Chapter 9
DOMINIC
“What do you want, Dom?” Ethan Mercer answered the phone gruffly.
“Is that any way to talk to someone who led you to the biggest bust of your career?” I asked, only half kidding.
I was getting a little tired of Ethan’s attitude.
Yes, I had gone against his orders at the rail yard, but it all worked out.
Director Keller was arrested, Judge Jefferson was under investigation and pending an arrest, and the SID was up to their eyeballs in evidence.
Ethan could cut me some slack and show a little gratitude.
“What can I do for you?” Ethan said, his voice a little less gruff.
I moved on. It was the only concession I was going to get from him.
“I’m calling to see how the case is going.” I had been trying to get ahold of Ethan for the last few days, but he had been ducking my calls.
“You know I can’t discuss an active investigation,” Ethan said. “And technically you’re suspended from the FIA.”
“And technically I’m suspended because I helped you take down my department, so again, how is the investigation going? Is Director Keller talking?”
Ethan sighed. “No, he’s clammed up. It doesn’t really matter, though. The evidence is overwhelming. Every agency is jostling for their piece of the pie. It’s a huge clusterfuck. How the fuck did no one notice the director of the FIA was the Kingfisher?”
“Because he shut up anyone who found out,” I said, thinking of Mike Holden’s former partner.
“True,” Ethan said.
“Speaking of the Kingfisher, though,” I said. “I don’t think Director Keller is the Kingfisher.”
There was a heavy pause on the line.
“What the fuck are you talking about?” Ethan demanded. “Of course he is.”
I shook my head even though he couldn’t see me. “I don’t think he is. The way he was talking when we took him down… He said, ‘He won’t abandon me’ and ‘He’ll be pissed.’ That doesn’t sound like he’s the Kingfisher; he’s referring to someone else.”
“I didn’t hear that,” Ethan said slowly.
“It’s captured on our body cameras,” I reminded him. “I’m just asking you to keep an open mind.”
“I have to look at the evidence, Dom,” Ethan said. “And the evidence points to Director Keller as the Kingfisher.”
“What if the evidence is wrong?” I argued. “You’ll be convicting the wrong man.”
“The director has done plenty wrong,” Ethan said. “He’ll serve his time for that.”
“And the person pulling his strings will get away,” I said fiercely. “You have to keep the Kingfisher investigation open.”
“I don’t have to do anything,” Ethan shot back, his temper flaring.
“I’m doing you a favor even taking this call.
Besides, it’s not up to just me. Like I said, every federal agency is in this, and everyone agrees with the evidence.
I’m not shaking things up because you say we have the wrong man.
Bring me evidence. Proof. And then we can talk.
But until then, keep your head down and stay out of trouble. ”
I laughed, but there was no humor behind it. “So you’re just going to let Kingfisher continue his operations?”
“Right now, we have the Kingfisher in custody, and we will continue to have him in custody until the evidence proves otherwise,” Ethan said firmly. “I’ve already said too much, so I’m hanging up now. Do not do anything stupid, Dom.”
I rolled my eyes. “Don’t worry. I’ll just fulfill my oath to protect and serve and do your job instead.”
I hung up before he could reply.
“Fuck!” I chucked the phone onto the bed and ran my hands over my head. Well, that was useless. Looked like I was on my own. Well, not really.
I looked around the guest room Adrian had graciously offered to me.
It was decorated in tones of grey and white, but it was safe.
Adrian and the Stone brothers hadn’t skimped when it came to this building’s security.
They were protecting me, but what could I offer them?
Nothing from my federal contacts, apparently.
Ethan had been the third call I had made this evening, and every one of them told the same story.
Director Keller was being charged for his crimes as Kingfisher.
It was an open-and-shut case. No one was willing to entertain the idea that they had gotten it wrong.
I understood to a point. Director Keller being arrested had shone a great big unflattering light on the federal agency.
It was an embarrassment not just for the FIA but also for Justice, which oversaw the federal agency.
Everyone wanted to put it away and get it over with, but the real Kingfisher was going to get away, and the only people who were trying to take him down were a security firm and a vigilante group.
“How the fuck did you get yourself into this mess, Dominic?” I asked, looking up at the ceiling like I would find the answer to my question written there.
I wanted to call my dad to get his advice, but on the off-chance that Kingfisher was monitoring our calls, I didn’t want to put my dad on his radar.
Even without calling him, I knew what he would say. It’s what he always said. When I was growing up and he was a cop, when I went to the FIA Academy, and when I graduated.
“The law tells you what’s legal. Your gut tells you what’s right. Listen to your gut.”
Well, Dad, my gut is telling me that this was where I belonged. In this impersonal bedroom surrounded by these people who were fighting to save their city. I just needed to figure out how to help them.
My phone buzzed on the bed.
Adrian: Dinner’s ready.
I collected my phone and headed upstairs. I wished I had better news to share at dinner. Maybe one of the others had better luck today.
A weird feeling twisted my gut as I used my thumbprint to get up to the penthouse apartment.
The guys had accepted me almost instantaneously, despite the fact that I had originally come to the city to investigate Evelyn.
I was an only child, so I’d never experienced the sibling dynamic before, but I imagined this was what it felt like.
My FIA training warned me against trusting it so soon, but my gut was telling me to trust it.
“Dominic,” Sebastian greeted as I entered the penthouse. “Just in time.”
I couldn’t help but grin back at the cheery youngest Stone brother. He had definitely earned the “golden retriever” personality title Evelyn had dubbed him with. But from my years in the field, something about the way he carried himself told me he could be dangerous when threatened.
“It smells great,” I said honestly.
Alexander was a great cook. It had surprised me when he cooked the first meal we had together from scratch, but clearly, cooking was a way he unwound at the end of the day. And hey, we all benefited from it.
“We’ve got chicken and beef hibachi and vegetables tonight,” Alexander announced. “It’s almost done.”
“Beer?” Marcus asked from in front of the open fridge.
“Yes, please,” I replied.
He nodded, grabbed another bottle out of the fridge, twisted off the top, and handed it to me.
“Thanks,” I said.
Marcus was probably the brother I interacted with the least. He was gruff and guarded. Adrian had told me not to take it personally, and I didn’t. He was fiercely protective of his family, and I was an outsider.
“You two better sit before Alexander has a coronary,” Adrian said, smirking.
He sat across from Evelyn, and Sebastian was next to her. I took a seat next to Adrian, and Marcus took a seat at the end of the table.
“I was not going to have a coronary,” Alexander grumbled as he placed two steaming bowls on the table. “But Evelyn hasn’t eaten since lunch, and she’s hungry.”
Evelyn rolled her eyes. “Yes, I haven’t eaten a meal since the last mealtime. How tragic. I’m going to waste away.”
I chuckled. Evelyn’s glare only lasted a few seconds before her expression softened to a smile.
“I’m going to stop feeding all of you,” Alexander said as he picked up Evelyn’s plate and filled it.
“Sure,” Marcus drawled. I guess that threat was a familiar one, as Alexander glared at him.
For a few minutes, it was quiet as we filled our plates and ate.
“How did it go with Nathaniel Drake?” Adrian asked.
Alexander wiped his mouth with his napkin. “Surprisingly well. We didn’t get them as a client, but when I explained the situation to him, he offered to give us access to the cameras his team was installing. We have the link, and Evelyn has the Archers monitoring it.”
“He gave us access?” Marcus asked, a frown on his face. I agreed with Marcus; that seemed odd.
Alexander shrugged. “He is a philanthropist. He seemed genuinely horrified that something like that had happened in his rail yard and didn’t want it to happen again.”
Adrian tilted his head. “Well, that’s a win then.”
Evelyn nodded, but her shoulders were tight. Looked like she didn’t believe it was as much of a win as the others. “Any luck with your federal agency contacts?” she asked.
I sighed and put my fork down. “Unfortunately not. I called a couple of people, and they all told me the same thing. They consider the Director Keller case open and shut. He’s the Kingfisher.
Nothing I said seemed to change their mind.
Agent Mercer said that they’re getting pressure from other agencies to wrap this up quickly.
It’s an embarrassment to all federal agencies, and they have no interest in dragging it out for other theories.
Mercer said if I could bring him any proof, he would take a look, but otherwise, there’s no help there. Sorry.”
Evelyn shook her head. “Don’t apologize. It’s not your fault.”
She looked so dejected, and all I wanted was to wrap her in my arms and tell her it would be okay. Wait, where did that thought come from? She had a boyfriend—multiple boyfriends, actually. She was an attractive woman, but she was also off limits.
Sebastian squeezed her hand. “We’ll get him.”
“I know, but how?” Evelyn questioned. “We have no leads. This guy is a ghost. And the leads we do have are going to take time to track down. Time we don’t have.”