the job done.
What else was there? For him…nothing.
Anger whispered through him, making his jaw clench. Dakota pushed it away. The past was the past. Dead and gone. Emphasis on the dead. He operated in the moment and only in the moment.
Justice could be served outside a courtroom. That was sufficient for Dakota’s conscience.
The door leading from the kitchen of the Raspberry home to the dark garage opened. Dakota braced for action.
Darnell Raspberry stepped into the garage and carefully locked the door behind him. The three quiet tones that followed assured him that he’d properly set the home’s elaborate security system.
The makers obviously hadn’t counted on someone like Dakota Garrett needing to get past their so-called state-of-the-art system. For him, cutting off the link to the home’s attached garage had been as effortless as taking his next breath. Raspberry had no clue that a cold, harsh reality waited for him just a few steps away.
Raspberry rounded the hood of his two-door hybrid, the one he used for traveling to and from work. Nothing pricey, not at all like the fine home attached to the double-car garage or the luxury sedan he’d purchased for his family. The garage’s overhead light as well as the interior one in the vehicle stayed dark as Raspberry climbed into the driver’s seat. The smart little accountant had thought of everything. He had a careful routine. Don’t turn on the light. Start the engine and hit the remote. Barrel out of the garage and close the door.
His goal was simple: protect his nice little family.
Didn’t matter that his boss ruined the lives of nice little families every day.
The hybrid’s engine started. Dakota pushed away from the wall. Until the vehicle shifted out of Park, both doors would remain unlocked. Dakota had the passenger-side door open before the unsuspecting man had time to blink or to shift into Reverse.
Dakota pressed the muzzle of his weapon to Raspberry’s pale temple. “Drive to the office as usual,” he ordered, “and we won’t have a problem.”
Raspberry’s eyes bulged with fear. The faint lighting from the dash allowed him a peek at Dakota from the corners of his eyes. “What do you want?”
Dakota breathed a chuckle. “To make an honest man out of you, Darnell.”
“I…” Raspberry swallowed hard. “I don’t understand.”
“Just drive.” Dakota applied a bit more pressure.
“No.”
The protest surprised Dakota. He hadn’t figured the man for the gutsy type. “Fine. We’ll just do this right here.”
A gasp imprisoned the accountant’s breath. “But…but my family…” “Still asleep in their beds.” Dakota knew precisely where each member of the Raspberry family was at the moment. East and west ends of the second floor. The master suite was actually on the first, but the wife didn’t like being so far away from the kiddies. She and the two kids didn’t rise until seven.
“What do you want?” Raspberry asked again.
“To take care of business without having to bother with the nasty business of killing anyone.”
“My family has nothing to do with my work,” the accountant argued, his confidence seeming to build since Dakota hadn’t put a bullet in his brain just yet. “They’re completely innocent.”
Impatience nudged Dakota. “True, but, as you well know, innocence matters little in the grand scheme of things. Now, let’s go.”
Raspberry’s fingers tightened on the steering wheel. “What if I refuse?”
Well, well, more of that unexpected bravado. “Then I’ll have to go in there and drum up a little motivation.” Dakota grunted his regret. “I never did like to frighten small children.” He leaned close to the man who was his mark. “But that doesn’t mean I won’t do my very best if necessary.”
“All right. All right.” Hand shaking, Raspberry tapped the garage door remote pinned to his sun visor and shifted the vehicle into Reverse.
“Very good, Darnell.”
As soon as he’d backed into the drive, Raspberry hit the remote again, closing the garage door. Once in the street, he pointed the hybrid in the direction of the Wallace Building.
“You’ll never get past security,” Raspberry charged. “The Wallace Building has the best security available.”
Dakota smiled. “I won’t have to get past security. We’ll enter the building from the parking garage, just like you do every morning. You arrive well before anyone else so it’ll be just the two of us.”
Raspberry shifted in his seat, fear and tension obviously making him uncomfortable. “What about the video surveillance? Security will see you in the garage.”
Dakota lowered his weapon, but kept a bead on the rattled man. “Details, details. You don’t need to concern yourself with those. All you have to do is exactly what I tell you.”
The fact was Dakota had planned for that nuisance. Security would indeed capture him arriving in the parking garage with Raspberry. And when the two of them boarded the elevator, Dakota would scan an authorized entry badge. Security might not know the face or the name, but they wouldn’t be able to deny the approved access. Questions would be asked later, but Dakota would be long gone by then.
“You’ll never get away with this.” Raspberry shook his head. “The police will have your description. Your face will be all over the news. You’ll be a wanted man.”
“Probably.” Dakota wasn’t the slightest bit worried. The face the security cameras would record was not one that could ever be connected to Dakota Garrett. His mother had never been a true mother to Dakota, but she had passed on to him an invaluable asset—the art of disguise.
A lifetime ago.
“Are you going to kill me?”
The bravado had vanished. If Raspberry’s voice had been any smaller it would have been inaudible.
“Not unless I have to.” No point lying to the man.
“What’re you going to do?”
Dakota leaned in close to the driver again, making him shudder in fear. “I’m going to take back what your boss stole from his clients.”
Raspberry seemed to chew on that for a moment. “One of Mr. Wallace’s competitors sent you,” he accused. “I should have known.”
“Nope.” Dakota relaxed into the seat. “I have no affiliations with any of his competitors.”
“You’re a thief.” A nuance of anger shadowed the words.
“I’ve been called worse.”
“Mr. Wallace will hunt you down and make you pay.”
“He’ll
