Raider’s gut churned. The picture of little Hathai wouldn’t leave his mind. He had to find her and the other kids. “I have to go back in. If we’re going to find that shipment of girls, I have to find the destination of that cargo hold. It could be any port in the country.” It appeared that Eddie’s businesses were all over the world, so there was no way to guess. Eddie was excellent at keeping his hands clean while others did the dirty work.
“This is a bad idea,” Brigid protested, her voice rising.
“Yeah,” he agreed. “We don’t have any other options. Eddie might trust me, he might not—either way, he’ll let me back in. The question is what to do at that point. You’re going to have to send me explicit directions about what to do with the master computer, Brigid. We can pick up another flash drive on the way to Eddie’s.”
Wolfe sipped his drink. “There’s no way you’re going to have the opportunity to use another flash drive without them noticing. It’s a miracle it worked the first time.”
Raider’s chest heaved and reality settled in. “I know.” Thinking as rapidly as his pounding brain would allow, he started laying out the plan. “Here’s our only chance. I’ll call Eddie and arrange to meet for a late dinner or drink.” No matter which way he looked at it, there was no way he wouldn’t get shot.
Chapter Thirty-Eight
Brigid’s restlessness was going to make her brain explode. After talking to Raider, she’d taken a short nap and then worked all day, even collaborating with Dana on the angle with Senator Tyson. They sat at the conference table, with Nari at the end, her heels up on the table, a file in her hand. “That senator is a jackass.”
Brigid looked up. “Can you believe he’s running for president?”
Dana pushed papers across the table. “Oh, he’s never making it to president. We’re taking him down first.”
That was a nice thought. Brigid yawned. Her stomach rumbled.
Nari perked up and slid the glasses up her forehead. “Hey. How about we go grab dinner? Raider and Wolfe aren’t in play for a couple of hours, and we could use a break. There’s a sports bar and restaurant just five miles down the road.”
“Sounds good.” Dana shoved the copy of the journal away from her. She grinned. “No government unit has ever trusted me, or any reporter, this much.”
Brigid snorted. “We’re not your average governmental unit.”
“That’s the truth.” Nari laughed. “Hey. Why don’t we pretend, just for two hours, that we’re not in a unit? We can’t get anything accomplished until Raider goes in, so let’s just take a couple of hours off.”
The idea sounded lovely, but Brigid couldn’t get rid of the empty feeling in her stomach about Raider. Yet she did need dinner. “You sure you’re not mad at me?”
“Nope. I totally get it,” Nari murmured.
Well, that was fair. Brigid relaxed a fraction. “Why don’t we call Pippa and see if she wants to join us? Girls’ night out. Well, girls’ two hours out.”
“Good idea,” Nari said. “That way Malcolm can go check on Angus. The stubborn ass finally went home an hour ago when the doctor gave him the choice of home or another ambulance. Can you believe him?” She slipped into a light-colored leather jacket and clip-clopped from the room.
Dana grinned. “Maybe there can be girl talk. What is going on between those two, anyway?”
Brigid rubbed her chin. “I’m not sure. Either they truly don’t like each other, which is possible, or sexual attraction is making them crazy. I can’t decide.” She stood and headed for the door. “I’ll drive because I won’t drink anything. I’m tired, and I need to be as clearheaded as possible the second Raider gets the additional information.” Because he would. He had to succeed and live through this.
“Excellent. I could use a glass of wine,” Dana said, her blond hair up in a ponytail as she worked.
Wine might help, since Brigid planned to grill the reporter, just a mite, about Wolfe.
“Pippa is in,” Nari said, shutting off the light in her office. “Malcolm will drop her off and then take dinner to Angus and make sure he’s still alive. Win-win.”
Brigid smiled, but a part of her wanted to curl up in a chair and sleep for an hour. Or just sit there and worry about Raider. They had so much to talk about, and she hated the plan for the night. But what other choice did they have? Being one of the good guys kind of sucked sometimes, especially when most of the other good guys thought she was a bad guy.
The drive was made in silence, and they’d just been seated at a nice booth in the back of the comfortable sports bar, which had mounted televisions everywhere showing different sporting games, when Pippa appeared.
“Hi.” She sat next to Brigid. “We were already on the way to see Angus when you called. I’m starving.” The brunette’s hair fell in natural waves to her shoulders, and her eyes sparkled. She’d dressed in jeans, flowy shirt, and denim jacket.
“How are you?” Nari asked.
“Great,” Pippa said. “Not having a cult chasing me has really eased my anxiety.” Her soft chuckle was contagious. “I still don’t love crowds or loud places, but who does?”
It was nice to see the woman out and about. They ordered drinks, wine for everyone but Brigid. She ordered a hot chocolate. Might as well splurge.
“So,” Nari said, sipping a rich-looking merlot. “No shoptalk. Only girl talk.”
