Downtown Los Angeles
6:15 a.m.
When Ian McBride couldn’t sleep, he’d made the drive into the city before dawn, heading for his 24-hour fitness center to punish his body the way he’d abused his mind the whole night. Not even a blistering workout had done the trick.
The face of Braxton Valentine haunted him, something he would have to live with now.
Dressed in sweats with a towel draped from his neck, Ian headed back to his Mercedes in the murky light, carrying his gym bag. He fumbled for his keys as he entered the parking garage. With his hair still damp from the shower, he felt the early morning chill radiating off the concrete walls like an ice box.
When he drew near his car, a large man stepped out from behind the shadows of a pillar. Ian choked on a gasp. He blinked, not believing his eyes.
“You look surprised to see me, Ian.” Braxton Valentine towered over him with a gun in his hand. “I thought you’d be happy.”
Shit! How could he have known? Ian’s mind raced with lies, but Valentine had always been impossible to fool. It was as if he saw into a man’s soul. Ian had only one reason to risk lying to Brax.
He had someone more important to protect.
“I thought you were on the run,” Ian said. Inside he cursed at the tremor in his voice. “You asked for a safe house and I got what you needed, everything. What are you doing?”
Desperate, Ian switched gears and went on the offensive.
“Are you trying to get me killed? They’re probably watching us now.” He raised his voice. “If they’re after you, you’ve just brought them to me.”
“You did that on your own, Ian.”
Brax grabbed him by the arm and spun him around.
“Let go of me.”
Valentine jammed his full weight into Ian’s back and pinned him against the hood of a parked car. His old partner grappled with his wrists, tying his hands with zip ties. The hard plastic cut into his skin.
“Where is Mateo?” Valentine jammed an elbow into his spine and Ian winced. “How do you get in contact with him?”
“Have you lost your mind?” Ian craned his neck when he saw movement in the shadows behind him. “See, I told you. Are those Mateo’s men? Did you bring those bastards to my door, partner?”
Ian had accused Valentine of exposing him to the cartel, but he knew better. Mateo had him on a short leash and he’d often seen the cartel tailing him. In truth, Ian was relieved to see them.
“You’re the one with the all-access pass,” Brax said. “You tell me.”
Valentine shifted his body to put Ian between him and the men who had joined the party. Ian knew Brax well enough to know he’d been surprised by the intrusion, but something else colored his behavior.
Valentine didn’t care.
“What are you talking about? In case you’ve forgotten,” Ian said. “…Mateo’s after both of us.”
“Yeah, but only one of us is making use of his gym membership. Are you getting soft, partner?”
Trained by the CIA, Ian had skills. He didn’t fear what most men could do to him, but Valentine scared the hell out of him. Ian peered through the darkness at the faceless men who kept their distance.
His partner did the same until he had enough.
“Stay back,” Brax yelled at the intruders. “I have unfinished business with my partner. When I’m done, I’ll go with you without a fight.”
Valentine shifted his gaze to Ian. “You won’t get any help from them. They’re here to see who bleeds.”
“You said they were after you. Why aren’t they shooting?” Ian cursed under his breath as Brax manhandled him. “They have both of us in their crosshairs and they’re doing nothing. That doesn’t make sense.”
Valentine yanked him by the arm and dragged him deeper into the shadows.
“Haven’t you figured that out? Mateo changed his mind and wants me alive, at least until he gets his pound of flesh. I’ve got a short reprieve, but what orders did he give his men about you?”
Ian had seen his partner on the edge before, but not like this.
“Get on your knees. Now!” Valentine gripped his weapon in two hands and aimed his gun at Ian’s head.
“Please…I beg you. Don’t do this.”
The face of his boy rushed to Ian’s mind. With tears welling in his eyes, he didn’t want to die. He had his eight-year-old child to think about.
“Braxton, please. I have a son.”
“You never met Raine, Ian.” With a pained expression, Valentine fixed his eyes on him. “She was beautiful and compassionate and she loved kids. She wanted to be a teacher of special needs children. Did you know that?”
His eyes scared Ian. He’d seen that look before.
“Did you get Raine killed, Ian?”
“It wasn’t like that. You don’t understand.”
“I understand enough. You had a choice.”
A tear trickled down Valentine’s cheek, glimmering in the faint light. Even in the darkness, Ian saw his pain.
“Not when it comes to my kid. You’re not a father. You don’t understand.”
“When you picked Raine to die, you made her pay for your sins. Who are you to play God?”
“We play God every time we pull the trigger, Brax.”
“We follow orders…for a reason.”
“Dead is still dead. You and I…we’ve sinned. There’s a price to pay for that.”
“So you decided Raine should pay your price, is that it?”
With venom in his eyes, Brax stood in front of Ian with the muzzle of his gun trembling. That shake had nothing to do with fear or regret. Valentine came to settle a score and he had every right. Ian would’ve done the same.
“You used to know the difference between right and wrong,” Brax said. “If you had given me the benefit of the doubt, I would’ve given my life for her…and your son, but that’s not how Mateo works.”
“Oh, God.” Ian bowed his head and sobbed, knowing his partner told the truth about sacrificing his life for the sake of his son. Ian had been weak. He’d fucked up.
“You gave me up and Raine became collateral damage. Was that easy for you?”
Valentine stepped closer and placed the muzzle of his gun against Ian’s forehead, hard enough to blanch his skin and leave a mark. In the distance, Ian saw the men in the shadows. They would do nothing to save him. Valentine had been right. Mateo had issued new orders. Whatever happened between him and Brax, the cartel boss would not interfere.
“I wanted to marry her…have children. I quit the agency because I loved…I still love her.”
Ian raised his chin and stared up at his partner. He wouldn’t die like a coward, but he had one last thing to say to Valentine.
“Don’t ever have a child, Brax.” He filled his lungs with a ragged breath. “If you’re gonna shoot, do it.”
Valentine fought to keep his face stern, but the tears brimming in his eyes betrayed him. Ian hoped his partner would show him more mercy than he deserved, until Brax slipped his finger into the trigger guard. Ian knew what that meant.
Valentine would kill him.
With every ounce of will power he had left, Ian refused to close his eyes. He would look death in the face, even on his knees. He owed Braxton Valentine that much.
***
“FBI. Drop your weapon.”
Valentine heard a forceful voice from behind him. He clenched his jaw, angry he hadn’t heard the ambush. He’d been so intent on punishing Ian for what he’d done to Raine that he’d let his guard down.
He had no other explanation for why the Feds had come to stop him, except for his partner. McBride must’ve gotten scared enough and wanted out from under Mateo, but taking a lifeline from the FBI only made Brax rage at the injustice.
“Did you bring the Feds here, Ian? Are you turning State’s witness against the cartel so Witness Protection can hide your ass?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about. I had nothing to do with the FBI being here.”
“You can’t tell the truth anymore, can you?”
“No, I swear it.” Sweat poured off Ian’s face. “Drop your gun, Brax. We’re better off with the Feds. We could put Mateo away. Don’t you want that?”
“We’ll be sure to pass on your regards to el jefe.” One of Mateo’s men called out his veiled threat to Ian.
Mateo’s men had hidden their weapons and they’d backed down the ramp, acting as if they were only bystanders. One of the men had the audacity to pretend he’d been a Good Samaritan.
“We tried to stop him, Fed, but he’s bat shit crazy, man. We only thought we could help the gym pussy. We’re out of this.”
When the thump of rap music echoed through the garage, a black 1996 Chevy Impala SS pulled up behind the cartel. The driver shoved the passenger door open and yelled.
“Vamonos!”
Mateo’s men were leaving. If Valentine didn’t make a move, he would be surrounded by Feds and lose his chance at payback.
“We don’t want to hurt you, Mr. Valentine,” the Fed with the menacing voice said. “Drop your gun. We just want to talk.”
The men dressed in FBI windbreakers and Kevlar vests took aim with their weapons and waited for him to obey their order—or they would shoot.
Valentine couldn’t let that happen.
With his back to the FBI, he gripped his gun and stared into Ian’s eyes. He wanted to hate him for what he’d done, but Raine’s beautiful face filled him. He heard her voice in the deep recesses of his memory and he felt the touch of her skin as he made love to her. He sensed her presence as if she were with him.
Nausea roiled in his belly and his hands trembled when his finger closed tight on the trigger.
Finish it. Do it.
Brax had counted on Ian giving up his connection to Mateo. He had owed him that much and more, but the FBI had ruined everything. If they took Ian in for questioning, he would turn State’s witness against Mateo De La Cruz. He and his son would be placed into Witness Protection with the U.S. Marshals.
Ian would get away with everything and leave Valentine a target for Mateo to come after him again.
In a calculated move, he raised his hands, but kept hold of his gun.
“He’s all yours, but I’m leaving…with my amigos.”
“Stop. Don’t take another step.” The big Fed with the stern voice aimed his weapon at Brax. “We have questions. We’re not here to arrest you.”
Valentine forced a smile.
“Good. You won’t shoot me then.” Brax backed down the ramp heading for Mateo’s men. He nudged his head toward Ian who still knelt on the ground with his hands tied behind his back. “That coward works with Mateo De La Cruz and his cartel. He’s bought and paid for. Don’t let him tell you otherwise.”
Brax didn’t wait for the Fed’s answer. He glanced over his shoulder at Mateo’s men and lowered his voice.
“I’m not spending my life on the run. I know Mateo gave the order to bring me in alive. I want to see him.”
One of Mateo’s men smiled.
“He said ‘alive,’ but not in what condition. Get in, cabrón.”
Valentine kept his eyes on the armed FBI agents. After he climbed into the Chevy Impala, the driver hit the gas. The Feds glared at him, but they didn’t follow.
“Es un loco hijo de puta.” The driver called him a crazy son of a bitch, not knowing he understood.
“Claro que sí,” Valentine mumbled his agreement under his breath.
The man next to him took his gun and frisked him for weapons. When he knew Brax was unarmed, the man sucker punched him and busted his lip. The driver stared into the backseat through the rearview mirror and laughed.
Valentine wouldn’t fight back, not even after the bastard slipped his beefy hand into a set of brass knuckles.