Nightcrawler (Trackers #1)

Chapter Twelve

RAVEN

I slid out of the truck after parking in the towing yard, handing him the credit card to pay for the fees, and walking away, before pulling out my phone to make a call. Ten minutes later, I walked back to the window where he still stood. He turned to me, looking wary.

“What is it?”

“Meet me in an hour. My friends will be there, and I expect you to be there too. Promise me, Miguel?” I wrote down the name of a diner where I wanted us to meet and handed the Post-it Note to him.

“I promise,” he said, taking the sticky note and folding it, shoving it into the front pocket of his jeans. “But that doesn’t mean I’m taking untrained people out to help me capture a fugitive, Raven. Shit, with you helping me and now these friends you called, I feel like a sopping wet pussy.” We both glanced up at the young receptionist who was staring at us from behind glass. She’d apparently finished retrieving Miguel’s paperwork and returned in silence while he argued with me.

She blinked wide eyes at us, thinned her lips in obvious disgust, and slid the paperwork through a slot at the bottom of the window. I suspected the glass was as thick as it was because it was bulletproof. If the 284.00 dollar bill for towing and hourly storage was normal for this joint, I could imagine why they’d want bulletproof glass. I was happy to lend the money to Miguel, though. At least it was something I could do. Now that I understood his situation better, it made all the difference to be able to help this way.

“Thanks,” Miguel said, ignoring the sneer she threw our way.

She replied by aggressively flipping over a sign in the window that said, Be Back in Fifteen Minutes , before walking away without another word.

I snorted and met Miguel’s equally amused expression as we turned to leave.

“Do these—any of these guys—know how to recognize trouble when they see it?” he asked as he pulled out his keys and started walking out to his truck sitting in the lot.

I stayed by his side. “Yes, they’re all law enforcement and know how to handle themselves.” He held up his hand as I rushed to explain. “They won’t be joining us as law enforcement, though. They’re helping out as friends.”

He frowned but simply nodded as we reached his old truck. It didn’t look any the worse for wear but what did I expect? These towing companies knew how to jimmy a lock and get into vehicles. He opened the truck and got in, shutting the door, rolling down the window, and looking at me as I put my hands on the door and bent over. Only a small twinge greeted the motion, and I was glad for it. He smiled, leaning toward me, and I kissed him softly on the lips. He was smiling as I leaned back.

“I’ll see you at Mel’s Drive-In at three,” I said.

He saluted. “I’ll be there but I’m still not convinced yours is the best course of action.” He stopped me when I opened my mouth to continue the argument. “I promise to keep an open mind.” He offered me a genuine smile. “I don’t know what it is about you, Raven. It’s just so damned hard to say no to you.”

“Good.” I felt an immediate surge of triumph and gave him a little wave as I turned to walk back to my Ram, hearing his truck’s strong engine start up behind me. As soon as I got in my truck, I pulled out my phone and hit a button on my speed dial. There was one other call I needed to make. When Cassidy Ryan picked up and greeted me, I felt a wave of relief wash over me.

“Hey, Mathis. I just heard from Jarrett. I guess you told him to call me?”

“Yes, Cass.”

“Okay, what’s up? He didn’t tell me much, only that he and Thayne will be helping you and Miguel Huerta take down a fugitive. Since when did you start taking down fugitives and please tell me how the two of you started working together? The last time I saw you both in the same space, you were fighting like cats and dogs.”

I took a deep breath and confessed all about Gemma Monroe and the debacle at her lover’s house the other morning. I told him about Passantino discharging his gun but not about getting shot, just that I’d been injured and how Miguel had helped me. Cass was a respected law enforcement officer, and I didn’t want to put him in a bad position of having knowledge he’d have to report or put himself at risk. He interrupted a few times, wanting to get the details down, including Passantino’s address. He promised the fraudster and his girlfriend would be getting a visit from him and Mike when they were through meeting with us. He sounded pissed, but I’d known that would happen as soon as I told him about Passantino and the firearm.

I’d known Cassidy Ryan and Mike Williams for years. Whenever I had a job near the Brentwood LAPD substation, they were the cops I called. After learning that Cassidy was married to a man and seeing what a decent guy he and his partner were, they had been my go-to cops. I always placed a call when I went out on a recovery if I thought someone wasn’t going to give me an easy time of it. I’d learned my lesson time and time again and decided long ago—at my assistant, Judy’s insistence—that cops were important allies in my field. Their presence at my back had saved my bacon more times than I could count.

They’d introduced me to Jarrett Evans and his husband, Thayne Wolfe, a few years back when I’d run into them at my favorite diner in the Valley, Mel’s Drive-In, located in Sherman Oaks. Apparently, Jarrett and Thayne lived in the area. When I found out that they worked in Federal law enforcement for Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms, and Explosives, I’d been very impressed. Besides the fact that they were married partners who’d known Cassidy and Mike for a long time, it was nice knowing I could call on the Feds when I needed something. Thayne was a genuinely nice man who had gorgeous blue eyes the color of an ocean and his husband, Jarrett, was a total cut-up. He told silly jokes and was the kind of man who was easy to know and like, a friend to everyone.

To top it all off, they’d become friends and had helped me out on a couple of cases in the past where having a set of Federal credentials was a bonus. One had involved recovering a small Egyptian artifact which had been secreted inside a resin pyramid which looked like a cheap souvenir being brought into the country through LAX by a notorious thief. The owner of the artifact had insured the item with GMS Insurance for a half million dollars and the recovery fees had been substantial, helping to pay for a new roof for my grandmother’s house. With the help of Jarrett and Thayne, the thief had been held in custody by friendly customs agents until I could arrive with the paperwork to release the artifact.

Jarrett, Thayne, and Cassidy were all sharp and I wondered how many ways they could come up with to get to Connor Ray Howell Jr. without causing any bodily injury to us. Personally, I didn’t think he’d give himself up if we cornered him, even if he saw badges but I could have been wrong about that. I just was sure that the men I knew might think of an angle Miguel hadn’t. Going in there and facing him all alone and without backup was simply insane but now that Miguel knew I knew what his plans were, he had no way to stop me giving my opinions. I’d told him about Thayne and Jarrett but even I wasn’t dumb enough to tell him I’d contacted Cassidy.

Somehow, I thought it might be better to leave that out. If he was going to yell at me anyway, being surrounded by friends and knowing he had the back up of brave men sounded better than having him reject any help at all. As if anyone could look at a tall, dark, brooding, gorgeous man like Miguel Huerta and think of him as a sopping wet pussy. I grinned to myself at the very idea of it.

I headed home to change clothes since I’d been wearing the same ones for two days. After a quick sponge bath and greeting my nana, I left for the meeting, ignoring the feel of Ned eyeballing me as I practically ran out of the house, heading for Sherman Oaks. When I walked into Mel’s diner ten minutes late, I wasn’t surprised to see Miguel already seated at a large table surrounded by Cassidy, Mike, Jarrett, and Thayne. He was laughing at something but when he saw me, he scowled. I ignored it and walked over to join everyone at the table. They all stood and shook my hand, but Cassidy was the first to speak.

“Take a load off,” he said. “Miguel was just regaling us with the story of Gemma Monroe’s silicone boobs.”

I smiled at Miguel as I took a seat at the table across from him.

“How’re you doin’?” Jarrett asked in his distinctive West Virginia drawl. His white hair was deceptive; he was only in his early forties, although he looked younger. He was handsome as hell with eyes so pale a blue, they looked like chips of ice and added to his good looks. His husband, Thayne, had brown hair, equally as dark as my own. They twinkled with happiness as he reached up and patted Jarrett on the back. The couple was so obviously in love, it went without saying. “Cassidy told us you were injured.”

I instinctively put my hand on my side as I nodded. “I was, but according to Miguel as well as his amazing friend, I’m fine…going to be a 100 percent in a couple of days. Really, it’s all thanks to this guy.” I nodded at Miguel. “I fell on something sharp. Couldn’t see what it was in the dark but if it hadn’t been for him helping me, I don’t know if I’d have made it out of there. He pulled me over a wall, got me home to his place, and saw to it that his buddy, patched me up. A couple of shots of antibiotics, lots of good doctoring by Miguel, and tons of rest later, and I feel like a new man.”

Cassidy glanced at Miguel, studied him for a few seconds with a question in his eyes.

“A medic I served with in my Recon unit,” Miguel replied to the unanswered question. “If he says Raven’s okay, he’s okay, Cass. He came back and changed the bandages this morning and gave him a second dose of antibiotics before going to the hospital to work his shift.”

“He’s a doctor?” Jarrett asked.

“He’s a technician in a Cath Lab but he’s a few credits shy of his MSN in nursing.”

I was aware of Miguel deliberately not mentioning names or places. Vonne could lose his job if anyone realized I’d been shot and he hadn’t reported it.

“A technician?” Jarrett frowned slightly.

“He works in there because there aren’t any openings in the system right now for his skill level. That and the fact that he says he really likes the people he works for.” Miguel nodded at Mike. “You can understand that. Chances are you both could have applied for chief of D’s a long time ago if you didn’t like working together.

Cassidy looked across the table at his older partner who was smirking. “You’re right.”

“I may have been his training officer all those years ago when we were out on foot patrol, but Cassidy’s the best partner I’ve ever had. I trust him with my life and I know all of you do too,” Mike said.

“Anyway, he’ll apply for a nursing position once he’s graduated,” Miguel said. “If they don’t have one where he is, he can always go out to L.A.”

I watched Cassidy who slowly nodded. “Okay.”

“Regarding Passantino’s gun, though,” Mike began, “I’m real interested in how he thought he could get away with discharging an unregistered firearm, trespassers or not. And you two are damned lucky you didn’t get your fool heads blown off. Rest assured, Cassidy and I will be paying that moron a visit when we’re done here. You can count on that,” Mike said. He was frowning even as Cassidy nodded his agreement.

“You should have called us before ever entering the premises, Raven. You usually do,” Cass said.

I held up both hands in surrender. “You’re right but I didn’t have any reason to think he would be armed or even that he’d put up a fight,” I explained. “Besides, I had my pepper spray. That thing is packed with .3 percent pure pepper juice and in my experience, has never not come through for me.”

“Unless you’re chasing a suspect armed with a gun,” Miguel growled.

I glanced over at him. “Which your guy Jamie missed too.”

“I could kill him for that,” Miguel said shaking his head. When he met my eyes again, his gaze was softer. “I’m only glad I was there.”

I smiled at him across the table. “Me too.”

“Look at that. It’s real sweet,” Jarrett said. When I turned to look at him, his smile was broad and twin dimples were showing in both cheeks.

“Well, when we get back to the office, we’re going to do our own little investigations about Passantino’s gun,” Cassidy said. “I don’t suppose you got a slug.”

“No, we didn’t hang around to dig it or the any of the others he shot at us out of the woodwork, Cassidy,” Miguel shot back.

“Whoa,” Jarrett said.

“Jarrett—” Thayne warned.

“What? It was kind of snotty, that’s all I’m sayin’, darlin’,” Jarrett replied, looking at his husband.

“Sorry,” Miguel said. He looked right at Cassidy. “It was kind of snotty and I didn’t mean it to sound that way. I just didn’t like anyone taking a pot shot at me or him.” He nodded at me, sitting across the table.

“It’s fine,” Cassidy said. “So, moving on to other business.” He stopped when the waitress walked over holding a tray of drinks. She began setting them down in front of everyone before turning to me and smiling brightly. “Can I get you something to drink?”

“Iced tea. Thank you.”

“Good.” She pulled a pad out of her apron. “Is everyone ready to order?”

“Pie!” Jarrett’s hand shot up.

Thayne elbowed him. “Really? Didn’t the doctor tell you to watch your sugar?”

“Ow!” Jarrett said, rubbing his arm where Thayne had nailed him with a sharp elbow. “She said I should watch the pounds. She said nothin’ about sugar. You make me look like a pussy.” He looked up at the waitress. “Sorry.”

“It’s okay. We do have a sugar free pumpkin pie which my customers swear by,” she offered.

Jarrett looked down at the menu. “I don’t see that on here.”

“It’s on the back, in the senior citizen section, next to the early-bird dinners. Right there,” she said, pointing helpfully.

Cassidy burst out laughing and so did Mike. I grinned at the look on Jarrett’s face as he flipped them all off before turning the menu over. He made a show of looking over the whole back of the menu and then pointed to it. “Yeah, I guess I’ll have that. I’ll take it with a side of Ben Gay and a hernia truss, please.” He grinned up at her and she laughed. Everyone else did too. Even Miguel’s icy facade had melted, and he was watching Evans with amusement painted all over his face. When Thayne leaned in and kissed Jarrett’s cheek, he blushed before leaning his head on his husband’s shoulder. She took all our orders for dessert since it was between lunch and dinner, and then left the table.

“So, tell us about this bad guy you’re supposed to be chasing,” Thayne said after she walked away.

“He’s a big guy,” Miguel said.

Jarrett snorted. “Look around.”

I looked around the table. Jarrett and Thayne were the tallest men there, on par with Miguel and myself at around six-three, and Cassidy was only an inch or so shorter than that. Mike Williams had to be about six foot and everyone but Mike, who was probably in his mid to late fifties, was in tremendous shape.

“Connor Ray Howell Jr. is six-nine and tops off at a little over 300 pounds which is unusual since he’s a big fan of crank,” Miguel said.

“Ooh,” Jarrett said, biting a bent finger. “Beefy.” He looked at Thayne. “We should call Mac Mac Mac.”

Everyone but Miguel laughed. He turned to look at me but shrugged. I smiled and looked back at them. “Who’s Mac Mac Mac?”

“Mac McCallahan is our buddy in the FBI. He’s close to six-eight and more than 250 pounds of pure muscle. He’s a former Green Beret and is highly skilled. His husband, Nico Devecchio, works on our team at the ATFE,” Thayne said.

“Nico’s kind of awesome,” Jarrett drawled with a big grin. “He’s one of them bona fide genius-types…has an eidetic memory. I ain’t never seen nothin’ like it.”

“They sound capable,” Miguel said with a smile. He looked over at me. “I’m glad Raven called you all to help out.”

They all nodded as the waitress returned and started setting down our desserts before topping off my tea and my friends’ coffees. I didn’t indulge in dessert very often but I hadn’t eaten anything except the eggs Miguel cooked for me this morning, so I’d followed his lead and ordered a homemade, chocolate fudge cake topped with whipped cream that looked so good, I thought I was going to die. My fork sank into it like butter and as soon as I brought it to my mouth, the scent filled my senses. The taste exploded on my tongue, and I was pretty sure my eyes rolled back in my head. It was incredibly good. We ate and drank our coffees for a few minutes before coming up for air and sitting back in our chairs. Everyone turned to look at Miguel.

“So, tell us more about this goliath fugitive you’re supposed to be going after and why law enforcement isn’t already on him,” Cassidy said. “I mean, I understand why there’s a bounty out for this guy and why you want to cash in on it, but there has to be some reason no one has caught up to him yet.”

“He’s working down at the Long Beach docks as a longshoreman,” Miguel said, “most likely under an assumed name.”

“But dock workers are all unionized,” Thayne said. “How is it possible he’s getting work without a card?”

“I’d guess they’re easy enough to forge,” Mike said, looking at his partner.

“They could be but that’s not the problem as I read it,” Miguel replied. “This monster baddie is a career criminal. You should see his rap sheet. It reads like a novel of bad acts beginning when he was very young with petty crimes and then gradually getting worse. He’s currently out on parole for aggravated assault and rape. He beat a dealer so badly he ended up in the hospital and then raped the dealer’s girlfriend, viciously beating her too. He was sentenced to eight years but you know the system. He did less than half his time up in Corcoran and came out even meaner than before.”

“So, he’s probably back to being an addict too?” Jarrett asked.

Miguel nodded. “He loves meth and since he’s clearly prone to violence already, you understand what that combination means for anyone going after him. I think he’s working as a longshoreman on intimidation alone. If he is somehow threatening the foreman or bullying the other men he works with, he could be there earning his pay just like everyone else. He wouldn’t necessarily have to be working with a forged union card if he knows what buttons to push down there. And I’m sure his parole officer hasn’t pushed the drug test issue. I just got the file from my boss, Jamie, a few hours ago and I haven’t formulated a plan on how to go about putting him in restraints.” He looked over at me and furrowed his brow. “Raven jumped the gun by calling you all in.”

“Well, how did you plan on approaching him or didn’t your planning get that far?” Thayne asked.

Miguel nodded and I felt relieved that we were sitting down with these capable men. At least they could give him their input and hopefully impress upon him that going it alone on this takedown was crazy. I wanted to be a backup for him, but I just wasn’t sure I could do a great job at it, hurt like I was…regardless of what I’d told him. I couldn’t let my pride get in the way of additional help and it was abundantly clear that Miguel hadn’t had the time to actually come up with much of a plan.

“I thought I’d approach the foreman and get all the particulars on him before doing anything else,” Miguel said. “Someone leaked his location to Jamie anonymously and if I had to guess, it was him. If he’s bullying other guys on the docks or somehow threatened him, that makes sense.”

“Then that’s what you’ve gotta do,” Jarrett said. He reached over and circled Miguel’s bicep. “But you’ve also gotta promise to call us as soon as you’ve got the lowdown, brother.” He stared at Miguel until he finally nodded.

I felt warmth toward my friend as he talked to Miguel. Jarrett had either noticed the Marine Corps tat on Miguel’s left bicep and correctly identified him as being a part of their brotherhood, or he knew of him from previous dealings with Cass and Mike. Either way, it had worked out and I was glad for it.

“Okay, Evans. I promise I’ll do that.”

Jarrett dropped his hand as he nodded. “Good.”

“Let me run his particulars and talk to his parole officer,” Cassidy said. “I have a feeling there’s more that we missed about this Howell guy.”

Miguel shook his head. “You don’t know my boss, Jamie. He’s really good and he doesn’t leave any stone unturned when doing background on a fugitive.”

“He sure as fuck missed the fact that Passantino had a gun, Miguel,” I said.

He turned to look at me with a contemplative look on his face. Eventually, he nodded. “Yeah, you got me there, Raven.” He looked at Cassidy and Jarrett and then at the others. “Go ahead and make your inquiries, Cassidy. I’m really grateful Raven called you…all of you.”

“I am too,” Cassidy replied. “For now, though, promise me you won’t do anything about this Howell guy until Mike and I have time to check him out a little more.”

I watched Miguel’s face change. He smiled, actually smiled. “Like I said, Cass, I am very grateful for you.” He looked at the others. “Thank you again. I don’t know how long he’s going to stay put down there at the docks, though. I think we should move fast on this.”

Jarrett clapped him on his big shoulder. “What say we all hang tight until you can talk to that foreman, then you call us in when you’re ready?”

“I think that’d work,” Miguel said.

“Mike and I should back you up when you go to talk to the foreman. Should we meet you at the docks in the morning?” Cassidy said. “An LAPD detective’s badge might not be the same as a Long Beach PD’s badge, but he may not even realize the difference.”

Miguel looked across the table at me before glancing back at Cassidy and nodding. “I doubt I can keep Raven from joining us no matter what I say.”

“You can’t,” I interrupted.

He glanced at me. “As I thought. Anyway, what say he and I meet you at the Brentwood station first thing? We can go over what you’ve learned from Howell’s parole officer, and if it’s a go, we’ll call Evans and Wolfe and hit the docks afterward.” He glanced at Jarrett. “And your big friend Mac Mac Mac.”

Jarrett grinned widely, nodding.

“Good,” Cassidy said with a smile. “We’ll see you then.”

Everyone grunted their approval as they nodded, and I felt relieved for the first time since finding out about his plans for this incredibly dangerous bounty.