Chapter Thirteen
AS ANDRE DROVE away from the cabin, he used his hands-free device to call his boss.
“Yeah, Maddox.”
“It’s Andre. You’re on speaker with Riley.”
“Sit rep.”
He updated Maddox about the events of the past few hours.
“Jake, Jon, and Eli are transporting Cliff Carter to a black site. We need to keep him on ice until this mission is over. After that, turn him over to law enforcement. Cliff will take any contract if he’s paid enough.
I think we’ll learn Cliff took some of his victims across state lines. ”
“That means we can dump the problem on the feds. I’ll see what I can find out. Several fed agencies owe me favors. If we play this right, they’ll owe me more favors for taking a serial killer off the streets, a killer they weren’t aware of.” Maddox laughed. “Not a bad morning’s work.”
That meant a federal law enforcement agency would have a terrible morning. Brent Maddox collected favors like some people collected comic books. Worse, he actually cashed them in. Andre rolled his eyes. “You’re welcome, sir.”
“Riley, how can I help?”
“I have what I need at the moment, sir. Zane is helping with research. Something new may pop up as we dig.”
“If that happens, I want to know about it. Our resources are at the disposal of Artemis and Echo. I don’t like anyone targeting my people.”
“Yes, sir.”
“Christopher is having a blast with Alex.”
“Alex?”
“That’s the name my daughter insists we call her.” Amusement filled his voice. “Rowan and I are puzzled. We don’t know where that came from, but we’re willing to go along with it for now.”
“Is Rex settling in all right?”
“He’s a great dog. You have good instincts with animals, Andre. Anything else to report?”
“No, sir.”
“Report to me in four hours unless something happens, then I want to know about it yesterday.”
“Copy that, sir.”
When Brent ended the call, Andre reached over and threaded his fingers through Riley’s. “You were amazing today.” He squeezed gently. “And it’s not even noon yet. I can’t wait to see what’s next.”
“I pulled very little information from our visitors.”
“They had little to offer. The employer is careful to keep his identity hidden. Anything you get will help because the information adds to the pieces we know already.” Few though they were. The pieces would eventually lead them to the man funding the kill account.
She studied Andre for a moment, then asked what she wanted to know. “Did my interrogation tactics disturb you?”
“Why would they? We’re trained for various jobs by our employer.
Some of our skills are unpleasant.” He glanced at her before returning his attention to the winding road in front of them.
“My military training is the same, Riley. I know more ways to kill a man than I do to save him. The Army trained us to complete our mission no matter what, and that could mean the soldier in the next tent didn’t make it back to the base alive.
Like you, I’m also trained to interrogate prisoners. ”
Her head whipped in his direction. “Is that why you didn’t want me to interrogate the assassins? Because you believed you would do a better job?”
“Do you believe that?” Maybe she didn’t know him as well as he thought.
Andre would never force her to step down to soothe his own ego and, frankly, he didn’t care who interrogated their detainees as long as he or she got the job done.
He trusted Riley to admit when she needed to step back.
As he had expected, his woman had performed brilliantly and gathered the information they needed to begin a search.
Sure, he’d have liked to learn more than they had, but Andre didn’t believe he was better than Riley. In fact, all of her skills impressed him. Knowing what he knew now about her, she must have been an amazing field agent. The CIA was lucky to have her on its payroll for those eight years.
Riley’s cheeks flushed as she faced forward. “I’m sorry. You say what you mean. I’m looking for problems where there aren’t any, and I always expect the worst.”
Man, he understood that. “Makes the letdown easier to handle if you expect it, right?”
Riley nodded.
“I won’t let you down, Riley.”
“You can’t promise that.”
“I can, and I am. You’re the most important person in my world, and I will do everything in my power to keep from disappointing you.”
“I promise to do the same for you. You can count on me, Andre.”
Twenty minutes later, the operatives parked in front of Micah Winter’s cabin.
“This is so cute.” Riley peered through the window at the log cabin and the landscaping. “If I had a home like this, I would let no one use it as a safe house.”
“Micah’s wife, Sophie, wanted to move closer to her health food store, so he keeps this place as a vacation home.”
“It’s beautiful enough to be a vacation home.” She frowned. “I hope we’re not tracked here.”
“The best way to prevent it is to find out who’s paying these assassins.”
“Then we should get busy.”
In minutes, the operatives had unloaded the SUVs and deposited their bags in the bedrooms, then gathered in the kitchen.
“What’s next?” Elias asked.
Before Andre could answer, his phone signaled an incoming call. He glanced at the screen. “It’s Zane.”
Iona straightened. “Hope he has something new for us.”
Oh, yeah. He felt as though they were spinning their wheels, getting nowhere. Andre swiped his thumb over the glass and placed the call on speaker. “It’s Andre. You’re on speaker with Riley, Iona, and Elias.”
“Can you talk?”
“We’re inside Micah’s house and secure. What do you have for us?”
“Progress report and two addresses.”
He straightened. “Talk to me.”
“I’m getting close to tracking down the money from the assassination/kidnapping account to the person who set it up.”
Riley pumped her fist. “That’s great news. When this is over, you’ll have to tell me how you tracked the money so fast.”
“I’ll be glad to spill my secret to a fellow hacker.”
Elias frowned. “What else do you have for us, Z?”
“The addresses for Angie Dodd and Miles Thomas.”
Riley gasped. “You found her?”
“Thomas doesn’t live far from your location. Dodd is in Williamson County.”
An adrenaline rush flooded Andre’s body. Was living nearby a coincidence? Not likely. “Where are they?”
“Thomas is living with his girlfriend in Murfreesboro.”
“Girlfriend?” Elias’ eyebrows soared. “Are you serious?”
“Afraid so. Kara Street was a prison groupie. The rumor is Kara visited him in prison earlier this year and fell for him right away.”
“Eww.” Iona scowled. “How old is Kara? Please tell me she’s in her thirties or forties.”
“Sorry, my friend. Ms. Street turned 21 years old on January 2.”
Elias grunted. “Thomas likes them young.”
“At least she’s legal. I also found out Ms. Street signed the papers for an enormous house two days before Thomas left the prison. Now, photos with the love of her life fill her social media pages.”
Riley shook her head, her face pale.
Andre wrapped his arms around her. “Kara is an adult. Even if we see the foolishness of her choice, she may choose who to marry.”
Iona’s brows knitted. “Does he have a job?”
“Not so far.” Zane’s fingers flew over the keyboard. “He filled out a couple of applications, but no luck so far. He’s also not trying hard. Ms. Street is from a wealthy family, and she lives off of her trust fund. I also saw a rumor that her father planned to offer Thomas a job soon.”
Andre grimaced. How much money would Thomas siphon from Kara before she wised up and kicked him out? Who knew what kind of damage Thomas would do to her father’s company?
Riley leaned closer to the phone. “Where is Angie?”
“Franklin.”
Andre blinked. Franklin? That was a ritzy part of Williamson County.
Had she pulled herself out of homelessness, or was Riley correct to believe Angie had left her behind?
Man, he prayed that scenario wasn’t the case.
Riley had dealt with enough hardship in her life without adding a second mother abandoning her like her birth mother.
“Is she still living on the streets, Z?”
“Nope. Ms. Dodd is married with two children. Her husband is a lawyer.”
A stricken look grew in Riley’s eyes.
“Even though she’s not working, Ms. Dodd is involved with several charity organizations. If you can’t find her at home, let me know and I’ll track her down.”
“Thanks, Zane. Anything else?”
“A couple of warnings.”
He straightened. “Tell me.”
“Be careful when you confront Thomas. Men like him have everything to lose. If he loses Ms. Street, he’ll lose his cushy lifestyle and his meal ticket. He’ll be more dangerous than regular perps. Distractions around him could have deadly consequences.”
“We won’t forget. What’s your second piece of advice?”
“Not advice, just a warning. Something is off with Ms. Dodd. Things aren’t adding up.”
“Explain.”
“I sent files on Thomas and Dodd. Please read the files before you talk to Thomas and Dodd. Perhaps you’ll figure out what I missed while researching.”
“Thanks for the fast work, Z.”
“No problem. Keep me updated, Andre. Brent assigned me as your tech support, so I need to know everything.”
“Copy that.” Andre ended the call and slid the phone into his pocket. “You heard him. Grab your computers. We don’t make another move until we’ve reviewed the files he sent.”
“Divide and conquer?” Elias asked.
He nodded. “We’ll take Thomas. You and Iona take Angie Dodd.”
Iona’s hands fisted.
After the operatives retrieved their laptops, Andre and Riley set up at the breakfast bar while Elias and Iona worked at the table.
Waiting for his laptop to boot up, Andre glanced at Riley. “Would you prefer to research Christopher’s case? I can read the research on Thomas and tell you what Zane found. I wouldn’t blame you for avoiding the report like the plague.”
“I’d blame myself. I’m not a weak woman, and handling hard things is what Fortress does.”