Andrews exhales, layering the whooshing air with a thoughtful hum. “People tend to remove their name tags after they clock out or when they get into their car to drive home. Makes me wonder if they grabbed her at work.”
“Taking her right when she walks off the fucking table or the boat?” Luke sails out a protracted whistle. “Big ol’ brass balls on these fuckers.”
The more this situation unfolds, the harder it is to keep that ward of protection around my senses. That fucking mist is swirling over my head like a damn storm cloud.
I’m never sending Lila back to Oak Winds.Never.
Warren must know where my mind went, because his eyes find mine. “Good thing Lila is safe. You were right to keep her with you when you did.”
Addressing the others, he states, “We need to update the SSA.Allthe involved dealers are in grave danger and need protection ASAP.”
McBride stands, dusting the sand off his hands. “If we plant squad cars in front of their homes, it’ll tip off the crime ring.”
“They gotta know we’re getting close after we popped Hartley,” Hemsley counters.
Andrews drags his gaze away from the body, tossing in his two cents. “That was a murder arrest. STK doesn’t know we’ve linked it with the casino crimes.”
I massage my forehead to stem a brewing tension headache. “It’s a big risk with Lila still angling to meet with Silas. I know she isn’t the only dealer in jeopardy, but without her getting him comfortable enough to talk, how else will we get the name of the kingpin out of Silas?”
“We can hash it out with boss lady when we get her on the horn,” Luke decrees, reaching into his pocket to retrieve his cell.
Before he swipes his thumb across the screen, all our phones blast with various alert tones. Two new messages appear in the team’s group chat.
Agent Carson:
FYI team, lots happening this AM. Expect frequent updates. We can’t send the mobile command to Cocoa, so we’re having an emergency meeting at 11:00 here at the Tampa FO. If you can’t return by then, you’ll need to call in from the field.
SSA Chase:
I just got off the phone with the gang unit’s ASAC. DB found in Tampa last night looks to have significant STK connections. Fowler and Morales are en route to the victim’s house. More info to come. We need to get our CI to press “Silas” for that meeting before more people die.
My protective vapor slams back into me, bringing all my discordant emotions with it. Disgust blends with an anxious uncertainty and sorrow over the loss of innocent life.
But the prevailing emotion is fear. Raw and unrelenting fear.
For Lila and the others like her. People who were forced into this nightmare, only to be discarded once they’re no longer useful.
Like the ocean-soaked bodies that washed up this morning.
If we don’t figure this out soon, more will die.
As if that wasn’t enough pressure, an individual message makes my phone buzz.
Carson:
Call me about your sister ASAP. Something’s up with her.
Dread thrums in my veins, making my insides churn.
I close the distance between Andrews and me, pinning him dead in the eyes. “Are yousureI can trust Redleg with Lila?”
To his credit, he doesn’t flinch or waver. “They wiped out the Lenkov Bratva. Trust me, they’ve got this.”
That should comfort me enough to keep my shit together.
Should. But doesn’t.
Teeth grinding, I stomp a few steps away from my team to call Lila. With a little reassurance, I’llbe able to find my footing again.
