Packed boxes lined the wall of Maddie’s apartment. The sooner she got away from Victor, the better. Still shaken from her earlier encounter, she couldn’t keep her mind from the humiliating strip search. He’d meant to take her down a notch, and it had worked. Much as she hated to admit it, Scott was right. She had underestimated Victor’s evil streak. If he’d caught her recording him, she might not be alive. She rubbed her arms to warm the chill that ran through her. Tomorrow, she’d be gone. Good riddance to the monster.
She snatched her list from the counter and headed for the door. Someone knocked, causing her to jump. She checked the peephole.
Nikki.
Maddie yanked the door open. “I thought you were going to the station to talk to the police?”
“I did. Can I come in?”
“Of course.” Maddie stepped back.
Nikki entered, face taut, her shoulders hitched with tension.
“What’s wrong?” Maddie pulled out a kitchen chair and took Nikki’s hand to guide her to sit. “Did you file the assault charge?”
“Yeah, I guess. I mean, I filled out some paperwork, but they said it would take time. They asked me questions to get the restraining order in process.”
True it would take time, but the assault charge should support the restraining order. Scott might not want to arrest Eric until he had Mole. Poor Nikki caught in the middle, but a hard spot for the police as well.
“I’m so scared. I don’t know what to do.” Nikki pressed her fingers to her lips.
That asshole better not have hurt her again. “Did Eric—”
“No, not Eric.” She waved a hand. “Zach.”
“Oh?” Maddie dropped into a chair next to Nikki. “What about Zach?”
“Here’s the thing. I passed him the other day pulling into the driveway of that hotshot developer’s mansion, Mole. What do you know about him?”
Maddie blinked. God, more than she ever cared to share. The room of doom popped into her head. “Is Zach okay? Victor Mole is bad news, to say the least.”
Wrinkles creased over Nikki’s forehead. “I knew it. And he lied to me.”
“What do you mean? Who lied? About what?”
“Zach.” Nikki leaned back in the chair and looked up at the ceiling. “I called him because, I don’t know, I thought maybe he got a job cutting the lawn or something.” She ran a hand through her bright-pink hair and dropped her gaze to Maddie. “He denied being there. Said I was wrong.”
“Well, could you have been?” Maddie’s gut told her otherwise.
“No. I saw my brother behind the wheel. He lied to me.”
Maddie waited, not sure what to say.
Nikki hugged her arms across her body. “We’ve always been honest with each other. No matter how bad things got…he shot it straight.”
Maybe Zach’s time in jail had turned him into a real criminal. He’d been surrounded by them. How horrible if he’d hooked up with Mole.
“Maddie?”
“What? Sorry, I was just thinking. Go on.”
“My conversation with Zach didn’t go well.” Nikki shook her head. “I kept asking questions, and the more upset I got, the more he clammed up. He told me not to worry and he had things under control. Said what he was doing would buy his freedom. It would be over soon and that I should trust him.”
Maddie tilted her head. Zach’s early release, him telling Nikki to stay away, and now the connection with Mole. He had to be working as an informant to buy his freedom. Otherwise, he wouldn’t deny a legitimate job with Mole.
A tear slipped down Nikki’s cheek. “He said if anything happened to him I’d be okay because he has accounts set up for me.”
“Oh, Nikki.” Maddie moved from the chair to kneel next to her. Lucky jumped from his bed, trotted over, and leaned into the hug, whining as if he understood.
Nikki sobbed into her hands. “I don’t want money. I want my brother. He’s all I ha-have.”
Tears blurred Maddie’s eyes. She slung an arm around Nikki, who cried on her shoulder.
Nikki sniffled, raised her head, and dabbed at her eyes with a tissue. “I think he’s working as a snitch for the police. When he got out, he hinted about his new job being dangerous. I can’t lose him. Why is he doing this? He was safer in jail than whatever he’s gotten into.”
If she only knew. There had to be someone else the police could find to plant as a snitch besides Nikki’s only living relative. Cops trained for this stuff. Zach’s time in jail might have made him street smart, but it wouldn’t prepare him for undercover work.
Nikki hiccupped. “All I can do is wait and hope my brother doesn’t die. God, I can’t stand it.”
“I’m so sorry. This has to be hard. Can I help in any way?”
“Maybe…I mean…it’s obvious you and Scott are close. Would he listen if you asked him to let Zach out of whatever deal he made? He has to be working for them. Nothing else makes sense.” Hope lit in her eyes.
Maddie’s throat tightened. “Scott and I are done. Even if I tried to talk to him, he’d never listen to me.”
“It’s worth a try. He might be able to convince Zach to walk away. Or…work out some other deal. Anything is better than nothing.” She let out a shaky breath. “I…I don’t know what else to do.”
Damn it. After telling Scott not to contact her again, Maddie didn’t want to be the one to start a conversation, but Nikki was desperate. Now more than ever, Maddie understood how dangerous Mole could be.
As if sensing her hesitation, Nikki placed a hand on her arm and squeezed. “Please, I’m so scared for him.”
Well, crap. She couldn’t say no. “I’ll try, but I really don’t expect much to come from it.”
“Thank you. Thank you so much.” Nikki grabbed a napkin from the table and blew her nose. “I’m sorry about you and Scott. I thought—”
“It’s okay. I’m moving on.” Maddie rolled her shoulders and glanced away.
“You leave tomorrow night, right?”
“Yeah, and I have a lot to do, so I’d better get down to the station now if I want to catch Scott.” Maddie stood.
“I hope he listens to you. I really appreciate this.”
“Don’t get your hopes up. Try to remember: no matter what, your brother is tough. If anyone’s going to be okay, it’s him.” Maddie led Nikki to the door.
“Wish I knew for sure. Please call me as soon as you find out anything.”
“I will.” Maddie gave a quick hug. “And I’m proud of you for standing up to Eric.”
Nikki half-smiled. “At least there’s that.”
Maddie shut the door and closed her eyes. Nikki had been through enough and needed Zach in her life.
Damn it all. Time to have a conversation with Scott.
Maddie parked next to Scott’s Impala. Perfect. Face-to-face would be better than a phone call, which he might or might not have answered given their last exchange. She pushed the car door open, slung her purse over her shoulder, and marched into the police station. The outer area was empty, but voices came from Chief Lee’s office.
She strode across the room and rapped on the partially open door. The chief and Scott glanced up. Scott’s eyes widened. He leaped to his feet. His gaze raked her body as if looking for injuries. “You okay?”
“Yes.” She had injuries all right, but not the visible kind. The kind that made her traitorous heart compress at the sight of him.
Forget it. This was about her friend.
“Why are you here?” Scott asked.
She thrust a hip out. “Nikki came by today very upset. What’s going on with her brother? And don’t bullshit me. I know he’s working with you.”
Scott raised an eyebrow and crossed his arms. “Thought we were done communicating.”
“Yeah, well, I’m making an exception.”
He stepped past her to a nearby desk, shrugged his suit coat off, and draped it on the back of a chair. “No need. You have a plane to catch, and I have things to do.”
“Oh, you’ve made that abundantly clear.” She followed him. “I know your priorities.” Wait, he was trying to throw her off. Get into a fight about their relationship to avoid her question.
Nice try.
She straightened. “You’re right. I’m leaving tomorrow, and this has nothing to do with us. I want to know why you are letting Zach, Nikki’s only living family member, put himself in danger.”
Scott gave her a cool look. “This is police business and none of yours.”
Those jade eyes of his could frost an inferno. Well, he had one right in front of him. “Police business, huh? Is this where you make the rules and everyone follows them?” She threw her purse on the chair. “You think your rules are going to keep anyone safe from that bastard? He’s a…beast, and you can’t let Zach anywhere near him.”
Damn her voice and body for shaking.
Scott’s eyes narrowed. “I’ve been telling you this all along, yet you insisted on doing that goddamn survey for him right under his nose. And now… Hold on. Why do you suddenly believe me?”
Her nerves fired, still raw from her earlier encounter with Victor. The stench of his cigar breath as he’d scraped his ugly finger up her neck still lingered in her nostrils. She shook her head and cursed the blur that came to her eyes. “Because I’ve seen the bastard in action, okay?”
Scott tensed. “What do you mean?”
“Nothing. This isn’t about me.” She blinked hard to force the tears away.
“Like hell. Tell me what happened to change your mind.”
She sucked in a breath and huffed it out. “I took Victor’s precious, fake survey to him and tried to get a tape of his confession about the bribe.”
Scott flinched and his eyes grew wide. “You what?”
“Well, you wouldn’t let me use your special”—she waved her hand in the air—“DEA stuff, so I tried to record him on my phone.”
“Your phone?” His voice amplified. “What the hell were you thinking?”
“I was thinking someone needs to stop him, and I had the perfect opportunity.”
Scott pinched the bridge of his nose. “The DEA has devoted two years of undercover investigations with multiple agents, here, in the Southwest, and Mexico to nail this bastard.” He lowered his hand to glare at her. “But what we failed to realize was all we needed was you, singlehandedly, with a cell phone recording, to take him down?”
“It could have worked.”
“Damn it, Maddie.” He paced the room. “Even if you got a full confession, there are so many reasons why that recording would be useless. You have no idea how the law works. Do you think…” He stopped next to her and took a deep breath. “Never mind. Just tell me what happened.”
Her insides vibrated, boiled again over Victor’s violation. “He didn’t catch me recording him, and he didn’t say anything incriminating before he…he…”
“He what?” Scott’s asked, his voice dangerously low.
The humiliation of standing in front of Victor in her bra and underwear flooded back. Hot blood raced to her face. She swallowed. “I guess he got suspicious when I asked him about the bribe money for the fake survey. So, he st-strip searched me.”
“What?” Scott gripped the back of a chair, raw fury in his eyes. “He’s fucking dead.” In a low tone, between gritted teeth, he asked, “What exactly did he do to you?”
Jittery energy pulsed through her, and she couldn’t control the tremble of her lip. “He tore off my coat and shook it. My phone screen cracked when it hit the ground, so he didn’t know I was recording.”
The tips of Scott’s ears turned bright red. His gaze intensified.
Her throat dry, Maddie croaked out, “He made me take off my clothes while he watched, and then he searched me for a wire.”
Scott’s chest heaved as his face darkened. She’d seen him angry before, but this went beyond. His fingers turned white from his grip on the edge of the chair, and a vein in his forehead bulged. He picked up the chair and whacked it down. A broken leg skittered across the floor, as he stormed out of the station.
Lee appeared in his doorway and frowned. Maddie reached for the chair to set it back up on its remaining three legs. Scott had never been violent before. Not in her presence. Steamed, yes. Pissed, sure. But never violent.
“Just leave it.” Lee picked up the two pieces.
Well, angry or not, she still had to convince Scott to get Zach off the case. She grabbed her purse and headed to the door.
“Maddie?” Lee waved the chair leg at the station entrance. “I’d leave him alone, too.”
She shook her head. “He’s not the only one who’s upset.”
Outside, Scott stood with his back to the building, hands fisted against his hips. She stalked up behind him. “We’re not finished with this conversation.”
He held up a hand without turning. “Don’t push me right now.”
God, his voice. So hostile. She dug her heels in. “I’m not leaving until you tell me you can get Zach out of whatever he signed up for.”
Scott swung around and faced her. “You are done meddling. Understand?” He took a step closer. “Don’t you go near Mole again. Stay away from him and get on that fucking plane tomorrow night. Are we clear?”
Telling her what to do again. “No. I want to know Zach is going to be okay. He’s not trained like you guys. Victor—”
“Stop it. Zach’s a grown man who makes his own decisions. Now butt out and leave.” He raised a bloodied hand and gestured to her car in the lot. “Now.”
She gazed at his scraped knuckles. They looked like he’d punched a tree or something. God. Her stomach lurched. The man he used to be was gone. Lost in a world of darkness and pain. Damn it, she wanted her Scott back.
“Look what this man has driven you to.” She snatched his wrist and gazed at the bloody scratches. “He’s a maniac, and you’ve lost all sense of reason. You’ll stop at nothing to get him. It’s consumed you.”
In one swift motion, Scott pulled out of her grip. “I’m telling you for the last time: stay out of my business.”
As soon as he promised not to drag Nikki’s brother into the vortex. “You’ve given up your life, but Zach hasn’t, and Nikki needs him.”
Scott’s eyes flared as he rocked on his heels like a volcano ready to explode. “I won’t discuss this with you.”
“Really, because I would think you, of all people, would know what it means to lose your only family. Look what it’s done to you.” She waved at his bloodied hand. “You might be breathing, but you’re not alive. From what I’ve seen, you died right along with your brother.”
Scott stilled.
Oh God. She slapped a hand to her mouth.
A deep, primal pain radiated from his eyes.
Too late to take back the words. She’d pulled the scab off his deepest wound. Regret wrenched her gut. “Scott, I—”
“Save it.” He held up both hands. “You’re right. I’m a callous bastard.”
“No, I’m sorry. I didn’t mean it.” She reached for his arm, but his eyes flashed a warning, and she jerked back.
She’d gone too far in bringing up Justin. The pain on Scott’s face made her heart bleed.
His expression went cold. “You said if I walked out your door we’d never communicate again. I wish you’d kept your end of the bargain.”
He pivoted on his heel and strode to his car without a backward glance.
A small sob escaped her lips. What a mess. She’d let Nikki down by failing to keep Zach out of danger.
And to Scott…just like his family, Maddie was dead to him.