Page 98 of Tough Justice

“Not yet.” He hit the gas, the SUV’s tires squealing as he turned onto the main road. “I still don’t have probable cause, and Rivera will only tell us to stand down.” That was something Deck could never do, not with Tori’s life at stake. If that fucker hurt her, he’d administer his own personal brand of tough justice and smash him head first into the ground.

As soon as he merged onto I-25, he hit the strobes and punched it, speeding north toward Fort Collins. If he had to bust in there like John Wayne, so help him God, he’d do it.

Chapter Thirty-Two

Wil came back into the cave, locking the gate after him and stuffing the old key in his pocket. Stalling for time was the plan. It was all she could hope for.

He stared at her for a moment then sighed. Shockingly, he actually appeared sad. “I knew you wouldn’t go for it. You are too good a person. Too moral and ethical. We could have been a good team.”

A team. Never a loving couple. “So this is why you’ve never been in a relationship the entire time I’ve known you and why you never talked about getting married. You don’t have it in you to love anyone but yourself. You’re the center of your own universe. There’s no room for anyone else.”

“You’re probably right,” he agreed, nodding. “Although with you I would have at least tried.”

Was that supposed to be a compliment?

A burst of rage welled up inside her, but she held it in. “Well, doesn’t that make me feel special? A drug dealer wants me to run away with him and pretend that he hasn’t killed people, hasn’t created an awful drug just to fill his wallet and feed his God complex.”

Instead of getting angry with her deliberately hurtful words, he merely shoved his hands into his pockets. “It’s too bad you had to find out. There’s nothing I can do to change that now.” He pulled the key from his coveralls. “We’re shutting down this base of operations and taking this show out of state.” He unlocked the gate and stepped outside.

“Wait!” She rushed the gate, getting there just as he locked it. “What about me?”

“Well,” he began, stroking his chin, “despite the homicidal tendencies you accuse me of having, I’ve never actually killed anyone. Not directly, that is, and as heartless as you may think I am, I don’t have it in me to kill you. Again, not directly. I imagine you can keep going for a while without food or water. Eventually, you’ll die.”

Was this really happening? She stared at him in disbelief, her limbs going so numb that she sank to her knees on the dirt floor.

She watched Wil turn his back on her and walk away, continuing to stare as he parted the plastic curtain and joined T-Lo and the other men in the lab.

He really was abandoning her to die.

There had to be a way out of this mess. Think. First and foremost, she had to stay alive as long as possible. Deck would eventually figure out Wil was the target he’d been hunting all this time. But would it be in time to save her?

She stood and began searching the floor for something she could use as a weapon, a rock or an old nail, but there was nothing. Quietly, she stepped to the gate. Through the bars, she saw Wil, T-Lo, and the other men filling bags in the lab, heard their muffled voices. She went back to the cot and flipped over the mattress, shaking it. The bed was old, held together by filthy, rusty springs.

Her pulse raced as she tugged at the end of one of the coiled wire springs. Despite being old, the metal was still strong. She gave a strong tug until one of the coils broke with a loud snap. She held her breath, hoping no one had heard the noise. After ten seconds, no one came.

The spring in her hand was sharp at one end. Glancing over her shoulder to reverify no one was there, she pocketed the spring then went back to the gate. Gouging Wil’s eyes out sounded gross, but if it got her that key…

The voices grew louder now. One of the men behind the curtain used aggressive hand gestures. They pushed through the plastic curtain, the first man gesturing for the other to follow. When the curtain closed behind them, they tore off their masks.

The man she thought was T-Lo advanced on Wil until they were almost nose to nose. “By bringing her here, you made her a witness. Now, you have to kill her.”

“What I do with her is not your business. In fact, you’d do well to remember just whose business this is. Mine. You work for me.”

“If you don’t kill her, I will.”

“Touch her, and you’ll die.” Wil’s voice sounded deadly, and she believed him.

“What’s the difference if you’re going to leave her here, anyway?”

Wil’s hands clenched into fists. “Get back in the lab and keep packing up.”

The two other men stopped what they were doing then came through the plastic to stand on either side of T-Lo. This was a power play, and it was obvious that the two other men had allegiance to T-Lo, not Wil. Wil might be running the show, but it was three against one.

For a moment, Tori wasn’t sure who was about to punch whose lights out. T-Lo’s lip curled back like a feral dog’s, but he turned and put his mask back on, pushing through the plastic curtain and indicating the others should follow.

When Wil began walking back toward the cave, hope blossomed in her heart. Had he changed his mind about leaving her here? But the cold, dispassionate look on his face told a different story.

Over his shoulder, she glimpsed the plastic curtain ripple as T-Lo and the other two men slipped from the lab to follow Wil.