Sonja

By Thornton House

FBI Agent Carina Rivera's life is about to change dramatically when she apprehends Chad Lowry a triple murder suspect. Less than thirty minute after catching him, Rivera watches in horror as her SUV is blown up before her eyes by heavily armed men in a helicopter. She and Lowry barely escape the encounter only to run into another band of men trying to kill them. She asks Lowry what he has stolen to have so many people trying to kill him. "I haven't stolen anything from anybody but I have something they want," Lowry replies

• Language: English
• Publisher: Lulu.com
• Release date: Nov 4, 2011
• ISBN: 9781105146954

Book preview

CHAPTER 1

It was like an oven in El Paso with the temperature near 100 degrees. From the window of the El Paso Federal Justice Center, Carina Rivera watched the distant traffic moving west on I-10. The Center was home to the Federal Bureau of Investigation for most of West Texas. She could actually see the vapor rising from the highway outside and thought it’s certainly hotter here than it was at home in Los Angeles.

Hey, Rivera, quit day dreaming. Kerry wants to see us in his office.

Carina turned her head and saw her partner Assistant Special Agent in Charge Tommy Christy. Now, what have you done to get us in trouble with the boss? Ever since I joined the FBI you’ve managed to get me in hot water, she snapped giving him her classic frown.

I’m not the person who keeps breaking people’s knee caps and yelling at them in Spanish, Tommy quipped smiling at her. Come on, it sounds like a road trip, a different assignment. Maybe it’ll get you out of that bad mood you’re in.

I am not in a bad mood, Carina growled but Tommy ignored her as he headed for the hallway and she had to hurry to keep up with his long legs. The two agents walked side by side down the long hallway as they headed for their boss’s office. Tommy turned to her and his blue eyes seemed to sparkle, How’d your date go last night?

Carina shook her head, Don’t ask.

That good, huh? Tommy grinned.

Everything was going good until we got to my apartment. I could tell he was interested by the way he looked at me during dinner. He told me he had a good time and how beautiful I was. He kissed me and I gave him an opening, kissing him back. Kimi was right, he’s a doll. After that, he put his hands on my hips and pulled me close to kiss me again—and the romance ended.

What happened, did you bite his tongue when he tried to French kiss you?

No! Carina growled. He felt the pistol on my hip and he freaked out.

Tommy started laughing and shaking his head, "You wore your Glock on the date. Hell that would have freaked me out. Kimi told him you were an agent, but to wear your piece on a first date. Damn, you’re never going to get laid."

Carina glared at him, I don’t need any shit from you, Christy.

Tommy continued to look right at her and grinned as they left the hallway entering a seating area. Carina knew he was giving her a bad time but she also noticed he wasn’t watching where he was going. So, she shoved him and he ran into a large padded chair.

He nearly fell over the top of it but couldn’t help laughing as he did. It was hard to get the best of Carina. He smiled noticing she never looked back to see his reaction.

Tommy watched her march ahead as her shapely hips swayed back and forth in the tight skirt she was wearing. Her hips accented the hourglass figure as her silky black hair bounced from side to side. Why she was having problems dating was a mystery to him. He knew she intimidated most men—actually, scared the hell out of most of them. She could be tough as nails but she had a tender side also. She was the most caring woman he had ever met and the best partner he had in his ten years with the Bureau. The only person he was any closer to was his wife Kimi. It had taken him three weeks to realize how lucky he was to have Carina as a partner. That was when he realized she was a real warrior.

Carina came to the Bureau after serving on the Los Angeles Police Department for eight years. She only applied at a friend’s persistence and was shocked when she was accepted. However, it shouldn’t have surprised her because her friend Becky Simone had connections. Carina was assigned to the El Paso office upon completing her training.

She met Tommy the first day at the new office and recognized his resentment right away. Of course, this was nothing new; she had been through this before. In LA, she had been paired with three different male partners. All three had bitched to high heaven about being stuck with a woman partner. Each time Carina ended up saving their lives in some courageous manner.

So why should Special Agent Christy be any different. It hadn’t taken her long to see Tommy’s wife wasn’t crazy about the partnership either. Kimi barely spoke the first time they met.

All the resentment ended when Tommy made the mistake of charging into a warehouse alone. He ordered Carina to call for backup while he checked out the building. She had begged him to wait; and, he scornfully reminded her he was the senior agent.

Carina didn’t like the feeling she was getting and her time as a cop had taught her to pay attention to her intuition. The call for backup had barely gone in when gunshots echoed from inside the building. Carina rushed to a nearby window and saw Tommy was pinned down—caught in cross fire.

Tommy now wished he had listened to his junior partner even if she was a woman. As the shots roared at him from two different directions, splintering the wooden crate he was hiding behind, he knew he was in real trouble. He heard a shot ring out to the right and saw a suspect fall from the balcony to the warehouse floor. He jumped up from his position and saw Carina crouched behind a box.

Tommy, get down! she screamed.

He dropped to the floor as a shot rang out and a bullet whizzed over his head. As he lay there hugging the floor, he watched in horror as a scar-faced man fell to the ground not three feet behind him. Tommy’s body quivered when the pipe-wrench the man held in his hands collided with the concrete floor with a clang. "Damn, that was close."

The sound of gunfire from his left told him he didn’t have time to sit and feel lucky. It told him Carina was catching heat. Tommy stood and fired his weapon in the general area the shot had come from. A man darted from his hiding place and turned his weapon toward Tommy; but, before Tommy could react, a final deafening shot rang out as he watched the man crumple to the floor. As fate would have it, Carina Rivera had managed to save partner number four.

Tommy remembered walking toward her as they met in the middle of the warehouse. In the background, he heard the sirens approaching. Is that my back up? he said sheepishly.

Your backup is standing right in front of you, you stupid bastard. You may be the senior agent, Special Agent Christy, but if you ever pull that male-macho-bullshit on me again, I will let your macho ass find its own way out of trouble. Is that clear, Special Agent Christy? Carina roared.

Tommy fully expected her eyes to burst into flames incinerating him at any moment. He knew he deserved this tongue-lashing. Well, Carina, there is nothing vague about your Spanish. Even if I couldn’t speak the language, your eyes, and tone would have conveyed your feelings. I screwed up, Tommy said with a slight smile.

Carina rolled her eyes knowing she’d done it again. She had one major flaw. When she got excited or nervous, she reverted to Spanish—something she had done since she was a child. And, no matter how many times it occurred, she always felt self-conscious afterwards. Self-conscious or not, it didn’t reduce her frustration with her new partner. The frown on her face remained until he reached up and put his hand on her shoulder and smiled, Thanks for saving my macho ass, Carina. I promise you, partner, I’ll never make that mistake again.

His smile made her feel like a sixteen-year-old-school-girl and she couldn’t stay mad at him. Tommy learned he had a partner he could trust with his life. He also decided to avoid getting on her bad side again because her tongue-lashings were as deadly as her shooting.

The next day she reluctantly accepted an invite to the Christy’s for dinner. Carina had barely touched the doorbell when the door flew open and Kimi grabbed her, throwing her arms around her. Carina, I’m so sorry for being rude to you the last time. All I could see was this beautiful woman spending all day with my husband. I thought how unfair it was that Tommy would have to put his life at risk because he had a woman as a partner. The tears poured from Kimi’s blue eyes rolling down her cheeks as she pushed back to look at Carina conveying her sincerity.

Carina merely smiled and pulled Kimi close, hugging her tightly. That’s okay, Mrs. Christy, I’m pretty used to my partners’ wives frowning at me when we meet.

A strong bond formed that day. Kimi became the sister Carina never had. Tommy now had two strong women in his life to deal with. Anything negative said about Kimi got him in trouble with Carina. Tommy never missed a birthday, anniversary, or Valentine’s Day again and Kimi swore his present selection had improved.

Carina became part of the family. She even babysat the kids to allow her friends a romantic night out. The kids loved their Tia Carina (Aunt Carina). She told Kimi (in front of Tommy, of course), If he ever looks at another woman, I’ll shoot him in the head—so help me God.

Their partnership became one for the books. Tommy was a considerate, fun guy to be around and a great agent. They had the same high morals when it came to doing the job—making them a perfect match. If he hadn’t been married, Carina would have tipped his world upside down showing him what he had missed by not dating a Latino girl. At six two with dark brown hair and bright blue eyes, Tommy was in two words: g-o-o-d looking and Carina saw how the women looked at him when he entered a room.

Some cute girl would start flirting with him and Carina would push her coat open exposing the pistol on her hip. She would give the girl a Dirty Harry look, His wife is my best friend. So, do you feel lucky? Usually the girl would decide she needed to be somewhere else. Tommy would sheepishly look at Carina and shake his head.

Tommy may have been a great partner but he didn’t cut her any slack. The FBI had put them together because they spoke fluent Spanish. Yet, Tommy teased her unmercifully about her heavy Spanish accent. Of course, her accent was a result of growing up with parents who spoke very little English. When her parents became agitated or overly excited, they did so in Spanish. It was only natural for Carina to do the same thing when her nerves were on edge even though she was born and raised in LA. Tommy would nearly die laughing every time she went into a tirade of Spanish after some jerk pushed her too far by resisting arrest.

For the last two years Tommy and Carina had bounced all around Texas and sometimes even into Mexico working with the Juarez Police Department. They put away two high-profile drug dealers, a major car theft ring, and a border gang caught kidnapping women for white slavery. Carina was impressed with Tommy’s knowledge and Tommy was amazed with how tough she was. He watched her put down two large men in a few minutes in a seedy bar one afternoon on the rough side of El Paso. They carried one fellow out on a gurney with a broken leg and the other begging to be arrested and taken far away from her. Tommy told his fellow agents, I always knew beautiful women were dangerous but I never knew how dangerous … until I got Carina as my partner.

A week later she had her arm around a fifteen-year old girl who had been kidnapped by a white slavery ring. Carina held onto the girl comforting her and telling the girl that everything was going to be alright. The girl begged her not to leave her alone. Carina stayed with her for twenty hours until the girl’s parents arrived from Houston. Yeah his partner was tough, but she had a heart as big as Texas.

No one appreciated Carina more than Kimi Christy; and, she was on a mission to find Carina a man. She set her up on blind date after blind date; most ended like the one last night. Carina grumbled she would never find a guy who wasn’t intimidated by her profession. I go out on a date and most of the time I feel like all they want is to get me in bed. When I do find one attractive and make love to him, he disappears right after the quest is over. I want a man who will look at me the same way in the morning as he did the night before.

You’ll find that special somebody, Carina. You’re a beautiful exciting woman. You just haven’t met the right guy. I promise you— there is a guy out there for you and I’m going to help you find him. Kimi remained true to her word and hadn’t given up trying. So, Tommy had known about the date and was on strict orders from Kimi to find out how it had gone as he rushed to catch up with Carina as she entered the elevator. Boy, aren’t we touchy today.

Boy, aren’t we clumsy today, she fired back.

He smiled, Somebody needs to get laid bad.

She frowned, Why is every man’s answer to every woman’s problem—she needs to get laid?

Don’t bullshit me, Rivera. Remember Kimi tells me all. Plus, I saw you stuff a ten spot in that male stripper’s jock strap in Juarez last week. I saw the smile on your face as you were stuffing it as deep as you could.

I did not.

The hell you didn’t.

I did not! Carina yelled back and quickly broke into the Rivera smile, It was a twenty, and he was cute as hell, she said quietly leaving the elevator.

I have to tell you, Kimi and I are worried about your sex life. You’re like a time bomb about to explode. What has it been, six months since you broke it off with that guy your brother lined you up with?

Six months, three days, five hours, she glanced at her watch, forty five minutes and thirty seconds. Not since we broke up but since I had a real smile on my face. And, I broke it off with him because he didn’t—put that smile on my face often enough, she growled.

I can set you up with Agent Lemmly. I know he wants you, Tommy said waiting for a reaction.

The reaction was instantaneous. She opened her mouth and acted like she was sticking her fingers down her throat trying to throw up. When she pulled the fingers out she displayed the middle finger showing him what she thought of that idea.

Wow, Kimi was right, you are edgy. I’m afraid I am going to catch you on top of some poor bastard with your gun stuck to his head screaming in Spanish: You had better please me, gringo, or I’ll shoot you in the head, Tommy said smiling.

She stopped in her tracks and glared at him, How many years would I get for that?

Tommy roared laughing again. Carina’s sense of humor always cracked him up. Well, they gave that grade school teacher ten years for making it with a fourteen-year-old boy.

Oh, Tommy that’s a disgusting thought. I mean really bad. What makes a grown woman want a fourteen-year-old boy? I mean I lost my virginity at fifteen to a fifteen-year old boy. It was over so quick I barely knew I wasn’t a virgin anymore.

Tommy was laughing again hardly believing she had said that but that was Carina. Honest to a fault and you always knew where you stood with her and how she felt on any topic. "Well, you’re right. It is bad. It’s bad, because I didn’t have a teacher like that when I was going to school. I could have been in charge around here with that kind of tutorship."

Carina stopped again and frowned at him, Sometimes I wonder how Kimi puts up with you.

Kimi was an elementary school teacher. We met in college and I can’t tell you how many times she’s said, ‘Tommy, do it again until you get it right,’ he said opening the door to Special Agent in Charge Lassiter’s office as she giggled shaking her head walking through. She winked at Kerry who was sitting impatiently at his desk. Kerry was approaching fifty and his hair was starting to gray. Kerry had been Special Agent in Charge of the El Paso office for the last four years and was responsible for pairing them together because of their language skills. He was also the reason Carina was an FBI Agent instead of a cop in LA. I need you two to fly to Midland this afternoon. Gather as much information as you can from the local police on Chad Lowry, a murder suspect they are looking for. They believe he’s fled the state and they’re asking for our help. Pick up what you can on him because from the way he executed this couple, it looks like he enjoyed it. Making him very dangerous, Kerry said gravely.

After working primarily around El Paso, Carina smiled at the chance to focus on a different kind of case and a change in scenery. Come on, Tommy, let’s go kick some white boy’s butt, Carina barked as she got up to leave Lassiter’s office. Lassiter’s eyebrows went up immediately at the comment and he stared at Tommy.

Tommy merely smiled and shrugged his shoulders, I’m feeling sorry for this guy Lowry already.

They flew into Midland International Airport which was located halfway between Odessa and Midland, Texas. They rented a vehicle and met with the detective assigned to the case from the Midland Police Department.

Chad Lowry was the primary suspect in the deaths of John Hardaway and Lynnette Manson. Lynnette was Lowry’s ex-girlfriend and Hardaway was her new boyfriend. The MPD thought it was a case of a jilted lover’s revenge. The victim’s bodies lay decomposing in Lowry’s home each shot twice, once in the chest, and once in the head. Surprisingly, the neighbors hadn’t heard a single shot and no one knew where Lowry was.

But shortly after discovering the bodies, the police received a tip. A friend had received a call from Lowry inquiring if anyone was asking about him. When his friend told him the entire state of Texas was looking for him and he needed to turn himself in, Lowry hung up. They traced the call to a New Mexico pay phone; Lowry had crossed over a state line making him a federal fugitive. And, that brought the FBI in.

They followed the detective to Lowry’s residence to go over the evidence. The house was located on the northwest side of Midland in a subdivision called Greentree; Greentree was a misnomer because trees were a rarity in West Texas. Lowry’s house was a two-story brick reportedly appraised at $300,000. Carina’s brow tightened thinking Lowry had thrown all this away because some woman dumped him.

They entered the house and looked at actual crime scene pictures of the bodies’ positions in the room. It was hard not to notice the bloodstained couch in the living room. The male victim had been shot at point blank range at the door. Maybe he had been shot first because he was trying to leave. Lowry must have realized his ex wasn’t going to fall back in love with him, so he shot her too.

Carina looked around as Tommy asked questions, So, prior to this, Lowry never showed any tendency toward violence?

His buddies say he’s a good guy. Not that he wouldn’t stand his ground if pushed but overall a nice fellow. Not even a speeding ticket before this, the detective emphasized.

Carina continued looking at how nice this place was. She had grown up in a three-bedroom house where her four brothers shared a bedroom. As the only girl, she got a bedroom to herself. This place was a mansion compared to her parent’s house.

Tommy looked at a picture of the girl before the shooting. Well, maybe his hormones went crazy; his ex was a beautiful girl. You say she broke up with him six months ago? Tommy asked and the detective nodded. Well after six months without sex, a person starts developing psycho tendencies, Tommy bellowed grinning at Carina.

Screw you, Tommy, Carina snarled giving him her patented frown as she turned away from him.

The detective didn’t say a word but smiled as he directed them upstairs. There were three large bedrooms along with a large game room overlooking the golf course. Each room was furnished nicely with quality furniture. Carina again shook her head thinking this guy had lost it. This was definitely a case where crime didn’t pay.

The detective pointed out a room that served as an office. Strange thing about this room was that the window was wide open. The screen was off and setting right where it is now. We checked his computer and found the hard drive destroyed. Not a thing on it which seems strange, huh?

Tommy opened the window, stepped up, and disappeared to the right. Carina’s protective instinct kicked in as she stuck her head out the window and saw her partner walking on the steep roof toward the back portion of the house. Where do you think you’re going?

Aren’t you going to back me up? Tommy said grinning at her.

You know I don’t like heights, she growled. You break your neck and Kimi will kill me, you big oaf.

Nag, nag, Tommy chuckled as he disappeared from sight but was back in less than a minute. His next door neighbor has a wooden deck extending out of his second floor but it would be a risky jump. I’d say he forgot the window was open. He probably wasn’t thinking clearly after killing the couple downstairs. I assume you guys have put out an APB on his car?

That’s another strange thing. The only vehicle he has is still in the garage. We expected to get a report of a stolen car nearby but nothing so far, the detective said.

Carina and Tommy looked at the garage next. As the detective had stated, they found a brand new pickup sitting in the garage. Is that a golf cart? Carina asked looking at the shiny red golf cart in the stall next to the truck.

Yeah, but the batteries must be dead because there’re gone. Neighbors said that was his pride and joy, the detective added.

Looks like a waste of money, Carina mumbled. Well, he won’t be using it any more, she said looking at Lowry’s picture in the crime folder and shaking her head. This boy may have been Mr. Nice Guy but looking at the crime photos, he’s now a cold-blooded killer. Those bullets to the head made a statement … saying, ‘I don’t care who I kill.’ She glanced back at the house and sadly shook her head, I can’t believe he would throw away everything he has here over a woman! Carina said looking at Tommy.

***

Two days later, back in El Paso, they received a tip that someone fitting Lowry’s description had been spotted in Roswell, New Mexico. Carina and Tommy caught the first flight to Roswell and rented a car to scout the various low-rent motels in the area. At the third motel, they spotted a 1997 red and white Ford pickup with Texas tags. When their laptop determined the truck didn’t match the Midland plates assigned to it, Carina said, Bingo! We’ve got a winner but why did he park it so far away from the motel?

So we would have to go into the office and ask which room he’s in. If he had parked in front of his room, we’d be knocking on his door by now, Tommy mumbled sarcastically pausing to reflect and looking back at Carina, Put a tracking bug on that piece of shit in case he gives us the slip again. I’ll find out the room the truck is registered to and we’ll give Mr. Lowry a visit, Tommy added with a smile.

Don’t you go all John Wayne on me—you wait for me, Tommy. Don’t do anything stupid.

Nag, nag, Tommy said winking, leaving her in a cloud of dust as he drove toward the motel’s office. Carina grumbled as she placed the bug inside the front wheel well and followed after him. She had rounded the corner office when she heard the first shot. Her heart stopped. The hair on the back of her neck stood up and she felt a shiver run through her. She pulled the Glock from its holster and ran dead out when the second shot rattled off the walls of the small motel. She saw a man stumble backwards from one of the units and fall to the ground.

Tommy! she yelled. The motel’s guests heard the shots and were coming out of their rooms standing in their doorways looking cautiously at each unit.

A heavyset woman stepped out of the room next to where Tommy had fallen. She looked down and immediately began screaming uncontrollably.

Running full out Carina could feel the tears wanting to form. Get back in your room! she screamed at the woman staring down at Tommy. The woman took one look at Carina’s gun and retreated into her room slamming the door behind her.

Carina stepped left of the doorway. She looked down at Tommy and moaned. There was a hole in his jacket where the first bullet had entered but she knew he was wearing his vest. The first shot had stunned him and Lowry had finished him off as he had done with his two friends. He had shot Tommy in the head killing him instantly.

Carina took a deep breath, jumped into the middle of the open doorway with her gun raised and ready. She looked right and left before entering. She saw the open window at the back of the room and could feel a breeze rushing from it and through the doorway she was standing in. Cautiously she moved into the room checking every dark corner as she did. The sweat rolled between her breasts as well as down the small of her back. Finally, she reached the back of the room where the small window was located. It was small but big enough for a large man to crawl through. She was about to look out the window when she heard tires squealing from the front of the motel. She knew instantly where the sound was coming from and she raced back to the door. The old red and white truck was booking it west out of town at breakneck speed.

She watched helplessly as it disappeared into the horizon as she turned to stare at Tommy’s body lying on the ground. It made her aware of all the people standing around gawking at him like vultures. God damn it, call for an ambulance and for the police, she