Cole felt guilty about the sheer look of panic that bled into Noah’s expression, but he needed him to be afraid because if he was scared, he was more likely to tell them who he was working for.Beforethey made a second attempt on Maya’s life.
“Is she…” He swallowed then tried again. “Is she okay?” The tremble in his voice made Cole a little less hostile to the man. It was hard to hate anyone who cared that much about his mate, no matter what they were guilty of. Too bad he hadn’t cared enough to keep Maya well away from things before they got dangerous.
“She’ll live,” Cole hedged.
Noah’s shoulders sagged with relief. “Thank God. Where is she?”
“She’s staying with a friend.”
Noah’s eyes widened. “You’ve got to keep an eye on her, put her in a safe house or something. I know my sister. She’s proud and stubborn. She’ll go back home and then she’ll be in danger.”
“Oh?” Cole said, his brow scrunched. “Why would she be in danger? I thought you said that you thought up the kidnap plan, and that there was no one else involved but your friends. So, who would she be in danger from?”
Noah pulled his bottom lip into his mouth. “I…”
“Look, cut the crap, Noah. We both know you didn’t have the mental capacity to dream up and execute a plan like that, so tell us who you’re working for before your sister gets another visit—a visit that she might not recover from.”
Noah’s breath hitched, then he nodded his agreement. “Okay, I’ll tell you everything, just promise that you’ll look after my sister and make sure she’s safe.”
Cole nodded. “That I can promise you.”
Ten minutes later, he strode into the office he shared with his team. “I’ve got it,” he said, grinning triumphantly.
Flint got to his feet. “You know who those idiots work for?”
Cole nodded. “Sure do. Tony Sloan and his band of merry men.”
“I knew it!” Ice said. He turned to Kit. “Didn’t I say it would be him?”
Kit rolled her eyes. “Only because Flint said he was one of the potential suspects.”
Flint had interviewed the man who had broken into Maya’s condo and they’d gathered a list of known associates. Tony Sloan had been on that list. He owned a club in one of the rougher parts of the city that was a known gambling den, but neither the police nor the FBI had been able to find any concrete evidence of their illegal activities. He ruled by fear, so no one who worked for him or his organization had ever come forward. Until now.
“We got enough to arrest him?” Flint asked.
Cole nodded. “Yeah. He’ll need one hell of a lawyer to get him out of this shit storm.”
Hawk frowned. “And Danvers just gave it all up without you having to pull it out of him.”
“Yeah, he was tight-lipped at first until I told him his sister got a visit from a thug last night, then the dude sang like a canary.”
Nash spluttered a laugh. “You do realize people don’t actually say that in real life, right?”
“Gray does, apparently,” Ice chimed in.
Cole rolled his eyes. “Yeah, yeah. So, what’s the plan?”
“We hit his club tonight,” Flint said. “Strike while the iron is hot. Full team. We’ll go in right in the middle of their busiest time and close the place down.”
“Are you sure he’ll be there?” Kit asked.
Flint nodded. “Tony wouldn’t miss the chance to play the big man on a Saturday night. He likes to be front and center where everyone can see him.”
“What time do you want to do this?” Cole asked.
“We’ll leave here at ten. Everyone be ready. Full gear. I’ll see if I can get another team to assist, if not, I might have to ask the PD to come and play back up.”
“They’ll love that,” Kit said.
