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“Dylan said you had a hit on Rex?” Veronica’s query carried the weight of already knowing the answer.

“We did, but they didn’t take Rex’s car when they took off. They used a commercial bakery van.” Callum’s tone was equally grim.

Veronica gasped. “They took the drug delivery truck? So did they—”

“Yes, they killed the driver, who worked directly for Slim, which supports the theory that Slim is after Rex. Slim may have ordered the hit on both Rex and Hank via Bulldog, we don’t know. We had eyes on Rex and Bulldog leaving Frisky, but our source wasn’t able to follow them.” Callum’s voice sounded strained, and went an octave lower. “You two are in it ’til the end now.”

“We always were.” Dylan looked at Veronica, whose steady gaze confirmed her agreement.

“What Dylan said, Sheriff. We’re in it to win it.” Her hand went up in a classic high-five and Dylan reflexively met it with his. The smack of their palms meeting underscored their commitment to their job, to their roles in the upcoming takedown.

“This isn’t the time to be high-fiving, guys.” Cal’s sigh made Dylan’s internal warning flags raise. “There’s no reason, or evidence, to believe that Slim has the complete picture of what was going on under his nose. Not about the extra cash flow into Frisky, the traitorous side deal with ‘Hawk,’ Rex’s desire to take out ‘Monique,’ or the gangland murder of Hank. Slim may not know about any of it,” Cal said.

Dylan watched comprehension dawn in Veronica’s eyes at the same time as his nape started tingling. Her eyes widened in disbelief, then narrowed at the same exact moment he realized what must have happened.

“There’s a different informant,” he said.

“He’s got someone tracking us,” Veronica said at the same time.

Chapter 18

“No, wait—someone’s been tracking me.” Veronica’s chest quickly rose and fell, her breath audibly hitched, and both actions shoved Dylan’s protective instincts into overdrive. If he could only hold her—

No. Not an option, dude.

“Ding ding ding.” Cal mimicked a winner’s bell. “Correct on both accounts. Have either of you noticed anyone showing up in different places, or has anyone been asking obvious questions about what you’re doing?”

Dylan waited for Veronica to answer first. She kept looking at him as she shook her head, her peachy lips going from a surprised O to a pursed, straight line.

“No, Sheriff—Cal. I mean, now that I think about it, I’ve been having that sense of being watched ever since I started at Frisky. But I attributed it to going so deep undercover, dealing the drugs as if it was no big deal.” She paused. Had that been a tremor in her voice? “Who do you think it is?”

“It doesn’t matter who it is,” Dylan interjected. “The fact is that someone’s been keeping tabs, and they might have eyes on us right now.” He shook his head, looked out over the lake. The far shore was far enough away to preclude seeing if someone sat over there, watching them with a high-power lens, either with binoculars or a camera. “We’re sitting ducks here. We’re heading out right now.” The hell with waiting to time their track to intercept Rex.

“Take it easy, Dylan. There’s no sign that anyone followed you out to your current location, and even if they did, they’re not coming to kill you or they already would have shown.” Callum’s explanation did nothing to ease the pressure under his rib cage, the urge to tell Veronica to “get in the far back of the truck and stay down until we know we’re safe.”

Her hand covered his, and squeezed. In her gaze he saw wariness, but fiery determination. “It’s okay,” she mouthed.

“Sheriff, we’ve got this. You’re right, if they wanted to take me out they would have. And it was foolish of me to not expect that someone at the nightclub was tracking my movements. It’s why I was so careful, using the salon as a cover to meet with RGPD. We’re going to get all of these bastards.” Her voice shook and he realized that it was the same emotions that had made her hand shake. Not fear, but deep-seated anger. She was doing this for Tawny.

“What Veronica said, bro.” He didn’t trust himself to say anymore.

“I know you both know what you’re doing—Veronica, you’re the best Stark County has at undercover—but we’re not playing with idiots here. We have a leg up on Rex because of the comms intercept and probably location, but he and Bulldog are a formidable pair when they have to be. By all indications, he wants you dead, Veronica. Or rather, he wants Monique dead.”

“He’s never going to know it’s me until it’s too late. If we do it right, none of them—Slim, Rex or Bulldog—will know we’re there until they’re in cuffs.” Veronica pulled her hair back into a ponytail, baring her nape, where her skin had been so soft under his fingertips. Dylan forced his gaze to the map on her lap. Which made him think of the thighs that the map rested on.

“There’s several different possibilities for how you’ll meet up with Rex.” As Cal named different routes, Veronica’s slim fingers traced the roads on the map. Dylan shifted his gaze to the dash, ignoring the heat that shot a fire bolt of lust straight to his crotch. Hell’s bells, he must be more tired than he thought. There was no other explanation for the erection he was fighting. Obviously he still had the hots for his former BFF.

Just the hots?

“…keep in mind that Rex’s previous meeting with Slim was for a check-in two months ago on the border, not at Slim’s headquarters. Well before you started working Frisky, Veronica.” Cal droned on, unaware that his little brother was in an internal battle to control his emotions. The tremendous respect he’d always had for Veronica’s professional talents had somehow tangled with his strong attraction to her, morphing into an urge he knew he’d never put back in the bottle once he let it out.

“Copy that, Cal. I’ve definitely given him enough to be stressed about, between keeping Hank from knowing all of my business, to agreeing to the deal with Dylan, aka Hawk.” Veronica bit her lower lip as she spoke. “With Hank out of the picture, we’re dealing with Rex, Bulldog and Slim.”

“Correct, plus the entire team of criminals Slim surrounds himself with. Remember, he likes to travel with three bodyguards at a minimum. We’ve identified at least twelve different henchmen.”

“And there have been indications of more.” Dylan figured keeping himself in the conversation might distract him enough for his hormones to knock it off. Until he could put some space between himself and Veronica.

“Right now you two need to keep a low profile, exchange your vehicle and wait for further orders.”