Chapter 17
SEVENTEEN
When they arrived at the Rocky Mountain division offices of the DEA agency, Colt brought the SUV to a halt. A conflagration of emotions whirred within him. He was about to accuse his boss of colluding with, if not actually being, Shadow. Nausea rolled through him.
He turned to Maren. “I should do this alone.”
He appreciated her determination and her support. “I don’t know if he’ll talk to me with you there.”
“Colt, I know this is going to be hard.” She put a hand on his arm, her touch warm and solid. “But we do this together.”
Considering he wasn’t sure he could trust his own judgment, he nodded.
They retrieved the dogs from the back and headed into the agency.
They passed through the metal detectors, showed their IDs and then took the elevator to the top floor, where the SAC’s office was located.
Through the glass panel next to the door, Colt saw the Special Agent in Charge Leo Herman sitting at his desk talking to someone out of view.
Leo was in his late sixties, tough as nails, with a buzz cut of gray hair and a square build.
As a young man he’d been a marine, and had the same mentality in the DEA.
Despite the turmoil going on inside his gut, Colt knocked. And met Leo’s gaze through the window. Leo waved him in.
Colt opened the door so he and Maren could step inside with the dogs.
Surprise arced through Colt to find Agent Daniel Russell sitting in a chair.
Unlike the last time they’d seen Daniel, he was now dressed in a dark gray charcoal business suit with a red tie.
He had one ankle crossed over his knee. His hair was perfectly groomed and his face clean-shaven.
“Your ears must have been ringing,” Daniel said as Colt shut the door behind him.
Colt wasn’t sure whom he was addressing, but chose to ignore the comment and focus on Leo, his boss. “Can we speak? Privately.”
Leo’s eyebrows rose. “Anything you say to me can be said to the new deputy special agent in charge,” Leo said.
Stunned, Colt’s gaze jumped back to Daniel. “I didn’t know you were up for the position. Congratulations.”
Daniel gave an imperious nod. “I was surprised you didn’t put your hat in the ring for the job.”
“I’ve been busy.” Colt’s single-minded focus on bringing down Shadow hadn’t allowed him to consider the promotion.
The quest for justice and the determination to take the poison off the streets had taken over his life, making him miss family gatherings and giving him no time for much else, including job growth.
Leo stood, his gaze on Maren. “I’m sorry, we haven’t been introduced,” he said.
She stepped forward to shake his hand. “Officer Maren Anderson, Colorado Springs PD and the Colorado K-9 Unit task force.”
Leo nodded. “I’ve spoken with your team leader, Special Agent Emmett Dane.” He flicked a glance at Colt. “I was surprised when he requested for you to be temporarily assigned to the task force.”
“Colt has been a valuable asset to our efforts to bring down a baby smuggling ring. And I’m helping him take down the drug trafficker known as Shadow,” Maren said with pride in her voice that sent warmth through Colt’s chest.
“As well as find your missing sister,” Daniel piped in.
Both Maren and Colt turned their gazes to the agent.
“Do you have a lead on my sister?” Maren asked.
Daniel held up his hands. “No, we don’t. I think any relevant information died with Colt’s CI.”
Colt glanced at Maren just as she glanced at him. By silent agreement they both kept quiet about Vinnie Homer. Though Colt was certain he’d already mentioned the man to Daniel a couple days ago. Why was he pretending not to have heard?
Had he and Maren just walked into a den of vipers?
Colt turned to Leo. “Agent Spares was murdered. The suspect is at large.”
The shock on Leo’s face couldn’t have been faked. “When did this happen?”
Daniel jumped to his feet. “I knew we should have put an officer at the door.”
Leo turned to Daniel and snapped, “You said he wasn’t the target. That Steve Loren was. Why would somebody kill Henry?”
Confused and conflicted, Colt said, “That’s the million-dollar question. Henry claimed that Steve wouldn’t give him the information that he had wanted to tell Maren. But maybe Steve did tell Henry before being shot.”
“Agent Spares also lied to us,” Maren said. “He claimed that the blue panel van that ran me off the road was found burned. But we saw it on the parking lot security camera at the hospital.”
Daniel swore. “I didn’t know. Henry had to be part of Shadow’s network of spies.”
“The doctor tending to Henry informed us Henry’s wound was old and infected,” Colt said, watching both men carefully for their reactions to the news.
Leo tucked in his chin. “How can that be?”
Daniel’s eyebrows drew together. “What?”
“I winged one of the masked men who tried to kill Officer Anderson a few days ago,” Colt said.
Leo looked like he was going to be sick.
He ran a hand over his bristled hair and sat back down.
“This has to stay between the four of us. If word gets out that we know Agent Spares was dirty, whoever his accomplices are might go underground.” He turned his sharp-eyed gaze to Colt.
“I’ve tried to keep your progress quiet after you informed me that your CI claimed Shadow had informants in all branches of law enforcement. ”
Colt wanted to believe him, but he wasn’t sure whom to trust. “We’re due at the Colorado K-9 Unit headquarters.” Though technically not true, they needed to meet with Emmett and get his take on the situation.
Colt was going to need the task force now more than ever to bring down Shadow.
But would Emmett do as he promised and provide the resources they needed?
Or would taking down Shadow have to wait until they could find Mia and break up this baby smuggling ring?
Time was running out to find Opal and to seize their chance to arrest Shadow.
* * *
“I’ve known Special Agent in Charge Leo Herman for a very long time.” Emmett stood behind his desk. “There is no way that man is corrupt. I would stake my reputation and my life on it.”
Hearing her boss vouch for Colt’s boss had Maren tied up in knots. She knew how upset Colt had been when they’d left the DEA offices, thinking that his boss was dirty. They’d gone there to confront him but had ended up leaving without any answers.
She’d been pleasantly surprised by Colt’s insistence they talk to Emmett because her boss was a man of honor and integrity, and she believed he would be a voice of reason.
When they arrived at the task force headquarters, they’d taken the dogs to the training center for a much-needed break with water and some exercise.
Then they’d headed upstairs to talk to Emmett.
Beside her, Colt shifted his weight. He had his arms crossed over his chest and his feet braced apart. “How can you be sure?”
“You’re just going to have to trust me,” Emmett said.
“I’m sorry to say right now that trust is in short supply,” Colt said.
Maren turned to Colt and put a hand on his shoulder. “We do know that Agent Spares was somehow involved with Shadow. That’s a lead we can follow.”
Colt held her gaze. She saw his upset swirling in his gorgeous green eyes and wanted to comfort him, but at the moment, the best she could do was to give his shoulder a squeeze.
“You’re right, of course,” Colt said. Still his body vibrated with tension. She could feel the tightness beneath her palm.
“Go see Eva,” Emmett said. “Have her dig into this agent’s life. He certainly wasn’t doing it for fame or glory. There has to be a money trail to follow.”
“Thank you, Emmett,” Maren said. She tugged Colt with her out of her boss’s office.
“I know you don’t want to believe this and aren’t ready to trust Emmett, but he is one of the good guys,” Maren told him. “I wouldn’t have joined his task force if I thought otherwise.”
Colt ran a hand through his hair as they made their way to Eva’s office. “I trust your judgment more than my own.”
Though she was glad to hear he trusted her, she didn’t like him disparaging himself. “Colt, you are a great agent. You have good instincts. You knew something was wrong at the hospital before anything happened. We need to trust your gut.”
His expression said loud and clear that he wasn’t buying it. She didn’t know how to get him to believe in himself. But she felt compelled to try. “You have to forgive yourself for not seeing through Rebecca.”
“I don’t know…” he said with a shake of his head.
She took his hand. “Listen to me, you are not to blame for her deception. If our situations were reversed, you’d be telling me the same thing.”
A softening in his gaze had her heart pounding.
“You’re right,” he said, his voice tender. “And so wise.”
A flutter of something she didn’t want to analyze had her releasing her hold on him. “Let’s go talk to Eva.” She needed to stay focused on the task as hand.
They found Eva at her desk. She was more than willing to dig into Henry’s financials. “It might take me a while. Since he’s in law enforcement, he would know how to hide his money.”
“How long?” Colt asked, impatience threading through his voice.
Eva considered then said, “Give me two hours.”
“That will allow us time to get some food,” Maren said.
They hadn’t eaten since leaving the ranch several hours earlier.
And Colt needed a break—though he tried to hide his anxiousness, she knew he was stressed.
So was she. They needed fuel to unravel this mystery and deal with everything that came next.
They headed to the cafeteria in the building. Maren chose a chef’s salad and Colt grabbed a ham and cheese sandwich. After unwrapping the plastic from around the two halves, he left the sandwich untouched.
“You need to eat,” she said, stabbing a fork into her salad. “You won’t be worth anything if your blood sugar tanks. Or you’re walking around hangry.”