Jacob (Exposed Marco's MMA Boys #5) Read online

  I feel like my hair is on fire and my lungs are burning, I’m so fucking angry. Not to mention my family is dead. “Fuck no! You do whatever in the hell you have to do to keep that trial on schedule.” I grit my teeth.

  Frank shakes his head. “We hate to leave you, but you have to stay here. We need to go and not draw any attention to your location.”

  Dick steps forward to try and hug me, but I move away. “Do you need an agent here with you?”

  “No. I hope that motherfucker or one of his henchmen show up. I may die in the process, but I’ll fucking take them to hell with me.” That’s my blunt reply.

  I turn and make my way into the cabin, slamming the door. Falling to the floor, the sobs come and I can’t fucking stop them. I’ve never heard those kinds of sounds come out of my mouth. I break everything in my fucking reach. My sister was right all along. If it’s the last thing I do on this earth, I’ll make sure fucking Wes goes down, along with that cocksucker Mike. If he doesn’t go down in a court of law, I’ll fucking kill him myself. I’ll do my best to keep this on the up and up, but if I can’t, I’ll do what I have to.

  By the time Frank and Dick come back to get me, I’ve been drunk for a week. I’ve smoked every cigarette I’ve got and I’m ill as hell. My sister is gone, my beautiful innocent nieces and my friend, my partner, my brother-in-law. They’re all gone. The cat’s out of the bag, they’ve told my mother. She knows everything. I’m sure she’s pissed with all of us and even though they’re ruling their death an accident, I know different. My gut says so.

  “Jesus, Rox. You’ve got to get a shower and sober up.” Frank sighs.

  “Fuck you, Frank,” I spit out and attempt to slap him.

  “Fuck me? Fuck you, Rox. I know you lost them, but I lost them, too. They were some of the only family I knew. Maybe not by blood, but by bond. Now get your ass together like the agent you are and let’s go put this fucker behind bars for good.”

  Climbing into the shower, I scrub and I cry. I scrub even harder and try to get the vile feeling off my body. Eventually the water starts to run cold and I pull myself out of the fogginess that is my mind and dress for my trip to Pensacola.

  A day later, I’m sitting outside of a courtroom waiting to be called to testify. A door opens and the bailiff steps out. “Agent Gilliland, they’re calling for you.

  I stand up and walk as confidently as possible inside the double doors and through the quietness of the courtroom. The only sound is my heels clicking across the marble floor. Once I make it to the stand, I’m sworn in as a bailiff holds a Bible in front of me. I place my left hand on the Bible and hold my right in the air. “Do you swear to tell the truth, the whole truth and nothing but the truth, so help you God?”

  “I do.”

  The judge speaks, “Please be seated.”

  The defense and prosecution question me about my job, my involvement in this case, my undercover work, tons of questions. It feels like I’ve been up here for hours, even if I know it’s only been about forty-five minutes. I’m trying to control every bit of the rage I’m feeling. I’m looking right at the man who is most likely responsible for the death of my family. Once I’m finally excused, I start toward the galley and when I look at Wes Lowe, he mouths one word without sound, “Boom,” with a smirk. A motherfucking smirk.

  At that point I’m no longer able to control the rage I’ve been doing my best to contain. I’m across the marble floor, over the table and punching him in the face in no time flat. Bailiffs and other agents are doing their best to pull me away from him. I hear no one’s words but my own. “Fuck you, Wes Lowe! I hope you enjoy getting ass raped in prison. You might have killed my family, but your ass damn sure won’t kill me. When you fucking die, I’ll dance on your motherfucking grave, you son of a bitch!”

  As I’m pulled away by the other agents, I hear the judge warning me with contempt. Once I’m out in the hall, Dick comes out there. “Damnit, Rox. What in the hell was that?”

  I point back toward the courtroom. “That bastard taunted me. He said ‘boom’. He killed my family and now I want to kill him, but since I can’t I’m going to make sure his ass goes down for a long fucking time. Then, I’m done.”

  “What do you mean you’re done?” he scoffs.

  “What I mean is I. Am. Fucking. Done.” I shake my head and walk for the door. “No more of this bullshit, no more watching my back, no more living in shithole apartments. I’m done. Jenn was right, this did kill us all in the end,” I finish as I hit the front doors of the courthouse.

  Three weeks later, I’m sitting in the courtroom when the verdict is read. Wes Lowe is going to prison for a long time and I was there to witness it. Unfortunately, Mike Juarez is smarter than anyone would’ve figured a do-boy to be. He’s off scot free. The only thing that consoles me is he’s the small fish.

  As I walk out of the courtroom, Dick looks over at me. “It’s done. Now we just have to catch Juarez in the act.”

  I think about the long talks I’ve had with my mother over the past few weeks as I turn to him. “No. I’m not.” I hand him my badge and my service weapon. “Here you go. I told you when I made sure he went to prison, I was done. Well, I’m done.”

  He tries to talk to me but I ignore him and walk away. I walk toward my mother at her car. “Let’s go home, Mom.”

  She nods solemnly and hits the remote to unlock the car. The sound and heat bounce off my body as I’m thrown to the pavement by the explosion, everything goes black. Please, God, take me now.

  A week later, I’m attending a memorial for my entire family. I have burns, cuts, a few broken ribs and over all my body just hurts like a motherfucker, along with my heart. That explosion taking my mother’s life and attempting to take mine must have been Lowe’s final gift to me. I wish it would’ve just killed me.

  CHAPTER 5

  JACOB

  FOUR AND A HALF YEARS LATER…

  I pull the phone away from my ear as my sister squeals into the phone. “I’m so excited you’re moving here!”

  “It’s still a few months away, sis,” I say with a chuckle into the phone.

  My sister, Sloan, moved with her son, Sage, to Bakersville after her ex was traded to the Jacksonville Panthers. He would be living back in Hagans, our hometown, and that was too close for comfort to my sister. She moved to start over and that’s what she did. She met a MMA fighter and fell in love. The greatest part is he loves her with everything he has in him. He loves Sage the same as he loves their newborn son, Lincoln. He’s a great guy, with a great group of friends. Well, they’re really more like a modge podge family.

  She thinks I’m moving here because a friend offered me a construction job at the university and because I wanted a change. I’m actually stuck doing some more freelance work for the agency. When I found out that it may be hitting close to my sister and her family, I stepped up.

  I am working the construction job, but it’s just my cover. There are a few people down here that have no clue the shit that’s about to be dumped at their front door.

  “Jacob.” Shit, my sister.

  “Sorry, I got distracted.”

  “Okay, so do you want to stay with me or should I be looking for you a place?” she asks, irritated.

  “Sloan, I’ve got a place. My buddy hooked me up with an apartment. I’ll be in between you and UF. Also, like I’ve just said, it’s a few months away.”

  “Oh,” she says, sounding almost sad.

  “I promise we’ll get together as soon as I get down there though. Okay?”

  “Okay. Well, Sage is very excited. You know he loves the guys, but he loved you first.” She laughs.

  “So how was Vegas?” I ask.

  “Oh my gosh! It was like nothing I’ve ever seen.” I can tell she’s smiling when she talks. “I missed the kids, but the spa was awesome.”

  I laugh. “Well, what about the fights? I mean since that’s what you were there for and all.”

  “My baby always kic
ks ass. Huck proposed to Chelsea after he kicked ass, so it was awesome.”

  “Wow, that’s great.” It really is, Chelsea had been recently attacked by an ex who was into a lot more shit than she could’ve ever pictured. She was just young and in love. We’ve all made some stupid decisions sometimes.

  “Okay, big brother, Lincoln is waking up so I need to go, but I can’t wait for you to move here,” she says sweetly.

  “Me too, kid.”

  After I hang up, I look back over the case notes. Former Agent Roxanne Gilliland moved to a small town called Capestowe in between Gainesville and Bakersville. She’s teaching Criminal Justice classes at UF. Rumor mill is going around that Mike Juarez is snooping into some people around that area. We figure he’s going after her. She’s pretty much the only main player left from that case years ago. Really sad, one of her partners was also her brother-in-law. He, her sister and her two young nieces were killed in a supposed gas leak explosion. Her mother died when a bomb was placed under her car during the verdict reading of Wes Lowe. Dick, her former boss, died of a massive heart attack and her other partner, Frank, was killed in an automobile accident a couple of years ago. The car exploded as a result and the body was charred just like the explosion at her sisters. Since most agency people believe none of these were accidents and that Roxanne was meant to die in the car bomb, we figure they’re trying to wrap up loose ends. Until I started digging deeper into this case, I never realized that a couple of key players in my sister’s life may be brought into this.

  I know years ago Mike Juarez had a huge MMA gym in Pensacola. It’s not so big now, but his gym and Marco’s used to match up. Now I know Lox never had any part in it, but it’s still a little too close for comfort for me. I don’t know the other guys as well.

  THREE YEARS LATER…

  Sitting on the front porch of my little rental house and drinking a beer in the late afternoon is nice. I have to say this assignment hasn’t been near as bad as I thought it would be. Truth be told I’m kind of happy being here. I’ve fallen in love with the area. The assignment was later to take off than it was supposed to be. I’ve only been living here for two years. Just when the agency thought they had Mike figured out, he laid off for a little while so they took their time moving me down here. It still seems a little quiet from his end so right now I’m doing a lot of observing. With the construction job, I keep an eye on former agent Roxanne Gilliland and I can keep an ear to the ground of the fight scene.

  Roxanne doesn’t know I’m here and I haven’t made any contact. After our “run in” years ago, I doubt she’d be happy to see me.

  My phone rings and I see that it’s my old boss, Raines. “Foster.”

  “You still loving BFE?” I don’t know why he calls this town Bum Fuck Egypt.

  “You know it. Got anything for me?”

  “Just got another hit in your sister’s circle,” he grumbles.

  “Who?”

  “Younger guy. Clayton Gibbs.” That shocks me. “He’s originally from Pensacola. His parents were murdered when he was a young kid. He hid while it happened. They were associates of Lowe and Juarez. Rumor mill says that the late Gibbs owed Juarez some money. Clayton comes into a trust soon. His twenty-fifth birthday. Juarez could be moving in on him, too.”

  “FUCK!” I shake my head. “That’s practically in my sister’s damn house.”

  “It appears Juarez is trying to strike out on his own, so he’s not going to be as smart or as powerful.”

  “No, just more dangerous because the motherfucker is unhinged. Even though Lowe is still locked up tight, you know he still has his own connections. This could end up a real big fucking mess.”

  I’ve spoken to Gibbs several times. I wouldn’t call us best friends, but he’s an all right guy. He’s filling in for Huck right now at the gym. I guess I can try to get in there earlier in the day so I can feel him out more.

  “It’s time to get in there.”

  “I already know Gibbs. He’s a decent kid. I work out at the gym with him. You know my brother-in-law owns a part of it,” I say with a little sarcasm. “I’ll start spending a little more time around them. Get to know him better, I guess.”

  “Not talking about him. Rein the girl in and keep an eye on Gibbs. Call us in when we’re needed.” He hangs up and I lay my head back. Fuck, this is going to be a mess.

  CHAPTER 6

  ROXANNE

  TWO WEEKS LATER…

  It’s been over seven years and I’m still watching over my shoulder when I go anywhere. I know the make and model of every vehicle in this neighborhood. I have a general idea of what all the neighbors do for a living. I have a security system on this house that would challenge any expert. I still have my chameleon skills. I can blend. That’s why I know he thinks I haven’t seen him, but I made him a while back. I know he’s actually doing some construction work, but my old skills tell me he’s also doing some side work. That’s the reason when I come home and he’s sitting on my front porch, I’m not at all shocked.

  “Roxanne,” he simply states.

  I nod. “Jacob. What made you decide to finally make yourself known?”

  He looks at me with a curious face mixed with some shock. I laugh. “You do remember I was a spook, too? I made you forever ago. Didn’t know what you were doing here,” I shrug, “really didn’t care, but seeing as how you’re on my porch,” I light a cigarette, “I’m guessing it has something to do with me.”

  “Yes and no.” I sit down in my other chair and motion for him to explain.

  He tells me about all of the agency’s curiosities. Between the ATF and CIA, they’re keeping him spinning. The stuff with a young fighter named Gibbs. I listen until he says something. “Marco’s Gym.”

  I shake my head. “No. Can’t help you.” I stand up, quickly stubbing out my cigarette.

  “Look, I know you had some dealings with the fighters, but—”

  “No. You don’t understand. I did have dealings with those guys and it wasn’t the most professional moment in my life. I’d prefer not to revisit it.”

  He steps into my space. “What happened?”

  I shake my head. “NO. I’m not fucking talking about it.”

  “My sister is married to one of those guys.” He levels his eyes at me. “Now. What happened?” His sexy voice comes out as a low rumble.

  I finally resign to myself that he’s not going to leave this alone. “Fine. While I was in the middle of this case, I met the group from Marco’s at the strip club. I quickly assessed that they weren’t involved with whatever was going on.” I light another cigarette. “It was still a good ‘in’ for me though. So I went out with one of the guys, we hooked up. The night all hell broke loose, I was fucking the guy. I had him handcuffed to the bed and had to leave him that way, because he saw how panicked I was and would have followed me.”

  His face is pale. Like ashen. “Which guy?”

  I sigh. “A guy named Storm, Loxley Storm.”

  He rears back and kicks my chair. “Fuck!” He starts pacing and rambling.

  “Look, I know this will mess some shit up—”

  He stops me. “That’s my sister’s husband.”

  I choke on the drag from my cigarette. “Damn it.” I fucked a married man. He damn sure didn’t act married. Maybe they weren’t then. I mean shit, this was like almost eight years ago.

  He shakes it off. “Okay, look, as far as everyone knows, you and I are casually dating. We won’t introduce you until or if it’s necessary. Did you ever contact Lox after?”

  “No. I left the hotel room. My burner cell was turned off immediately. I did find out through the grapevine that it was never public that he was left in that situation, so I’m assuming his buddies got him out of it.”

  “Okay. I really just need you close by since we don’t know if Juarez is after one or both you and this Gibbs kid.” He leans back against the porch railing. “I’ll try to create only situations where you can help me assess Gibbs
. That way you won’t run into the rest of the group.”

  I put my hands up. “Who said I’m helping you? Also, I don’t need you to keep me close. I’m good. Remember I did this job, too, once upon a time.”

  “I know you don’t, but it’s my job right now and I need to be in two places at once. You are the one I can explain it to. My family has no clue about this side of my life so I really need you to work with me here. Please? My sister’s family could be in danger.”

  I see the worry in his eyes. I let out a huge sigh, “Fine. Just keep me in the shadows.”

  Relief comes across his face. “Thank you.”

  “Grab your files and bring them in. We’ll look over them.”

  He steps in my house a few minutes later with a box in hand. “This has your old files in it, too,” he explains.

  I shake my head. “Yeah, but not my notes.” I reach into my coat closet and removed the false wall piece. Grabbing the small tote on the shelf, I carry it over to the table and open the box. “Let’s start at the beginning.” I take out the legal pad that I wrote every detail on.

  He stares at me as I read the notes. “You really observed everything about them. The fact that Mike ate Slim Jims like an addict.” He gives a small laugh. “Damn, details.”

  As we start to compare the notes and the files he got from the agency, I stop him. “There’s stuff missing. I’m not sure if they just kept it from you or if it was left out for some reason, but there’s a month’s worth of notes missing from my undercover operation. Like actual legal statements I made. Basically, testimonies of the things I saw and did.”

  “Okay, so what do you think is missing?”

  “Well, there isn’t anything in here about the night some cops busted into the club. But they were local cops following a shitty tip from an informant who was trying to keep his ass out of county jail. Of course, they were too smart to have shit in the actual club so the bust was pointless. I didn’t lose my shit, which I thought vetted me even more,” I explain. “There was also several deals I witnessed that I made charges for that were to be filed once our major operation was complete, but all of those look to be gone, too.”