Chapter 4
Kitt
I resisted the urge to check the clock on my new phone. I didn’t want to know how long I’d been stuck on this one call, listening to the voice on the other end of the line talking in circles. It was clear what they wanted to say, though they didn’t have the balls to just come out and say it.
No, the DA wasn’t going to provide a safe house for our witnesses.
Never mind the fact that these witnesses would be speaking out against one of the worst human trafficking rings this country had ever seen.
Budgets were tight, and safe houses were expensive.
There just wasn’t enough money available.
Bullshit.
I knew the real reason, and the person on the other end of the line did as well.
I’d yet to meet Logan Hollingsworth, the detective in charge of the bell ringer case.
However, I could already tell he was an honorable man just from the way he’d sounded on the phone when he called to tell me that the arrangements for a safe house for the witnesses had fallen through.
I’d then called the DA myself to try and smooth things out, but no luck.
Despite my years of experience as a lawyer, I was still new to the DA’s office, and didn’t have much influence with their people yet.
Sighing deeply, I snapped a quick dismissal to the person on the other end of the line and hung up the phone.
“No luck?” Sebastian asked me when he saw the look on my face.
He was the only one in Alias Investigations’ office today. His leg apparently kept him out of fieldwork unless necessary, so he was left to hold down the fort while everyone else was out trying to round up the witnesses we needed for our case.
Witnesses that we could no longer offer the protection that we’d promised.
“Yeah,” I said as I sat down behind Gabe’s empty desk, where I’d spent most of my time the last few days.
“I swear, they’re not even trying to hide the fact that the bell ringers are pulling their strings.
At this point, we may as well hand the whole damn country over to the traffickers and call it a day. ”
Sebastian didn’t bother replying to my sarcasm.
What was there to say, anyway?
It was practically true.
The tense silence between us was broken by the sound of the door opening.
One of the good things about having Sebastian remaining in the office was that the cute redheaded nurse came around often.
I knew I shouldn’t be ogling another man’s partner, and I had no intention of trying anything, but damn it, I was horny.
Whenever I was stressed, my sex drive always skyrocketed, but I was too busy to maintain a relationship.
There was no harm in just looking. Right?
Newt placed a cup of coffee on the desk in front of me. “I take it things aren’t going well?”
Just from the smell, I could tell the coffee was exactly the way I liked it. Sugar with no cream, and a shot of hazelnut flavor. We’d only known each other a few days, and the man had already memorized my coffee order.
He really was an angel. Sigh.
It took me a moment for my own words to catch up with me, but when it did, I nearly choked on my coffee.
Angel.
It was such an innocent compliment in any other context, but after dealing with this case, the word angel needed to be struck from my vocabulary.
Thank God, I hadn’t said it out loud.
Luckily, no one noticed my strange reaction, or the coffee I’d spilled on the desk, as Sebastian was busy explaining our situation to Newt.
“Wait. Can they really do that?” Newt asked from his position practically sitting in Sebastian’s lap. “Can they really just refuse to give us a safe house?”
“Unfortunately, yes,” Sebastian said, rubbing a comforting hand up and down Newt’s arm.
Newt looked back and forth between Sebastian and me. “But then, what are we going to do? We were able to get a safe house on short notice when we were on the run. Why not now?”
I had no idea what place Newt was talking about, but I was impressed that he had apparently faced his own dangers and come out unscathed. He looked about as ferocious as a chipmunk, but there was apparently some fight under that docile face.
It really was a pity that he was taken. The man was even more my type than I thought.
I was so distracted by this thought that I almost missed Sebastian’s reply.
“We weren’t as much of a threat before. Now, they’re really pushing back against us.”
Newt nervously bit at his bottom lip, his white teeth contrasting with plump pink skin in an alluring way.
“Then, what can we do? We can’t just give up.”
Sebastian got lost in thought for a second, his hand never stopping its comforting motion against Newt’s arm.
“The bell ringers are mostly centered in America. From what we know, they don’t have much international influence. Maybe we could take the witnesses to another country for a while, just until we’re able to regroup and strengthen our case.”
Staring down at my phone, which sat innocently on the desk, I debated with myself.
I had an idea, but would it work?
Giving Sebastian and Newt false hope only to immediately snatch it away would be cruel, but I also couldn’t let them start making drastic plans, like leaving the country, without knowing that they had another option.
“I might be able to get us a safe house.”
Sebastian and Newt’s conversation abruptly died, and they both turned toward me with a mix of shock and confusion.
“What do you mean? The DA already said they can’t arrange a safe house for us.”
I shook my head, still staring at my phone.
“No. Not the DA. Me. I might be able to arrange a safe house. Before I joined the DA’s office, I worked for a private law firm.
Many of our clients were... powerful people.
A few of them owe me a favor, which I might be able to use to get us a safe house. ”
Newt looked delighted, clasping his hands together like he was offering up his prayers for me to answer.
In contrast, Sebastian’s expression narrowed with clear suspicion.
“These clients that owe you a favor… are they powerful enough to be outside the bell ringer’s influence?”
His suspicion was warranted. The bell ringer case was already being attacked from so many different sides, and from very powerful people.
None of us could be too cautious right now.
Although I was certain that none of my past clients were directly involved with human trafficking, I couldn’t be one hundred percent sure that they were completely above the bell ringer’s reach.
Nothing short of one hundred percent accuracy would do.
“There is one,” I said after analyzing the names on my mental list.
Sebastian still didn’t look relieved.
“And who is this person?”
Picking up my phone, I shook my head. “For confidentiality reasons, I can’t tell you. But they can definitely get us a safe house and they should be beyond the bell ringer’s reach.”
Sebastian just stared at me, clearly waiting for me to elaborate.
Our gazes met in a silent battle of wills. He wanted me to talk, and I wouldn’t say a word. Neither of us made any movement, but the struggle for dominance between us was as fierce as if we’d actually traded blows.
Eventually, Sebastian sighed and looked away. “I guess we don’t have much of a choice. You’re certain this person is trustworthy?”
Trustworthy was not a word I would ever use to describe the person I had in mind. In fact, I didn’t trust them at all, but I did trust my evaluation of them. Of course, I couldn’t say this to Sebastian.
“They...” I hesitated for a moment, very carefully picking my words. “They value honor, and their word is as good as law. Most importantly, they are powerful enough that the bell ringers can’t touch them.” Holding up my phone, I waggled it in Sebastian’s direction. “So, should I make the call?”
After another moment of consideration, Sebastian sighed again. “Yeah. Go ahead. It’s our only option right now. But the minute anything looks sketchy, I’ll feed you to the wolves, take the witnesses, and flee to another country. Understand?”
He probably expected me to get angry, but instead, I just gave him a sharp-edged smile.
“I’m good at handling wolves.”
With the decision made, I stepped out of the office to go see if I could even make good on my promise.
Up on the roof of the building, where I was certain that no one could overhear me, I dialed a number into my phone that I had honestly never planned on using. As it rang, I couldn’t help chuckling to myself.
Good at handling wolves, indeed.
Then the phone picked up on the other end, and my smile was replaced with a look of serious determination.