“I told him he was mistaken and that I didn’t have a piece like that.He got close and told me I’d better rethink my answer, so I cocked the sawed-off I’ve got stashed under the counter.He decided to leave after that.”
“Anything else?”
She sighed.“Yeah, he said he’d come back for a visit with his brothers.”
“God, Mia,” Zeke said.“Why wouldn’t you report something like that?”
“Because I can take care of myself,” she said, whirling on Zeke.“I was a cop, remember?How would reporting it have changed anything?”
“And now you’ve got a target on your back.”
“They did what they came to do,” she said.“They destroyed and still didn’t find what they were looking for.There’s no reason for them to come back here.But they might target other pawnshops in the area if their intel tells them that’s where the music box ended up.”
She looked directly at Zeke when she said it, watching his face for any reaction.But he’d always been good at keeping his expression neutral when he needed to.
“We’ll put an alert out to all the surrounding areas,” Blaze said.“We’ll get in and out of here quickly so you can get the insurance company in and start going through your inventory.”
“What’s left of it,” she said, looking around at the shambles of a room.
“I’ll grab Levi and Hank and we’ll come back and put in a makeshift door with a sturdy deadbolt,” Ryder said, speaking of his brother and his cousin who owned a construction company.“At least it’ll deter anyone wanting to snoop or help themselves to what’s available.”
“I’d appreciate it,” she said.“This is definitely going to put a dent in my new parking lot fund.”
“I can call in a couple of favors,” Zeke said.“I’ve got men at the DEA office that are twiddling their thumbs, waiting for a big case to drop.They can set up a patrol in the area and keep an eye out to make sure you don’t get another visit.”
Mia’s head snapped up.“Your men?So thisisDEA business?”Her voice was dangerously quiet.She looked from Zeke to Blaze.“You want to tell me what operation I just got caught in the middle of?”
Blaze’s expression didn’t change, but she saw the slight tension in his jaw.That told her everything she needed to know.
“Not here,” Zeke said.“Not now.”
“Are you kidding me,” Mia said, her voice rising.“My shop just got destroyed by a biker gang looking for something specific.Something you showed up asking about the same day.”She turned to Blaze.“And you knew about this.Don’t even try to deny it.DEA doesn’t run operations without briefing local law enforcement.”
Blaze’s silence was answer enough.
“So let me get this straight,” Mia continued, her fury building.“Both of you knew I was in the middle of whatever this is, and neither one of you thought to give me a heads-up?I was a cop, for God’s sake.You don’t think I could have handled knowing?”
Ryder and Lane had gone very still, clearly uncomfortable witnessing this confrontation.
“Mia—” Blaze started.
“No.Don’t.”She held up a hand.“I trusted you.Both of you.”She looked at Blaze.“I thought we were friends.”
“We are,” Blaze said quietly.“And that’s exactly why I couldn’t say anything.If you’d known, you’d have been in even more danger.Your reactions had to be genuine.”
“Don’t give me that tactical justification,” Mia snapped.“You could have warned me to be careful.You could have told me to watch my back.Instead you let me walk around blind while bikers were targeting my shop.”
“She’s right,” Zeke said, surprising everyone.“We should have handled it differently.”
Mia’s eyes narrowed at Zeke.“Don’t think that gets you off the hook.You used me.That’s what this is, isn’t it?You needed someone with a pawnshop, someone you could manipulate, and here I was.Convenient.”
“It’s not like that?—”
“Then what’s it like, Zeke?Because from where I’m standing, you showed up here with your pretty words about retiring and wanting me back, and all along you were working an angle.”
The hurt in her voice cut deeper than the anger, and Zeke flinched.
“We’ll coordinate with the surrounding departments and set up checkpoints and hotspots,” Blaze said, clearly trying to defuse the situation.“The problem with the Vaqueros is their clubhouses are in the mountains.We might not see them for weeks.Or until they need supplies.”
