I was still an officer of the law. Just jaded.
Chase’s exhale was tinged with frustration. “You almost died tonight, buddy. I mean shit, you looked great on camera coming out of the building holding that puppy.”
“Great. That was caught on camera already?”
“Everything in our lives just might be caught on camera. Hey, you’ve already been labeled a hero. I’ll be surprised if the mayor doesn’t give you a medal or something. But there’s now no doubt you’re protecting Ms. Sciascia.”
“Then I need to get her out of here.” My body ached from the horrific explosion. I’d been lucky to find the puppy still on the ground floor, hiding inside the apartment the furthest away from the blast. If not, there wasn’t a chance in hell I’d be standing here.
“Agreed.”
“I hope you managed to jump start Raven Intel.”
His chuckle was pretense only. “You might be surprised what I’ve already established. Plus, I’ve been making some calls. What do you have in mind?”
“It’s time to lay out a course of action for removing Mr. Worthington from office. It would be helpful to learn about his lifestyle. Bank accounts. Houses he owns. Friends. You get the drill.”
“Let me guess. You want it pronto.”
“The sooner the better.”
“You’re going to be a tough taskmaster. Aren’t you?”
Now I laughed. “I didn’t realize I’d been placed in charge.”
“Just for this mission, buddy. Just this one.”
Chase had a way of making me smile. At least someone could.
However, my entire body remained tense, I took a sip of my drink. In trying to think about what I could say to her, I’d come up with nothing that would put her mind at ease. This would be her home until something could be worked out, but that wouldn’t change what she’d seen or experienced.
“Another one of Delgado’s enemies, a bad dude who I don’t mind telling you got what he deserved was found washed up on the beach. Some guy from a restaurant found him. Or I should say parts of him.”
“Same method as our boy the Undertaker.”
“Word on the street is that he’s paving the road for the shipment coming in.”
At least I could laugh. “You mean competition.”
“Well, there are cartels in and around Miami considered more favorable to the Colombians. Nothing for you to worry about. That doesn’t lessen the danger. The entire DEA is on high alert with additional violence anticipated.”
“We shall see. Will the safehouse be available tomorrow?”
“Absolutely. The place is a little rough around the edges, but we can make it work,” Chase said. “I’ll send you details. Do you need them tonight?”
“Whenever. I’ll be offline for a while. We’re protected for tonight.”
“Just say the word and you’ll have additional security when needed. Offline because of the guest in your house? I hope you’re not planning on acting on your plan tonight.”
“The plan will wait until in the morning. Even I realize I need to play this very carefully. Valentina needs reassurance everything will be alright.” Maybe we both did.
“Understandable. One last thing. Gabriel called since you were busy. Would you believe James Worthington is having a press conference tomorrow?”
“The subject matter?”
“Our friend Jacob Jones. It would seem his office had been barraged with complaints and questions. I assume he wants to put them to rest. Gabe mentioned it came out of the blue.”
“Well, the man does enjoy grandstanding. Maybe he’s doing so because I’ve made the rounds with those very questions about what the fuck had happened.”
