“About the bodyguards?”
Shrugging, she said, “I figured we’d discuss it when you got out.”
“Which is tomorrow, by the way.”
“That’s awesome.”
“Yep. The doc just left and no skin grafts.”
A huge smile lit up her face. “Raiden, I’m so happy for you.”
“But I have to follow his rules to the T. And I also have to start rehab hand therapy.”
“That’s great. It’ll get your motion back, right?”
“We can hope.”
“I have confidence it will.” She kissed my cheek. “Let’s eat before it gets cold.”
She called all the guys in and we dispersed the food. They were very thankful they didn’t have to eat the hospital food.
I said, “You know, the hospital food isn’t bad. They have all kinds of choices in the cafeteria.”
They all stared at me like I’d lost my mind.
Scottie laughed. “Not a chance. I’ve eaten their food. And I’m not a picky eater.”
“Cruze brought me some breakfast from there the other day and I swear it was tasty.”
“Are you sure he didn’t get it from somewhere else?” Adam asked.
“Positive. He said he’s been grabbing meals there since I’ve been in here. He recommended the lasagna.”
Scottie let out a huge laugh. “I prefer the eggplant parmigiana if they have it.”
All the men eyed her, and I cracked up right along with her. Too bad we had bodyguards now. There’d be no banging in the bathroom tonight, dammit.
Chapter Nine
Scottie
Drex called me on his way back from the hospital. One of his men was missing, and the police were assisting with the investigation. He told me about the arrest and it made me wonder.
“Do you think the arrested man was our bomber?”
“No. He swore he had nothing to do with it.”
“And you believed him?” I didn’t trust any of O’Brien’s men.
“Weirdly enough, I did. But Rodriguez is working the case, so we’ll know as soon as he does.”
I’d met Rodriguez a time or two. He showed up after the bombing too, along with the feds. We’d let Isla handle them since, as a former FBI agent, she was familiar with their protocol.
“Thank God you have that connection.”
“True. And Rodriguez is a blessing with these types of cases. But I’m worried about the bodyguard. They wouldn’t just take him. They’d get rid of him since he’d be of no use.”
“But how? In the halls of a hospital? Those are busy areas.”
“Not if they drew him away.”
“Again, how?” I couldn’t see it happening.
“Who knows, Scottie? It’s anyone’s guess. But I have a bad feeling about it. I’m afraid he’s dead.”
“Fucking O’Brien.”
“That about sums it up.”
“Drex, give me one solid reason to think it’s anyone else.”
“I can’t and I’m inclined to agree with you and Isla. This, along with the fake cop showing up, is enough for me.”
“Oh, and thanks for doubling up on everyone. Especially Raiden and Cruze.”
“Yep. They need it the most. I’ll see you in a few.”
The call blew my concentration. I’d been running searches on drug shipments coming in from every location I could conceivably think of. Huff had gotten me into the DEA database, but my time was restricted. I could stay in about fifteen minutes each time before they would detect my presence. After that, I’d dive into the dark web, searching for any kind of footprint that reeked of fentanyl or heroin. Those were the current key players.
As I was fiddling around, attempting to regain my focus, Huff barged in. “Scottie, check this out.”
He handed me a set of papers, and I began scanning through them. The more I read, ice filled my bones until I shivered.
“Huff, this is bad. You think O’Brien’s got a piece of it?”
“Either a piece or all of it.”
Our gazes met, and he was dead serious. He didn’t waver, and I said, “We need to get the entire team together.”
Thirty minutes later, we all sat in the conference room. Huff had made copies for everyone and they read what he’d handed out.
“We’re looking at stolen military-grade weapons. The government won’t concede how many or what kind, but we know it happened. It’s under wraps and I never would’ve found it if I hadn’t followed this trail.” Huff was referring to a series of emails he’d found on the dark web. “Most people who don’t want their illegal activities uncovered use the dark web as we know. I tracked some emails regarding stolen weapons, and it led to what you have in front of you. If Aiden O’Brien is responsible for it, we have a huge issue on our hands.”
Isla spoke first. “Huff, get me into the FBI files so I can see if they are aware of this.”
“Done.”
“Can you do the same for me?” I asked. “It’s worth a shot. The DEA probably is ignorant of this since it’s out of their jurisdiction, but it won’t hurt to look.”
Drex rubbed his scruffy chin. “Who’s our best ATF link?”
Isla responded with, “What about the person you hooked me up with? He was a tremendous help.”
Drex nodded. “He was on my list to call. I’m trying to expand our resources.”
I waved my hand. “I have someone. We worked a case together back in the day. I’m not sure if she’ll help, but it can’t hurt.” My eyes linked with Drex’s, waiting for his answer.
“Call her,” Drex said. “Anyone else?”
“What about your former CIA connections, Drex?” It was Gemini who spoke up.
“Not a chance, especially after all the crap they put you and me through. Besides, they operate outside the US.”
Then Gemini asked, “What about the guy we know in Homeland Security?”
Drex looked at his wife and nodded. “Right. I’ll call him to see if he knows anything. Okay, make your calls everyone and text me when you have something. We’ll start the day tomorrow here.”
My gut was not taking this well. Terrible scenarios played out in my head. If O’Brien used these weapons on any of us, we had no defense. If he sold them to the highest bidder, the US could be in severe danger. Even worse, if they had stolen any nuclear weapons, we were fucked.
Scrolling through my contacts, I located my contact’s number. I hit it and it rang.
“Holy shit. Talk about a blast from the past. Scottie, how are you?”
“I’m good, Mia, how are you?”
“Still huffin’ and puffin’. What’s up?”
“Well, I need a favor. Are you still in Texas?”
“Sure am. Why would you think I’d ever leave?”
“I didn’t. I was only curious.”
“And you? Still in El Paso?”
“Nope. I’m in Denver.”
“Denver? Why there? Isn’t weed legal in Colorado now?”
I laughed. “Yeah, but I left the DEA and am working with a private company now.”
“No kidding! Wow, I’m shocked. I thought you were a lifer.”
“Yeah, it surprised me too. But you know, they made me the greatest offer and I would’ve been a fool not to take it.”
“Well then, congrats to you.”
“Thanks. Now for the reason I’m calling. I need your help.”
“How can I help you? I’m low on the ladder, remember?”
“Haha, funny. Listen, have you heard anything about a sizable amount of military-grade weapons being stolen?”
The pregnant pause expanded, and it was tempting to ask if she was still there. But I kept quiet.
Mia finally blew out a breath and said, “Yeah. What do you want to know?”
“Any suspects?”
“Now that I don’t know.”
“Where were they stolen from?”
“From one of the military weapons stations, but I’m n
ot at liberty to say which. Scottie, if you’re working for a private firm, why would you want to know this?”
“The firm I’m with is a huge private investigation corporation and we think we might know who did it. And if we’re right, we need to stop him.”
“I will say this. It’s not our case anymore. Initially, it was, but the military jumped back in so now we’re out. They haven’t sent any updates on it for a while.”
“A while? How long ago did this happen?”
“Close to two months.”
“Shit.”
“Is right.”
“Mia, can you do me a favor? If you hear anything, will you let me know?”
“As much as I can, yes.”
I couldn’t blame her. She didn’t want to jeopardize her job. “Fair enough. And come visit me sometime.”
“Ha. Who ever has vacation time anymore?”
“I do.”
“You’re so funny.”
Mia was sharp as a tac. If Drex was looking for someone, I would recommend her. But then I remembered it would take an act of God to get her out of Texas. I wonder if Drex and Gemini would ever consider allowing her to work remotely.
That night, on the way home from visiting Raiden, I was glad I hadn’t mentioned this recent issue to him. He had enough on his mind without adding a two-ton elephant to it. The two bodyguards that accompanied me everywhere, Jeremy and Jason, were silent as they drove.
We pulled up to my house, and Jeremy said, “Be right back.” He went inside to ensure everything was okay. Less than a minute later he ran back out, and an explosion lit up the black night. I watched in horror as his body soared through the air and landed several feet from the SUV. I was out and at his side, along with Jason.
“Saw the timer hooked to a tripwire,” was all he said before he passed out. I called 911 as I checked for a pulse. Thank God he was still alive.
“This was a warning. They didn’t want him dead,” I said.
“Why do you say that?” Jason asked.
“They wouldn’t have used a timer. The tripwire would’ve done the trick.” My knowledge of explosives told me that.
We heard sirens in the distance, and I called Drex and explained what happened.
“On the way.”
Chapter Ten
Scottie
The police blocked the street and cordoned off my property with yellow tape. The feds had arrived along with the local law enforcement, bomb squad, and fire department. The ambulance drove away with Jeremy in the back. I’d follow later, but Jason was going with him. Drex was putting me in the corporate apartment until I could find another place to live.
“I really think you should stay with Raiden,” Drex casually mentioned.
“No. I don’t want to do that.”
“Scottie, I know it’s not my business, but you’d be safe there and you could also keep an eye on him.”
“You’re right. It’s not your business.”
His brows shot up. Gemini walked over then and asked what we were discussing.
“I want her to stay with Raiden.”
“And?” She directed her question at me.
“Not going to happen.”
Gemini frowned. “But I thought you two were—”
“We are, but it’s too soon to move in together.”
“I see.”
Drex practically growled, “I don’t. If times were different, we wouldn’t be discussing this, but these are unusual circumstances. The man’s house is enormous. You could have your own room.”
Gemini crossed her arms and scowled at him. “Is this Drex Wolfe speaking?”
“What the hell is that supposed to mean?”
“C’mon, Drex. Put yourself in Raiden’s shoes. Would you ever have allowed me to have my own room in your house when we first started dating?”
“Things were different.”
“But were they really?”
His mouth clamped shut. He scowled at her, then stomped off.
“Wow. I’ve never seen him act like that before.”
She chuckled. “That’s only because you’re not married to him. He’s being ridiculous. I get your point. It would be uncomfortable. Just stay in the apartment. End of discussion. I’ll handle pouty Drex.”
“Thanks. But now that you’ve brought it up, I’ll have to handle Raiden. I can already hear him ordering me to stay at his place.”
Gemini patted my shoulder. “Just tell him what you told my husband. You’re not ready.”
It was the truth. As much as I loved our banter and sexy times, I wasn’t ready to live with the man. We barely knew each other.
“Yeah and that will go over like a lead balloon.”
“Men. They sure like to wear the pants, don’t they?”
I laughed along with her. “It makes them feel strong. And to be honest, I don’t mind him showing that bossy side occasionally.”
“I know exactly what you mean.” She waggled her brows.
The protectiveness Drex displayed around Gemini, I was certain she did. My inner self giggled. “I wonder if it’s safe to go inside. I need to gather some of my things.”
“Let’s check.”
We located the bomb squad and asked. They accompanied me, just to be sure. It wasn’t long before we were done. I thanked them profusely.
“Just part of the job, ma’am.”
“What about the house? Won’t people break in?”
“We’ll board it up but come back tomorrow as soon as you can. You’ll want to call your insurance company too. You can pick up the police report tomorrow, although we won’t complete it until we run our analysis on the materials they used.”
“Thanks. I’ll call in the morning.”
I had a chat with one of the detectives before I left. It was to ensure it was okay that I leave the premises, and I also gave him my contact information.
Gemini and Drex had offered to drive me, but I took my car, knowing I’d need to go into the police station in the morning. I also didn’t want to interfere in their personal lives. They’d been much too kind already. Accessing the apartment wasn’t a problem since I worked at WI and knew all the codes to get inside. The security team also knew me, but Drex had called ahead just in case.
When I finally made it to bed, sleep evaded me. Even though I was bone-weary, my eyelids refused to remain closed. I finally gave up around five a.m. and showered. I went into the office and put a pot of coffee on to brew. By the time the others trickled in, I was hard at work.
Huff approached my desk. “Damn, you’re early today.” He usually was the first one in.
“Yeah, I stayed here last night.” Then I explained why. The more I talked, the higher his brows arched. Then they crashed as he frowned.
“Not good, Scottie.”
“Ha. Tell me!”
“You must be getting too close.”
“Too close to what? I haven’t found much of anything. Besides, I’m pretty damn sure it was a warning.” I described the tripwire and timer.
“I agree with that. They didn’t want you dead. I wonder if they know about your bodyguards.”
“If they didn’t before, they do now.” I checked the time. “Do you think it’s too early to call the hospital and check on Jeremy? I don’t want to wake him if he’s sleeping.”
“Don’t you remember from the last time you were in the hospital? You never sleep there.”
“True.” I tried his cell, but he didn’t answer. Next, I called the hospital and asked for his room.
“Hello,” a frog-like voice answered.
“Jeremy?”
“Yeah.”
“It’s Scottie. How are you this morning?”
“Tired, but I’ll make it.”
“I heard. How’s the head? You took a good hit.”
“My ears have stopped ringing, but the headache is still with me. It’ll go away. Concussions suck. Had a few, so I know. This wasn’t my first rodeo with explosives.”
&
nbsp; “I figured. What can I bring you? I can bring food or whatever you need.”
“Nah, I’m good.”
“Call me when you’re home.”
“Okay. Thanks for the call.”
“Thank you for saving my life.”
My next call was to Jason. “Hey, it’s Scottie. How are you?”
“I’m fine. Sorry I didn’t make it up there this morning.”
“How did you know where I was?”
“Drex, how else? He’s assigning Dustin to us. He should be there this morning.”
“Okay, I’ll be on the lookout. Have you worked with him before?”
“Yeah, he’s great. You’ll be good.”
“Thanks, Jason. Oh, I want to go over to Jeremy’s when he gets home. I’d like to take him some food.”
“Fine. We can help you out with that.”
“Also, I need to run down to the police station.”
“Not a problem. I’ll head over to you soon and when Dustin gets there, after Drex briefs him, we can go.”
“Excellent. Thanks.”
I went to work in the comms room with Huff and, not much later, heard loud chatter outside. That wasn’t the norm because it was relatively quiet in here.
The doors slid open and in stomped Raiden. “When were you going to call me? Another bomb, Scottie, and you didn’t think to notify me? I had to watch it on the news to find out.” He spewed the words out with force. Fury and rage punctuated each word, and it gut-punched me. This was a new side of Raiden, an overpowering one, that had me rising from my chair.
“Hang on one second. One, never speak to me in that tone again. Two, it happened late last night, and I didn’t want to bother you.”
“Bother? Bother?” His voice rose with each repetition.
“Yes, dammit. Stop acting like you own me or you won’t have another opportunity for a discussion such as this. If you can even call it that.”
“Own you? I thought we were more important to each other.”
“So did I, but with the way you’re speaking to me, it has me questioning that.”
His nostrils flared, but he was silent. When I saw he was going to stay silent, I asked, “May I explain without you going batshit crazy on me?”
He only nodded.
“When I came home last night, Jeremy went inside to check and saw the tripwire attached to a timer. He’ll be fine because he immediately turned around. He told me what he saw, and I knew then whoever set it didn’t want to kill me. If they had wanted to, they wouldn’t have used the timer.”
Raiden: A Stand Alone, Irish Mob Crime Romance (The Kent Brothers Book 2) Page 6