Chapter 24 #2
Mateo chuckled at the mental image. “Could be fun to try. Once we get what we need from him, of course.”
Donovan sank into a chair and jerked at the knot of his tie.
He was finally starting to show the strains from the demand of this case, his eyes drawn and his brow heavy.
They hadn’t had time to really talk since their confrontation and Donovan’s threat to call Carlisle on him.
Things had been strained, but they had eased into a familiar professionalism as they applied themselves to the task at hand.
“Hey, are we good?” Mateo asked, leaning forward and resting his elbows on his knees.
Donovan understood the question without having to probe further. He shrugged out of his jacket and let it fall over the back of his chair. “Yeah, man, we’re good.”
He didn’t give the impression that he felt the need to elaborate further, so Mateo was content with that.
Donovan seemed content to rest in silence for now, so Mateo sat back in his chair and folded his hands in his lap.
It had been a little over twenty-four hours since he’d last seen Melody and every single minute had been torture.
After dozing for a few minutes on the blanket in the park, he and Melody had cleaned up the remains of their Scotch tasting and got back into the car.
He had driven her to an obscure motel that would allow him to pay with cash by the hour, knowing they wouldn’t need it for long.
When he had apologized that it wasn’t nicer and explained that he hadn’t wanted to use a card for fear of being traced, Melody had simply smiled at him and insisted that it was perfect.
And it had been perfect. There were four walls, a bed, and a bathroom; the bare minimum of what was possible for them.
He wanted better for Melody. He wanted to dazzle her with five-star hotels and lavish dinners.
He wanted to lay her on Egyptian cotton sheets instead of a thin motel bedspread, and lick Scotch off her nipples.
He wanted to shower her with everything she’d never had.
But his baby girl was easy to please, and happy as long as she was with him. She didn’t need to express that out loud for him to know it intuitively. In all his days of following and watching her from a distance, he’d never seen her smile so much, never seen that enchanting twinkle in her eye.
He had led her into the bathroom and stripped out of the gorgeous dress that had made her look like such a dream.
Melody hardly seemed to notice the stares she attracted as she danced and laughed and sipped her peach daiquiris.
Her focus had been entirely on him, and that was enough to soothe the irritation that bristled his spine when he caught the men staring, dragging their eyes over her bared arms and legs, her perky little breasts.
It had only taken one look into her eyes to quell the desire to go around the room ripping out eyeballs and stomping them in his wake.
Mateo had pulled her into the shower in that little hotel room and held her against him under the hot spray.
They had become a tangle of limbs and panting breaths, soapy hands slippery and searching.
She was still damp when he carried her to bed, as he’d been too impatient to wait for her to dry off completely.
He made slow love to her in the dark, holding her close and whispering the secrets of his soul into her ear.
He said everything just short of the one truth he couldn’t bring himself to reveal.
The one truth that would give her the power to crush him in her fist. In the back of his mind, he knew she would never do such a thing.
He wanted to trust her, to give her everything he had.
Mateo knew what this was and prided himself on a level of self-awareness that had taken years of introspection to master.
He’d felt this way the first time he’d seen Mari, had been as certain and unshaken as he’d stood before her and named her his future bride.
Now, Melody had snared him in a trap he wasn’t certain she had intended to set, and now he was completely entangled.
And still, he held back, realizing that to give her what he suppressed would destroy her.
She wouldn’t know what to do with it, for one thing.
The intensity of his feelings, sudden as they were, would be overwhelming for someone who had never known the sweet kiss of a lover or the warm embrace of a soulmate.
Additionally, there was still something she hid from him; he could sense it.
Whatever she kept from him might prove an obstacle too insurmountable to overcome.
To tell her the truth of how he felt would be to dangle a priceless gift before her eyes and then snatch it away.
As badly as he wanted to present her that gift, he could never be so cruel.
Not while he was so uncertain about how things might unfold.
So, he would wait. He would wait and he would plan—two things he excelled at.
By the time all was said and done, he would figure out a way to save her. He would figure out a way to keep her.
They had fallen asleep in each other’s arms, Melody drifting off first with her head on his chest. He’d drifted off as the first rays of the sun cast their light through the crack beneath the door, nestling closer to Melody and clinging tight to the final hours of their seclusion.
The time to leave had come far too quickly, with them having just enough time for a diner breakfast before hitting the road back to New Orleans.
They made the drive in silence, even though Melody was alert the entire time.
Curled up on the passenger seat with her legs under her, she had leaned against the center console, her hand resting on his, fingers stroking his knuckles.
They traded tiny touches and little caresses, hands twining and holding.
There was nothing to say after last night, nothing that couldn’t wait.
Mateo had wanted to walk her to her apartment door, but understood it would be a stupid thing to do in broad daylight. He’d let her off a few blocks from the apartment, waiting a few minutes before circling in front of her building to watch from a distance as she slipped safely inside.
He might not see her again until Friday night—the evening of Korenic’s return.
She wouldn’t have another night off until next week, and even then, it would be difficult for him to pull away for even a few hours.
With Carlisle working behind the scenes to push through various court orders, things would begin progressing quickly.
His work phone buzzed in the breast pocket of his jacket and he fumbled for it, nearly dropping it as his foggy mind struggled to catch up to his grappling hands. It was his boss.
“Garcia,” he answered.
“Good news,” Carlisle replied. “The judge agreed that Roman Korenic’s ties to trafficking and drug distribution through Valemont, as well as the activities at Solstice and potential ties to The Veil, were enough to grant you your wiretap.
Tactical surveillance is already planning their way in.
The wire should be in place by the time Korenic arrives back in New Orleans. ”
Mateo pumped his fist, startling Donovan who gave him a questioning look. Mateo gave him a thumb’s up and then motioned to his ear. The younger agent grinned.
“That is good news, ma’am. And what about the mansion?”
“Don’t push it, Garcia. That will require more time. Thank me for the wiretap, and sit on your hands just a little while longer. Think you can manage that?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said without argument, too excited over this development to argue. “Thank you, ma’am.”
Carlisle chuckled, the sound heavy with shock. “Haven’t heard those words from you in a while. Seems like things are going well out there.”
“They are. We’re close to putting this thing to bed, I can feel it. The Veil is planning something—something big. Whatever it is, the UNSUB wouldn’t miss it. If he isn’t still in town, he’ll return soon. And when he does, we’ll have him.”
A long silence greeted him, making Mateo frown. He glanced at the screen to ensure they hadn’t lost the connection.
“Ma’am?”
She sighed. “About the UNSUB. There’s something else you should know. Something that was brought to my attention only a few days ago. There hasn’t been time for us to discuss it before now.”
“Discuss what?”
“I want you to know I never stopped digging. It was important to me that you knew the truth. You deserved that after everything.”
Mateo paced across the room, searching his thoughts for any reason for Carlisle’s sudden caginess. She was stalling, babbling. Two things she never did.
“The truth about what?” he prodded, growing impatient.
“The UNSUB … we figured out how he found you. How he identified you as the lead agent on this case.”
Mateo staggered against the nearest wall, his knees turning to water at the impact of her statement.
“How?” he rasped, the only word he was capable of.
“The digital intelligence arm of Internal Affairs discovered a data breach that occurred about fifteen months ago. At that time, the case was public knowledge, but all information pertaining to the agents assigned to it was sealed. Or so we thought. Someone—I’m now assuming someone working for Vestra or Valemont—used outdated credentials for a retired agent.
His access was never revoked—some kind of oversight.
The data stolen included your personnel file. ”
Mateo’s head spun as he thought over all the intimate details contained in a government personnel file. The UNSUB would have seen his listed next of kin and emergency contacts, current and past addresses … enough to find his family and rip it apart.
“Any way to prove it was them?”
“We’re working on that, but whoever they have working for them … they’re good. Better than most of our best hackers and intelligence specialists. But they’re working on it. I won’t let them stop until we have proof.”
Mateo fought the urge to go tearing out of the room in search of fresh air.
He breathed, pushing against the walls closing in on him.
Now wasn’t the time to fall apart. This new information changed nothing.
It only proved how far the reach of The Veil was.
If anything, it was almost a relief to know that the UNSUB wasn’t some kind of ghost. He was simply a rich religious fanatic with the wealth and connections to move mountains.
It was easier to hunt prey when the hunter knew what he was dealing with.
“Garcia, are you still there?”
“Yes, ma’am,” he said, standing up straight. “I’m here.”
“Are you all right?”
“Fine, ma’am.”
“If you insist, I believe you. Stand by for my next call. Should be a verdict on that warrant for the mansion.”
“Roger that.”
Mateo hung up the phone to find Donovan coming toward him, determination in his stride. “Well? I take it we’re cleared for the wiretap?”
Mateo nodded. “It should be set up by the time Korenic gets back. I’ll be monitoring the feed myself.”
Donovan nodded. “And the undercover op?”
“I haven’t mentioned it yet, and I won’t until we get that fucker in there to crack. When I put through the request to Carlisle, I want ironclad evidence backing us up. She needs to see we have a way in and a clear plan. In the meantime, we need to get ready for Glow Night.”
Donovan heaved a sigh. “Really getting sick of Solstice.”
Mateo grunted. “I feel you, but Korenic will be there, so we should be too. In the meantime, we have nothing left to do but let Caleb dangle until Smitty’s up to bat. So, I was thinking … lunch? I know a great place not far from here.”
“Oh yeah?” Donovan asked, slipping on his sunglasses. “Where are we going?”
Mateo retrieved his own glasses and steered Donovan toward the doors. “Your auntie’s place. I’ve been having some very vivid dreams about red beans and rice.”