The men sat in the brown leather chairs opposite Chase, Bran stretching out his long legs. “Knox Winston’s been on our watch list for years,” Zach Tanner began. “Unfortunately, we’ve never been able to connect him directly to smuggling, or gather enough evidence to end his distribution network. If we can find out who he’s connected with in Colombia, we might be able to bring him down.”
“No one deserves it more,” Chase said.
“The DEA needs proof,” Bran said. “The question is would you be willing to help?”
“Winston belongs in prison. Anything I can do to make that happen works for me.”
Tanner smiled, but his brother’s grin was missing, which put Chase on alert. “What are you two not telling me?”
“Zach thinks Harper could be the key to bringing Winston down,” Bran said.
“I understand Winston’s daughter came to you for help finding her brother.”
“That’s right.”
“The two of you traveled to Colombia together. You found Michael and helped his sister bring him home. That puts her in your debt.”
He didn’t like the direction the conversation was taking. “And you want me to do...what, exactly?”
“Continue your...friendship,” Tanner said. “Use her to get close to Winston.”
Chase shook his head. “No way. I’m not dragging Harper into this. As far as I can tell, she has no idea the kind of enterprise her father runs. She’s got her own life, her own career. Aside from Winston being her sire, she has very little to do with him.”
“Just hear me out,” Zach said.
“I’m sorry. I’ll do what I can, but leave Harper out of it.”
Bran rose from his chair, leaned forward and braced his hands on the desk. “I know you have feelings for Harper, but you got into law enforcement to catch bad guys. I know that hasn’t changed.” He straightened. “You remember that guy you busted down in Old East Dallas, Ray Martinez? The guy pimping the underage girl?”
“I remember him. Far as I know, he’s still in jail. What’s Martinez got to do with this?”
“Martinez isn’t just a pimp, he’s a dealer,” Zach said. “He gets his product from a guy named Perry Speers. Speers is part of a supply chain with links all over Texas and Louisiana. We think the man smuggling the drugs into the country and selling them to Speers is Knox Winston.”
Chase swore softly.
Bran sat back down in his chair. “Winston’s annual birthday gala is coming up on Saturday. Harper’s father will undoubtedly expect her to be there. If you could get her to invite you—”
“First, Harper and I aren’t seeing each other anymore,” Chase said. “And even if we were, how does my going to the party solve your problem?”
Tanner stood up. “Give me a second and I’ll show you.” He left the office and came back a few minutes later carrying a brown paper sack. Reaching into the bag, he pulled out a tall silver box.
“Winston drinks single malt scotch,” Tanner said. “He won’t be able to resist this.” He opened the cardboard lid, took out the contents and held it up. “This is twenty-five-year-old Dalmore single malt.” He set the beautiful glass bottle on the desk. “Retails for nine hundred dollars.”
“It’s your birthday gift,” Brandon explained. “You’re there with his daughter, right? For Harper’s sake, you’re making a conciliatory gesture, trying to smooth things over between you and her dad.”
“What’s so special about this particular bottle?”
“It’s bugged,” Tanner said. “See that silver stag’s head on the front? It’s been hollowed out. There’s a minuscule transmitter inside. Extremely powerful. Once the bottle is sitting on the bar in Winston’s study, we can listen to every phone conversation, anything he says during meetings he might have. We’ll know exactly who he’s talking to and what’s being said, and be able to record it all.”
Chase mulled it over, feeling like a traitor for even considering it.
Brandon rose again, paced away from the desk and back. “We can nail the bastard, Chase. After all these years. You get that bug into his study, the DEA can find out who he’s working with. They’ll have enough proof for a search warrant. That could turn up something even more useful.”
“We get evidence on one of his subordinates,” Tanner added, “we can get them to roll on Winston.”
He didn’t want to do it. In the back of his mind, he still imagined spending time with Harper, exploring their relationship to see where it might lead. If he used her to go after her father, it would be over for good.
Chase walked around his desk to join the other two men. “This isn’t an easy decision. I need time to think about it.”
