The Fixer (Fall River #2)

39. Backstabber

Chapter 39

Backstabber

Charlie jerked awake to the sound of a low growl. He reached out, found Luna’s head in the dark, and stroked it. “It’s okay. Good girl.” He gave both dogs instructions to keep quiet—by hand and verbally—and swung his legs over the edge of the cot. Staying low, he crept toward the window, ducking just in time as a light swept the glass.

He pressed himself to the outside wall and listened. Then he heard it: the sound of men arguing.

Adrenalin flooded his body. He slid his phone from his pocket, hit a familiar number, and hissed, “It’s showtime.”

He couldn’t believe he’d actually fallen asleep, but he was fully awake now, synapses firing in unison, heart punching against his rib cage, eyes adjusting to the inkiness beyond the window and recording what was unfolding in the Haven’s backyard.

His phone pinged with four texts—they were his cue. He leashed up the dogs, grabbed his Maglite, and inched his way from the bedroom toward the back door. He unlocked it and gripped the knob, muscles primed and coiled, sweat beading around his neck and along his hairline. Four more tones sounded.

“This is it,” he whispered to the dogs.

He turned the knob slowly and eased the door open. Stepped out onto the stoop. A floodlight snapped on overhead, illuminating the back of the house. The voices rose and fell. Four other floodlights triggered, bathing the entire backyard in brilliant white. Two men in black with hoodies over their heads froze. Their voices died in their throats.

Charlie stepped off the stoop. Beside him, Luna and Sunny snarled. He advanced as the two men started running. Someone shouted, and an engine roared to life, followed by a cry and a thud. The motor idled before cutting off.

“You got him?” Charlie yelled.

“Got him!”

One of the two men dashed to the side but pulled up short when a different man appeared out of the shadows ringing the yard. He was flanked by three more. “I wouldn’t do that, comrade.”

Charlie couldn’t contain the crackling of pent-up energy in his veins. He let the leashes go and ran toward the one man who had paused to search for an escape. His back was to Charlie, and when Charlie reached him, he wrenched his shoulder and spun him so hard the guy stumbled. Charlie yanked back the hood and nearly stumbled himself.

He’d been expecting Cully. Instead, a wide-eyed Felix blinked up at him.

“Felix? What the fuck!” Breath stuttered in Charlie’s lungs, and his limbs vibrated with adrenaline. He shoved the man backward.

Someone hauled Charlie backward. Hard. “It’s okay, little bro. We got him.” Reece had him in a bear hug and patted his chest. “Yeah, we got him.”

Charlie flailed in his brother’s grasp. He heard huffing and growling and realized it came from him. Even as Reece dragged him back, Shane was cuffing Felix’s hands behind his back.

Shane handed off his charge, and the yard began swarming with people that had been ringing its perimeter, some familiar and some not. Among them were Reece, Noah, Micky, and Dewey. Dixie had tried her damnedest to tag along. Thank God she really didn’t have a portkey, or she would have appeared smack dab in the middle of their takedown .

Noah faced Micky, one fist propped on his hip and the other holding the dogs’ leads. “Comrade? Seriously?”

“Hey, I was trying to be friendly-like. You know, put the guy at ease.”

Charlie bent at the waist, hands on his knees. “I think I’m going to be sick.”

Reece crouched down beside him. “You’ll be all right. That adrenaline spike was something, yeah?” He rubbed Charlie’s back in soothing circles. “You done good. I’m proud of you.”

By the time Charlie regained his breath and his balance, three men were being hauled off—Felix, his companion, and their getaway driver. Shane and another deputy began checking the vehicle. This one was red, an older model.

Charlie pushed three cleansing breaths through his lungs and waited until his legs stopped shaking before heading toward the vehicle. Reece was apparently playing shadow and fell in right beside him—which gave Charlie a huge dose of comfort he didn’t realize he needed.

Shane held out a hand as they approached. “Don’t touch.”

Charlie stood back. “That’s not the same truck, is it?”

“Don’t think so.”

“Which means someone else is out there.”

“Not necessarily. We’ll know more after we question these guys.” Shane gave them a chin lift. “Why don’t you boys lock up and go get yourselves a nice, stiff drink? We’ll finish up here.”

Noah handed Luna and Sunny back to Charlie. “Got ’em?”

Charlie leaned down and ruffled their necks. “You girls were awesome tonight.” Sure, he’d brought them along for sentry duty, but truth be told, he’d been nervous about sitting in the Haven alone, even though his posse had only been a text away. “Extra treats for you when we get home.”

Noah clapped him on the shoulder. “Drop them off at your house and come on over to Miners. Private party, and I’m buying.”

“Hot damn!” Micky whooped. Of course he did.

It was good to know some things never change.

Charlie pounded his first beer. “Didn’t realize I was so thirsty.”

“Catching bad guys will do that to you,” Dixie quipped.

Micky snaked his hand around Amy’s back and pulled her in for a kiss. “Now they know not to mess with the FR-Team. Right, babe?” The idiot was crowing a little too loudly. Still, Charlie couldn’t help but laugh … and be grateful Micky and the rest of these guys had volunteered to help catch the thieves.

Amy rolled her eyes. “The FR-Team?”

“Fall River,” Micky scoffed. “Swooping in to save small children, dogs, and contractors. We are badass. Get with the program, woman.”

Noah shook his head. “Hate to break it to you, dude, but you’re going to need something a lot less lame if you want to be considered badass.”

Micky flipped him off.

Dixie slid Charlie a fresh pint. “Thanks, sweetheart.”

She winked. “Anytime, handsome.”

He pointed a finger at each and every one of them. “I’ve got to say this. I want to thank all of you guys. It means a lot that you were there tonight. Couldn’t have done it without you.” He beat his fist against his heart and felt the sting of tears behind his eyes.

“No, you couldn’t have,” Noah quipped. “We should all be sporting capes.”

Charlie quaffed his beer. “I still can’t believe it was Felix.” The discovery simultaneously stung and pissed him off like hell. He had trusted the guy, had tried to give him a break.

Hailey stood behind the bar with Noah, hanging on to the hand he had draped over her shoulder. “You never suspected?”

“Nope. In fact, I put him in charge of Jimmy Culbertson. Now I owe Cully an apology.”

“No, you don’t,” Noah interjected. “You gave him a lot of chances too.”

“How did you set things up?” Hailey wanted to know .

“I arranged to get a replacement shipment of drywall, thinking that might lure them in. I also complained loudly around each crew that the cameras I’d set up had been disabled—which they had, as it turned out—and I was worried because I couldn’t get any new ones for at least a week. I joked that it would be the perfect time for the bad guys to take advantage. And it worked.”

“They took the bait like hungry trout,” Reece laughed. He looked toward the front door for the tenth time since they’d come in. Probably waiting for Shane, like Charlie was.

“We’ll see. I still need the whole story. I don’t know if those guys were only stealing or if they were also swapping. That was a mid-sized truck they were using tonight, no trailer, so I can’t see them hauling lumber and drywall back and forth to wherever.”

Reece glanced toward the front door again. “Too bad Neve’s not here. She’ll be pissed when she finds out she missed the excitement.”

Charlie’s eyebrows flew to his hairline.

“What?” Reece protested. “It’s true.”

“Since when have you cared about Neve missing out?” Noah tossed back. “Let me rephrase. Since when have you cared about Neve, period?”

A hint of embarrassment flitted through Reece’s eyes, but he quickly shrugged it off. “Wonder what’s going to happen to those guys they arrested?”

While the group threw guesses around, Charlie trundled off to the hallway for some privacy. He checked his phone, disappointed when he didn’t see a recent text from Joy. Then again, it was three o’clock in the morning here and four there. She was fast asleep. He couldn’t wait to tell her about tonight’s bust, but he wanted to do it over the phone, and she’d been so damn busy—and he’d been caught up trying to nab the thieves—that they’d barely exchanged texts, let alone actual phone calls since he’d left Chicago.

He sighed. Her words about it not working out had haunted him ever since he’d left on Saturday, and he had yet to come up with a solution that made sense.

When he returned to the bar, the chatter had grown louder, echoing around the high ceiling and empty dining room. Amid the din, someone shouted that Shane was at the front door. Charlie hopped up and let him in .

The deputy pulled off his hat, and Dixie cocked a painted brow. “Does this mean you’re off duty and can imbibe now, officer?” She held up a pint glass.

Shane grinned. “I am, and yes, I’d love one.”

Micky’s eyes widened. “Oh shit, are we off duty? Are we allowed to drink?”

Dewey, who’d been lurking off to one side, muttered, “I sure hope so.”

With only so many deputies covering the county, Shane had convinced the sheriff to deputize Charlie and the other civilians present for tonight. Turned out Charlie’s construction sites weren’t the only ones targeted by the thieves, which gave the sheriff even more motivation. Only Charlie had been sabotaged, though. Even more of chin scratcher was that Dell’s hadn’t been struck at all. Probably because no one wanted the crap Carl Weatherly bought.

Noah scoffed. “Would that actually stop you from drinking, Mick?”

“Probably not.” He raised his mostly empty glass, and the group laughed.

Shane dropped his hat on the bar beside Charlie, and Charlie clapped him on the back. “Pull up a stool. You certainly earned it.”

“So did you.”

“Aw, shucks. You say the nicest things.” Charlie batted his eyelashes at the deputy. Fatigue had been sinking into his bones, but now it evaporated. He was a little giddy but also anxious for Shane’s news. “So. Learn anything new?”

“Yeah, a shit ton. Felix and his pals had a lot to say.”

“And?”

Everyone leaned in.

Shane glanced at Noah. “Can we use your office?”

“Yeah, sure.” He tossed Charlie the keys.

Charlie turned to the deputy as soon as he closed the door. “What’s up?”

“Felix is your guy all right. He confessed.”

“To everything?” Shane nodded. “The sabotage too?”

“Yep. All of it. Did you know he was here illegally?”

Charlie gaped at him. “No! He showed me his authorization. I wouldn’t have hired him otherwise. ”

“Then his paperwork was forged. When he signed his confession, he also admitted he snuck into the country. I’m not at liberty to share much more, but Felix would really like to see you. He seems really broken up about what he did.”

Charlie threw out an arm. “Because he’s about to be deported!”

“Nah, I think it’s more than that. The guy was begging me to find you. Says he needs to explain himself to you. He was in tears, Charlie.”

Charlie’s jaw muscle ticked from grinding his back molars. “I’ll think about it.”

“I wouldn’t think too long. We’re holding him at the jail, but he’ll be transferred later this morning.” A few beats passed in silence. “I can take you there now.”

“All right. Guess I’d like to get a few things off my chest too.”

The county courthouse’s basement housed three holding cells behind a security door and an interview room, which was where Shane led Charlie. Charlie’s outrage had been burning like an out-of-control mountain wildfire but lost a bit of its heat when he entered the stark interview room and spotted Felix in an orange jumpsuit, his head bowed.

“I’ll be right outside.” Shane gestured toward a window set in the wall that Charlie assumed was a two-way mirror and closed and locked the door.

Felix raised his head as Charlie pulled out a metal chair, its feet scraping along the bare concrete floor. His eyes were red and swollen.

“I so sorry, Mr. Charlie. You be good to me, and I … I …”

Charlie folded his hands and rested his forearms on the table. “Then why, Felix?” he gritted out in Spanish.

Felix switched to his native tongue. “My brothers and I brought our families here to get away from criminals in Venezuela. We paid a lot of money, all we had, and we traveled far. When we crossed the border, they gave us work permits so we could find work and support our families. But somehow this one man found out about us. Maybe they told him, I don’t know. He is a bad, bad man. In my home country, he was a gang leader. Very dangerous. He came to my house and told me I must steal for him. I said no. He threatened to take my wife, my children, and sell them to traffickers. I still said no. Then he visited my brothers, their families, and scared them. The next time he came to my house, he brought three men. Bad men like him. They took my wife into the bedroom. I …” He gulped. “They held my daughter at knifepoint and told me what her life would be like when they sold her. She is only twelve! The same for my son. He is six.”

Charlie sat back. “Your wife. Was she … hurt?”

“No. They did it to shake us up, and they did. Believe me, I would not have taken from you otherwise. But I didn’t have a choice.” He dropped his head and sobbed.

The wrenching noise doused the rest of Charlie’s fury. “Why didn’t you come to me? To Deputy Shane?”

“You would have found out the permit was fake and sent us back. We had no money, no future. And we still wouldn’t have been safe from him and his thugs.”

“Who were the men with you tonight?”

“My brothers. They helped me do what he ordered. He wanted us to steal, to substitute materials, to break things so you wouldn’t pass inspection.”

“Why?”

“There’s another man higher up that he’s working for. An American. The orders came from that man. He wanted to set you up.”

“Who is that man?”

“I don’t know. He didn’t tell me. I’m not sure he knows. There’s one more thing. I also cut your tires.” He hiccupped on another sob. “I had to slow you down that day so my brother had enough time to foul up the electrical panel before the inspector arrived.”

This is nuts!

Charlie tugged at his hair. “Wait. Who does the dark truck and trailer belong to?”

“I don’t know. Someone would leave the rig at a meeting place and collect it when we were done moving things around. That’s all I know.”

Stunned, Charlie stood and knocked on the door, leaving Felix crying miserably. Shane opened the door and locked it once Charlie was outside.

Charlie shook his head. “I’m … I don’t know what to say.”

“Yeah, I feel you. What do you think?”

“I want to help him, but I don’t know what that looks like. Do I write a letter? Show up at a deportation hearing? Sponsor him and his family?”

“I’m not sure, but I’ll pass your wishes along. This is new for me too, but we’ll figure it out and go from there. ”

Charlie’s eyes popped wide as a thought struck. “Am I in danger?” Someone was out to get him after all.

“Don’t think so. Sounds like someone wanting to mess with you. Know who that might be?”

“I have no fucking idea.”

“Well, if you come up with a name, you let me know right away.”

“You’ll be the first.” Charlie stared at the floor and followed Shane out.

What. The. Actual. Fuck?

Back at the tavern, Charlie sat in Noah’s office, his mind reeling. Reece poked his head in. “Shane pulled Noah and me aside and gave us the bullet points. You okay?”

“No. I can’t figure out who hates me so much that they’d go to all this trouble. I’m also mad as hell they’re pulling this kind of shit to begin with.”

“Yeah, I get it. Listen, I’m going to take off, but I wanted to find out if you need me tomorrow.”

“Definitely, as long as you’ve got the time.”

Reece nodded. “Yep. I’ll be there.”

“Hey, thanks again. Not only for tonight, but for stepping in and helping me with Past Perfect.”

“Sure. It feels like I’m always helping Noah, so I like being able to even things out.” Reece grinned, but it didn’t reach his eyes.

Charlie rubbed the back of his neck. “So you’re available to help out for a while?”

“Eh, let’s play it by ear.”

Charlie met his brother’s gaze squarely. “I have a sneaking suspicion there’s something going on with you, and I won’t push, but if you ever need to grab a beer or just hang out, talk—”

Closing his eyes, Reece held up his hands as if he was channeling patience. “Yeah, yeah. I know. You guys are there for me.” His patronizing tone set Charlie’s teeth on edge.

Charlie propped his hands on his hips. “Why do you do that?”

Reece’s eyes flew open. “Do what?”

“You play the rescuer really well, but when someone offers you help, you act like they’re inconveniencing the shit out of you. I don’t get it.”

“I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to come across that way. Guess I’m just tired. ”

“Me too. I’m going home. Just remember that offer is out there, whether you’re a dick about it or not.”

Reece chuckled. This time it was genuine. “Got it.”

Charlie dragged his tired ass home at dawn and crouched on the floor to greet his dogs. Sunny mashed her head against his shoulder in the same instant Luna gave his chin a dozen licks. That scruffy little thing was fast and sneaky.

He hugged them to him while they beat him with their wagging tails. “You girls are the best, and I love you both to death, but I’d like to add a third girl to our mix once I get this other mess figured out.” He sat back on his heels. “What do you say? I’m not ready to give up. If Joy Holiday needs fixing—and I would argue she doesn’t—I’m just the guy to do it.” He pushed a big inhale through his lungs. “But not today. Right now I need sleep.”

And if he was lucky, Joy would fill his dreams and erase the nightmare for a little while.

Charlie arrived at the Haven midmorning. Reece had already been there and was headed to the other job site. Charlie took his time surveying the place, making notes. How the hell was he going to get this project completed?

His phone chimed with a text, and his pulse sped up when he saw Joy’s name.

Joy: Hope everything’s going ok. Just wanted to let you know I’ll be out of pocket for a few days. Catch up with you then.

He stabbed at her number, but it went straight to voicemail. He tried again and got the same result.

“Goddamn it!” he yelled at the ceiling.

He called her office and got Estelle on the line. “I-I’m so sorry,” she stammered, “but Joy’s out for a while, and I don’t have a way to reach her.”

“Where did she go?” he demanded.

“I-I’m not sure. She didn’t give me many details. ”

“Well, what details did she give you?” Yeah, he was being an ass, but he didn’t give a rat’s rear end.

“Um, well, none, really. I can leave her a message.”

“No, thanks. I’ve already left her plenty.” He hung up. An exasperated breath punched out of his lungs.

He ambled toward the front of the store. The windows were papered up, but the glass front door wasn’t, and he could make out two people hurrying down the sidewalk. They turned and marched up the walkway. He yanked open the door, surprised to see Noah’s server, Luanne, with her arm protectively wrapped around her son Cade’s narrow shoulders. Luanne was a head shorter than her gangly teenager, and it made for an odd sight. This was the boy Noah had encouraged him to hire, but his twiglike arms didn’t look as though they could carry a five-pound bag of sugar.

“Cade has something he’d like to tell you.”

Charlie’s brows tightened in question, but he motioned them in. “Watch your step.” He led them back into the bedroom, where his cot still occupied a space under the window. He leaned against the window frame and crossed his arms. “What can I do for you?”

Luanne released her grip on the boy. “Tell Mr. Charlie what you told me.”

Cade’s eyes darted nervously around the room, and he scuffed the floor with the toe of his sneaker. When he spoke, it was in a subdued voice. “I know where your stuff went.”