Chapter Eighteen

The metro from Anacostia to Foggy Bottom didn’t take long. They transferred from the Green Line to the Blue at L’Enfant Plaza, but when the McPherson Square stop came up, Lacy about lost her nerve. Only Farragut West remained. Then Foggy Bottom Station.

Her heart pounded at the audacity of their foolish plan, and for what? A bunch of girls none of them knew? A human trafficking ring that the whole damned federal government should be dealing with instead of three has-beens from the wrong side of the river? Yes, she felt bad for all of those girls, but why did Jake think he had to save them? Couldn’t someone else?

The moment that pitiful rationalization hit her brainpan, she knew better. Good men would always stand up to be counted while the masses would forever stand behind their lame excuses. Lacy swallowed hard. This was the bitterest cost of war. The good and noble went off to battle, while those who would not, stayed behind and lived their safe little lives.

Jake seemed in tune with her melancholy. He dropped his hand to her knee and squeezed. His other arm already extended along the back of her bench, his hand firm on her shoulder.

“Have we lost our minds?” she whisper-growled, pulling her crocheted beret over her hair again. If anything would give her away, it was her flaming crown of red, for now encapsulated beneath her favorite winter hat. “I know crazy, but I’m pretty sure what we’re doing makes us poster children for the funny farm with a capital C.”

A tender smiled graced his lips. “I’m okay with crazy,” he muttered, his lips pursed and instantly seeking her temple. She closed her eyes and absorbed his kiss into her soul for what might be the last time. Instantly, she repented for not wanting to rescue the girls she knew were in mortal danger. Of course, she would do whatever she could. She was a former Marine, too. Lacy just wished there was another way.

“You have pre-combat jitters. Don’t worry so much,” he whispered into her hair. “It’ll be done before you know it. As soon as I get what I need in Poindexter’s office, I’ll take a shot of it with my phone, and I’ll forward it to you and Jamaal. That way if one of us gets caught, the other two will have copies and can still go to the authorities and take Poindexter down.”

“You can send it, but I’m not leaving without you,” she declared stubbornly, her chin up and USMC pride in her glare.

“And I’m not leaving without you,” he promised.

“I’m damned scared of Poindexter,” she admitted tersely. “We still don’t know what happened to Anderson and the staff at the clinic, to Marlee either, for that matter. I haven’t had the nerve to call Ernie to see what he knows yet. For all we know, Anderson and everyone else at Good Samaritan could be at the bottom of the Potomac.”

“True, but Poindexter’s still human like us. It’s not like we’re fighting a superhuman ghost or some guy in a cape with super powers. He’s a flesh and blood man, and I’ll bet if you land a right hook on his chops, he’ll bleed.”

“We’ve both been fighting ghosts,” she murmured. “For years.”

Another warm kiss blessed the side of her head. “Then let’s make this the last one, Lacy. Let’s finish Poindexter once and for all. After today, we start fresh, okay?”

Starting fresh sounded promising. Foggy Bottom was just minutes away. Their time was running out. Lacy stowed her apprehension and soldiered up. Despite her doubts, these two men depended on her, and she wouldn’t let them down. When the last passengers boarded and the train doors closed, Lacy leaned into Jake’s side. With a deep breath she became Corporal Wright and steeled her soul for war once more.

Once they disembarked, she handed her backpack to Jake. Her pistol was in there. He’d need it more than she would. They’d allowed themselves one hour of prep time to case Poindexter’s joint, as Jamaal called it. Prep time included a walk about the area while hopefully staying out of sight.

Jamaal wanted to stroll right into the building lobby for a closer look, but Jake vetoed the brash option. Jamaal had already taken a beating. He could be recognized. Hell, all of them were on Poindexter’s radar, so they stayed discreet and clear of security cameras and guards.

At the end of the hour, they stood across the street and watched Rocky Rabbit and Ferret Face leave through the rear exit, and then return fifteen minutes later through the same door. They seemed to be in a hurry, but they’d parked in a parking garage behind the building.

“I’ll bet Poindexter parks there, too,” Jake said. “I’ve got a couple dollars left. Let’s grab a Starbucks.”

Lacy used her debit card to order three coffees. They took a seat near the window and watched the front door of the real estate mogul’s building across the street. They’d done as much reconnoitering as they could. It was time.

“You’re up, Lacy.” Jake reached across the table to clutch her hand. “Make the call.”

Her throat went dry, but she nodded and dialed Rafe’s office number, her hands trembling as she placed the phone to her ear. Jake and Jamaal’s eyes were on her.

A woman answered. “Good morning, Mr. Poindexter’s office. How may I direct your call?”

“Put Rafe Poindexter on the phone,” Lacy demanded.

“I’m sorry, but he’s with a client at the moment,” the woman purred. “May I take a message?”

“I told you to put Rafe on the line,” Lacy snapped. “I’ve got something he wants. Tell him Lacy Wright doesn’t have all day to wait for his sorry ass to return her call.”

Jake winked. Jamaal gave her a solid thumbs-up, but for the life of her, she didn’t know where she’d summoned this tough persona from all of a sudden. Her knees hadn’t stopped shaking since she’d sat down.

“One moment please,” the woman said as the soft sounds of Lawrence Welk’s orchestra filled Lacy’s ear with mind-numbing boredom.

“I’m on hold,” she explained.

“You’re doing good,” Jake said. “Eyes on me, Lacy. You can do this. Trust me.”

And then Mr. Poindexter himself was on the line and in her ear. “Lacy Wright?” he asked calmly. “It’s about time. I’ve been waiting for you to call me.”

I’ll just bet you have, you pervert. She gulped an extra noisy gulp. “Well, wait no more. I’ve got something you want, and you know what it is. We need to meet. Now.”

He had the nerve to chuckle. “Exactly what would someone like you have that I want? This is the same Lacy Wright who used to work at the free clinic on Good Hope Road, isn’t it? I understand that it caught fire yesterday afternoon. Tsk, tsk, tsk. Don’t you live in the Rochester apartments on Manley Drive? Didn’t you drive a Subaru Forester before someone put it out of its misery?”

The sinister edge to his voice caught Lacy cold. He knew everything about her, so she returned the favor. “Very good, jerk-off. You’ve done your homework, well so have I. Don’t you have a pretty blond wife named Kelly and a daughter named Kenzie who likes her son-of-a-bitchin’ daddy to lift her up and carry her? Do you or do you not own a pathetic white mutt named Pekoe? Shit, what kind of an asshat names their dog after a teabag?” Lacy dragged the back of her trembling hand over her lying mouth. Not once in her life had she threatened a man like this, much less his innocent wife, child, and a cute little dog.

A moment of silence filled her ear, all except for the sound of her pounding heart, and she was pretty sure Poindexter couldn’t hear that. Her audacity surprised her, but she had to make this guy believe she meant what she said. Jake’s wink calmed her, so she doubled down and went all in.

“Yes, Poindexter. Trust me. I’ve seen the pictures and the videos. I know where you and your cute little family live. You almost looked like a decent human being there for a minute, but don’t think for one second I believe that shit or that I’m playing.” She held her breath and waited for an answer.

“Where?” Poindexter snapped.

“Where are you now?” she snapped right back. “I want to know exactly how long it will take you to get here. I don’t intend to be the next rotisseried corpse on Good Hope, you asshole.”

“Foggy Bottom,” he bit out. “I’m at my office, where are you? I know you’re not home.”

Lacy blinked at Jake. He knows I’m not home, she mouthed.

Jake lifted his fingers to his throat and made a slicing motion for her to shut up. He gestured her to get on with it.

She cleared her throat. “It doesn’t matter where I am. I’m the one calling the shots, remember? Meet me outside the front gate of Joint Base Anacostia-Bolling in one hour. Bring five million in small bills, and come alone. This is between you and me. If I see anyone with you, I’m inside the gate and you’re screwed. I’ll tell those guards every last thing I know. You’ve got thirty minutes before I take everything to the press. Don’t be late.” She hit the end call button and blew out a huge breath, her poor heart climbing up her throat. “Shit. That guy sounds like Jack Nicholson in The Shining.”

“And you sound like you’ve done this before,” Jake said, his eyes lit with adrenaline and admiration. “Who are you anyway?”

“I’m USMC issue, remember?” she muttered, swallowing past the knot of terror stuck in her throat. Pissing off a grizzly bear didn’t seem like a smart thing now that she’d done it. “I had to make him mad enough to do something crazy.”

“That should do it,” Jamaal said quietly. “If we guessed right, our boy’ll be shooting out the rear door of his building in a couple minutes.”

Lacy sipped her hot coffee, trembling so hard she barely tasted it before Jamaal’s prediction came true. Out the rear exit of his East Coast headquarters strode a very intense looking man in a long black trench coat and a silver briefcase. Rafe Poindexter. A black SUV with darkened windows pulled to the curb. The driver exited. Poindexter climbed behind the wheel and slammed the door behind him. With a sharp jerk of the wheel, he pulled away from the curb, and without yielding to oncoming traffic, he turned right onto the busy main street. Tires screeched and Lacy’s mouth went dry. God, what have I done?

“Whew,” she said weakly, feigning courage she didn’t feel. “It worked. He’s gone.”

“Shhhhh,” Jamaal cautioned, his face lowered to his paper coffee cup. “Don’t look now. You got a rabbit and a ferret on your six.”

Lacy lowered her head. Rocky Rabbit and Ferret Face here? Now?

Jake had another idea. He pulled her in close and laid the most glorious kiss on her mouth, his hands clutching her cap to her head and his back blocking Rocky Rabbit’s and Ferret Face’s views.

She forgot about Poindexter. She forgot about his henchmen. Hell, she very nearly forgot her name. Sparks filled the inside of her head, pushing the fear away and bouncing like firecrackers. Jake took her tongue by storm and the Starbucks vanished. All she could taste was Jake. His mouth. His lips. The smooth, freshly shaved chin that she herself had run a razor over just hours earlier.

Lacy sighed, pulling him into the cellar of her soul where all of her hopes lived and waited. Damn, he smelled so good and he tasted better. She wanted every last bit of him.

When at last he disengaged, Poindexter’s men were gone, and she was breathless and dizzy.

“You good?” Jake asked her, his forehead pressed to hers and the most devilish smile on his handsome clean-shaven face.

“Umm, yes,” she muttered, touching her fingertips to her swollen lips. What he did to her. “Thanks, umm, I needed that.”

He smiled. “Good. You stay here. Stay out of sight. Jamaal? Let’s roll.”

That was how he left her. Dazed. Kissed. And scared to death she’d never see him alive again.