Charlotte Bennardo - Blonde Ops A Novel

“I know him!” yelled Dante gleefully. “He’s—”

“A cousin!” the three of us yelled back in unison.

Dante looked in the rearview mirror, confused. “No, his family and mine go to same church.”

We heard the wail of sirens. The polizia were coming, as promised.

Dante drove faster.

“Slow down!” I yelled, clutching onto the back of the passenger seat. “Candace knows—she said the police were going to follow us!”

“Don’t make them shoot us!” Kevin shouted. “When we get out of here, we’re going to be surrounded!”

I couldn’t stop myself from giggling. “And the world’s going to see you in your Fruit of the Loom underwear.”

Sometimes justice was too sweet.

TRICKS AND TIPS FOR THE EDGE-Y GIRL

When your favorite frock has seen better days, it’s time to say buh-bye … and go and find something new!

31

I saw the flash of red lights through the van’s windows. Police cars surrounded us now. The wailing sirens and the flashing strobes made me feel sick to my stomach. Suddenly, the van screeched to an abrupt halt. From my skewed view I could see we’d stopped in front of the Hotel Beatrici.

It was good to be home.

“Nobody move!” came a voice through a bullhorn. “We’re going to open the back door. Put your hands up, slowly!” It sounded like Case.

I heard the tramp of boots all around the van. Not daring to move, I strained to see, and, from the corner of my eye, I saw that a gun was pointed at Dante’s head. He held his hands out the window, barely moving enough to breathe. The back door of the van was flung open and a thicket of gun barrels were thrust in, red laser sights dotting everyone except Mrs. Jennings. We each very carefully and slowly raised our hands.

“Hold!” cried Candace, pushing forward. Peering in, she saw Mrs. Jennings. Like the others, I sat frozen in my place.

“Mrs. Jennings, are you all right? Do you need medical care?”

“No, Candace. I’m fine.”

Candace offered her hand to Mrs. Jennings, helping her out. The police backed off and instantly Case, Nelson, Mignone, and Collins rushed forward.

Mignone put a hand to his ear and said, “We have Venus, Venus moving to Olympus. Over. Mrs. Jennings, come with me, please.” He held out his hand to her, taking custody from Candace.

She nodded, her legs and smile shaky. After Dante’s driving, I think we all felt the same.

“Thank you, and please take care of these courageous young people.” They led her to a large black SUV with tinted windows. Once she was safely inside, it screeched off, a motorcade of police cars and motorcycles leading and following, lights flashing and sirens screaming. Only Case remained with Candace.

“Is anyone hurt, do we need a doctor?” asked Candace as Sophie and I climbed out of the van.

“No…” But then I remembered. “Ortiz—”

“What?!” Candace looked over her shoulder, searching. Of course, Ortiz wasn’t there. “What about Ortiz?” she demanded.

“She was working with Taj, helping him!” Sophie gasped, indignant.

“Case, put out an APB for Agent Ortiz—”

“Actually, I don’t think you’re going to need to do that,” I said.

They both turned to me. “Why not?”

“She had a little accident.” I gave Candace and the agents a quick synopsis of everything that had happened, from discovering Varon to our takedown of Taj and Ortiz. “She fell down a sewer hole. She must be hurt. I don’t know if she could get very far.”

“She might, if Taj stopped to help her,” said Candace.

Would he? After all I’d heard him say, I wasn’t so sure about that. Candace asked the local police to search the area where she’d fallen and arrest her if they found her.

“Okay,” she said, turning back to me, “do you have anything else I need to know?”

“We have one of Taj’s accomplices in the back of the van, and, um … Kevin’s probably a little chilly?” I jerked my head toward him.

Candace’s mouth opened but nothing came out right away. “Blanket!” she finally shouted, and one was thrust into her waiting hand. She tossed it into him and he emerged with it wrapped around his middle, leaving his chest bare. Sophie climbed out and put her arms around him. There were catcalls from some people across the street, and some girl wanted his phone number. Kevin turned furiously red—all over—and I had to laugh.

“Parker has to put you in a spread, Kevin,” Candace snickered. I didn’t think he could be more embarrassed, but he was.

Some officers came and took Luca away.

“C’mon, Bec,” she said with a relieved look. She put her hand on my shoulder, then suddenly enveloped me in a crush-the-air-out-of-your-lungs hug. I went to hug her back and saw the police leading Dante away in handcuffs.

“Let him go!” I pushed Candace in their direction. “If it hadn’t been for Dante, we never would have been able to find Mrs. Jennings and save her!”

Candace nodded to the officers and they reluctantly released him. Dante joined us and I gave him a hard hug.

“You’re a hero, Dante!”

Now he blushed and smoothed back the sexy wayward shock of hair. Some girls called to him, taking pictures. Sorry, ladies, not happening. Get your own hero.

“And what about me?” demanded Kevin.

Sophie threw her arms around him and kissed his cheek.“You were amazing.”

Kevin’s ego did not need any more stroking, but if she could handle him, good for her. Then I thought, Oh, what is my life going to be like when things return to normal and I have to work for him every day?

I’d deal with that tomorrow.

Dante pulled me to him and tilted up my chin. I leaned forward into a long, delicious kiss. “I knew there were lots of reasons to like you, bella .”

“Let’s get inside,” said Candace, exasperated, pushing Dante and me apart.

Dante, Kevin, and Sophie each went with new agents to be questioned.

The remaining police were left to disperse the crowd that had clustered around the hotel. People shouted and took photos with their cameras and cell phones. I hoped they didn’t get one of me. I looked a mess. A tow truck pulled up, and men who looked more like government officials than mechanics started tending to the van. A good portion of the crowd backed away after that.

“How’s Varon?” I asked as we made our way up the steps and into the hotel’s elegant porch. I felt a little out of place; my ruined shoes squished and my filthy dress hung in shreds. Plus, I’d worked up a sweat climbing all those stairs and running through the streets. It was a shame that Candace’s gift was reduced to less than rags. I was tired and, as her wrinkled nose indicated, badly in need of a shower. My whole body slumped after all the excitement and tension. There couldn’t be a drop of adrenaline left in my body.

“His hand has numerous breaks, but other than that, he’s recuperating.”

“And Mrs. Jennings? Where are they taking her?”

“She’s on her way to the American embassy. They’ll take care of her there. As much as I like her, I’m beyond grateful that she’s not my responsibility anymore.”

I nodded, understanding all too well.

The doorman opened up for us, and we trudged into the lobby.

Candace put a gentle hand on my arm, stopping me. “Don’t get too comfortable. You have to be debriefed first. We need to know everything you learned about Taj. I don’t think his friend will be very cooperative. He’s refused to ID himself.”

“His name’s Luca,” I said.

“Well, that’s a start.” She took a deep breath. “Thanks. I can do your interview upstairs, after you’ve taken a shower—”