Chapter 7
EVELYN
Iswallowed the lump of emotion that threatened to choke me as I walked into Grace’s hospital room. She was sitting up in the bed. Her face was pale, but her eyes were open as she talked to Danny and Izzy.
At my entrance, she looked at me, and her eyes welled.
We collided in a hug. I tried to be gentle, knowing she was still recovering, but her arms were surprisingly strong, and she pulled me closer.
“Don’t you ever do that to me again; do you hear me?” I choked on a sob.
“Not planning on it.” Grace’s voice wavered. “Are you okay?”
“I should be asking you that.” I pulled back, wiping the tears from her cheeks.
She lifted her hand to wipe my cheeks as well, but I grabbed her wrist gently, weaving our fingers together and squeezing her hand as I wiped my damp cheeks with the back of my other hand.
“All I did was lie here,” Grace said. She yawned and frowned. “I don’t know why I’m so tired when all I’ve done is sleep.”
“You’ve been healing,” Danny said gruffly, his own eyes suspiciously misty.
Grace frowned, and I chuckled. Her eyes softened when she looked at Danny, and I hid my grin. I hated that this had happened to Grace, but maybe this had opened both of their eyes to what was right in front of them.
I adjusted myself and settled on the edge of her bed. “Have Danny and Izzy been filling you in?”
Grace nodded. “Up until those bastards blew up HQ.” Her scowl was fierce, and something in my heart healed. Fuck, I missed her.
“Maya and Liam are on their way,” Izzy told me. “They should be here soon.”
The door flew open behind me.
“I swear to god, Liam, if you try to get me to sit in a wheelchair one more time, I’m going to reorganize your file folder structure so you won’t be able to find a damn thing!”
I smiled wryly at Izzy. “Think they’re here.”
She rolled her eyes as they continued to bicker.
“You wouldn’t dare,” Liam gasped. “You’re supposed to be resting.”
“I am resting,” they said, putting their hands on their hips. “Besides—”
I cleared my throat loudly. Maya’s eyes widened as they looked past me. “Grace!”
As Liam and Maya fussed over Grace, I let go of her hand and joined Danny, who was leaning against the wall of the room.
“You okay?” I asked, bumping my shoulder against his.
He wrapped an arm around me and tugged me into his side. “I am. We talked a bit before you all got here.”
“Good,” I said, leaning my head against his shoulder.
I hoped the two of them were able to figure their shit out. If life had taught me anything over the last few months, it was that nothing was guaranteed. Life could change in an instant. We had to grab it and hold on for the ride.
“All right,” I said, straightening and clapping my hands. “Let’s get started so Grace can rest.”
I quickly recapped the events of the last forty-eight hours, including what the guys and I had talked about last night.
“I can see if Matt and Jerome can swing by the rail yard and remove the cameras,” Izzy said, making a note on her tablet.
“See if there’s anyone else available,” I said. “They’ve been doing a lot recently, and I don’t want to burn them out.”
Izzy nodded.
“There’s a chance I could hack the new cameras Nathaniel Drake puts up if he denies us access,” Liam volunteered. “If he uses a closed system, that would be more difficult but not impossible if we can get onsite.”
“Let’s see how the meeting goes first,” I said. “I don’t want us taking risks if we can avoid them right now. Kingfisher will use any opportunity to strike.”
“Speaking of the rail yard…” Maya said, turning to Grace. “Do you remember anything about the night you were shot?”
Grace grimaced and shook her head. “The last thing I remember is thinking I heard a noise coming from behind a train car at the outskirts of the party, then sharp pain in my stomach. There are vague snippets of voices and the ambulance ride but nothing helpful.”
“Maybe she stumbled into a trafficking operation?” Izzy tapped her stylus against her chin.
“It’s possible,” I murmured. “But Judge Jefferson was involved in the trafficking as well, so he would have known it was a hotbed for college parties on Friday nights.”
“I don’t think so,” Danny disagreed. “What college kid tells their parents about parties?”
“That’s a good point,” I said.
It was a leap, but something told me the judge knew more about what his son was up to than we thought.
“The rail yards are the key here,” I continued. “How long has the trafficking been going on through the rail yard, though? And how come we never noticed it?”
“I know we’re beating ourselves up over missing it.” Izzy looked pointedly at me. “But it’s not like any of us have been leading quiet lives. We’ve been stretched thin since we started. We know now, and we’re going to do something about it.”
Her words were intended to be comforting.
I knew that, but they did nothing to ease the heavy swirl of guilt in my stomach.
How many women had passed through this city, terrified out of their minds, on their way to horrific destinations, and I had no idea?
This was exactly the kind of thing I had created the Archers to protect against, and Kingfisher had infiltrated my city right under my nose.
Liam frowned. “I’ll have to look at the files on the judge’s computer. That will at least tell us how long they’ve been involved.”
“The judge and the director were involved, yes, but Kingfisher is the real mastermind here,” I said.
“Let’s reopen the Stephen Miller case,” I instructed. “Look at it through the lens that he was working for Kingfisher. If he supplied the girls, we may be able to figure out where he was keeping them.”
“Sebastian and I are going to work on tracking the truck from that night,” Liam said. “Traffic camera footage is spotty in some places, but maybe we’ll get lucky.”
We were going to need a lot more than luck to take down Kingfisher, but it was a start.
“I know we don’t want to involve my dad,” Maya said, “But maybe he can help by increasing patrols or something?”
I cocked my head. It wasn’t a bad idea, actually. “See if he can up patrols, for sure.”
Maya nodded. “I can also have him prepare a press briefing talking about the crackdown on human trafficking through the city.”
I bit my lip. I didn’t want to put a target on Detective Patel’s back. This was going to be a fine balance of going after Kingfisher and protecting the people I loved.
“He’s going to do it, regardless.” Maya read me a little too well. “This way, we control the narrative.”
“Public scrutiny may make Kingfisher back off for now,” Izzy agreed. “It could give us time to catch up to him.”
“Fine.” I gave in. “But make sure he understands the threat and that he and his men are extra careful.”
I looked at Grace; her face was pale and her eyes were heavy lidded. I couldn’t lose anyone in this fight. I wasn’t sure I would survive it.
“I think that’s good for now,” I said. “Alexander and I are meeting with Drake the day after tomorrow, so I’ll keep you all updated.
Liam, check the judge’s hard drive and see if you can locate the truck that transported the girls.
Izzy, I need a list of everything in HQ.
You’re still meeting me tomorrow at the site? ”
Matt had called this morning as I was getting ready to go to the hospital and said the remnants of HQ would be ready to go through tomorrow.
Izzy nodded. “I’ll have the list by the time we meet.”
“Maya, talk to your dad and explain the plan to him. Warn him to be careful and at the first sign of trouble, he should pull back.”
Maya scoffed. “Yeah, I’m not telling him that last part. He’s out for blood, and frankly, I think we should let him.”
“Kingfisher is—”
“Dangerous,” Danny said. “We know. But he’s brought the fight to us. To our city. And I, for one, am not going to hide while he pulls strings from the shadows. Let him come.”
I held his solemn gaze. “I don’t want any of you to get hurt.”
“That’s our choice,” he said firmly.
I blew out a breath and nodded. I was just going to have to find Kingfisher before he hurt anyone else I cared about or one more person in this city. This was my city to protect.