Page 90 of Honor ’N’ Duty

Ignoring the logbook, Kade went directly to the black three-ring binder sitting next to it. The Evidence Inventory Sheets. Once evidence was formally logged in, it was given a location code, making it easy to find. Row, shelf, and position on the shelf.

Knowing the ledger had to be one of the most recent seizures, he flipped to the last page. There it was. Row 5, Shelf 3, Position C.

Kade easily found the ledger. It had been placed inside a large brown envelope with the DHS address in the upper left corner. A large white evidence label had been secured to the outside of the envelope.

He took the envelope, then unzipped his backpack and stuffed it inside. He’d thought his heart had been racing before. Now it was pounding like a jackhammer. He zipped up the backpack and slung it over his shoulder. Before opening the door, he took a deep breath, trying to calm his heartbeat.

Not working.

Smoke watched him, a worried canine expression on his furry face. Even his dog knew he was up to no good.

He put his hand on the knob, about to open the door, when another crazy-ass idea came to him. Releasing the knob, he went to the other side of the room, the one housing the tech equipment. It took him a few more precious minutes he didn’t really have before finding what he was looking for—the box containing the brand-new micro-transmitter and receiver he’d seen on Manny’s desk.

He reopened his backpack and stuffed that inside next to the ledger. Boy, when he broke the rules, he more than broke them. He shattered them into smithereens. After cracking the door open, he peered in the direction of Manny’s cubicle. Voices still filtered to him, but the corridor was empty.

After he and Smoke stepped out, Kade eased the door shut. Thirty feet and he’d be home free. Until they realized what he’d done.

Eventually, they’d check the card reader record and see that he’d made entry without signing in. It wouldn’t be long before they figured it out. After that, he’d be toast. But if his plan worked, at least Rosa would be safe.

Smoke followed him to the exit door. He grabbed the handle, about to pull it open, when Smoke snorted. Pounding footsteps came to his ears, the sound of someone running on carpet.

“Kade! What are you doing?”

He turned, his fingers tightening around the strap of his backpack. He was so fucked it wasn’t funny.

“I didn’t even know you were here,” Manny said, a little out of breath. “You’re not gonna believe what the money geeks found in the ledger.”

“What?” Kade asked, his relief so great at realizing Manny was clueless as to what he’d just done, he nearly dropped the backpack on Smoke’s head. That combined with the fact that Manny had already made a copy of the ledger might give him a couple of days before anyone realized he’d stolen the original.

Manny grinned. “We’ve got him. Almost. That ledger documents over a hundred million dollars of drug money flowing through Colon’s hands. There’s even one entry for $20 million that looks like it might not have been collected. It was made the day before your brother was killed.”

“That could be another reason why Colon would be itching to get his hands on the ledger,” Kade suggested. “Maybe Josh hadn’t gotten around to transferring the funds yet.” Which would explain why there was no check mark next to that entry.

“Exactly.” Manny’s grin broadened. “But we still can’t figure out that two-letter abbreviation. We will, though, and when we do, we can trace it to all of Colon’s shell company accounts. This is all fun and games for the money geeks. They live for that shit.”

“That’s good news.” Just when Kade thought he was about to get out of there, Manny grabbed his arm.

“Wait. I need you to go to the Regional Bank & Trust tomorrow. The AUSA said she can get that warrant for the bank box signed first thing in the morning. I’ve got court, so you’ll have to serve it without me. I’ll call you when it’s signed, then you can come pick it up.”

“You’ve got it.” Kade opened the door. Now he had the ledger. Tomorrow, he’d have his hands on Colon’s money. Some of it, anyway.

He and Smoke headed down the stairs. Like Manny said, the forensic accountants would follow the rest of the money and track it through Colon’s dirty hands. For them, it really was all fun and—

Games.

On the bottom step, Kade froze. Smoke looked up at him, waiting patiently.

“Games,” he whispered to himself. It couldn’t be. But it was.

He’d just cracked Josh’s ledger code.

Chapter Twenty-Nine

Once she’d made the last entry in her phony ledger, Laia had done her best to scuff up the front and back covers and bend some of the pages so that it wouldn’t look brand-new. Then she’d stretched out on the backseat of the minivan.

Sleep had been slow to come. The only reason she knew she’d slept at all was that she’d woken with a start when someone had rolled up the metal door to the loading bay. She’d scrambled into the driver’s seat, turned on the engine, then driven off and parked in the employee lot. There she’d waited for nearly three hours.

The lot began filling up with employee vehicles starting around eight a.m. Now the sun had fully risen, and she was literally counting the minutes before the bank opened for business. Once again, she put the battery back into her phone and powered it up. There were no new messages, not even from Kade.