Darcy turned, nodding once before addressing the other officers. “You heard the captain. Let’s move.”
They filed into the conference room, where the case board was already covered in photographs—Chloe Harper, the gala venue, the black SUV that had disappeared into the night. In the center of it all was a new addition:Daniel Keeneand an empty placeholder for the contact he was supposed to meet.
Victoria grabbed a marker and underlined Keene’s name. “He’s our linchpin right now. He’s agreed to set up a meeting with the man who paid him, claiming there’s an issue with payment. This is our best shot at drawing someone out.”
She turned to Collins. “I want a controlled environment. We don’t know how cautious this contact is, but I don’t want to spook them before we even have eyes on them.”
Collins nodded, her arms crossed. “Keene suggested a parking lot behind an abandoned warehouse. Quiet enough to avoid attention but not abandoned enough to set off alarm bells.”
Victoria considered that. “It’s workable. Snipers on the rooftops?”
“Already working on it,” Collins confirmed. “We’ll have two sharpshooters positioned at opposite angles, full sightlines on Keene and the contact. Unmarked vehicles will be stationed on both exit routes to block them in if necessary.”
Victoria tapped the marker against her palm, thinking. “Undercover team?”
Collins smirked. “I assume you want Torres on this?”
Victoria’s grip tightened on the marker.
That was the problem with Collins. She noticedeverything.
“She’s the one who backed Keene into a confession,” Victoria said smoothly. “She understands his tells. If he starts to panic or shift his story, she’ll catch it before he blows the whole thing.”
Collins nodded, though there was something knowing in her expression that Victoria chose to ignore. “All right. Torres goes in as backup. I’ll put Sampson on comms, running surveillance from a nearby van.”
Victoria exhaled, satisfied. This was what she needed. A plan. A structure.Control.
The case was taking shape. The pieces were falling into place. Now she just had to make sure that nothing—and no one—knocked them off course.
Victoria adjusted the earpiece in her ear as she parked the SUV a block away from the warehouse. The meeting was supposed to happen in the abandoned lot just beyond it, but something feltoff.
The whole area was too quiet.
She scanned the perimeter as Isabel climbed out of the passenger seat, stretching her arms slightly, her movements easy and unconcerned—as if she wasn’t about to step into a potential trap.
Victoria frowned. “Something’s wrong.”
Isabel smirked, resting a hand on her hip. “You always this optimistic?”
Victoria shot her a look, but Isabel just shrugged. “Relax, Cap. That’s what we have backup for.”
“I don’t rely on backup. I rely on my own damned judgment,” Victoria muttered, her eyes still sweeping the scene.
Isabel sighed dramatically. “And yet, here we are. Together. At an abandoned warehouse. Alone. If I didn’t know better, I’d think you were trying to get me alone in a dark, secluded?—”
Victoria turned sharply. “Torres.”
Isabel grinned. “I’m just saying, there are easier ways to?—”
“Move.”
Isabel chuckled but obeyed, stepping up to the warehouse’s rusted metal door. She pressed her back against the wall beside it, her playful demeanor shifting as she scanned the area with sharp, practiced eyes. “All right. What’s the play?”
Victoria took a steady breath.Focus. Not on Torres. Not on whatever the hell was brewing between them.“Keene’s supposed to make contact here. We’re early. Let’s sweep the perimeter before committing to entry.”
Isabel nodded, unholstering her weapon. “Lead the way,Captain.”
Victoria ignored the way that title rolled off Isabel’s tongue—too familiar, too teasing, too…something—and took the lead, moving cautiously along the edge of the warehouse. The air was thick with dust and the scent of rusting metal, the distant hum of the city feeling miles away.
