Driven by Fire (Fire 2)

Ms. Jenny Parker, Esquire, could have been right and the bullet was meant for him. After all, no matter how discreet they’d been, the underworld would become aware of their location sooner rather than later, and he had enough murderous enemies to fill a 747.

But his instincts, the ones that had kept him alive to the ripe old age of thirty-seven in the most dangerous life imaginable, told him that the bullet was meant for one of his visitors. The question was, which one? And why?

“So you’ve finally got Parker in your clutches,” Jack drawled from his spot in front of the bank of computer screens. Jack Abbott was one of the Committee’s greatest assets, though he seldom left the computer room. “You figured out whether she’s involved or not?”

“If I had proof she was part of the sex trafficking, she’d already be dead

.” Ryder’s voice was matter-of-fact. “I just know she isn’t who and what she says she is. She acts twitchy around me.”

“Anyone with any sense will act twitchy around you, Ryder,” Jack said dryly. “You’re a lethal weapon and maybe she’s smart enough to see that. I would have thought you would have managed to get a read on her by now.”

Ryder frowned. “Easier said than done. She was trying to get the last girl from the boat into our household, and now she’s wormed her way in here as well. Good thinking for an enemy.”

“She said she wants to be here?”

“She’s too smart for that. I’m thinking that bullet wasn’t meant for anyone. I think it was just an excuse to get us to keep them here, where they think they can find out what we know. Hell, maybe Parker plans to murder us in our sleep.”

“Doesn’t seem the type. Doesn’t seem the type to be involved in an international sex-trafficking ring either.”

“You forget she comes from a family of gangsters,” Ryder said grimly. “We’ve got a complete background on her, down to the tiniest of details.”

“True enough,” Jack said. “But as far as I can see there isn’t any connection between them and the Corsini family or their front man, His Eminence. We cleared up that nest of spiders, and the shipload of human cargo brought up from Calliveria was probably just the tail end of the Corsinis’ operation. And there’s no connection with Jenny Parker at all. Apparently she’s a perfect Mother Teresa.”

“Except that she’s been there from the beginning, making certain the hostages got taken care of, sent off someplace safe where no one could ask any questions. She’s done a great job of covering up, whether she meant to or not.”

“Well, don’t kill her until you’re sure she meant to,” Jack warned him. “And what about the girl who’s with her? If she’s one of the bad guys, why would she bring a possible witness in with her?” Jack spun around his chair, ignoring the screens for the moment.

Ryder considered it. “Maybe Soledad is part of the whole mess as well. Just because she looks like a Madonna doesn’t mean she’s not evil.”

“You don’t trust anyone, do you?” Jack said.

“No. Not if I have even the slightest reason to doubt them. And Parker’s been just a little too busy with the refugees to satisfy me. We know there’s at least one person at this end that we haven’t caught yet. It may or may not be Parker, and I’m not giving up on her until I’m sure.”

“And if you find out she’s the local connection . . . ?”

“I suppose it depends what Peter Madsen says. He can make the hard decisions—it comes with the territory. The smart thing to do would be to get rid of her,” he said coolly. He could do it, of course, if ordered to. It wouldn’t matter that he didn’t want to.

Jack shook his head. “How do you think her family would take to that?”

“You think I don’t know how to make people disappear? I’ve never been squeamish about any of the less savory parts of my job, and that’s not about to change,” he said quietly. “Either Ms. Jenny Parker is a bleeding-heart liberal who enjoys throwing her time and money into a lost cause, or she’s a member of a ruthless cartel that traffics in women and children. All she has to do is slip up, just for a moment, and I’ll clean up the mess.”

Jack shook his head. “She doesn’t give off that kind of vibe.”

“You haven’t even met her face-to-face. I have and I still can’t read her.”

Jack watched him out of quiet eyes. “You ever made a mistake?”

Ryder froze. “What kind of mistake?”

“You ever killed an innocent?”

“No one’s innocent,” he said flatly. “If she’s the target then someone had a reason to shoot at her, so she must have pissed someone off, big-time. Apart from me.”

“You gonna tell me why she pisses you off?” Jack said, spinning back to look at his computer screens full of data.

“What the fuck do you mean by that?”

“I think there’s more going on than you’re aware of, and I don’t want you jumping to conclusions just because she makes you feel uncomfortable.”