The Agent
Chapter 27

Roman sat in the passenger seat of Hale’s Charger and hung on for dear life. Not that he was pissed about the fact that she was a half-step shy of breaking the sound barrier. All he cared about was getting to Camila, and every second could be the difference between life and death.

Please, God. Don’t let her die.

“Capelli’s still got the tracker signal on Shore Point Drive, headed south,” Matteo said from the backseat, hooking something in Roman’s memory and pulling it forward.

“Wait a second.” Oh, no. No, no. “Isn’t that close to where the RFD found the car with Thorn’s body in it?”

Hale stomped on the accelerator even harder, the Charger’s engine roaring. “Yes,” she said. “It’s less than a mile from North Point Pier. There’s an industrial park off the main road. Any buildings that aren’t abandoned will have closed hours ago. Security is for shit and there are no street cams.”

“Archer has to have taken her there,” Matteo said through clenched teeth, his face pale.

Roman shook his head. As badly as he couldn’t lose Camila, he knew her family couldn’t, either. “We’re going to get her back. All we need is a plan for how to take Archer and Portia down.”

“Well, we’re going to need it fast,” Matteo said, holding up his phone. The map on the screen showed the red dot representing Camila’s tracker, only now it wasn’t moving. “They’ve reached their destination, which means we’re running out of time.”

Roman looked at the map. Weighed all the options. Made a decision in one lightning-fast second.

“I’ve got an idea. But it’s going to take all of us to make it work.”

* * *

Camila’s legsfelt like abandoned tires as she stumbled out of the car. It took a few seconds for her to get her senses firing on all cylinders, but even then, there was nothing to see. Barely any light, definitely no other people. No sounds from passing cars or nearby buildings. The pungent smell of brackish water told her they must be close to North Point Pier, and that told her there was probably a whole lot of nothing around.

“Running is as bad an idea as screaming,” Portia said, too close to her for Camila to have a prayer of trying either without getting shot before help could arrive. She’d bolt as an absolute last resort—she’d rather go down fighting than give up—but hopefully, she wouldn’t need to.

Camila stood beside the car, her hands still bound behind her. “Yeah, I got that part.”

“Anyway, we’re not staying out in the open, just in case. Walk,” Portia directed, pushing Camila toward a darkened building about twenty yards away. Camila did her best, although the short walk wore her out. Portia directed her past the front door, the lock broken, and into the musty space, where she fired up a battery-powered camping light.

Surprise filled Camila as she took in the two sleeping bags and piles of provisions, including a battered laptop, on the floor. “Is…this where you’ve been staying?”

“Not exactly The Plaza, is it?” Portia asked. “But it’s not the worst place I’ve ever slept. Anyway, it let me keep a close eye on my brother. It’s how I figured out what he was up to.”

Okay, this was good. “He was going to double-cross you?”

Portia huffed out a laugh. “Archer always thought he was smarter than everyone else. And make no mistake. He was smart. Planned all of those robberies down to the last damn detail.”

So, Roman and the Intelligence Unit had been right. Archer had been the leader all along. “So, you and Thorn were accomplices?”

“Thorn,” she spat, her spine going rigid, “was a bully. He’d probably have robbed those banks for free. He was always pushing, trying to hurt people. He never did things the way Archer said to. I’m glad Archer killed him. He was a liability.”

“So, what?” Camila asked, trying to keep Portia talking. “Archer got mad that Thorn went after me and just shot him?”

“That’s the beautiful part,” Portia said, her laugh entirely devoid of joy. “Yeah, Archer was pissed that Thorn killed that guard and that he went after you, but Archer was going to kill him anyway once all the robberies were done. He never planned on letting Thorn have a cut of the money.”

Camila’s jaw unhinged. “He double-crossed Thorn?”

“Yep. And as soon as he did, I knew he’d probably do it to me, too. So I started snooping around on the laptop when he was out, following you. Oh, yeah.” She waved her non-gun hand. “He’s been watching you ever since you came back from wherever the cops had you stashed. But more on that in a second. Anyway, I paid someone to hack the password on his laptop so I could figure out what he was up to. He must’ve realized that killing you would bring too much heat no matter how cleanly he did it, because wouldn’t you know, I found a plan he’d made to frame me for your murder and turn me in to the cops so he could run off with my cut, too.”

Holy. Shit. “He was going to let you take the fall for the robberies?”

“And for Thorn’s murder on top of it all,” Portia said. “But he knew the cops had Thorn for going after you, and they had me from your ID. He was the only one with a Get Out of Jail Free card. After everything he’d done to me, leaving me with our step-father for all those years, knowing full well the man beat the shit out of me and worse? Then he was going to use my loyalty and throw me to the cops to rot for his crimes?”

The rest of the story fell together with a sickening snap. “So, you waited until he came up with the final plan to kidnap me, and you killed him, then did it yourself.”

“You know, in another life, I think I’d have liked you. You’re a pretty smart person,” Portia said. “Kind of a shame I’ve got to kill you. But here we are.”

Camila’s brain raced. Roman had to be close. She only needed another minute. “Wait. How did you know where I’d be tonight?”

“You made it tough,” Portia said. “Archer was pissed, actually. We couldn’t grab you from school. Too many cameras. He wasn’t about to touch you at that FBI guy’s house. Good for you, by the way—that man is fine. Also, smart. Archer knew we couldn’t risk taking both of you. But he overheard you talking on the phone about going out tonight, and the plan just made itself.”

Wait… “Oh, my God,” Camila breathed. The landscaping guy at the school. It had to have been him.

“Now you’re catching on,” Portia said. “Archer was excellent at blending in. He told me his plan to snatch you, I killed him to cover my a*s, snatched you myself with the same ruse—he knew you’d fall for the dog thing—and the rest is history.”

“Not quite yet, it isn’t.”

Camila’s heart exploded against her rib cage at the sound of Roman’s voice and the sight of him prowling from the shadows, his gun pointed right at Portia’s chest. “Agent Roman, FBI. Lower your weapon and get on the ground.”

Portia swung her weapon at him for a split second—no, no, no, NO—before returning it to Camila. “If you take another step closer, and I do mean one, I will blow her f*****g head off.”

“I’ll drop you less than a second later,” he promised, but Portia smiled.

“She’ll still die. And we both know you won’t take the risk.”

Roman stopped moving, but didn’t lower his gun. “It’s over, Portia. Put down your weapon.”

“So I can spend the rest of my life in jail?” she asked. “My brother deserved what he got. I was only twelve years old, and he left me with a f*****g monster. He used me to steal millions of dollars. I was loyal. I did everything he told me to. Then he thinks he can just double-cross me and get away with it? No. Uh-uh. I’m not going to jail for that a*****e.”

“Put down your weapon and we can talk about it,” Roman said.

Portia’s laugh hit funhouse levels, sending ice water down Camila’s spine. “Nice try. But no.”

“Last chance,” Roman said, but Portia didn’t blink.

“I’d rather die,” she said. “And I’m going to take Camila with me.”

Time slowed to a crawl as Camila gave in to her survival instinct, dropping to a ball on the floor. She heard shouting, felt Roman’s body cover hers, then the pop of shock that followed as her brother’s voice sliced through the din.

“RPD! Drop your weapon. Drop it, right now.”

A clatter of metal on concrete sounded off, followed by a curse. Then, “Clear! Suspect is in custody.”

Roman dragged her to her feet, but thankfully, he still held on to both of her arms, because yeah, Camila’s legs were useless. “Are you okay? Jesus, are you hurt?”

“No,” she managed. “Is she…is she…”

“Absolutely handcuffed and toooootally going to jail,” Hale called out, just as blue and white lights came streaming in past the gaps in the boarded-up windows.

Camila tried to replay the last two minutes in her head, but none of them made any sense. “Did you act as a distraction so my brother could sneak up on Portia and take her down?”

“Sort of,” Roman said as Matteo passed a handcuffed and furious Portia off to Hale, Maxwell, and Isabella, who had just burst in through the front door. “But we thought there were two of them—Archer and Portia. The original plan was for me to take both of them down with your brother and Hale as backup. We didn’t change anything once we realized it was just her, but as soon as she kept her gun on you and wouldn’t budge, I knew I couldn’t take the risk. So, I kept her talking long enough for them to close in and take her down.”

“Pretty sound strategy,” Matteo said, smiling at her before arching a brow at Roman. “You must’ve learned it from a badass.”

Camila’s face heated at her brother’s acknowledgment of her tactic to keep Portia talking so they could locate her, but she let a small smile escape. “I knew you’d know something was wrong when I didn’t show up and follow the tracker. All I did was buy time.”

“Well, that time saved your life,” Matteo said, pulling her into a hard, fast hug. “I’m glad you’re okay, mija. But maybe let’s keep this one between all of us, yeah? If mami and papi replace out—”

“Done!” she said, letting Matteo ruffle her head (he had just helped save her life) before watching him join his unit-mates.

She turned to Roman. “Thank you for saving my life. Again.”

“I never would’ve figured out how to replace you so fast or gotten here so quickly without these guys,” Roman said, gesturing to the detectives. “And your brother is right. I never would’ve had the time to get here to do any saving if you hadn’t distracted Portia in the first place.”

“She killed Archer. She told me everything,” Camila said, and Roman nodded.

“We know about Archer. His body is in the next room.” He spun a look around the warehouse and shook his head. “Crime scene techs will have to process all of this, but with Archer’s laptop, the evidence here, and your statement, we should be able to wrap this one up with ease. She’ll go to jail for the rest of her life, Camila.”

“Well, good,” Camila said, wrapping her arms around Roman’s shoulders. “Because I’ve got plans for the rest of my life, and I’d like to get started as soon as possible.”

Roman pulled her close, and oh, she’d never feel as right or as good as she did when this man held her in his arms. “And what exactly do these plans involve?”

“Solidarity,” she said, her heart fluttering faster as he pressed his lips to hers.

“Solidarity sounds good to me. I love you, Camila. I’m always going to have your back.”

“And I’m always going to let you, and have yours, too. I love you, Roman. I love you so freaking much.” She kissed him again, losing herself in his arms for just a second before pulling back to grin. “Now, what do you say we get out of here? After all, I have a statement to give.”