“The EMTs weren’t given a name, and as far as they knew, he was just one of Lee’s people injured in the raid. They definitely didn’t know he was the informant. And they couldn’t check his wallet for an ID, since I made sure I took it before they left. I wanted him admitted to the hospital as a John Doe in case Lee tried to come after him again.”
Russo looked at each of them, sweat beading on his brow. “Then I must have heard it over the SWAT radio. Simple mistake.”
“This operation has been on radio lockdown from the start. No one announced anything over the radio,” Drew said.
Russo eyes narrowed. “Look, I heard it over one of the radio channels that Roth was the informant. Why the hell does it matter where I heard it since it’s true?”
“Because if we’re right, and you didn’t hear about Roth over the radio, the only way you could have known he was the informant is if someone else told you.” Remy crossed his arms over his chest. “Someone like Aaron Lee or Shelton Quinn.”
Russo looked startled for a minute, then let out a snort. “Right. I’ve been in contact with Lee and his muscle-headed bodyguard because I desperately wanted them to know one of their own people was ratting them out to the cops.”
Out of the corner of his eye, Remy saw Brooks shake his head again, letting him know the lawyer was still full of shit.
“Actually, I think that’s exactly what’s going on here,” Remy said. “I’m sure Lee was thrilled when you passed along Captain Barron’s comments about the informant being in his organization for three years. That must have made it pretty damn easy for Lee to figure out who it was.”
“That’s crazy!” Russo shouted, looking around at each of them as if he expected someone to help him. “You can’t think that I would do something like that.”
Remy shrugged. “We might not, but the investigators at the PIB certainly will, especially when I tell them what Roth whispered in my ear right before he passed out.”
Russo’s eyes stopped darting around to focus on Remy. “No one said anything about Roth making a statement. What did he say?”
Remy knew he was taking a chance lying like this, but he also knew the ADA was about to lose it. The man’s pulse must have been pinging up around 150 beats a minute.
“We didn’t say anything earlier because, honestly, we didn’t really understand what he meant at the time,” Remy said. “I mean, who wouldn’t be confused when a guy in that much pain grabs your tactical vest and rasps out, It’s the lawyer? Of course, now that you slipped up and established your connection to Lee, it makes so much more sense. I’m sure the PIB will agree. They’re going to dig through your life with a microscope until they find the link between you and Lee.”
Russo’s eye widened as Lorenzo pulled his cuffs out. “No way.” He held up both hands as if warding them off. “No way is the PIB going to make a case against me based on the dying declaration of a con like Roth.”
“Probably not,” Remy agreed. “But they’ll certainly base it on the dying declaration of a police officer who spent the past few years undercover so he could get close to Lee.”
Russo turned so pale Remy through the man was going to pass out. “Roth is a cop?”
Remy nodded as Lorenzo walked around behind Russo and put a heavy hand on his shoulder. “Yup. And I wouldn’t pin too much hope on Roth not making it. He seems pretty tough to me. Not that it’s going to matter to you. Whether it’s conspiracy to murder a police officer or the actual murder itself, both will get you a needle in the arm.”
As Remy suspected, Russo immediately spilled his guts the moment Lorenzo slapped the cuffs on him, saying he’d only helped Lee because the man had threatened him, that he would testify against Lee in court, and that he never would have gone along with the situation if he’d known Roth was a cop.
Remy didn’t pay attention to the rest as Lorenzo and several of the local SWAT officers took the former ADA away. He’d stopped caring about Russo the moment he confessed. Now that they’d exposed the department’s rat, he went back to worrying about Triana and wondering where she was. He pondered for a second if Russo might know something but dismissed that idea as ridiculous. Lee had used Russo. He sure as hell wouldn’t tell the lawyer anything that might come back to hurt him. If Remy was going to find Triana, it was going to have to be by some other way—like a frigging miracle.
When his phone rang a few minutes later, Remy yanked it out so fast the threads on his pocket tore. He prayed it was Triana, but he didn’t recognize the number. He thumbed the green button and held it to his ear. He’d been hoping for a miracle. Maybe this was it.
“Remy, thank God you answered,” Gemma said. “I was worried I wouldn’t be able to reach you with the storm. I need your help.”
His heart sank. Damn. Gemma must have realized Triana was missing and was freaking out. What the hell was he going to tell her? “I’m a little busy right now, Gemma.”
The moment Remy said her name, Max, Brooks, and Zane all turned to look his way. Remy considered keeping the truth from Triana’s mother, thinking it would be easier on her. Gemma’s husband had been violently murdered two years ago. She’d never be able to handle another blow this big.
But he couldn’t do that. Not to Triana’s mother.
“Gemma, I don’t know how to tell you this, but we think Triana has been kidnapped.”
Remy expected Gemma to immediately break down crying, but instead the older woman sighed.
“I know that already,” she said. “Why do you think I called you? I know who has her and where she is. I need you and your friends to get her back for me.”
Remy did a double take. Triana’s mother knew she’d been kidnapped? His pack mates were clearly just as shocked if the way they moved closer was any indication. With their exceptional hearing, they’d obviously heard what Gemma said, even from as far away as they’d been standing.
“What do you mean, you know who has her?” he asked carefully, not wanting to imply that she didn’t have a clue how bad this really was. “How could you know who has her? She was only kidnapped barely more than an hour ago.”
Gemma snorted. “Because the people who took her called me wanting to make a trade.”
