He took a couple more steps forward, scanning into the bushes on his right, then into the trees to his left. He knew who he was dealing with, that Jo had been trained well. However, he wasn’t scared. When he’d been in combat, he’d felt a thrill. He’d always loved the adrenaline coursing through his veins.
Kline had killed many times without a second thought. This time would be no different. Then he’d get the bodies out of there and cover up his tracks. JD would have a lot to deal with, and he’d have to keep it together. Kline frowned. His boss wasn’t making it easy, but he’d figure it out.
Kline peered to his right again. He didn’t see anything in the bushes, so he took a few more steps forward. Then he heard something to his right, a whisper of movement. As he turned, something came at him from underneath the bushes.
CHAPTER FIFTY-SIX
Jo sprang at Kline, hitting him solidly in the shins. She heard the telltale muffled sound of a gun with a suppressor firing. She had no time to duck as a bullet whizzed past her, hitting the side of the house with a thunk. Kline went down. She was on him instantly, hauling her fist back and hitting him solidly in the jaw.
She didn’t have a moment to spare. He was well trained and bigger than she was. Jo knew martial arts, but she didn’t want to get in a fight with him. Not only could she end up on the losing side, but she didn’t know at what point JD might emerge from his grief and come at her with his weapon.
Kline flailed at her, grazing her cheek with an open palm. She had the element of surprise, though, and before he managed to crawl to his feet, she smacked him on the side of the neck, hitting a pressure point, a vulnerable spot that knocked him out. He would only be unconscious for a few moments, but those precious seconds were enough. While he lay still, she rolled off him and looked around. His gun lay within his reach, and Jo snatched it up and backpedaled.
He stirred, a froth of cursing emitting from his mouth. Jo aimed his gun at him, thinking he might try to talk his way out of his predicament, but instead, he leaped at her. She jolted to the side. He hit the ground, twisted around, and looked at her, his muscles tense. She aimed the gun and put a bullet right next to him. Others might’ve jumped, but he wasn’t fazed.
“The next one goes in your knee,” she snapped.
His eyes glinted in the moonlight, full of pure hatred. She was dealing with a desperate man, one who couldn’t afford to get caught. In her mind, however, he was going to face the law. Death was too good for him. A second later, he did what she expected. He launched himself at her again, and she fulfilled her threat, pulling the trigger again. Blood sprayed from his shattered knee. He dropped down, clutching at the wound, but he didn’t yell. Air whistled between his clenched teeth, and he cursed her again.
“Want one in the other knee?” she asked.
This time, he stayed down, his jaw still visibly clenched in pain. Jo backed up a few more feet, then swung the weapon toward JD.
“Move away from her and show me your hands,” she called out to him.
Any fight the man had was long gone. He lowered his wife to the ground and scooted away from her. He eyed Jo as he raised his arms. His wet tears glistened in the pale light, his lip trembling.
Jo kept Kline and JD in her line of sight as she pulled her phone from her pocket and dialed 911. Then, as she continued to keep a careful eye on both men, she texted Dack with a codeword they’d agreed upon to let him know she was okay, and that she would contact him as soon as she could.
***
Once the police arrived at the scene, Jo told them to contact Special Agent Kelsey Camacho. That drew some cautious looks, but a uniformed officer did as she requested. As more law enforcement and emergency personnel showed up, Jo was whisked away from Kline and JD, and she didn’t see what law enforcement did with either man. She spent a long time talking to a detective, relaying everything that had happened. Once Kelsey arrived at the scene, Jo went over everything again. She wasn’t surprised when Kelsey wanted to take her to federal offices for even more questioning. Now Jo was sitting in a big conference room with the agent. Out a large window, pale light shone on the horizon as Kelsey contemplated her.
“That was good work,” she said.
Jo stared at a bottle of water on an oval table and shook her head. “Lydia’s dead. That shouldn’t have happened.”
Kelsey nodded slowly, sadly. “Yes. I’m sorry about that. You did everything you could.”
She knew she had, but that knowledge didn’t make her feel any better. She looked at Kelsey.
“Kline and JD?”
“Neither of them is talking,” Kelsey said. She blew out a long breath. “We might get JD to crack, though. He’s devastated about Lydia’s death, says that nothing matters without her. He’s lawyered up, though, so we’ll see what happens.”
“What about the evidence against him? What was on the USB drive?”
Kelsey gnawed her lip. “Someone worked on that right away, and they were able to get into it.”
Jo didn’t like that the agent was delaying with an answer. “And?”
“It wasn’t Trent Fontenot’s. The drive had stuff of JD’s on it, information that would help his political career.”
Jo stared at her. Then all her weariness slammed into her, and she did something unexpected. She laughed. Kelsey raised her eyebrows and waited until Jo stopped.
“I’m sorry,” Jo said. “I don’t believe it. Everything I risked going undercover for you, and Lydia’s death . . . and I didn’t get any proof of JD’s illegal activities.”
Kelsey held up a hand. “I wouldn’t say that. The way things went down, we were able to get a search warrant for the Babineaux mansion. We’re searching the place with a fine-tooth comb, and you don’t know what we’ll find. There may be something that will incriminate him or Kline. And now that our investigation is out in the open, there’ll be more people to talk to. We’ll find somebody who will help us pin those murders from years ago on him, or on Kline.”
“What about Trent Fontenot’s murder?”
“Kline and JD deny any involvement in that, but we’re working on them. One may cave and turn on the other. I’d bet on it.”
Jo wouldn’t, but she didn’t say so. Kline was too smart, too tough. Part of what made him so good at his job was that he would never turn on a boss. If he did, he’d never work in his profession again. JD likely wouldn’t talk either, because he’d know that if he did, Kline would kill him. Jo could only hope that they’d both made mistakes somewhere, and that Kelsey and her team would uncover evidence to incriminate the two men.
Jo took a sip of water and waited on Kelsey. She went over her questions again, picking at Jo’s memory, trying to see if she had forgotten anything. Sunlight was blazing into the room when Kelsey finished. Jo had a question of her own.
“Has anybody been asking about me?” She meant Dale and any of his people.
Kelsey shook her head. “We’ve been monitoring channels, and you’re okay.”
For now, Jo thought. She needed to get away from Dallas and what had happened as soon as possible.
“I’ll have someone drive you to your apartment so you can pick up your things,” Kelsey told Jo. “Where do you want to go after that?”
“Back to the Amyfinehouse,” Jo said.
“We can do that.” Kelsey studied her for a moment. “You did good work. You handled yourself well.”
“Thanks,” Jo said, without much enthusiasm.
Kelsey smiled at her. “Any chance we could get you to work with us?”
Jo didn’t hesitate. “No.” She didn’t explain why, just left it at that.
“I had to try.” The woman smiled again. She thanked Jo once more, then got up. Jo followed her down a maze of hallways, where another agent waited to take her back to her hotel. Kelsey held out a hand, and Jo shook it.
“You sure I can’t change your mind about joining us?” Kelsey asked.
Jo shook her head. “I’ll let you handle the bad guys.”
Kelsey laughed softly as Jo turned and went with the other agent. He took her to her temporary apartment, and she took a few minutes to gather her belongings as he watched carefully. Then he drove her to the Amyfinehouse hotel. The SUV waited in front as she walked inside and went up to the desk.
“May I help you?” a front-desk woman asked her.
Jo glanced over her shoulder. The SUV was gone. She turned back to the woman.
“No. I’m sorry I bothered you.”
