Chapter Five
Any minute sugar plum fairies are gonna dance across this sidewalk.
Aggie frowned at the pink and mint green storefront. When Ten had texted her the details, she’d been incredulous. Sugar Daddies seemed an unlikely venue to find an informant, but she’d go along with it for now.
Through the spacious front window, she saw three wrought iron treat towers loaded with artfully arranged lady bug cut-out cookies. As she walked in the front door, a chirpy bell rang, announcing her presence. A couple of patrons sat at a white table with pink polka-dotted chairs, chowing down on enormous donuts and sipping coffee, which smelled pretty good.
I’m gonna get me a cup of that and a big ass donut.
She’d had a bit too much to drink last night. This morning she’d downed a couple of aspirins along with a multivitamin and some orange juice, but it hadn’t touched the headache. Sugar and caffeine would probably help matters.
Then she noticed Ten chilling in a corner with his back to the wall.
“What in the world are we doin’ here?” Aggie asked as she sat across from him.
“Like I said, lookin’ for an informant of mine.” Once more, he wore his shades.
Aggie fought the urge to pull them off the bridge of his nose. For some reason, she wanted to look him in the eye. Maybe it was all that “eyes are the windows of the soul” nonsense. Regardless, she longed to unravel a bit more of his mystery.
“And he does business in a bakery?”
“He’s just a frequent visitor.”
“It’s a little weird.” Aggie was used to getting info in seedy bars and back alleys.
"I don’t see why.” He shrugged. “Even criminals like pastries.”
“Who is he?”
“A fence I know, named Max Caldwell.”
A fence bought and sold stolen items. Aggie supposed it would put Max in contact with a lot of other criminals, so the lead had potential.
“Can I get you, folks, somethin’?”
She glanced up to see a man standing next to the table with a little pad and pen.
“I’d like a donut and coffee, please.”
“Black coffee and banana bread,” Ten said.
“You got it.” He wrote a note for himself and then eyed Aggie up and down like she was an actress strutting herself on the red carpet. “I’m Walker Evans, but you can call me Walk, and who might you be?”
She guessed Walk was in his forties, going by the laugh lines around his mouth and eyes. He was a tall, thin man with gorgeous features—high cheekbones, a square jaw, and a long, thin nose. His hair was platinum blond, courtesy of a bottle, no doubt, and he had bright blue eyes highlighted by a blue cashmere sweater paired with slim-fitting jeans.
“Aggie Byrd, pleased to meet you.” She shook his hand.
“And how do you know Ten?”
“We’re friends.”
Ten inclined his head but didn’t say anything.
“Is that right?” Walk winked. “Do you mean friends or friends?” His voice lowered an octave on the last bit.
“It’s the first one.” For the moment, at least. She made no promises about the future.
“Walk seems friendly,” Aggie said, hooking a thumb in his direction.
Ten arched a brow. “Very.”
Aggie got the impression Walk had tried to pry information out of Ten all the time. She doubted he’d had much success. Walk returned a few minutes later with their food and drinks and then headed over to another table.
“Shouldn’t you eat somethin’ a bit more substantial?” Ten asked.
“Nah, I like some sugar with my caffeine.”
The other day, when she’d opened up a box of Lucky Charms, Aggie had tossed out the boring cereal pieces in favor of the tasty marshmallows. Basically, Aggie drank and ate what she wanted, slept with whomever she pleased, did whatever made her happy, and didn’t give a rat’s booty about appearances anymore.
She’d even gone on a spending spree after learning about her prognosis. As a result, she had credit card bills up the ying-yang, along with killer boots.
Good luck gettin’ money from a corpse, bitches.
It was liberating and a tiny bit sad.
Aggie plucked the rainbow sprinkles from her donut and ate them. She closed her eyes, savoring the syrupy taste. Then she sank her teeth into the pastry.
Ten wrinkled his nose.
“Wanna bite?” She held out the donut. “It’s delicious.”
Ten licked his lips. “I’ll pass.” His voice was dry, hoarse.
Hmm, evidently he isn’t immune to me.
“So, do you have a boyfriend?”
She blinked at the topic change. “Why do you ask?”
“Just makin’ conversation. I realized you questioned me about my situation, but I didn’t return the favor.”
“I thought you weren’t interested.”
He ignored the comment. “I didn’t mean to be presumptuous. Do you have a girlfriend then?”
“No.”
“I’m sorry to hear it.” Except he didn’t look the least bit apologetic.
“You run hot and cold, don’t you?”
His lips curved. “Maybe I’m just startin’ to warm up.”
Aggie liked the sound of that. In Ten, she recognized a kindred spirit. Neither one of them was quite right, which was a beautiful thing.
That’s when a balding man with a potbelly walked into the bakery. He stopped at the counter and placed an order. Ten turned and watched his movements with an unnerving intensity.
This must be Max.
After Max paid, he turned to leave and then finally caught sight of the mobster. His hand shook so much, he almost dropped his pastry box.
“Hello, Max, nice to see you. It’s time for a chat.” Ten shoved a chair backward with his foot, and it scraped across the floor.
“Yeah, thanks, but I’ve gotta busy morning ahead of me.”
“Nobody said this talk was optional.” Ten pointed at the seat. “Sit.”
Gulping, the man took it. “What can I do for you?”
“I’m lookin’ for somebody, and I think your paths might’ve crossed.”
“Squealing on my clients is really shitty for business.”
“Ask me if I give a damn.”
Aggie admired his technique, and she smothered a smile.
“Come on.” He glanced around and then hunched his shoulders, as though trying to disappear. “I’m startin’ to get a rep.”
“Not answerin’ my questions would be terrible for your health.” Ten gave a ghastly grin. It was frightening in its chilly intensity.
Aggie made a mental note to never piss Ten off.
The threat hung in the air.
Max went pale. “What’s the guy’s name?”
“Diego Ruiz,” Aggie said. “Heard of him?”
Max pulled at the collar of his shirt. “Yeah, he moves merchandise back and forth over the border. Why are you lookin’ for him?”
“None of your damn business.” Ten gripped his shoulder, the knuckles going white. To everyone else in the place, it looked like a friendly clasp. “Tell me where I can find him.”
“It’s hard to say. Diego doesn’t stay in one place for long, and when he’s in the States, he hangs with friends. It’s not like he’s got an apartment.”
Dammit. Without a permanent address, he was harder to track. If he couch surfed every time he came to town, Diego could be anywhere.
“Fine, then give me a list of his associates,” Ten said, persisting. “You’ve gotta know who he does business with, right?”
Max closed his eyes.
“Now.”
Ten’s lips peeled back from his teeth. There was something wild in him, a righteous sort of fury. Aggie imagined what he’d be like, if he let go, just unleashed.
Oh, yeah, Ten gave her the shivers, and it wasn’t about fear. Aggie had trouble taking her eyes off Ten. He was dark, dangerous, and deadly—everything a girl wanted in a fling.
“All right, fine, but I can’t promise anything.”
“No problem, I don’t mind doin’ a bit of legwork, but Max...?”
“Yeah?” He gulped.
“If you tip him off, you’ll be sorry.”
His face went ashy and then Max started talking. Suddenly, he was spilling all kinds of useful information.
***
“Ugh, we’re getting’ nowhere.”
Two hours later, Aggie closed her eyes and leaned back in the seat. Ten had driven them around the county in his sleek black SUV with tinted windows. They’d rolled up to six places so far, and they’d found plenty of illegal activities, but nobody had seen Diego.
She was beginning to think this was hopeless. Aggie worried she’d wasted valuable time the police could’ve used to track down Diego.
“I’ve gotta good feelin’ about this next one.”
“You said the same thing about the last three addresses.”
“This one’s different.” He threw the SUV into park and jumped out. They’d pulled up to a rundown house at the end of the street. It was the middle of the day, and most folks were at work, so nobody was around.
Ten had tucked the car in the backyard, which was fenced, so they were out of view. From what she’d observed, Ten had a tendency to make a scene, so being sneaky was a must.
He seemed to be enjoying himself, although it was difficult to be certain. His face was a bit less blank, and earlier she’d caught him whistling a tune after he’d threatened a junkie for information.
“You take the back, and I’ll kick in the front door. Deal?” Ten pulled a handgun from his holster.
“Fine, but I doubt this is gonna pan out. I think Max told us a story.” Aggie also retrieved her weapon.
“If he did, he’ll be sorry. I’ll see to it personally.”
Aggie heard a note of warning in his tone and should’ve been concerned, but nope, it was kind of hot, in a twisted way.
Oh yeah, I am so far off the reservation it ain’t even funny.
While he took the front, she covered the rear.
As Aggie turned the corner, she heard a commotion and then the door swung open. A man sprinted down the back stairs and headed for the fence.
“Stop!” She raised her gun.
He ignored her and kept going, so Aggie fired a warning shot, which went whizzing by his head. Thanks to the silencer Ten had let her borrow earlier, it didn’t make much noise. Aggie didn’t want to contemplate why he had a stash of those in his car.
“Who are you?” He froze, breathing hard, his back still toward her. “What do you want with me?”
“Are you Diego?”
“Who wants to know?”
“Turn around, nice and slow. Any sudden movements and my next shot won’t miss you.”
He turned, inch by inch, and faced her.
“Let’s try this again, are you Diego? Yes or no.”
The man was in his early twenties with dark hair, almond-shaped brown eyes, and light brown skin. He wore a pair of jeans and a muscle shirt. His arms were swirled with black ink, a collection of tribal tattoos.
And then the asswipe tried to dart past her, so Aggie kicked him right in the family jewels.
He grunted.
“She shoots and scores!” Aggie had the powerful legs of a dancer. Who said ballerinas are dainty and wispy? She could support her whole body weight on her toes.
“Fuck!” Clutching his balls, he doubled over.
She hissed in mock sympathy. “Ouch, that looks like it hurts. Does it?”
“Yes, you bitch.” He spoke with a slight accent.
“Actually, my name’s Aggie, and you must be Diego, or you would’ve denied it earlier.”
“Why the hell did you—” His groan swallowed the rest of the sentence.
“Consider yourself lucky. I would’ve shot you, but I might’ve hit something more important, and I need information.” Aggie felt better already. They’d get this bastard to tell them where he’d stashed the girls, and she’d get them home by suppertime.
“Did you catch him?” Ten appeared in the doorway, weapon raised. “He rabbited as soon as I walked in the door.”
“Yeah. What took you so long?”
“I would’ve been here sooner, but I had to clear the place, in case we had any shooters hidin’ in the corners.”
She slapped the man on the back. “Meet Diego.”
He leaned against the doorframe. “Diego, it’s nice to meet you, we’ve been lookin’ for you all damn day.”
“Come on, let’s have a chat about the ethics of kidnappin’ other people’s children.” She shoved him toward Ten.
Ten patted him down and found a gun tucked into the waistband of his jeans. He threw it in the bushes. Once inside, they pushed his ass down on the couch.
“Start talkin’,” Ten ordered.
Diego gave a slight shake of his head.
As he hemmed and hawed, Aggie got a better look at the place.
The apartment was just as crappy inside as it was out—dingy walls, about a week’s worth of dirty dishes in the sink, and there was a smell, too. It was a cross between rotten eggs and day-old roadkill.
She shuddered. “Okay, you’re gonna tell us where Luna and Maria are and then I’m getting’ out of here before I catch a disease. And here’s a suggestion, why don’t you give this place a decent scrub after we go?”
“This isn’t my place, and I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
Aggie clenched her fists. “Don’t lie to me. You took them from their beds.”
“What if I did?” Diego raised his chin. “What the fuck are you gonna do about it? You aren’t cops.”
“How do you know?” she asked.
“I don’t see any warrants, and you didn’t knock on the door and announce yourself before you entered.” He crossed his arms over his chest, as though proud of his conclusions. “Besides, I don’t have the kids anymore.”
“Then where the fuck are they?” Ten asked.
“I don’t—”
“Cut the bullshit, and you’d better talk fast.” His jaw clenched, and he had a death grip on the barrel of the gun. “I’m losin’ patience with you by the second and my trigger finger is getting’ awful twitchy.”
Even though it was a cool spring day, sweat beaded on his temples. His cheeks had hollowed, and his breathing was harsh and fast. For a moment, she feared he’d paint the walls with this guy’s brains.
She swallowed.
Any second now, Ten could lose it, and they’d be out of leads. Aggie wanted to tell him to calm down, but she doubted it would help matters.
“I’d start talkin’ before my friend goes all Quentin Tarantino on you.”
Diego swore in Spanish. “I sold them.”
Her stomach tightened. He sold the little girls like they were livestock?
“And who bought them?” Ten asked.
Diego sneered. “Santiago Suarez. Have you heard of him?”
A cold, wet chill dripped down her spine.
Santiago was infamous, and like Diego, he worked both sides of the border. Only, he wasn’t a low-level thug. He was very well-connected with the mafia, cartels, and he reportedly even had a few federal agents in his pocket.
Reportedly, Santiago had a reputation for human trafficking, procuring people for high-end perverts, the kind who had money to burn and lusts that were against the law. He was also wanted by the FBI and there was a reward offered for information leading to his capture.
This had gone from awful, to a shit storm of epic proportions in a matter of seconds.
“What’s he gonna do with them?” Aggie asked.
“What do you think? Two sweet little sisters, like that?” He leered. “Some men would pay anythin’ to own them.”
This time, Ten pressed the gun to his temple, and pulled the trigger back.
She held her breath.
Diego closed his eyes and his voice shook a bit when he spoke. “If you kill me, Santiago will come after you.”
“Why? Because he gives a crap about his flunkies?” Aggie didn’t buy it. A man like Santiago only cared about one thing, money.
“Santiago isn’t my boss.”
“Yeah?” Ten dragged the barrel along the side of his face. “Then who is he to you? Your boyfriend?”
“No.”
“I think you’re bluffin’.”
He winced. “Don’t shoot. I heard about something.”
“Care to elaborate?” Aggie asked.
“Supposedly, there’s an event, three days from now.”
“What kind of event?” Ten’s head jerked to the side. “Spit it out, son, we ain’t got all damn day.”
“An auction and the buyers are from all over the world. It should be a big deal—women and children for sale, quality stock, not the dregs.”
Aggie thought she was going to be sick. She hadn’t counted on something so depraved, or this massive. This wasn’t only about two missing girls. There might be dozens of people in need of rescuing.
I’m out of my league. This was definitely a job for the FBI, and yet she couldn’t go to them, not without Sofia and Alejandro on board.
“How many people does he have?”
“I don’t know. I procure the merchandise and don’t ask questions. Besides, there’s nothing you can do about it. Santiago protects his property.”
“Property? They’re children, not animals.” Aggie felt like kicking him in the balls again.
“Stand up.” Ten stepped back and put the gun away.
Diego frowned. “Why?”
“Do it.”
“If anything happens to me, Santiago will find out.” Thrusting out his chest, Diego got to his feet, going toe to toe with Ten.
“Yeah, we’ll see about that. How much did you get for them?”
Since he’d put the weapon away, Aggie thought the tension in the room might dissipate, but it ratcheted up another hundred points instead.
“Five hundred a piece.” He sneered. “It’s the wholesale price.”
So that’s the going rate for a human being. It didn’t seem like very much money. Somehow, she doubted Santiago would sell his victims so cheaply.
“And where’s this auction at?”
“No clue.”
“You tellin’ me the truth?”
“Yes.”
“Thanks.” Ten grabbed him by the neck and snapped it with a revolting crunch of bone and cartilage.
Aggie screamed as the man plunged head first to the floor like a sack of potatoes.
Raising her gun, she backed away from Ten.
This wasn’t the first body she’d seen. Her first month on the job, when she was working a case in Abilene, she’d told a wife where her cheating husband met up with his side piece and the woman had shown up at the motel with a twelve gauge while Aggie had been taking photos. That scene had been much uglier than this one—blood and brain matter everywhere.
“You realize this is the second time in two days you’ve held me at gunpoint.” He lifted his hands.
“You just killed somebody!” When she’d invited Ten along on this case, she hadn’t counted on him going all vigilante.
“Yes, I killed a kidnapper who sold two children into slavery. Problem?”
When he put it like that, she felt a little better about Diego’s demise, but Aggie had another concern.
“What if he could’ve led us to Santiago?”
“He wouldn’t have been able to. Santiago wouldn’t tell his business to some low-level punk.”
And if they’d left Diego alone, he might’ve told Santiago what they were up to. Yet another point in Ten’s favor.
“Still, we should’ve—”
“I thought this was under the table and we weren’t involvin’ the Feds.”
“We aren’t.”
“Then I had to take care of Diego because tomorrow he’d snatch somebody else’s kid or run his big fat mouth and then we’d lose the element of surprise.”
She lowered the gun. “Stop it.”
“Stop what?”
“Makin’ sense. You murdered this guy, and here I am, agreein’ with you.”
Since her mother died, Aggie hadn’t been the same person. She was impulsive, reckless even, and apparently, homicide, under a certain set of circumstances, wasn’t off the table anymore.
How fucked up am I? Well, not as much as Ten. Yet.
“I’m glad you see it my way.”
“That doesn’t make it right.”
“No, but it was justified.”
Evidently, killing Diego had been some kind of tension release because he seemed calmer, more together.
“It’s difficult to tell with you, but I think you enjoyed it.”
“Right you are.” He kicked Diego’s corpse. “This piece of crap deserves to be six feet under.”
“Okay, I ain’t gonna cry over this asshole, but you can’t go around droppin’ bodies.”
“Why?”
“Because!” She glanced around the apartment. “We need to scrub this place down, right? Make sure our fingerprints aren’t everywhere?”
All of those CSI episodes she’d watched flooded through her head and she got increasingly paranoid.
Oh, God. Did I touch the door handle? What about the wall? They needed bleach and some rags, and gloves, too.
“You haven’t done this before, huh?”
“Meaning you have?” Oh, who am I kidding? Of course, he’s killed someone before.
“Yeah.” He peered at her. “You’re losin’ it?”
“Yeah, a little bit.”
“Look, I’m gonna level with you. I’m a mobster, just like you thought, so this ain’t my first rodeo.”
“You’re a mobster.” She closed her eyes. This was much easier to deal with when his mafia ties had been hypothetical. “Yeah, I can see it. So, you’re a bad guy, too?”
“Like him?” Ten pointed to Diego. “Fuck no. I’ve got standards and a code I live by. Yeah, I break the law, but I don’t sell children.”
Fantastic. A moral mobster. “Got it. So what do we do?” She didn’t want to go to jail.
“That all depends.”
“On what?”
“On you. Are you gonna tell the cops?”
Aggie ran a scenario in her head. She imagined telling them the whole long drawn out story and the felonies kept adding up—assault, failure to report a crime, accessory to murder.
She gulped. “If I did, would I live very long?”
He seemed stricken. “I would never hurt you, under any circumstances.”
Aggie sighed. “Weirdly enough, I believe you.”
“You should. I mean every word of it.” He gestured to the door. “Come on, let’s get out of here.”
They headed out to his SUV and hopped in. Ten took off down the road, leaving the body behind like garbage. Aggie tried not to freak out about it.
“They ain’t got the money for forensics in this podunk town. And I’m bettin’ Diego’s got a rap sheet as long as my right arm, so they’ll figure one of his buddies did him in. The cops won’t work too hard.” He grinned. “Besides, I didn’t leave a bullet behind for them to run through ballistics.”
“How did you do that?” She subconsciously touched her own neck.
Ten shrugged. “It’s a Special Forces trick.”
“You were in the Special Forces?”
“For a time.”
Like always, his answer was frustratingly short and non-specific. Aggie wanted to grab Ten by the lapels and shake him until some answers fell out.
Still, it was an impressive credential, and it explained his elusive nature. Commandos were known for being cagey, even after their tour of duty was over.
And that’s when her phone rang. Aggie immediately recognized the number—it was Sofia.
“Did you find them?” Sofia asked.
“No, but I know who has your daughters.” Aggie winced, wishing she didn’t have to break the bad news. “Santiago.” There was a burst of rapid-fire Spanish and then a wail.
Evidently, they’d heard of him. It wasn’t surprising since he was infamous.
“Don’t worry, Mrs. Fernandez, I’m gonna get Luna and Maria back, I promise.” At least I’m gonna give it a shot.
After they spoke for a few minutes, Aggie hung up and tucked the phone into her pocket.
“Think we can locate Santiago on our own?”
“Sure, but gettin’ the girls back safe is gonna be the hard part.” He cleared his throat. “We need to talk this out, so you’re havin’ dinner with me this evening.”
“It’s customary to ask a person, not make a demand.”
“Fine. Will you have dinner with me? We can plan our next step.”
Was this a date? Or a meeting? She wasn’t sure.
“Yes.” Why not? “But first, I got some things to take care of.”
Aggie had to tell Polly what went down, minus a few key details, and she had a standing appointment at the cemetery to keep.
“How does 7 o’clock sound? Meet me at Poison Fruit?”
“I’ll see you there.”