That had stung but she knew he’d just been looking out for her safety. Otherwise he would have given her up a long time ago. She still didn’t like that he’d given the authorities the location of so many of the women they’d murdered but at least he’d kept one to himself.
One unmarked grave she could visit whenever she wanted. Feeling flushed, she squirmed in her seat as she thought about visiting it as soon as she was done with Jordan. If Curtis was here he could have had fun with Jordan before killing the bitch, but Celia just wanted to be done with her.
After the mistake she’d made with the car bomb, she didn’t want to bring any heat down on herself. Across from the marina where Jordan had gone, Celia sat in a deserted motel parking lot and decided to suck it up and take care of the woman once and for all.
Then she could leave Key West and pick up where she and Curtis had left off. Not that she’d ever really stopped. She’d still been killing when she hadn’t been hunting for Corey, but it wasn’t the same without a partner.
Celia had twisted her hair into a tight bun and wore a summer dress. Under it she had on a skintight yoga bodysuit that ended at the top of her thighs. With a weapons belt strapped across her middle, the bodysuit helped keep it secured in place and the dress was loose enough to cover the bulge. She wasn’t sure why Jordan had come to a marina, but she was worried the woman might be trying to leave Key West by boat. If that happened she’d lose the ability to track her for a while. She didn’t know anything about boats and couldn’t hire someone to follow another one. That would just be odd and draw more suspicion to herself.
After grabbing her oversized purse filled with lighter fluid and multiple lighters, she headed across the street. Keeping her stride casual, she was relieved that there were only half a dozen vehicles in the gravelly parking lot of the marina.
As she neared the docks, she slowed but kept her pace relaxed even though she felt anything but. Her heart was racing double time and she had to wipe her palms on her dress once. Partly from excitement but also from nerves. If Jordan was with her lover, then taking them both out would be tricky. Celia would have to shoot the man first. That would be the smartest move. Disable the biggest threat first. At least she had a suppressor to mute the noise of gunfire. But she’d have to be fast and take him down with one shot.
Music played from somewhere to her left and she could see three boats that had interior lights on in the western area of the docks. But according to her laptop, the boat Jordan was on lay docked on the east side, in a secluded section of the marina. Google Earth had given her a decent aerial view of the layout so she knew where she was going.
Heart racing, she surveyed her surroundings as she walked down the last wooden dock. She’d worn dive slippers as part of her backup plan in case things went wrong. They were silent against the wooden planks except for a few creaks every now and then.
Most of the boats along this dock were too small to live in and none of the interior lights were on except for in one. While she didn’t know much about boats, she could see the illumination coming through a curtained window of the fairly large vessel. She could also hear faint music and laughter. Male and female.
Maybe Jordan wasn’t leaving. Maybe this was some sort of getaway with her lover. She probably thought she was safe. Celia smiled. She’d followed the tracker on her screen instead of actually following Jordan and it had been obvious the driver was trying to make sure they didn’t have a tail. After Jordan’s car had been blown up she would have been stupid not to be afraid or cautious.
After one more glance around the secluded part of the marina, Celia reached into her purse and pulled out one of the small white tins of lighter fluid. She popped off the red cap then stepped onto the back of the boat. The water around it didn’t even make a ripple. Stepping down into the back of the open white deck area, she started spraying the fluid everywhere, but was careful not to spill any on herself. She covered every surface; over the deck, the swivel chairs, the wooden paneling.
The dull chatter still continued inside as she hurried down the side of the boat. Once she was on the front, she pulled out another tin and emptied it over every surface she could manage. The splashes of fluid hitting plastic and wood seemed to be over pronounced in the quiet night where there was barely a breeze skittering over the water, but those inside didn’t notice.
Once she was done pouring out the liquid, a sense of elation surged through her, powerful and potent. She never tired of seeing the beauty of flames eating up everything in its path. No two fires were the same yet they were all just as wondrous.
Moving to the back of the boat, she reached inside her purse for her lighter. She was going to be off the boat when it went up in flames, but she wouldn’t go too far. In case those inside managed to escape, she’d just shoot them. Not as much fun, but if she had to do it, she would. Then she’d leave exactly the way she’d come. It would take at least a few minutes for anyone else to see the blaze and that would give her enough time to make it to her car. She’d be ditching it and replacing it as soon as possible though.
As her fingers clasped around the cool metal of the lighter, she couldn’t fight the smile spreading across her face. She flicked it on. The small orange flame danced before her eyes, beautiful and hypnotic. Hungry. But before she could toss it onto the back deck, a bright spotlight suddenly shone in her face. She lifted a hand, trying to shield her face.
“Hands in the air now! Drop the lighter!” an angry male voice shouted.
“Hands up now!” Another louder voice followed.
Panic slithered down her spine as she tried to look around. The spotlight was making it difficult but she could see the silhouette of multiple men, some on neighboring boats, and they all held guns. She could also hear and feel footsteps pounding down the dock coming toward her.
There was no way they were taking her in alive.
Feigning surrender, she held her hands up as the shouting continued. But she didn’t let go of the lighter. As the steps grew closer, she let her body go lax and fell forward toward the opening between the two tied up boats. She tossed the lighter as she fell.
She heard shots and angry shouts right before she hit the surface of the water. The cool wetness was a rush against her senses as she kicked and swam with all her might. She might not be able to get away but she was damn sure going to try.
Too disoriented to tell how many men there had been, she knew it was enough that her chances of escape were slim. But if she could take down one of them with her, she’d do it.
Chapter 13
From the safety of Blue’s SUV, Jordan watched the live video feed one of the Red Stone men had set up across from the decoy boat they were using to trap Celia Olson. Jordan was still uneasy about the whole situation for multiple reasons. Vincent had to be using a lot of resources. Five of his co-workers had flown down on one of Red Stone’s private jets to help him out. That couldn’t have been cheap.
And it was all just to help her. She hated that she might be affecting his job somehow. This wasn’t a small favor. These men were working together to trap a maniac they knew nothing about. She knew all the men were highly trained but still, anything could go wrong. And the woman might not even show up. She shifted in the passenger seat again, hating being so confined. Realistically she knew there was nothing she could do and would only be in the way, but with Vincent putting his life in danger for her, she felt like she should be doing more to help.
“It’s going to be fine,” Blue murmured without looking at her. Sitting in the driver’s seat, he’d been vigilant in scanning the surrounding area of the parking lot they were in.
The lot was next door to the marina, but they were completely blocked from sight by a metal warehouse that housed boats not in use. The rest of the Red Stone men had parked there too, but Blue’s SUV was separated from the rest so that if anyone tried to sneak up on them it would be impossible. Not to mention the big man was armed to the teeth. Even the video feed she was watching had some sort of anti-reflective screen on it so that it didn’t put off a glow for anyone potentially watching them to see.
“I know.” She wasn’t sure if that was true, but she was going to be positive. Everything would be fine because it had to be. She focused back on the screen. “I see something,” she whispered even though it was just the two of them in the vehicle.
“Yeah, they see her too.” Blue tapped his earpiece.
“They’re sure it’s Olson?” The men had mounted four cameras so Jordan was watching four small screens on an already small laptop. It was difficult to tell much about the individual she saw walking down the dock. But her destination seemed clear; the woman was making a direct line for the boat where Vincent had stashed the tracker he’d found in her phone.
Jordan was still kind of awed by the kind of trap they’d set up; complete with audible recordings so it would sound like people were inside the boat. When Vincent had explained everything to her she’d been impressed by how fast the team of men had been able to move.
“Yeah.” Blue’s one word answer seemed pretty typical of what she’d seen of him so far. He didn’t talk if he didn’t have to.
That was fine with her. Right now she was tense and on edge, just wanting this whole thing to be over so they could move on with their lives. She was still reeling from Vincent’s confession about buying her a ring years ago. Nothing in the world could completely take her mind off that. Not even this situation.
Eyes glued to the screen, she frowned when the woman tentatively stepped onto the boat. She tapped that video feed to maximize it. The other three immediately minimized, giving her a full view of Olson. Her hair was pulled back in a bun and she looked almost casual as she reached into her purse and pulled out… “What is that?” she murmured, unsure what the small box looking thing was. Even with the full screen, the woman’s back was to Jordan and she only got a brief flash of whatever it was.
“Lighter fluid.” Blue still wasn’t looking at her as he scanned the area, but he was clearly getting updates from one of the men.