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Kuilikov’s death?” she asked Connor.
His face went stony. “I wanted to see if they’d found bullet casings at the nursing home. As far as I remember, there were none.”
Connor Sparks wouldn’t make a mistake like that.
“Holland? Are you all right? You’ve gone white.” Dax was suddenly in her space, his hands supporting her waist.
“You think my uncle had something to do with this.” Though she felt Dax’s hold, she couldn’t lean into him.
Connor’s jaw tightened. “How else would he know? Who convinced you to betray Dax? Was it really the man representing the Russian mob?”
After seeing that man in the prison parking lot, she’d driven straight to her uncle’s and he’d had the file ready and waiting for her. He’d had those damning photos sitting right there. Why would he have kept them in his office, right at his fingertips?
She forced herself to think, to shove aside the emotion and look at the evidence. But all she could surmise was that her uncle had been involved with the initial investigation.
She looked over at Peter Morgan, who had struggled to his feet. “After the call girl tipped off the police— Wait. That wasn’t planned?”
Morgan shook his head. “No. Suddenly the NOLA PD was involved and simple blackmail was no longer an option. I started panicking then but played along, identifying Hal in the video. I wasn’t sure what else to do when the cops showed up at my door and started asking questions.”
“Who interviewed you when you talked to the civilian police?”
She believed him now. Everything was making sense. After all, he’d be out money if his blackmail scheme got exposed to authorities and then the press.
Morgan’s eyes had widened. “A big man showed up. Kirk. Are you related?” He took a step back. “You’re here to kill us all, aren’t you?”
She held up a hand. “I’m not.” Then she turned to the man she’d once loved. “Dax, I’m so sorry.”
His jaw had tightened. “Your uncle? He killed my father?”
“I don’t know, but I think he was somehow involved. And he’s on his way.” She reached for her phone and turned the recorder off, handing it to Lara. “You have to get this out of here. Connor, take your wife and Dax and run. I’ll handle my uncle.”
Lara clutched the phone. “I don’t know which way to go. Point me in the right direction and I’ll get this back to the city, but I think Connor should stay and back you up.”
“No one is going anywhere,” Connor said. “Let’s find a place to hide you and Morgan.”
“How long do we have, Special Agent?” Dax asked, his hand on his gun.
Holland tried not to think about the fact that he could barely look at her.
Gemma shook her head. “Not long. The good news is he’s only bringing two squad cars, but every one of those men will be his. You’ve got another two minutes or less.”
Connor nodded. “Do they know I’m here?”
“If he had someone staking out this place, the most they could have reported were that two men and two women entered the premises, but it may have been too dark for that. The windows on your SUV are tinted right? Maybe they couldn’t see anything.”
Holland nodded. So they’d have to take their chances that the NOLA PD didn’t know who was here and what they were up against.
“Once they arrive, I can guess where they’ll take cover,” Gemma continued. “If that helps.”
It was the only chance they had.
“Lara should hide,” Holland said. “Connor, can you find a sniper position somewhere?”
They all looked at Morgan.
“Head out the back door,” he said. “You’ll have to follow the path around the swamp. It will take a few minutes, but you’ll be right behind them. They’ll never see you coming. If you simply walk out the front, they’ll make you for sure.”
“On it.” Connor gripped the knob of the back door. “Keep the cops out of the house. I won’t be able to see them in here. Use the dark. My night vision is excellent. And whatever you do, don’t let them know anyone is here but you and Dax. You’re not suspicious of him at all.”
Dax nodded. “We got here and Morgan was gone.”
“Right. Take care of Lara.” Connor gave his friend one last look and disappeared.
“She should hide in the closet,” Morgan said, nodding toward the only room with a door. “It’s back there. I’ll show you the way. I don’t have any weapons. I always knew if they found me, I would die. I really don’t care anymore except it will hurt my mother. She’s all I have left. I lost Judith when Hal died. So many friends gone. That was the horrible part. I found out everything was meaningless without him.”
Morgan might lose his mind before his life.
Holland heard a car pulling up, saw red and blue lights stream in through the thin curtains.
Her uncle. It hurt more than she could process now, but she couldn’t explain away the evidence. She should have seen it so much sooner and she could have saved Dax heartache.
“They’ll see my car. I couldn’t hide it. I didn’t have time once I realized they were on their way. I’m assisting you in this investigation and trying to cover NCIS’s ass,” Gemma said. “Your uncle will understand that.”
When a hard knock sounded on the door, Holland realized her time had run out.
“New Orleans PD. Open up.” Her uncle’s voice resonated through the portal.
She certainly wasn’t going to hide. She would talk to him, get him to go away, and begin to build her case against him.
Holland opened the door before Dax could stop her. “Uncle Beau? I’m surprised to see you out here. Are you looking for Peter Morgan?”
Her uncle stood there, his big body illuminated in the porch light. Behind him she could see he’d brought along Chad and three other cops, all familiar.
This was her uncle’s pack, the ones who would know where the bodies were buried because he’d ordered these men to do the burying. They were mutually complicit, and it made her sick.
“I was looking for you, Holland,” her uncle replied. “And Dax Spencer. He’s wanted for questioning down at the station.”
Was that how he intended to play this, all aboveboard so he could separate the two of them and later inform her of Dax’s untimely but shocking accidental death or some such nonsense? Her heart sped up because this tactic made everything more dangerous—and difficult.
Keep the cops out of the house. That was what Connor had said. Was he close to making his way around the swamp so he could circle around and position himself behind the cops?
That was when she remembered the camera. Peter Morgan didn’t keep a gun around, but he had a camera on the front door that her uncle had either not seen or thought he could handle.
“Questioning about what?” Holland stood her ground, not giving her uncle an inch.
Beau’s eyes narrowed. “I have enough evidence to prove he hired the assassin who tried to kill you. I’ve seen his bank transactions. Very damning. You know I told you that boy was trouble. He’s going to use your death to shine a light on his father’s death and get NCIS to reopen the case. That family is ruthless.”
“He doesn’t have to do that. I’ve already reopened it.” She glanced over to the left, where Dax had his back to the wall, just out of her uncle’s line of sight.
Connor might have joked about Dax and the gun range, but he handled his sidepiece like a pro. He might not do this kind of thing every day, but he would be competent. He wouldn’t waver. Gemma moved behind her.
“Lieutenant,” Gemma said with a nod. “What seems to be the problem? My partner and I are working a case. We came out here to speak to a witness.”
Her uncle’s head tilted as though he was trying to see inside. “You’re here to talk to Morgan?”
He must be desperate, because he’d forgotten he wasn’t supposed to know where Morgan lived. It was time to get him
talking.
“He’s not here.” Holland frowned, pretending confusion. “How long have you been working for the Bratva?”
Beside her, Dax closed his eyes. When he opened them she saw how furious he was.
Holland had to keep him talking, had to keep that camera rolling. If she let her uncle take Dax in, he would very likely be thrown into a cell where some paid asshole waited to take him out. And her uncle would get to keep his hands completely clean.
She couldn’t let that happen. That meant getting her uncle to talk so when Connor found a position and made his move, he didn’t get charged with murdering a police officer.
Because there was no way this wouldn’t get bloody.
“What are you talking about?” Her uncle crossed his arms over his chest and towered over her. “Holland, everything I’ve done is to protect you. That boy has been dragging you down for years. Now he’s using you to prove something when he should just have accepted his father’s crimes. You can’t trust these rich boys. They’ll do whatever they need to when it comes to protecting their money.”
He didn’t know Dax at all. He wasn’t a typical rich boy. Yes, he’d been wild, but he’d always been a faithful friend, loyal and kind. He wasn’t shedding light on his father’s death for money or glory or so he could move up the ranks. All that mattered to him was the truth and honoring a father he loved, despite his faults.
Dax was the kind of man who loved with his whole heart.
“How did you know this is Peter Morgan’s place? The deed isn’t registered in his name,” she pointed out. She kept her eyes on the men behind her uncle. One of them was edging toward the porch.
Chad. Naturally Chad was her uncle’s man. It made her wonder if Beau had ordered Chad to date and sleep with her so he could keep an eye on her, to make sure she didn’t uncover anything she shouldn’t.
“Holland, it’s time to stop thinking with your libido,” Chad said. He’d removed his jacket, showing her the big pistol in his holster. “It’s time for you to pick family rather than some guy who screwed you over as he fucked you.”
“No,” she disagreed. “It’s time for me to figure out exactly how involved my family was in taking down Admiral Spencer.”
Gemma moved beside her. “I think we might need to interview your uncle. I’d like to know where he was the day of Admiral Spencer’s death.”
“That is none of your business,” Beau spat. “Now turn over Dax Spencer.”
“If you want to talk to Captain Spencer, you can do it at NCIS headquarters.” Maybe she could get him to back off. In her office, she could control the situation. She might even do some questioning of her own.
“Don’t pull jurisdiction with me. I’m sick of the way the Navy thinks they’re better than the rest of us,” Chad snarled.
Most PDs were more than happy to hand off to NCIS. This had nothing to do with protecting turf and everything to do with Chad’s wounded ego. She could do without it. She needed to focus on getting information out of her uncle.
And keeping him from getting his hands on Dax.
She knew it was killing Dax to not face them, but she was the only one who could confront them. She would do this for Dax and right the wrong she’d done him three years ago.
“I am going to need to know where you were on the day of the admiral’s death.” She couldn’t back down from that.
“I believe I was working that day. I’m sure I was. Holland, you don’t want to do this. Don’t push me to do something I’ve tried to avoid.” Her uncle stared at her, stony eyed. “Let me see if I can break this down. You’re lying about Peter Morgan. He’s in there and you’ve talked to him. He told you that I was the one he dealt with at the beginning of the investigation.”
“Was there really an investigation?”
“Gotta make these things look good, sweetheart,” he admitted.
Outside, in the distance, she saw a hint of movement. Connor. He must have dashed around the swamp and was now settling into position in case this blew up.
“Why would you do this? Why? You knew I was friends with that family.” The betrayal was an actual ache in her body.
If her uncle was worried, he didn’t show it. He put a hand on the wall and leaned in. “That family means nothing to me. Do you know what I get paid to put my ass on the line every day? Next to nothing. So when the big boys offer me money to take down some rich asshole, I take it. This is the way the world works. We can’t fight organized crime. All we can do is take a little piece of the pie. That’s what a smart man does.”
“Holland, you’re going to get us all killed. They won’t stop. They’ve been careful, but they won’t let you uncover the hows and whys of their plans,” Chad argued.
“Why did they want the admiral dead?” Gemma asked. Holland could feel how tense her partner was, but her voice was calm.
“It doesn’t matter to me,” Uncle Beau said. “Way I heard it, he was putting his nose where it didn’t belong. Morgan got twitchy and turned snitch. The admiral wouldn’t bend to their demands and the big boys decided to pull the plug on him.” Her uncle tried to look inside the house. “You hear that, Spencer? You want to know who killed your daddy? You come out here and I’ll tell you.”
“Or are you going to let your girlfriend do all the dirty work?” Chad taunted.
“He’s not here,” Holland explained. “I left him behind because he can’t stay calm and let me do my job. It’s just me and Gemma. Are you really going to take us on? Are you ready to kill a fellow officer?”
“I don’t want to, but I’m certainly not going to jail,” her uncle vowed. “Of course, I’m also ready to turn this all around. You see, you’ve been acting oddly lately. Hasn’t she, Chad?”
“Very odd. She used to be so sweet. I’m pretty sure those were drugs I found at her apartment the other day.” Chad sighed. “We put them in evidence. Oh, I was almost certain they belonged to the captain, but I can always change that theory. You might have been trying to harm yourself. After all, you’ve been spiraling.”
How obvious. “So you’re going to put me on a seventy-two-hour psych hold? Really? How will you deal with everyone else?”
“That’s simple,” her uncle said with a smile. “I’ll kill ’em. Starting with your partner.”
He had his gun out before Holland could think. Gemma shoved her out of the way and slammed the door shut as the first bullet went flying.
She felt something heavy hit her. Dax had thrown himself over her body.
The door exploded inward and she heard another volley of shots.
“I’m giving you one last chance, Holland,” Chad shouted. “Come out and we’ll talk, but you have to give the rest of them up. That’s the only way this ends.”
She heard a shout and another shot.
“Or Connor can handle them,” Dax growled, jumping to his feet.
“There’s still three of them and they’re armed to the teeth,” Holland whispered. “But I think I’ve documented enough. He fired first. The tape will show that.”
“Sweetheart, I got an audio of the conversation in case Morgan’s video doesn’t capture voices. I’ve got his confession on my phone,” Dax replied. “Gemma, are they coming in?”
Gemma had taken up a position behind the couch. “Not yet. But I can’t really see much.”
“He’ll try to wait us out or smoke us out,” Holland said a moment before her uncle proved her right by shoving the door open and rolling in a canister of tear gas.
“Damn it.” Dax pulled his shirt over his mouth and held a hand out to her. “I’m going out first.”
Her eyes were already starting to burn. Lara and Morgan would have some time, but if she didn’t finish this, those two would be trapped and unprotected.
She looked back through the smoke at Gemma, gesturing to the back door. Gemma nodded and silently started moving toward the rear of the house to retrieve Lara and Morgan.
In
the distance, she heard gunfire again.
“Let’s go. That’s Connor giving us some chaos to escape in. Sweetheart, I know you don’t want to, but please let me go first,” he practically begged as he coughed.
But he didn’t understand. “They’ll be reluctant to kill me. I’m going out with my hands up. You come behind me. Then you can save me.”
