Anders stifles a smile, which is rare, and answers evenly. “I’m palpating to make sure none of his facial bones are broken.”
“And?”
Anders winks at Ronan, a purposeful move. I’m certain Thane sees if the frustrated huff is any indication. It’s—and I’d never admit this aloud—kinda fun watching Anders wind up someone else for a change.
“He’s in perfect working order; nothing a bag of frozen peas can’t make better.”
DB takes the phone back. “Okay, now that everyone has put on a shirt and been examined properly, can we get back to the larger issue at hand?”
We all answer in the affirmative, and DB continues. “Ronan, if you’re there, I’m assuming that you have information on the two informants we took care of this morning?”
Ronan hangs his head and gives a short, sharp nod. “Yeah, it was a double cross.”
“We’ve already figured that out. Did they get any mission-critical data from you before meeting their untimely demises?”
“No. I came out here once a month to check on them, always kept it professional. Started staying out here for longer stints when I suspected they were going after sex workers, but I got pulled off it last month. As you know,” Ronan answers, his eyes downcast.
“Ro,” Thane says softly. “No one blames you for not knowing what they were up to. That wasn’t your job. Hell, you were the only one who put it together that they were killing people. Tell us, who gave you that shiner?”
“Local FBI contact. Confronted me in my hotel room after Anders texted me. The cousin hadn’t checked in, and they wanted to know what I knew.”
DB rubs his face. “Did you give them any information?”
Ronan shakes his head. “No. It was really suspect. This particular agent had never been my contact, and the timing made me suspicious. When I declined to give an update, he got rough.”
There’s a sound like cracking knuckles and an angry grunt.
Ronan grips the back of his head, eyes worried. “So, now there’s a dead mole in the Lufkin Motel 6 that I have to figure out. I don’t trust the government comms, ’cause who knows who else is compromised, so I smashed it all and made my way over here through the woods.”
Jake asks for the phone, his expression tight. “Ronan, you were using government equipment when we talked about the guys going to Lufkin, right?”
All the color drains from Ronan’s face. “Y-yeah. You said—”
Jake holds up his hand. “You didn’t do anything wrong. This one’s on me.” He turns to DB. “Sorry, boss. Was just thinking it was an easy hack because I’m familiar with the systems. Now that we have confirmation there was someone on the inside, we have to assume they’re checking everything, and that conversation is just waiting for someone to find it.”
His pause makes my stomach knot with the realization of what he’s trying to say. I scratch my beard and look at Anders, who is looking out the window toward his parents’ house.
For Anders’ sake, I keep my voice calm. “So, when you say Tremaine slipped past the Wimberley crew in Shreveport, you mean he’s coming here.”
Anders cracks his neck, turning to look right into the camera. “I can handle that asshole.”
DB comes back on the line. “If I thought he was putting his own skin in the game, I’d be all for it. If anyone’s going to Lufkin, it’ll be his private goon squad.”
“So, add a few more guys and make it a fair fight,” Anders says, heated. I try to get his attention, but his eyes avoid mine.
“Look, not to knock your ability to kill someone, but you’re going to grab your parents and get the hell out of there. We don’t know what kind of crew or firepower he’s working with, but they got one over on the Wimberley team, and that kind of hand-to-hand work is their specialty.”
Anders looks like he wants to protest, but DB shifts the phone so we can see Thane, Odd, Everett, and Rafi in what looks to be a very nice private jet.
“Guys, here’s the thing. We have no idea where they are or what their plans are. Jake did a search for your parents’ property and names, and they’ve not come up, so this is all just conjecture.”
Anders shakes his head. “It’s just…this was supposed to be a simple op.”
DB answers, not unkindly, “And now it’s not. So now we work the problem in front of us.”
I remember we haven’t yet given DB the full report. “Okay, but there’s a wrinkle.”
DB sighs again. “Of course there is. Tell me fast.”
