Page 104 of Desperate Justice
“I heard from Diana.”
Allison halted pacing. “You did.”
“She’s fine. Wedding jitters.”
Wedding jitters? The panic in her sister’s voice wasn’t bridal nerves. “I don’t know. She’s not like this, Paul. Running away and not leaving any word of her whereabouts.”
He laughed. “You don’t know her like I do, Ally. Diana loves drama and attention. She’s waiting for me at a hotel in Ashville. Look, I’ll go there, we’ll have a romantic evening and everything will be fine. I’ll have her call you. I’m sorry she worried you so much.”
Heart pounding, she tried to sound as casual as possible. “Sounds good. What a relief. Thanks. By the way, is your uncle in town?”
Silence for a minute. His voice came over the phone. Guarded. “Why would he be?”
“I don’t know. I thought with the elopement, he’d want to be there for you.”
“He’s too busy.” Paul sounded brusque. “The line’s moving. Gotta run. I’ll have Diana call you tomorrow.”
The phone went dead.
Now all her suspicions flared. Paul couldn’t be trusted. She knew her sister. No amount of drama or desire for attention would keep Diana from assuring her that all was well.
Allison changed into black clothing and soft-soled sneakers. She called Rafe again as she ran for her bike. Voicemail. Fine.
“I’m going after Diana. You’re wrong, all of you are wrong. She isn’t smuggling drugs. But check out Paul. He claims he’s in Raleigh and Diana is at a hotel in Ashville. How the hell could she be there when you spotted her on camera less than an hour ago?
“And I heard from her. She managed to call me and tell me something about Hector, and holding her captive in Randall. She’s at Paul’s furniture warehouse, Rafe. I’m headed there. I have to save my sister.”
Allison hung up.
* * *
As he headed for the arranged meeting location to join his team, Rafe’s thoughts collided. All this time since the night he’d been shot and almost killed, he thirsted for revenge. Not justice for the men on his team who died. But revenge.
Revenge at the cost of everything else, including his family and worse...
His own damn code of honor and ethics.When did I fall so far down the rabbit hole? What happened?Using Allison to get close to Hernandez and then trying to coerce her sister into being a confidential informant.
Knowing the dangers involved, he’d still forged ahead with his plan.
His phone buzzed, but he ignored it.
Ten minutes later, it buzzed again. Glancing at it with impatience, he sighed. Allison again. Ally. Not now.
Allison was an honest and good woman, and, aw hell, he was in love with her. Not the idea of her, but her. All of Allison. Tough and gritty, with a spark for life and dedication to her family that exceeded his own. She made him look deep inside and acknowledge the guilt lingering there, and yanked off the cloak of the end justifying the means. Because it didn’t. Not when everything, and everyone else, came at the expense of nailing Hernandez.
For every criminal like Hector Hernandez, ten more waited to take his place. He couldn’t get them all. No matter how dedicated and determined he was, there would always be more bad guys out there to catch, more good men and women killed doing their job to keep the public safe from those scumbags.
Keep women like Allison safe. He couldn’t stop thinking about her, worrying about her.
Caring about her.
He knew what this meant. He was deeply in love with her. He could compartmentalize his feelings, shove them deep inside and focus on the job. Stick with the job because the job was predictable and noble and honorable.
Or head to the abyss of a real relationship and see where he’d land after the fall. Soon as all this was over, he’d do it.
Rafe took a deep breath. Time to jump.
Less than an hour later, he pulled into the parking lot of the grocery store Jase had mentioned. Vans and an array of police cars with blinking lights greeted him. It looked like a goddamn carnival.
