Chapter 26 – Evelyn #2
Marcus backed down but frowned. I made a mental note to check in with him. He wasn’t necessarily wrong, but all things seemed to point towards the Kingfisher being Director Keller. Still, it was good to follow up on all leads, no matter how unlikely.
“There’s a shipment coming in Tuesday?” Dominic’s head snapped up. “Like in two days?”
I nodded. “The director is going to be there, which is what we wanted to talk to you about in the first place. He probably has contingencies in place, and if he’s truly the Kingfisher, we shouldn’t rule out that he doesn’t have other people in place in the FIA in case something like this happened.”
“So how do we take him down?” Alexander asked, breaking the silence. He had taken a seat in the armchair during the discussion. He leaned forward, his hands clasped under his strong jaw.
Dominic leaned against the arm of the couch, scrubbing a hand over his jaw. “Carefully. And not alone.” He reached for his phone, then paused, glancing at me. “I have a contact at the Justice Department in SID.”
Something in his tone shifted, not guarded, but…personal. Who was this contact, and why did his voice change?
“A former colleague?” I asked.
He huffed a quiet laugh. “Former something,” he corrected.
I filed that away, briefly wondering if I’d misread the flirtation before.
“He’s got some decent seniority over there now.
And he’s clean, rigidly so. Plus Justice has been circling Kingfisher from the other side for a while, based on that file.
Several of the cases mentioned working with Justice or requests from Justice.
Requests that went nowhere, but now we know why. ”
“What’s SID?” Alexander asked.
“SID stands for Special Investigations Division,” Dominic replied. “They run the oversight for federal agencies, including the FIA.”
I tilted my head as I thought. This may be our best option. An outside agency that wasn’t always friendly with the FIA. And had jurisdiction over federal agencies. “And you think they would be interested in this?”
Dominic laughed. “Interested? He would be on the flight out here tomorrow if I told him what I found. No one has had this much evidence against the Kingfisher until now.”
“Plus the shipment,” Adrian said.
“Catching him in the act would be the icing on the cake,” Dominic agreed.
“How would you explain where the evidence came from?” Marcus asked, shooting a worried look at me.
Dominic hesitated. “I would have to share where some of the information came from, but I could say it was from a confidential informant and leave the Archers out of it.”
“You think that’ll be enough?” Adrian asked, an edge to his tone. “The director knows about the Archers. He could try to throw Evelyn under the bus.”
Dominic nodded. “I understand your concern, but I’ll leave the Archers’ name out of it completely if necessary.”
“And you’re willing to do that?” Alexander asked, his gaze sharp on Dominic. “Lie by omission.”
I wanted to speak up to ease the tension in the room, but Izzy caught my eye and shook her head slightly, and I stayed quiet.
Dominic’s gaze didn’t waver as he met Alexander’s gaze. “I don’t want SID tearing apart an organization that’s doing the work the system failed to do.”
Alexander studied him for a long beat. “What changed your mind?”
Dominic was quiet for a moment. “My dad was a cop,” he said finally.
I hadn’t shared Dominic’s past with the others.
It didn’t feel like mine to give away. “There was a case—a bad domestic violence case—that could have been preventable if the woman had resources to get out. If she had an organization like the Archers. That case broke him. He drank for ten years before he found his way back.”
He swallowed heavily, and the room stayed still. “If there had been an organization like the Archers back then,” Dominic continued, his voice steady but tight, “maybe he wouldn’t have lost that decade. Maybe I wouldn’t have either.”
No one argued with him. I knew they were seeing what I saw. The raw pain on Dominic’s face. Those ten years had shaped him.
“So Tuesday,” Sebastian said softly, redirecting us out of the moment.
“Tuesday,” Dominic confirmed.
“SDS can provide some support if you need it.” Alexander offered.
“I’ll let him know,” Dominic said. He looked at me. I wanted to offer the Archers’ help too, but I knew it would be a bad idea.
“I would if I could,” I said quietly, “but the Archers have to take a back seat on this one.”
Every instinct in me rebelled against it.
I wanted to be the one going in after the director, the one standing between him and the fallout.
But this wasn’t just about me. It was about protecting the people who trusted me to keep them invisible.
We couldn’t afford the Justice Department turning its attention toward the Archers, especially after the FIA investigation. Not now. Not ever.
They didn’t argue. Sebastian stepped closer and wrapped his arms around me from behind, solid and steady, like he understood exactly what this was costing me.
The plan took shape quickly after that. Dominic called his contact at Justice, who was just as eager as Dominic said he would be.
He put the call on speakerphone, and Alexander and the others joined the call while I sat silently with Izzy.
Izzy took notes, paying attention, but I felt myself drifting.
I was relegated to the role of watcher, not leader.
Unease prickled in my gut as a plan was hammered out.
This wasn’t the first mission I’d had to sit out over the last few months, but it felt wrong not having a part.
Not gearing up along with the rest of them.
My guys were going to be there on Tuesday, but I wouldn’t.
They would be walking into danger without me at their backs, and I hated that.
It was just nerves, but being forced to be on the sidelines while the men I was falling in love with went into danger to protect my organization felt wrong.