Chapter Fourteen
Monday, August 8, 2022
“Any updates?”
JJ glanced over her shoulder to see Baz standing in the doorway.
They’d opted to work from home for the first part of the day since they had a doctor’s appointment at ten. At her last appointment two weeks ago, Dr. Tinder informed her she would start coming in every two weeks versus every month. At least until thirty-six weeks, when she began coming in weekly. JJ didn’t mind the visits, and she knew that Baz enjoyed hearing the heartbeat each time, so they’d been going to them together whenever possible.
“Not yet,” she admitted glumly. “I gave up on tryin’ to tie them to the mob. I asked Darius to start searchin’ for hotels or motels where Deck might’ve checked in.”
She figured it was a nearly impossible feat considering the size of New York City. With five boroughs, they couldn’t restrict their search to only Manhattan. It was easy to think of it as only Manhattan, but the city was so much bigger than that. It would take significant manpower to search everywhere. JJ was starting to think they were in need of some serious luck, or they were going to keep coming up empty.
“Did you ask Z if they had his itinerary?”
JJ nodded. “I called him earlier. He had no idea. I get the sense this was truly an off-the-books op. I’m not even sure Z let the team know his concern yet.”
And that was raising another red flag for her. JJ didn’t understand why it wouldn’t be all hands on deck for a missing agent. Why had Z selected the task force to look for Deck? Was he hiding something from everyone else?
“Maybe he doesn’t want to worry them yet.”
Yeah, maybe. She couldn’t imagine the agents Decker had worked with for years wouldn’t want to join in the hunt for their missing colleague. That or there was something else going on here that Z didn’t want them to know about. Whatever it was, Z was being tight-lipped about details even though he wasn’t hiding his concern for Deck’s well-being.
“Luca’s workin’ to hack the security cameras at Saoirse’s apartment.” JJ raised a hand to cut Baz off before he could tell her that was a no-no. “It’s not ideal, but we have to trace his steps before he disappeared, or we’ve got nothin’, Baz.”
“I get it. But why don’t you have Brantley and Reese swing by her place?”
“They will. Eventually. He said Ronan didn’t appear concerned for his sister. And since Ronan gave Kieran a heads up that they were askin’ questions, he’s probably alerted his sister as well.”
“So what are their plans this mornin’?”
“I sent them the info I pulled up on Kieran O’Rourke. According to Ronan, he’s the one who owns that club, but turns out the owner is Knox Montgomery.”
“Why does that name sound familiar?”
“Probably because he’s a filthy hot billionaire,” she said with a grin, laughing when Baz’s eyebrows rose. “I’m serious. He’s got his own hashtag and everything.”
Baz frowned.
“Knox Montgomery is the son of Jeremiah Montgomery, the man who developed Montage Markets.”
“Oh, shit. That super chain store, right?”
“Yep. Like Walmart, only not. Anyway. I’m graspin’ for anything that might give us a lead. Kieran told us he’d seen him, but that was before Deck fell off the map. I doubt Knox Montgomery could give anything more, but I figure it’s somethin’. And since Brantley’s got the entire team with him, they can hit the streets to search for Decker.”
Again, considering the size of New York City, it would be impossible for them to even make a dent, but they were there, and it was all they could do at the moment.
Baz continued to watch her. “Did Evan get there yet?”
JJ glanced at the clock. “No. His flight left at seven. He’ll be there by noon, their time.”
“Speaking of time.” Baz turned to walk out of the room. “We need to leave in thirty so we’re not late.”
“I’ll be ready. I promise.”
When he left the room, she turned back to her computer and finished the email to Elana. She’d detailed a list of things the team needed to start researching while she was out of pocket. That way, when she got to the office and Brantley called to find out what she knew, they wouldn’t look like they’d spent the morning with their thumbs up their asses.
Just once, she would like the universe to send them a case that made sense from the start. This was getting ridiculous.
