Mine to Have (Mine #5)(51)

And a day later, well, that was the day that Titus Rowe had been killed by Luther Bates. Shanked in the shower—not a particularly glamorous way to go, but one that had surely involved plenty of gore. From all accounts, Luther had nearly severed the man’s head.

For Luther to make such a personal move, to kill with plenty of witnesses around—well, obviously, he’d wanted to send a message.

A message that was linked to Rowe?

Because, once upon a time, Rowe and Luther Bates had worked together. Rowe set up a few explosions for Luther. Rowe had a dark and dangerous skill when it came to bomb-making, and, apparently, he’d been all too eager to make buildings explode for the right money.

Victor’s detective work had revealed that Rowe had one child, a son who owned property just outside of Charleston, South Carolina. Now, as fate would have it, Charleston and Bluff were only two hours away from each other.

Coincidence?

Hell, no. Victor sure didn’t think so.

And that was why he was currently headed to Charleston…hopefully to find Rowe’s son Hugh and to recover the missing show girl.

Then maybe, finally, he could get some fucking peace. I’ll have peace, once that hit is off Elizabeth’s head.

***

Gary Warren sat hunched in the interrogation room chair. He still hurt, dammit, and he could sure have used more drugs from those docs. But instead of getting some sweet oblivion from pain meds, they had him stuck in this place. Those bastards were just keeping him waiting. He’d demanded to see Victor so long ago—hours ago! And the prick hadn’t shown. This shit wasn’t going to work for him.

And neither is jail. I can’t spend my days locked in solitaire. And I sure as hell don’t plan to be in general population.

So Victor needed to get his sorry ass in there and start working a deal.

The door opened.

Gary looked up, glaring. “Finally!” he snarled.

Tracy smiled at him.

He stiffened. “Where’s Victor?”

Tracy shut the door. Leaned back against it. “He didn’t tell me where he was going. The guy just left me at a prison and took off for who the hell knows where.” She shook her head. “You know Victor. He’s not exactly the sharing type. Not so trusting, you know.” One eyebrow lifted. “Probably because guys like you keep betraying him.”

Now that Tracy was there, he figured folks must be in the next room, too, watching through that one-way mirror on the wall to the left. He leaned back in the chair and kept his eyes on her.

Tracy didn’t move from the door. “Don’t you want to know who he was visiting at that prison? After all, that is the job he felt was more important. He didn’t come rushing back to see you. I’m the one who flew back down. He was more concerned with what the inmate up there had told him.”

His fingers drummed on the table. Tracy wouldn’t have the pull to get him a deal. The woman was pretty, a nice piece of ass, and smart. He’d admired her while they worked together. But she didn’t have power right now. I still have power. Power he intended to leverage. If the FBI wanted him to talk, then they’d better get ready to deal.

“He was there to see Luther Bates.”

Gary tensed. Yeah, he’d admit it, he was still afraid of Luther…even though the guy was in prison.

“Bates killed a man recently. Took out another inmate in the shower.” She shrugged. “So much for his chance at parole.”

Gary had to laugh. “You know better than that.” The right money could make any witness disappear and witnesses in prison were particularly expendable.

Her gaze slid toward the mirror on the left. The one-way mirror. “I went into the prison and talked to Bates, too.”

Sweat slickened his palms so he flattened them on the table. “Did you now?” He knew better than to show any fear.

“He told me…that you were a dead man.”

Not yet.

She walked toward him. He saw that she had her weapon holstered on her hip. His gaze rose from that weapon back up to her face.

“You’re going to leave solitaire when you go back to the prison,” Tracy said softly. “You…know that, right? It’s general population time for you. And Bates will have someone waiting there to take you out. Because you didn’t do your job. Not two years ago, and not now.”

“I’m not that easy to eliminate.” Shit, he needed Vic there. So he’d shot up Saxon, what was the big fucking deal? Saxon was expendable—just muscle they used to infiltrate gangs.

Disposable.

She was near the table. Staring down at him.

“Victor thinks he can get the hit called off Elizabeth Ward. He worked out some kind of deal with Bates—Bates is actually going to back off, provided Victor carries things through.”

No. Shit, no. Bates was supposed to have his back. He’d risked everything for that bastard. Risked it all…for the payout that wouldn’t be coming.

His laughter was bitter. “She didn’t remember me, did she?”

Tracy’s expression didn’t alter.

“I was so worried Elizabeth Ward would remember meeting me, but she didn’t.” His brows lifted as he gazed up at Tracy. “I went to her parents’ house, I talked to her. That was the way I handled things back then. I got the lay of the land by pretending to be from a security firm.”