Her Very Strict Captain by Carpenter, Maggie (best book club books of all time TXT) 📗

ground with a tourniquet around his leg, while another sat leaning against the van, his face a bloody mess.

“Scott,” she said breathlessly as she hurried forward. “I found Jim, he’s been shot.”

“Not by us,” said the man leaning against the van.

Turning her eyes to get a better look at him, Elizabeth quickly realized his face may have been bloody, but he wasn’t seriously injured.

“Where is he?” Scott asked, quickly straightening up.

“This way,” she replied, breaking into a jog.

“Are you okay?” he asked, easily catching up and running alongside her.

“Yeah, I guess, but what the hell happened? Did they tell you?”

“Jim was supposedly having a heart attack. When they opened the back of the van, Jim and Dan jumped them.”

“Weren’t they handcuffed?”

“Yep, it’s crazy.”

“Thank God your guys are all right. Jim wasn’t so lucky. He’s right here.”

But pushing though the mammoth leaves, she caught her breath.

“We’re too late,” Scott mumbled solemnly, studying Jim’s lifeless body.

“Shit, but… Scott… why would Dan shoot Jim?”

“Maybe it was accidental.”

“Um, don’t get mad at me for asking this,” Elizabeth began tentatively, “but is it possible one of those guys back at the van got another shot off, and Jim made it this far before collapsing?”

“The agent with the tourniquet on his leg is Stuart, and Jake was the one who got beaten up. They’re solid. If one of them had shot Jim Parker they’d say so in a heartbeat.”

“Nope, it wasn’t us,” Jake declared, walking up behind them.

“Hey, Jake, this is Elizabeth McKay. She’s an agent with the DEA.”

“Hi, Jake,” Elizabeth said, shaking his hand. “I didn’t mean any offense. I’m just trying to figure out what happened here. Jim used to be my boss. Can you tell me what went down?”

“Sure. Dan Miller started shouting that Jim Parker was having a heart attack. We were wary, but they were both cuffed with their hands behind their backs. We stopped, opened up the back, Stuart covered me while I went in to check on Parker. The next thing I knew the bastard slammed his fist into my face,” Jake said gravely. “It felt like brass knuckles on steroids. I think he might have had the handcuffs wrapped around his knuckles.”

“Ouch,” Elizabeth muttered, cringing at the thought. “No wonder you’re so bloody.”

“I haven’t looked,” he said with a grimace. “Anyway, Parker snatched my gun, but I managed to body slam him and he dropped it. I got a glimpse of Stuart trying to fight Dan Miller, but Miller did this weird jerky thing with his body, the damnedest thing I’ve ever seen. That’s when Parker punched my gut. He knocked the wind out of me then jumped out and shut the doors. I heard a shot—then Stuart opened the doors. He was bleeding from his leg. That’s when we heard the shots. Two of them. I’d just finished tying off Stuart’s leg and calling for an ambulance when Scott arrived.”

“How the blazes did they get out of those handcuffs?” Elizabeth mumbled, shaking her head, but the sound of approaching sirens caught their attention.

“Jake, I don’t have time for an endless visit with the police,” Scott said hastily.

“Not a problem, you were never here.”

“I want to hear more about Dan and his weird body moves. Call me as soon as you can.”

“Sure thing.”

Bolting from the clearing, they darted through the trees and jumped into the Jeep.

“Just as well Jim didn’t find this car and steal it,” she remarked as Scott started the engine and headed back to the house.

“I never leave keys behind, but are you sure you’re okay?”

“Fine, but it was… it is…”

“Weird finding Jim?”

“Yeah, weird and unnerving, and I feel for his family. They won’t just be losing him, they’ll be finding out who he really was.”

“Tough stuff,” Scott said gravely.

“And now Dan’s on the loose,” she added, a worried frown crossing her brow.

“Shit,” Scott grunted, suddenly braking to a stop. “He could be trying to find the house. He might even be there.”

“He may be crazy, but he’s not suicidal,” she remarked. “Why would he take a risk like that?”

“Honestly, Elizabeth, I think he’s obsessed with you,” Scott said, hastily pulling out his phone. “I muted this thing when I approached the van. If the alarm had gone off I wouldn’t have heard it.”

“I love all your security stuff. It’s fantastic.”

“Just a simple home alarm with a few additions thrown in,” he said with a grin. “Nope, no intrusion, no one in the house, we’re good to go.”

Closing her eyes, Elizabeth let out a relieved sigh.

“He’s bound to check out the sailing school,” Scott continued as he drove forward. “I’ll call in for a speedboat and have it waiting at Crown Bay Marina in Charlotte Amalie on the other side of the island.”

“Surely he’ll check there too.”

“He can’t be in two places at once, but Elizabeth, when we get to the house, we still need to be on guard. Just because he didn’t break in, doesn’t mean he isn’t lurking in the bushes. As soon as we get inside, throw your gear together and we’ll go.”

* * *

Sonny Conchello studied the businessmen seated at his table.

He could smell their fear.

They were drinking expensive champagne and enjoying a sumptuous seafood feast, but each of them knew the source of his wealth, and his capacity for unhesitating ruthlessness. Greed had brought them into his world, and greed would keep them running back for more, but it was their fear that guaranteed their loyalty. The international property developer, Bryan Hayes, had just received approval to build a five-star resort on one of the lesser known islands. Conchello’s company would be a significant investor, just as it had been in Bryan’s previous developments.

Sonny’s personal banker, Miles Swanson, received hefty fees for laundering large amounts of cash.

Steven Forsythe, a well-known Wall Street hedge fund manager, spent hours overseeing Conchello’s portfolio.

Then there was criminal defense attorney Richard Hammond. He had just passed the bar when he’d defended Conchello for dealing a small amount of cocaine outside a high school.