Chapter 16
Chapter Sixteen
Elton stood at the head of Redemption Inc.
’s conference table and counted the missing persons cases scattered from one end of the table to the other, fighting like hell not to collapse under the weight of hopelessness and rage.
“They’re putting good, hardworking people on planes and sending them to God only knows where. ”
Mel leaned a hip against the table. “Which is why we’re working every contact we have to confirm who is missing, then making a plan to find them. This is what we do professionally.”
Hunters. Bounties usually, but by the look of the conference table and the various portable boards around the once residential condo turned corporate HQ, Redemption Inc.
was temporarily in the search and rescue business.
No one better for it than Braxton Kane, the retired SFPD chief, and Mel, who’d parlayed a successful FBI career into an even more successful bounty chasing one.
With no shortage of hackers on their team too, including the former SFPD IT specialist seated at the table.
He dug the airport lounge napkin out of his pocket and handed it to Jax.
“If these folks aren’t on your list already, we need to add them. ”
Archer had called him earlier today, and Elton had been so starved for his voice that he hadn’t noticed Archer’s distress at first. But when he’d clued in, the news Archer delivered had made his chest clench.
Miguel and Daniela hadn’t shown up for work.
Neither had more than a dozen other of the winery’s workers.
“Archer?” Mel said.
He nodded. “Seasonal hires except the last two. They’re regular staff. Venezuelan, TPS. Didn’t show up today.”
“They could just be—”
“They’re his two most reliable employees.”
Jax’s fingers flew across the keyboard. “We’ll find them.”
“And once we do,” Mel said, “Oak and Helena will reach out to their families with names of immigration counsel who can help.”
“Pro bono?” Elton asked.
“Some, with a nonprofit the Talleys set up covering the rest.”
“Tell me how I can donate.”
“Might be you can do more than that, but I’ll let Aidan make that pitch.”
He blew out a stuttering breath and glided his hands over his head, knitting them behind his neck. He’d known it would be bad this go-round, but it had only been four months and things were far worse than he’d imagined.
And deteriorating faster each day.
“They’re also putting good people who look like you and me out of jobs,” Mel said, an exclamation point on his mental woe. “You need to start thinking about after.”
And faster still.
He let his arms fall and leaned back his head, groaning.
Mel squeezed his biceps. “When’s the last time you saw Archer?”
He rolled his head on his shoulders, shooting his friend a side-eye. “You’re usually smoother with your segues.”
“I thought it was smooth,” Jax said, tone distracted, flat almost, not the hacker’s usual good-natured snark.
Elton observed them more closely. Their mohawk lacked its typical height and loud color, and their cuticles were a crime scene.
Yes, the government was targeting immigrants and people of color, but they were also targeting trans and non-binary folks like Jax.
Shaking loose his limbs, he made a lap around the condo, collecting then refilling coffee mugs. On the lap back, he handed Mel’s back to her, then slid into the chair between her and Jax, pushing another fresh mug the hacker’s way. “Are you okay?” he asked.
They finished a flurry of keystrokes, then claimed their coffee mug with one hand. With the other, they pulled a chain out from under their starched shirt collar, a simple silver ring dangling like a charm.
“Married Feb earlier this week, before they make it so we can’t.”
Before.
Not in case.
That one word knocked the emotional wind out of him, Mel’s “you’ve also been in love with her from first sight” a distant buzz in his ears.
Before.
Not in case.
In such a world, could he afford more maybes when it came to Archer? Was now his only option if he wanted to see where this delicate, electric thing with Archer led? How much time had he wasted getting back here?
Jax’s playful, snarky “Yeah, because she’s hot as fuck” broke through his mental spiral; that was more like the hacker he knew. Their genuine “And she’s my favorite person” brought him fully back, the heartfelt sentiment a welcome bright spot.
He tapped his mug against theirs. “I’m happy for you, Jax.”
“You deserve a dose of happy too.”
“Jax is right,” Mel said. “Get away this weekend. We’ll hold down the fort.”
His gaze landed on the list of names he’d scribbled on the napkin. “How, when it comes this fast and furious, all of it bad?”
“That’s what they want. To flood the zone, to exhaust all of us so we don’t fight, so we lose sight of who we are.”
He wrapped both hands around his mug, absorbing the heat, letting it provide a protective buffer from the truth he uttered. “But I’d already lost sight of part of myself a while ago.”
“And yet,” Mel said, a hand on his forearm, “you created the opportunity to find yourself, to find him, again. Follow through, Agent Moore.”
He chuckled and patted her hand. “Well played, SAC Cruz.”
“Don’t ever accuse me of being bad at segues again,” she said with a smirk.
“We’ll let you know as soon as we hear anything on Daniela and Miguel,” Jax assured him. “You should do what she says. She’s usually right.”
“Sucks, doesn’t it?” He laughed fondly in resignation.
“Can you do me a quick favor?” At their nod, he asked them to pull up the directions to the winery on their laptop while he dug the Ruby’s Other Farm magnet out of his wallet.
He set it next to the screen, snapped a picture with his phone, then sent it to Archer with a text: Fair warning. I’m on my way.