Chapter 5 #2
“Naw, man. Shadow only tells what he wants to tell. He tests everybody. I bet me learning he knew Opal was in Barren Valley was a test.” Steve’s face fell. “I failed it. But I couldn’t let him kill Opal. She’s good people. A little lost. Especially now that Georgy’s dead.”
“Who’s Georgy?” Maren asked. “Is he the father of her baby?”
Steve eyes widened. “I don’t know anything about a baby.”
Maren winced inwardly at having just revealed her sister’s pregnancy to this man.
Though she assumed he already knew, which was why he’d tried to help her in the first place.
If Shadow did get to him and he told, what then?
Her stomach muscles clenched with dread.
Was Shadow involved in the illegal baby ring?
“I just know Georgy was tight with Shadow,” Steve continued. “But he and Opal, they wanted out. They wanted to skip town and go far away.” He nodded, his brown hair flopping over his forehead. “Makes sense if they were expecting. The only way out would be if they were dead.”
Hearing this only confirmed for Maren that Opal had faked her death because she thought it the only way to get out from under Shadow’s thumb.
“What do you know about Vinnie Homer?” Colt asked.
Recognizing the name of the person who’d witnessed Opal’s supposed drowning, Maren waited for Steve’s answer, her breath stalling.
Steve made a face. “Not much. I only met him once. He was pals with Georgy. Twitchy guy.”
Maren’s insides twisted with worry. She thought Steve was twitchy and he considered Vinnie twitchy? That didn’t bode well. “Do you know where Opal is now? Shadow’s men tried to kill her in Barren Valley.” She didn’t add that they almost took her out instead.
“No, lady,” Steve said. “I haven’t heard anything more. If I go back to Shadow now, I’m as good as dead, I tell you. I need to skip town.” He looked to Colt and held out his hand. “You gotta give me some money to get a bus out of town. Or better yet, the train. I’ve never been on a train.”
“Tell me where to find Shadow and I will,” Colt said.
Steve dropped his hand. “You don’t find Shadow…” His tone dripped with mockery. “Shadow finds you. That’s why they call him Shadow.”
Irritation crawled up her spine and she stepped closer. Haven moved as well, matching Maren’s step. The dog’s posture was one of readiness in case Steve decided to become a threat. Haven wouldn’t hesitate to sink her teeth into his flesh. “He has to have a base of operation.”
Steve swallowed, visibly frightened by the dog. Yet, he was smart enough to stay still. “If he does, I don’t know it. He shows up when least expected.”
“Where’s the last place you saw him?” Colt asked.
“He came round last week,” Steve said. “I’m not the only guy in this building who runs errands for Shadow.”
“You mean runs drugs,” Colt said.
Steve frowned, then perked up. “The park. I forgot. I got a message to be there.” Eyeing both dogs with wariness, Steve hustled over to a coffee table and picked a piece of paper.
He offered it to Colt. “I’m not showing my face there.
Or anywhere. I’m afraid he knows I told you where Opal was. I haven’t left my apartment in days.”
Maren shared a glance with Colt. This was his CI after all. “What do you think we should do?”
Colt seemed to contemplate the question, and then to Steve, he said, “Pack a bag. You’re coming with us.”
Maren raised her eyebrows. “And just where is he going to sit?”
Colt’s mouth stretched into a mischievous smile. “With the dogs, of course.”
Maren pressed her lips together to keep from laughing.
The image of Steve hunkered down into the back of the dog compartment with Haven and Rusk was comical.
But she wasn’t sure that would be appropriate.
They wouldn’t want to be accused of mistreating him.
“Can you contact someone in the DEA and have them pick him up and taken to a safe house?”
Clearly feigning disappointment, Colt shrugged. “Yeah, that’s plan B. They’ll also do a sweep of the place.”
Maren shook her head and couldn’t keep the small smile from breaking through. She hadn’t considered Colt might have a sense of humor.
“You two got to believe me, if anybody sees you here—” He made a cutting gesture with his finger across his throat.
Thinking of the two teenagers who had been in the hallway when they stepped out of the stairwell, Maren said, “It may be too late to keep our visit a secret. We should call for a police presence. We’ll arrest you. That way we can take you out without any hassle.”
“That’s a brilliant plan.” Colt stepped forward, pulling Steve’s arms behind his back and handcuffing him.
“Hey, hey, hey,” Steve protested.
“Do you want to make the call?” Colt asked Maren.
“If Shadow does have somebody in the police department, it’d be better if you reach out to your agency,” she said.
“Copy.” Colt stepped away and made the call. He returned and said, “Fifteen minutes out.”
“That fast?” Maren said.
“Apparently a team raided a warehouse not far from here,” Colt said. “They’re wrapping up. A few arrests and some drugs confiscated.”
Maren’s pulse jumped. “Shadow?”
“Hard to say since nobody knows what he looks like.” Colt looked at Steve speculatively. “But you can identify him.”
“We need you to give a description,” Maren said.
Steve shook his head. “Naw, man. He always wears a mask. He don’t want no one to see his face.”
Could one of the masked men who’d run her off the road have been Shadow?
Maren tried to remember the height and build of the man who’d broken out her car window, but all she could see when she thought back to that moment was the business end of an automatic weapon.
“Have you heard any rumors about Shadow being hurt?”
Steve shook his head. “Like I said, I haven’t poked my head out in days.”
“Do you know his real name?” Colt asked.
Steve scoffed. “Only those in the inner circle know. Maybe.”
Frustration beat a steady rhythm in Maren’s brain.
“While we’re here, let’s have the dogs search the place,” Colt said.
“Man, this is bogus,” Steve said. “You got no cause.”
Maren pointed a finger at him. “You’d rather we leave you to Shadow?”
Steve blanched. “No.” He gave a resigned sigh. “Whatever.”
Maren and Colt unleashed the dogs and gave the search command. Within seconds both dogs zeroed in on the black cabinet. Inside the cabinet were little pills packaged in plastic and sealed with duct tape.
Taking a picture of the stash of what she assumed to be opioids with her phone, and sending it to Colt, Maren said, “Steve, you’re under arrest.”
* * *
Fifteen minutes later, DEA agents swarmed the neighborhood.
Colt recognized most of them but he wasn’t close to any of his fellow agents.
Several Aurora and Denver police cruisers arrived as well.
While Maren went to talk to the local law enforcement officers, Colt and Rusk walked Steve out of the building, placing him into the back of a black SUV.
When Maren joined him on the sidewalk, he could read the upset on her face. “What gives?”
“The local LEOs are mad that we didn’t call the PD first to make the arrest,” she said. “I told them this was the DEA’s op and that you and I are part of Colorado K-9 Unit task force.”
“Good thinking,” Colt said, admiring her mental acuity.
“Not sure it mollified them,” she said. “They wanted to know why we were chasing down drug dealers when the task force was formed to stop the illegal baby adoption ring.”
He could tell the conversation had her wound up tight. “If Shadow is as plugged into the criminal element in Colorado as I believe he is, he may know something useful. All the more reason we need to bring him into custody.”
Maren’s gaze narrowed. “One of my priorities is finding my sister and keeping her alive.”
Colt acknowledged her words with a nod. “Of course. We can do both.”
“Just so you know, if it comes down to a choice of taking in Shadow or protecting my sister, I’ll choose my sister,” Maren said, her voice hard. “What will you choose?”
His gut twisted. He didn’t like being put on the spot.
For too long he’d been after Shadow. The criminal had proved elusive, and for Colt, the hunt bordered on obsession driven by the overdose death of his cousin.
Colt’s determination was what made him a good agent.
At least, that was what his boss told him.
He didn’t know if he could let an opportunity to take the criminal down slip by.
When he remained silent, Maren asked, “Why are you so hot to bring Shadow down? This feels personal.”
He sucked in a breath. He glanced around at the remaining DEA agents who were bringing out the stash of opioids and putting them into a compartment in another black SUV.
There were tons of gawkers from the neighboring buildings crowding the sidewalks and window frames.
Any one of them could be Shadow. Or working for the drug kingpin. “Personal. Yes, very.”
“And?” she prompted. “The least you can do is tell me why.”
Glancing around again, wondering who might hear and who might be a threat, he shook his head. “Not here.”
She took in a breath, obviously reining in her frustration. “Fine. But I’m not going to let you squirm out of spilling the truth.”
No, she wouldn’t. He’d already discovered she was tenacious. Good trait in a law enforcement officer. “I wouldn’t dream of it.”
DEA Agent Daniel Russell came up to Colt. He wore a dark suit with a shoulder holster visible beneath his jacket. His thick brown hair was swept off his high forehead. His gaze flicked to Maren and lingered.
A strange irritation invaded Colt. He didn’t like the interested look on Daniel’s face. But he couldn’t blame the other man—Maren was gorgeous and fierce and so smart.
Colt mentally reared back from the direction his thoughts were headed.
Falling back on the manners his mother taught him, he said, “Daniel, this is Officer Maren Anderson of the Colorado Springs Police Department.” He refrained from mentioning the task force because the info wasn’t relative to the investigation into Shadow.
Daniel inclined his head. “Officer.” Turning back to Colt he said, “We’re done here. Thanks for the tip. I’ll take it from here.”
“You know what to do,” Colt said, shaking the man’s hand. They’d already had a confidential conversation about placing Steve in a safe house until they could bring in Shadow.
“Out of sight, out of mind.” With one last glance at Maren, Daniel headed to the SUV where Steve Loren sat in the back.
Once the black SUV took off and the police presence dispersed, Colt cupped Maren’s elbow and steered her toward his truck. “We should get out of here, too.”
With the dogs leading the way, Colt and Maren moved in tandem, hurrying to where’d he’d parked his rig.
From behind them, a man shouted, “Opal?”
When Maren would have turned, Colt squeezed her elbow, “Keep going. Hurry.”
Soon they were urging the dogs into a run.
The sound of pounding feet echoed off the brick buildings. Both Maren and Colt skidded to a halt and turned to assess the oncoming threat. Two men ran toward them. Neither wore a mask, which led him to believe maybe they lived in the building but were working for Shadow.
“They think I’m Opal,” Maren stage-whispered. “We can’t let them realize I’m not. But they’ll think she’s working with law enforcement.”
Agreeing with a nod, he yanked open the passenger door. “Get in.”
Maren dove into the passenger seat. “Haven, come.”
Without hesitation, Haven jumped into the cab of the truck, settling in the space on the bench seat next to Maren.
Rusk let out a bark.
“Rusk, come.” Maren patted her lap.
As if seeking permission, Rusk looked at Colt.
Urgency making his voice harsh, Colt commanded, “In.”
Rusk leaped onto Maren’s lap. Her arms circled around him.
Colt slammed the door shut.
As the two men ran up to the truck, Colt placed his hand on his sidearm but noticed both men’s hands were empty. No guns. Good.
He contemplated drawing his weapon and demanding information on Shadow, but the sidewalk seemed suddenly very crowded as more men from the buildings on both sides of the street moved toward him.
Releasing his weapon, he rounded the truck and got into the driver’s seat and started the engine.
One of the men stepped in front of the truck as if to prevent Colt from leaving, but he revved the engine and eased forward, forcing the man to jump out of the way before Colt stepped on the gas and, in a squeal of tires, drove the truck down the street.
He looked in the rearview mirror to see one of the men already on a cell phone. No doubt telling their boss, Shadow, they’d just seen Opal Anderson driving away in a brown truck.
They were going to have to get new wheels. Fast.