Hers To Take Read online

It made him angry. It made him edgy. And when she swept into the room, a printout under her arm, it made him snarl.

  “I’ve been waiting for an hour. Where have you been?”

  She gave him a cool look as he took in her disheveled clothes, the dark circles under her eyes.

  “You’ve been here all night?” he said.

  “I couldn’t sleep.”

  “So, you left without telling me or leaving me a note.”

  “I didn’t want to wake you. Besides, I don’t have the luxury of working one case like TV cops. I have to go to court the day after tomorrow and I needed to prepare.”

  “I think you find it easier to duck out instead of dealing with your feelings.”

  She looked at him as if he’d struck her. He didn’t know he was going to say that. The deep gut feeling that something was churning below the surface of this woman set off unknown instincts he didn’t know he possessed.

  He didn’t want to leave this as sex and it cut him deep inside to think that it was easy for her to do so. Easy wasn’t the right word. He could see that now as she met his gaze. There was a wealth of emotion in her eyes, confusion, apology and fear. There was nothing simple about this woman.

  “A.J…..” she began. She broke off, swearing when her phone rang.

  “Parker.” She slipped into her chair as she spoke, her hand already reaching for a pencil. “Yeah. Yeah, I got it.” She broke the connection and rose from her desk, all business.

  “The list and this conversation are going to have to wait.”

  He let out a deep breath and rubbed the back of his neck where most of his tension had lodged. She was tired, he realized, tired and strung out. A woman who did her job with precision and intelligence… The personal stuff was going to have to wait. “Why?”

  “They found the military truck.”

  A.J.’S STOMACH SANK when he saw the vehicle parked behind one of David’s favorite hangouts, a bar by the name of Mahoney’s. The passenger side window was smashed in and glass lay on the seat and on the pavement.

  “The truck is empty,” a uniformed officer said. “Crime scene is on the way.”

  Kate pulled up just as the words left the officer’s lips. She got out of her car and walked toward Sienna.

  “Looks like we’re seeing each other sooner than we thought,” Kate said.

  “Never a dull moment. Look, when you dust for prints, if you get anything, let me know. Send it right off to the FBI for identification.”

  “Will do.” Kate smiled at Sienna and nodded toward A.J. “Lieutenant Camacho.”

  A.J. nodded back.

  Back in the car, Sienna picked up the radio and told the dispatcher she was heading over to the warehouse district. A.J. recognized the address. It was the one Tyrone had given Sienna over and over during his interrogation.

  “Why are we going there?” A.J. asked.

  “I want to comb the area again for any possible witnesses. I did an initial canvass and couldn’t find anyone who saw anything. But after I talked to Kate this morning and found out that Tyrone had two illegal handguns from a stolen Colorado shipment, I’m questioning his story.”

  It was noon when she pulled up to the place where they had found David’s car. Sienna got out and looked around. She turned her head at the sound of construction and A.J. followed her as she headed in that direction.

  A crew was working on repairing one of the warehouse roofs.

  Sienna approached one man who directed her to the foreman. When they reached the guy, he was talking to one of the roofers.

  “Excuse me,” Sienna said, flashing her badge. “Were you here at all on Thursday?”

  “Sure was. This about the open gun transaction?”

  “You saw a gun buy?”

  “I called the police on Friday, but you people kept me on hold too long. I hung up. I meant to call you back, but have been busy trying to get these shingles in time to do this roof.”

  “Could I get your name for the record?” she asked.

  “Mike Calzone.”

  Sienna jotted it down. “Could you describe what you saw?” Sienna prompted.

  “Sure. I’m on the roof measuring for product when I happen to glance toward the back parking lot. A military truck and a sedan drive in. This warehouse is being renovated, so it’s pretty deserted around here.

  “One guy gets out of the truck and the other guy gets out of the sedan. Then a red convertible pulls up. Another guy gets out. They talk for a while. The driver of the truck and the driver of the sedan get into the sedan and leave.”

  “Then what?”

  “The convertible driver waits by the truck until another guy drives up in a black Mercedes. He comes over. The convertible driver pulls a weapon out from the back of the truck and hands it to the guy.”

  “M-16?”

  “Yes. I’m sure of it. I used to be in the army, now I’m retired. A siren sounded, I can see it’s an emergency vehicle a couple of blocks away. The guy with the automatic weapon must have thought it was the cops. So he bolts, gets into his car and speeds away.”

  “What did the truck driver do?”

  “He yells at the guy, but it doesn’t do any good. Finally he gets in the truck and drives off.”

  She pulled out David’s picture and handed it to Mike. “Is this the man who was driving the convertible and then drove away in the truck?”

  Mike studied the picture for a few minutes. “It was from a ways away, but that looks like the guy.”

  “Sir, thank you for your help.” She handed him her card. “Could you please call me if you remember anything else?”

  “Sure will. You guys shouldn’t put someone on hold for so long.”

  “I’ll pass that along.”

  When they were out of earshot, Sienna turned to A.J. “Looks like David was involved. Tyrone was apprehended in a black Mercedes.”

  “This is hard for me to accept.” But faced with irrefutable evidence that a witness placed David at the scene with Tyrone Knight engaging in an illegal gun transaction, A.J. could only feel sick in the pit of his stomach.

  “It would be hard for anyone who loves a brother to accept. You’re human.”

  Back at the car, A.J. asked, “What now?”

  “We’re going to take another swing at Tyrone, but first I need to generate another list.”

  “What list?”

  “Early this morning I ran a list of possible gunrunners, thinking we might be able to narrow it down to perhaps one or two who would be involved in stolen military shipments, but the list was too long.”

  “You know a way to narrow it down?”

  “Yes, I do.” She got into the driver’s seat and turned to him as he settled into the passenger one. “I told you they always lie.”

  AT HER DESK the keys of the computer felt cool to her touch as she accessed the search parameters on the database she needed and typed in the pertinent details. A.J. was sitting in a chair to the right of her watching her.

  “What are you doing?”

  “I’m cross-referencing Tyrone with known gunrunners to see if there’s any connection.”

  “You sound confident you’re going to find one.”

  “I am confident. I think Tyrone works for one of them. Tyrone was a buyer for someone.”

  “Which means that David was the seller.”

  “Right.”

  A single sheet of paper spit out of her printer and Sienna picked it up.

  She smiled like a cat who had just discovered the canary cage open. “Bingo.”

  She still had that smile on her face when she walked into the interrogation room the second time. This time A.J. went in with her.

  Tyrone reacted to that smile just the way she hoped. His eyes took on a wary look. He studied A.J. the way one warrior studies another.

  “I’ve told you everything I know. Do we have to go over this again?”

  Sienna placed a file on the table and took her time in sitting down and getting comfortab
le. “Oh, Tyrone, I just wanted you to know that I traced the handguns in your car.”

  She waited a beat for that information to settle in.

  He swallowed hard and shifted his gaze away from her knowing eyes.

  “Seems they were stolen, too.”

  “I bought those—”

  “Don’t bother denying it. Oh, by the way. This is David Buckner’s brother. He’s a Navy SEAL and I heard they know how to bruise a man without leaving a mark.”

  “Why you telling me that?”

  “You’re a smart guy, Tyrone. Although, your choice of employer does leave something to be desired.”

  Sienna picked up the result of her search and slid the paper over to him.

  “What’s this?” Tyrone said, picking up the paper as if it were a live snake.

  “I cross-referenced your name with all known gunrunners in our handy dandy database, and guess who bailed you out of jail?”

  “Estaban Rojas,” Tyrone said, closing his eyes. “You’re looking for David Buckner?”

  “Him and the stolen military weapons. A little cooperation would go a long way.”

  “No lady, you’ve got that part wrong. It’d be a short trip six feet under.”

  A.J. shifted and Tyrone fidgeted in his chair.

  Sienna inclined her head. “I could offer you police protection, as much as that sticks in my craw.”

  “Right.” Tyrone snorted. “Cops with me 24/7. Are you crazy? No, thank you. I’ve had enough of your kind of hospitality.”

  “That’s too bad. My heart is breaking for you.” She used her disinterest as another tool, slowing down the pace of the interview until Tyrone was squirming in his chair. “It’s really simple, Ty. If you don’t tell me what you know, you’re on your own.”

  “I’ll take my chances.”

  “That’s fine. You may make bail on the gun charges—probably deal them down so you may not do any time. But word has a way of spreading. It’s a crying shame the way criminals are such gossips.” She let that thought simmer in his brain. “Don’t you think that Rojas knows you’ve been scooped up? He’s no dummy. If I have information that only you could tell me, well, you do the math.”

  “I didn’t tell you anything.”

  “Not a math genius, I see. One way or another, I’m going to get Rojas and when I do, I’ll let you go. What do you think old Estaban is going to think?” Casually she opened a file and produced a list. “He might wonder if I got this list as a result of you telling us about that stolen Colorado shipment.”

  “I didn’t give you anything.” Sweat popped out on Tyrone’s forehead as he stared at the list.

  “That’s the funny thing about police officers. We can stretch the truth. It’s like rubber. You know, Ty,” she added leaning toward him, “some people add two and two and get five. Happens all the time.”

  “That ain’t legal.” He moistened his lips. “It’s blackmail.”

  “We could get along just fine, Ty.” She nudged the list toward him. “If you could find it in your heart to stop lying as easily as you take breath, maybe I’d care if you ended up feet first at the morgue.” She smiled. “If we were best buddies, I’d make sure my friends were taken care of maybe with a new identity, a new life.”

  Something flickered in his eyes. She knew it was doubt. “You talking witness protection program?”

  “Now you’re doing the math. Only problem is that a big favor like that needs something strong to grease the wheels.” When he hesitated, she sighed. “You better choose sides, pal. Gunrunners do not have a sense of humor.”

  The fear was back in his eyes. “I get immunity. And you drop the gun charges.”

  “Ty, Ty…” Sienna shook her head. “You scratch my back and I’ll scratch yours. You give me Rojas. I give you something back. It’s how the game is played.”

  He licked his lips again, “I’ll give you Rojas.”

  “Keep talking.”

  “Buckner drives for Taylor.”

  “Jack Taylor.”

  “Right. Buckner’s worried that the FBI is on to him, paranoid about being under suspicion so he hijacked Jack’s cargo for some quick cash to get out of the country.”

  “So Rojas was purchasing Taylor’s cargo?”

  “Yeah. Buckner could have asked for what he wanted and Rojas would have given in.”

  “Why?”

  “Rojas hates Taylor and would love to take something away from him and rub his nose in it.”

  “Now let’s talk about the Colorado shipment.”

  7

  IT WAS LATE evening when they parked out in front of Rojas’s office and went up to the front door. Even with Tyrone’s statement, it had taken her the rest of the day to obtain a search warrant for the stolen weapons. Sienna knocked, but after ten minutes no one came.

  “Where is that little weasel?” Sienna said under her breath. She turned to A.J. “I’m going to check out back. Stay here.”

  “But…”

  “No buts. You stay put, no matter what. I’m just going to check it out.”

  “Sienna…”

  “A.J., just do what I say.”

  A.J. sighed and reluctantly nodded, turning back to the front door as Sienna’s form slipped around the office building and disappeared.

  Five minutes passed and no one came to the door. A.J. was getting restless when all of a sudden he heard the unmistakable sound of automatic gunfire.

  He ran to the car and grabbed up the shotgun there and headed around the building at a run. When he reached the back, he saw Sienna crouched down behind a Dumpster, close to a dark sedan from which three men were firing at her. They hadn’t seen him, so he went down onto his belly, crawling until he skirted the Dumpster. He used a Mack truck to hide behind.

  Sienna peeked around the Dumpster and returned fire, giving A.J. the opportunity to crouch and stalk quietly along the side of the sedan.

  “Hold your fire!” he yelled as he popped up right at the bumper and all three men stopped shooting at Sienna. “Drop your weapons!”

  They complied. As soon as the order was given Sienna came out from behind the Dumpster, pulling a set of handcuffs from her belt.

  “Facedown,” she ordered. But out of the corner of A.J.’s eye he saw a long black muzzle and a finger slip down to its trigger. He screamed Sienna’s name and she jerked upright, her guard dropped. Without hesitation, without thinking about how easy it would be for the man to turn his weapon on him, A.J. sprang headlong at the hidden shooter.

  In the instant that A.J. collided with him, a rapid succession of explosions nearly deafened him. He went down to his knees, stunned. He heard a scuffling, but it was only a faint sound through the ringing in his ears. A little dazed, he rolled to avoid the butt end of the automatic weapon. With a scissoring motion of his legs, he tripped up his assailant and knocked the guy to the pavement. With a quick succession of punches, the man was unconscious.

  After A.J.’s lifesaving shout and flying leap into the hidden man with the gun, Sienna had her hands full taking down the first two men who had launched themselves at her. She had dispensed with them just as the third dived for one of the dropped weapons and brought it up.

  But Sienna was already moving, executing a kick that sent the gun spinning out of the man’s hands. Her second kick sent him flying into the big black sedan, his head slamming against the passenger’s side window. The window broke, sending glass flying.

  “I’ll kill you, you bitch.”

  He picked up a metal tube that had been discarded on the ground and hit her a glancing blow to the shoulder. She stumbled, slipped on some oil and went down. Glass bit into her forearm, but the pain was there and gone in a white-hot burst as adrenaline swept it away.

  She scrambled to her feet and went into a fighter’s crouch. She ducked his wild swing, coming up and punching him hard in the soft flesh of his underarm. The man gasped in pain and tried to grab her around the neck. Sienna danced away and delivered a roundhouse kick
that sent her attacker to his knees.

  It wasn’t until after she’d cuffed him and read him his rights that she saw that A.J. was tying up the gunman he’d dealt with.

  Her eyes met his and something fizzled along her nerve endings, the same kind of feeling she’d felt when Lana had pushed her out from under that beam.

  Without breaking eye contact, she pulled out her cell phone and called the division asking for backup, stating she’d just walked into a major arms deal.

  She couldn’t get around the fact that he’d saved her life. She’d missed that fourth man. It would have been a costly mistake if A.J. hadn’t been there to back her up.

  Sienna didn’t know how long she stood there staring at him, meeting those intense blue eyes, expressive and gorgeous. Somehow that didn’t seem as terrifying as it should have been.

  A.J. gave her a slight smile and Sienna could barely contain the raw and turbulent feelings that rushed through her.

  She broke her gaze when she heard the sirens wailing as they got closer and closer. The intimacy didn’t fade although she was across the parking lot from him. It was still there, swirling around her, making her feel things that she’d never thought she’d ever feel.

  The cold hard truth hit her. She’d never wanted to rely on anyone before, but in the short time that she’d known A.J., she had this sudden urge to lean. It was too dangerous to even think about it. Too dangerous to contemplate what would happen if she let herself feel too much, want too much.

  The patrol cops took the men away as Sienna gave her statement.

  WITH THE SURGE of adrenaline still ping-ponging around in his body, A.J. was in his element. Search and destroy was something he excelled in. Yet, he’d been a bit slow off the mark, another reminder that the grenade had done more damage than was possible to heal.

  When he’d taken down the hidden man, he had to check his fury. A.J. knew many ways to kill a man and he would have used deadly force if he thought there had been any more of a threat from the downed man. There was no way that anything would happen to Sienna, not on his watch.

  She was calm and professional as she gave her account to the patrol officers and relinquished the suspects to them.