“Easy, sure,” Flag Pole said. “But the risk is huge. So don’t do a thing without me knowing about it. Got it?”
“Got it.” Sal frowned.
Teagan knew Sal well enough to know he didn’t like playing second fiddle to anyone. He must really need this guy—whoever he was.
Drew looked at Teagan and whispered, “Take pictures of these guys. Wouldn’t be good if Dylan got caught with them on his phone.”
Teagan got out her phone and opened the camera. She ensured that the flash was turned off, but she still held her breath. Tapped the screen. Waited for the telltale click to sound if she’d failed to correctly configure the settings.
Silence. No flash. The men didn’t notice.
She let out a nervous breath but anxiety crawled up her back. They could still get caught and Flag Pole seemed like the kind of guy who would kill them. The thought fueled a pure adrenaline rush, and her whole body trembled.
Drew rested a hand on her shoulder. Nice. Supportive, but doing nothing to calm her nerves.
“And this Dylan guy,” Flag Pole said, “you keep an eye on him. Even a hint of a problem, and he joins Smiley in his unmarked grave.”
7
Unmarked grave.
Drew had to stow that thought to concentrate and get them safely out of there. He silently led Teagan to his vehicle and got on the road, his car pointed for the restaurant to pick up her car. They didn’t speak while he navigated toward the freeway. Was Teagan too worked up to talk or did she respect that Drew still had a job to do to get them to a safe distance from the men?
She dug out her phone, her hands still trembling. Maybe fear was the answer. “I’m going to call Nick to get that information.”
“Good.” He gave her a quick smile but she was staring at her phone, her hand still shaking.
He concentrated on the drive, but caught snippets of her conversation with the tech expert, who sounded like he was onboard. He would not only look into the Contis, but also check out Northwest Geo Instruments and run the photos she’d just taken through facial recognition software.
He would also try to get a lead on the man these guys called Smiley. Most likely a nickname, but if they could find the ID of the skinny guy at the warehouse, they might be able to find a missing associate named Smiley.
Smiley.A dead missing associate. Not that Drew wanted anyone to be murdered, but if this Smiley fella was already dead, a murder charge would put the skinny guy behind bars even longer. At his age, probably life. A good thing—before he tried to take Drew out too.
Teagan said goodbye to Nick and swiveled to Drew. “He’ll start on the research right away and get back to me the minute he has any information. No charge.”
Drew shook his head. “How’d he agree to that?”
“All I had to say was our family business was on the line, and he agreed.” She pressed her hands flat on her knees, maybe to stop the trembling. “Everyone at the center is great that way. My parents are longtime friends with the Byrd family—spelled B-Y-R-D—and Sierra Byrd, now Rice, is the center’s trace evidence expert.”
“I wish we could get her into that warehouse to lift some prints or DNA, but no way that’s happening.” Drew let residual energy from the warehouse surveillance out on a long breath. “Byrd. That’s the last name of the guy who went to Harris on your behalf.”
“That’s right,” she said. “Clay Byrd. He has four brothers, all former law enforcement officers. They own Nighthawk Security, a local investigative and protection agency.”
“I remember hearing about them on the news. They protected a famous Olympic downhill skier, right?”
“Yes. Harper Young. She’s now married to Aiden Byrd.” A soft smile crossed Teagan’s face, but her lips still trembled. “They fell in love while their team was protecting her.”
Drew stopped at a light and peered at Teagan. “Dangerous to fall for someone under such a situation. Especially when someone’s life is on the line.”
“But I could see it happening when two people are thrown together like they were pretty much twenty-four/seven.”
“Can’t happen on an undercover op,” he said, making sure his tone was firm and didn’t hold a hint of his hypocritical behavior when it came to the signals he’d been throwing out to her. “Could easily blow someone’s cover. Get them killed.”
“Don’t worry, Drew.” She grinned. “I’m planning to resist your charms if you ever show any.”
“Ouch.” He winced. “Don’t think our date was typical. I can do much better when I’m not talking about someone involved in illegal smuggling.”
Hoping to end the topic, he laughed, and the light turned green so he continued into the intersection, the wipers clearing off rain now falling at a solid clip. He’d made light of her comment, but it had actually stung. How crazy was that? He took barbs from people in his UC world all the time, but a tiny one said in jest from Teagan, and his feelings were hurt like he was some little girl.
