36. Chapter 35
Hope rolled over at the sound of a knock on the bedroom door.
Bradford did the same, but kept a hand on her leg because apparently he needed to be touching her at all times. “Yeah?”
“You guys decent?” Skye asked even as she opened the door.
“Good thing you waited for an answer,” Bradford grumbled as he sat up.
Luckily they were dressed—now. After the arrest of Sheriff Crow yesterday, they’d all been lying low at the safe house as the FBI did their job.
They’d gotten a few check-ins from Hazel—aka Special Agent Hazel Blake, who went way back with Skye.
The woman had been an Air Force Cobra pilot years ago and served with Leighton, another of their founders.
Just an all-around badass. Though to look at her, you’d never know.
Skye shrugged, but chin-nodded at Hope. “Hazel is here to talk to us. You up to answering a few questions?”
Hope was off the bed in seconds. “Yeah. I’m good to go.”
Bradford wasn’t as eager—he’d been enjoying just lying in bed with her after the chaos of the last week. But he grabbed a T-shirt and pulled it on before heading downstairs with her.
Hazel and her partner were waiting in the living room, both wearing dark suits, white undershirts and matching dark pants. They looked uncomfortable sitting on the love seat and both stood when Hope and Bradford entered.
He kept his hand on the small of her back, wanting it clear that she was his. Caveman? He didn’t care.
“Ms. Berkley,” Hazel said, stepping forward with a tired smile. “I’m Special Agent Hazel Blake and this is my partner, Special Agent Harvey Nelson.”
“You can just call us Hazel and Harvey,” Nelson murmured, smiling politely at the two of them.
Bradford had seen the guy rip into a suspect once like a feral hyena, metaphorically speaking, so he knew there was more to the soft-spoken agent who normally partnered with Hazel.
“Ah, thank you. And just call me Hope. Please.”
“You want to sit?” Hazel asked, looking between the two of them.
The others weren’t anywhere to be seen. Even Skye had disappeared once they’d come downstairs so it seemed it was just the four of them.
“Sure.” Hope slid her hand into his as they sat on the opposite couch.
The living room of the rental had high beams across the ceiling, and welcoming, comfortable furniture in soothing earth tones.
“So…” Hope squeezed his hand and he scooted closer to her.
“What’s the deal? Did you guys arrest Killeen?” Bradford asked. There was no sense in making small talk.
Both Hazel and Harvey pushed out a breath, clearly on the same page.
Hazel nodded. “Both Killeen men, but Patrick is making a deal.”
“Weaselly little shit,” Harvey muttered.
Hazel shot him a glare and he shrugged.
“Anyway,” Hazel continued. “Patrick is making a deal, mostly because his mom has a ton of intel. They’re going into WITSEC in exchange for testifying against Edward Killeen.”
“Man shouldn’t have screwed around on his wife.” Harvey shook his head slightly. “He’s finding out just how bad he messed up.”
Hazel snorted, but lifted a shoulder. “We had a decent case, but she’s serving everything up to us on a silver platter because someone sent her a video of her husband screwing around.”
“So what does that mean for Hope? Is she safe?”
“I’m unofficially advising you that she’s not in any danger.
From what we’ve gathered—mostly from former Sheriff Crow and Tara Killeen—Edward didn’t want you causing trouble for his boy.
But more than that, he was worried your father had given you something.
Or that you’d have access to something if you stayed in town long enough,” Hazel said.
“He thought Hank had hidden something in his house or in his shop and was determined to find it.”
“Right now he’s fighting for his life,” Harvey added. “And he doesn’t care about keeping his boy out of trouble since Patrick turned on him. You’re as safe as anyone. But my two cents, I’d stay here for another few days at least until the dust settles.”
“What about the rest of the sheriff’s deputies? Any of them dirty?”
“Two, that we’ve uncovered. Crow gave them up easy.” Hazel shook her head. “They’re all turning on each other. It’s like a feeding frenzy.”
Hope nudged him and gave him a look he understood.
He cleared his throat. “What about Alden Phillips? He followed Hope around for a bit.”
“We brought him in. He did a lot of random jobs for Killeen, mostly PI-level stuff but without the actual PI license. From what we can tell he’s not linked to the drug side.” Hazel lifted a shoulder.
“So…what about Wesley Jones?” Bradford and the others still didn’t have a clear image of how he tied into Killeen and the others. And if Hazel wa s here, he was getting answers about everyone involved in this thing now.
The two agents shared a look, then Harvey stood, murmuring that he had a call to take. Which was clearly a lie, but Bradford understood.
Once he was gone, Hazel looked between the two of them, but her expression was hard as she zeroed in on Hope. “Everything I say stays in this room.”
“She’s not going to say shit,” Bradford snapped, that protective urge swelling up lightning fast.
Hope nudged his leg though and held out a palm to Hazel. “I understand your concern. I’m not here as a journalist. I’m here as Bradford’s wife and friend. I would never do anything to expose him or the people he considers family.”
Her words found their mark, because Hazel let out a slow breath.
“That’s what Skye said and I trust her with my life.
Just wanted to confirm. So. Jones.” She sat back on the love seat, clearly debating how much to tell them.
“He’s under surveillance. Has been for about six months. That much I can tell you.”
“Is he a threat to Hope?”
“Not that we know of, no.”
“How is he connected to Killeen?”
“We don’t know that he is.” She paused again.
“Thanks to an anonymous tip, we know that he’s been linked to at least one of Killeen’s guys.
But Killeen had a lot of people working for him.
A lot of locals. They helped with growing, transporting, lots of stuff.
But there’s nothing there that we can find that ties Jones and Killeen together. ”
“So why is he under surveillance?”
“I can’t give specifics. But think…domestic terrorism.”
Considering what they’d seen in his workshop, that made sense.
“There’s been no mention of you,” Hazel continued, looking at Hope. “ He might have been working with some of Killeen’s guys. Or more likely, they were or are his recruits, for lack of a better word. But we don’t suspect him of running drugs. That’s not his thing.”
Hope nodded, but he could feel the tension buzzing through her. It mirrored his own. “Okay, well, thank you for the update. I really appreciate it,” he added.
“Me too. I know you didn’t have to come here,” Hope said softly.
Hazel gave them a wry smile as she stood. “I kinda did. If anything changes, I’ll let you know. But Killeen is in custody and we’ve bagged everyone involved in his operation—including the men who broke into your home.”
“You’re sure?”
“Yep. Former Special Forces guys working…I wouldn’t say for Killeen exactly. But with him. They’re going to be charged with a whole lot worse than him, but that’s all I can say about that. The DEA has been on them for a while. They’ll go away for life.”
Bradford figured that they were the ones responsible for the drug-related massacre in Arkansas but simply nodded and stood with Hazel.
Hope moved with him, and once the agents were gone, she buried her face against his chest as he held her close. “I feel like it’s finally over.”
Unless she decided to run again.
If she did, he was following this time.