Jay Waitkus

Official Site of the Author & Journalist

Excerpted from Dividing Line by Jay Waitkus

Chapter 1

EVEN before he picked up the phone, Jack Skye sensed that trouble was coming.

"Skye."

"Good morning, Jack. How was Caracas?"

"I didn't stay long enough to find out."

"Yes, I heard there was an incident. An explosion of some sort?"

 "Something like that."

"Were there any fatalities?"

"Just the ones we discussed."

"Good. Your money will be wired into your bank account this afternoon."

"Are you calling just to tell me that?"

"That and to congratulate you. On a job well done."

"Yeah, I can tell you're oozing sincerity. Or something."

"Suspicious as ever. I'm not one of your enemies, Jack."

"You're not one of my friends, either. And your platitudes are a goddamn bore. What do you want?"

"We need your help with another matter."

"I just unpacked."

"No luggage required. This one's in your own backyard."

"In violation of your sacred protocols?"

"Special exception."

"Why is that?'

"This just came up. We're in a pinch."

 "Not fucking likely. What's the real reason?"

"I'm telling you the truth."

"Sure you are," Jack said.

"We need surveillance on an abandoned warehouse."

"Which one?"

"The Lynx Building. On Rollins Street."

"I know it. What are you looking for?"

"It's mob-related."

"And?"

"That's it. The intel's not specific."

Jack laughed sarcastically.

"Is it ever?" he asked.

"So are you interested?"

"When would it be?"

"Tonight?"

"Nothing but surveillance, huh?"

"That's all there is to it."

That's never all there is to it, Jack told himself, before he agreed to go.

Chapter 23 

JACK wouldn't like it, but Lia didn't like being told to get out of town, even for her own "safety," as Jack had said about a million times that evening.

She was already well on her way to Newgate International Airport before it hit her; what the hell was she doing? Despite her growing distaste for the business, she and Jack had been through way too much to endure a long separation now. She was around for him when he started this war, she would damn well be there to help him finish it.

Then she got angry.

Who the hell was he to treat her like some goddamned five-year-old, anyway? After all, she'd saved his ass almost as many times as he'd saved hers.

And still he was trying to protect her.

Yeah, great speech, Lia, she thought. Now if you can just remember all the words after Jack hits the roof and starts bitching at you for not doing what he said...

Suddenly, there was a noise from the hall. A floorboard Lia had been meaning to get Jack to fix was creaking, as if someone was standing there, trying very, very hard not to make it creak.

Lia pulled her .38 and got behind the door. She could see the handle rattling, like whoever was there was attempting to pick the lock. After five heartbeats, the knob turned and the door opened a crack.

And then...nothing. Either the intruder had gone or was simply standing there, as unsure as Lia of what to do. She peered around the comer and looked out into the hall.

And someone grabbed her from behind!

Forcing her back inside the office, kicking the door closed behind them and covering Lia's mouth to prevent a scream, he took away her weapon and wrestled her to the floor, but Lia managed to get a look at his face. It was Sam Petrie, a low-level gun-for-hire based in Newgate  — and one of the few criminals who had actually survived an encounter with her and Jack.

It wasn't clear what his angle was — revenge, kidnaping, rape — maybe a little bit of all three. He pounced on top of Lia as she fell to the dingy wooden floor, then grabbed at her sweater, and her jeans, and her hair.

Lia fought back with everything she had, trying to put a knee into Petrie's family jewels, but he covered up well. Lia kicked at her attacker so hard that her shoe flew off and smashed the ventilation window above the door.

Petrie was laughing like he was having the time ofhis life, and he yanked Lia into a sitting position and bashed her in the face. She felt herself go numb as Petrie jumped back on top of her, this time grabbing her neck and lifting her head up, only to smash it back into the floor again and again.

He pulled Lia up to a stand and short-armed her, the force of that blow sending Lia sprawling over her desk, the phone, and pens and papers, and other debris joining her on the downward spiral. And like before, the bastard was on her, laughing and trying to tear at her clothes.

Lia reached behind her for something, anything, to get him off, but Petrie pinned her arms back and tried to kiss her.

She turned her head to one side and continued to resist, and Petrie pressed his mouth against her cheek, uttering some sort of perverse obscenity as he did. That itself inspired her to a second wind, and she screamed and pushed and pulled and kicked her way partially loose, but not enough, goddamnit!

Her attacker was so strong and bigger than she remembered, and she was rapidly losing air as he continued to punch and grab at her. Lia almost thought it was over, but the asshole got a little too confident and focused his attention on her jeans, trying to unbutton them, giving Lia's knee enough room to do some damage, and she caught him in the stomach.

Petrie winced, and Lia pushed him off and got up, trying to make a run for the window, but it wasn't even close. As he had in the hallway, Petrie caught her from behind and forced her back down.

This time though, Lia was able to put to the shoe she still wearing to use, spearing Petrie in the crotch with its pointed tip as he closed in.

I hope that leaves you sterile, she thought.

Petrie screamed in agony, but the blow didn't stop him; it spurred him on. He took a swipe toward Lia's leg, knocked her shoe off, then slammed her to the floor again.

Lia wasn't sure what she was feeling at the moment, except for fear, as she thrashed away with fingernails and arms and legs and bare feet. No matter what she did, though — no matter how many times she hit Petrie, or kicked him, he just kept coming.

And hitting back.

Before Lia knew it, it was over. As much from the energy she'd expended trying to stop the attack as from the attack itself, she found herself lying there amid the rubble, helpless.

Petrie wasn't laughing anymore. He looked wild-eyed, insane beyond all hope of turning back. If he'd come there to kidnap Lia, or to rape her, his plans had changed in the course of the struggle she'd put up. He was standing over her, methodically, yet somehow confused, almost like he was asking himself what he wanted to do next.

Then he decided.

He pulled out a gun and pointed it toward Lia's head. And suddenly she felt herself trembling like never before. He'd really lost control. He was squeezing the trigger!

Oh God, Jack!

Chapter 29

DOMINIC strode out of the elevator in the vast parking expanse beneath Vinnie's office building. He got into his Lincoln Town Car, strapped on his seatbelt, and turned his lights on. Before putting his key in the ignition, he took a quick glance into the rearview mirror above the dashboard.

When he did, his heart nearly stopped.

"Don't move," Jack told him from the backseat, raising his 9 mm so Dominic could see the weapon's reflection. "Give me your keys and your piece. Keep your hands where I can see them."

Dominic obeyed.

"Killin' me ain't gonna change nothin'," the mobster said.

"I'm not here to kill you," Jack replied.

"Then what do you —"

"I want you to give your boss a message. He's going to do something for me."

"Not fuckin' likely."

"We'll see. For now, just shut up and listen. My employers are aware of your organization's ties to Isla Gracia. Given what we know about your drug trade —"

"You don't know dick."

"I said shut the fuck up!" Jack exclaimed, leaning forward and pressing his gun against Dominic's temple, then squeezing the trigger a fraction of the way.

The mobster winced, and Jack smiled.

"Do I have your attention now?"

"Yeah, all right."

"You sure?"

Dominic nodded, and Jack eased off.

"Glad to hear it. As I was saying, my friends in the government find that whole relationship unsettling — Valdez, your boss, all that drug money being used for God knows what — it just isn't working for us. Not at all."

There was a pause.

"Can I talk now?" Dominic asked.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"What do you think we're gonna do for you?"

"You're going to remove Valdez. Permanently."

"And how do you figure —"

"We found out about your inside man. The FBI agent you murdered on Rollins Street gave us the intel before you took him out."

"I don't know what you're talkin' about. The way I heard it, it was a hitman who iced that Fed. Anybody could have hired him. And he sure as hell can't talk, can he? On account of you. And as far as us havin' an inside man in Isla Gracia goes — it's a mistake, pure and simple. Your guy got his information wrong. Nothin' more to it."

"Except that there is."

"You killed Vinnie's son," Dominic said. "You think we'll help you with anything?"

"You really don't get it, do you? This isn't a request for a favor. You created this problem for us, and now you're going to fix it. If you don't, then all of you are dead. Simple as that."

"Offin' every one of us ain't gonna be so simple."

"My people want Valdez gone. You're the means to that end. If I was you, I'd take it seriously. Then again, though, maybe you think you're above it all— that's pretty much how you live your lives, right? You probably need some incentive. Well, guess what? It's already in the works."

"What the hell is that supposed to mean?"

"Stay tuned," Jack said, opening the door and getting out. "And tell Vinnie not to worry. By the time I'm done, going after Valdez will be his top priority. He won't need me to coerce him anymore. It'll be a matter of common sense."

"What the fuck do you think you're gonna —"

"Meeting's over. Stay here for ten minutes. I suggest you take that seriously, too."

Jack tossed Dominic his keys, closed the door, and walked away. Dominic sat and waited. By the time he pulled out, Jack was gone.

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Dividing Line copyright © 2006 Jay Waitkus. All rights reserved. Cover image by NZ Graphics.