“Shit.” Cole went after her.
Andi was almost six feet tall, lean, and extremely well-trained. She didn’t put up with shit from anyone and could take down most men with her bare hands. What influenced her most in this instance was the fact she was a mother.
She yanked open the door to the interview room and stomped toward Kimball.
His eyes widened, and he tried to scramble back in his chair. “What are you—”
Andi smacked her palms against his chest, fisted her hands into the front of his shirt, and jerked him up from the chair. His chains rattled when she slammed his back against the wall.
“Where are they?” When he didn’t answer fast enough, she drew back her arm and slammed her forearm across his head. “Where are those kids being taken?”
Kimball blinked a few times, and blood oozed from his ear and the cut on the bridge of his broken nose. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”
“Wrong answer.” Cole crossed his arms, leaned one shoulder against the wall, and let Andi do her thing.
“You don’t know what I’m talking about? Well, that’s ashame.” On the last word, she kneed him in the crotch.
Kimball squealed like a pig, his face turned beet-red, and he dropped to his knees on the floor. He grabbed his junk, tipped over, drew his knees to his chest, and tried to suck in air.
Andi squatted down next to him, pinched his broken nose between her fingers and twisted.
“Owwww!” Kimball wailed.
“I sure hope your girlfriend has the answers we want.” Andi torqued on his nose one more time, released it, then wiped the blood from her fingers onto his shirt. “This guy is useless.”
She put her hands on her knees, pushed up to stand, and tugged her phone from her pocket. She opened the camera, took a picture of Kimball, and left him lying on the floor—a whimpering, crying mess.
Cole looked down at him and shook his head.
“She really hates liars.” He slipped his phone from his back pocket as he walked out the door, scrolled to Jeffrey Burke’s number, and tapped the screen.
The phone rang five times, and Cole was expecting to get his voicemail when he answered.
“This better be good.” His former boss’s voice was rough from being awakened in the middle of the night.
“It is.” He spent a few minutes bringing him up to speed on the situation.
Burke already knew about the list, but Cole told him about Kimball going after Charlotte, how the HRA appeared to be trafficking unaccompanied minors, and that Pennington’s assistant was deeply involved.
“Hang on.” There was a kissing sound and the rustle of blankets in the background. “Everything’s fine, baby. Go back to sleep.”
“I’m sorry for waking up Maya,” Cole said.
“My wife, better than most, understands it’s part of the job,” he whispered, and a door quietly closed.
Burke and his wife, a former MI6 agent, had a long history and not all of it pleasant. But things were great between them now, and Jeffrey had a teenage daughter he knew nothing about until recently.
“There’s a guy named Leonard Everett, owns a transportation company. He and Kimball go way back.” Cole told him about the contract with HRA. “Luna did some more digging on the guy, and according to his bank records, his revenue has increased dramatically since he signed that contract.”
“That’s one hell of a coincidence,” Burke said. “What do you need from me?”
“Andi flew in earlier and tried questioning Kimball.” He rubbed the back of his neck. “Dumbass refused to cooperate and—”
“I take it things didn’t end well for him?” Jeffrey knew Andi better than most.
He’d recruited her right out of college to come work for him at the NSA. Burke was more than just a former boss and mentor to her—he was part of the family.
“Let’s just say his nose will never be the same, and there’s a pretty good chance he may never procreate.” Which was probably for the best, considering what a piece of shit the guy was. “Pennington’s personal assistant was the one who placed the tracker, so we pulled her in. Andi’s questioning her now. Once she’s done, we’ll need to do something with her and Kimball.”
