 

             
Victor sat to her left. Brennan sat across from them, eyes glued to the window, staring at the outside world as if for the first time.

             
“
Where is he meeting us, Brennan?”
Victor spoke up.

             
Brennan
peeled his gaze from the scenery
flashing by.

             
“The warehouse
where he works during the week,
in the industrial district
. I
t
’
s closed on the weekend. He
said it was closer than his place.”