Read Online The Beautiful and the Wicked by Liv Spector - Free Book Online

at the time. It was getting close to noon, which meant she needed to settle on a concrete plan to get Nicky to give up her spot on the yacht.
    As she watched Nicky walk her quick, nervous walk across the 7-­Eleven parking lot to her car, she decided that she’d need to go with her fallback plan—­offer Nicky fifty grand to get lost, so Lila could assume her identity and board The Rising Tide . The plan had its holes, for sure. It could leave too many loose ends, especially once Jack’s murder took place and the police got involved. Once the murder made international news, the real Nicky Collins might come out of the woodwork and tell the press or, even worse, the police that a strange woman had paid to be on the yacht in her place. That was a complication Lila would much rather avoid. But if it was the only option open to her, Lila would take it and deal with the consequences.
    Just as Teddy had said, the rain finally began to let up a little before noon as Lila tailed Nicky down the South Dixie Highway. The black BMW got off at the Kendall exit, heading into the mostly Colombian section of town. When Nicky pulled up in front of a small, aluminum-­sided house with a black El Dorado in the driveway, Lila couldn’t believe her good luck.
    â€œNo shit,” she muttered as she pulled her own car over, a few houses down. She watched Nicky grab the duffel bag and enter the house through the side door without bothering to knock. Clearly, she was expected.
    Grabbing her gun from the metal briefcase, Lila got out of the car and swiftly ran down the street toward the humble ranch house she knew so well. In 2009, a few months after this very moment, Detective Lila Day would take part in a raid on this house. The police would seize 33.17 kilos of cocaine, 10.09 kilos of heroin, and enough weapons and ammunition to take down a small city—­all of it belonging to the extremely dangerous and powerful Colombian Cali cartel. It would be one of the most heralded moments of Lila’s already stellar police career.
    â€œWhat are you mixed up in, Nicky?” Lila wondered as she made her way to the back of the house. She quickly ducked next to a window; then with her gun drawn, peeked inside. There she saw the man she recognized as Fernando Henao, a foot soldier for the Cali cartel, standing in the kitchen with Nicky. Two duffel bags sat on the table between them. Lila ducked back down. She went around, looking in all the windows, careful not to be detected.
    She couldn’t believe her luck. Just when she was worrying about how to get rid of Nicky, the perfect out presented itself to her. It was so good it should’ve been wrapped in a red, shiny bow. Once Lila confirmed that Fernando and Nicky were in the house alone, she knew just what to do.
    She kicked in the side door to the kitchen. “Freeze! Police!” she shouted, trying to hide the delight on her face.
    Fernando lunged for his gun as Nicky reflexively crouched under the table. Lila aimed and fired right where Fernando’s hand was reaching, making him jump back. Nicky’s scream came out from underneath the table.
    â€œHands on your head!” Lila shouted, but Fernando didn’t move. “I said now !” she yelled, pointing her gun right in his face.
    Lila bent down to see Nicky shivering under the table. “Nicky, you can come out from under there,” she said, consciously sweetening her tone. “Here,” she said, reaching the hand that didn’t have the gun out to her, “let me help you up.”
    Nicky took Lila’s hand, eyeing her cautiously. She had no idea why this stranger with a gun was being so nice. Once she got to her feet, Lila said, “Nicky, is this the man you’ve identified to police as Fernando Henao?”
    â€œWhat?” Nicky said, her eyes wide with confusion, her breath coming in rapid gulps. “What are you talking about?”
    â€œCut the shit,