“Yes.”
Thane takes a deep breath, also clearly affected. Oh, damn. These two have definitely,definitelybanged. I shoot a look over to Odd, and his returning eyebrow confirms it.
Don’t say anything stupid, Anders. Don’t do it. And definitely don’t imagine the logistics of a monster like Thane putting it to this pretty man on the screen.
Ronan continues, his voice sharpening. “He didn’t seem overly concerned with the fate of the sex workers, even though two of them were under the age of twenty.”
The mood in the room shifts again. It’s important to take down a dangerous organization, but to do that at the sacrifice of someone else’s life… It pings every protector instinct in every person in this room.
DB steps in. “Okay, Ronan. We’re going to be making some decisions pretty quickly tonight. You’re in Lufkin right now?”
“Yeah. At the Motel 6.”
“Okay. The team on the ground will contact you when the job is done and rendezvous with you then. Keep your head on swivel. You’ll be hearing from us soon.”
Ronan’s jaw tightens as he looks over at Thane. “Don’t fuck me over with this, T.”
Thane shakes his head. “I won’t.”
DB closes out the window, ending the call.
“All right. We have verification of Jake’s findings. Let’s see what Wimberley’s up to.”
With that, DB pulls up another number and hits Send. A few seconds later, a familiar face fills the screen on the wall. My boss, Dr. Hedy Villarreal, is a gorgeous woman with generous proportions, long, wavy hair, cute-as-fuck freckles, and a mind like a steel trap.
“DB! What a surprise! Thane, it’s been a minute.”
“Hey, Hedy,” he says warmly. “You’re on video with the team.”
“Hey, y’all,” she says with a bright smile. Creasing her brows, she continues. “You don’t look too happy, DB. What’s going on?”
He keeps it simple. “Joshua Tremaine.”
“Ugh. Psycho Howdy Doody. I’ve been trying like hell to make Tremaine the FBI’s problem, but I doubt that’s going to turn out the way I’m hoping.”
DB shakes his head. “Unfortunately, you might be right. You hear what’s been going on behind the Pine Curtain?”
“That Ronan guy still trying to pin those killings on Tremaine’s cousin and his buddy? The ones who turned state’s evidence?”
“How did you—”
Hedy cuts him off with a look. “By the way, if you don’t put Ronan on your team, he’s mine.”
Hedy’s a profiler of sorts and a damn fine recruiter for the Wimberley group. She’s recommending Ronan?
Curiouser and curiouser.
Thane looks distressed, and DB huffs out a breath.
“Duly noted.”
“Gimme a sec,” she says, already moving on. “Pulling up Ronan’s latest files.”
Her intelligent eyes scan the computer screen, and she shakes her head. “Looks like he got the evidence he needed, but his boss told him to stand down.”
DB doesn’t ask her how she got all of that information, which is smart. The truth would probably hurt his feelings.
She pushes her glasses to the top of her head, rubbing her eyes. “DB, tell you what. Why don’t we coordinate. What were your plans?”
