Page 51 of Operation: Integrity

Connor turned away, scrubbing his face and letting out a sigh. “You’re right. And Nathan isn’t big enough. We were even able to find him in the criminal justice system. He’s not as big as Evie, whose persona was almost completely made up.”

“Well, she couldn’t have known Evie. I still don’t understand how someone like Nathan who lived and worked an hour away is connected to Wyoming, but he came here to get her and seemed to know his way around pretty well,” Connor said.

“We’ve always wondered how far these webs spread. I think it’s way further than we thought. Maybe they are all a little interconnected. Like one big crime syndicate?” Sam offered.

“No way to know, but I think you’re onto something, which means we’d better be very careful. We’ll be up against people who know how to kill and have no trouble doing it.”

“Police, everyone out!” A loud voice called from somewhere in the building.

“Was that a warning to run or a warning to standdown?” Connor opened the door and looked up and down the hall.

Running footsteps faded away two gunshots echoed around the building. “They’re getting away.” Connor took off at a run, and Zeus quickly caught up and overtook him. Sam chased after, praying they found Kelly left behind.

An officer jumped out from behind a stack of old boxes. “Freeze! Hands up.”

“We were sent by officer Nixon Blake of Piper’s Ridge,” Connor said clearly as he raised his hands.

“Any weapons on you?” He asked.

“Of course. I wouldn’t go into a situation like this unarmed. There’s one on my hip and a knife at my ankle.”

“You?” the officer asked Sam.

“Just my gun on my hip,” he said, staring at the wide-open bay door. “They got away. Didn’t they?”

“Barely. But we’ve got a car in pursuit.” He patted down both of them then asked for their IDs.

Connor and Sam dug them out, and the officer handed them back right away. “Why didn’t you both wait until we got here? They were ready for us because you tipped them off that they were in danger. I could arrest you both for obstruction.”

Sam whipped off his hat and ran his hand through his hair, losing his patience. “We were trying to save Kelly’s life. I hope this doesn’t put her in even more danger.”

Kelly layon the floor of the limo, her hands tied tightly behind her back and the metal collar digging into her shoulder. The car's driver didn’t seem in a rush, nomatter how fast they’d run from the building when the security alarm activated.

Nicolas had seemed surprised that anyone would find them, and it was the first time she’d ever witnessed anything but smug superiority on his face. Now, he spoke in hushed tones with the woman who’d caught Kelly and Nathan. The woman’s name was Ramona Butters, and Kelly was more terrified of her than the men. With men, she knew what to expect. With this woman, she seemed evil to her very core.

Ramona mumbled, “I need to be home and check on my son,” she said. “He’ll need his transfusion soon.”

Viceroy answered, “Your son is weak. I’m not willing to continue this process if there will be no end. Figure out what he needs and be done with it.”

“Our sonneeds a heart and a liver. Without both, he’ll die. Soon.”

Kelly heard the worry in her voice. How could a mother agree to do such awful things? It made no sense. A woman who’d birthed a son shouldn’t be capable of agreeing to what Kelly had been through. Kelly squeezed her eyes shut tight against the waves of nausea attacking her gut. She hadn’t eaten since noon the day before and, though she wasn’t sure what time it was, she could tell it was nearing the twenty-four-hour mark. Not that she wanted to eat anything anyone in the car might offer her.

“You’ve had multiple opportunities to find appropriate donors. I even commissioned a doctor willing to do the operation. You stopped it.”

She huffed. “Because the doctor you found didn’t speak any English and I had no way of communicating with him. How could I be sure he knew what he was doing?”

Viceroy snorted. “Your lack of trust is interesting. Vigo, drop Ramona off here. I have no need of her assistance anymore.”

“What? You’re just going to drop me off?” Ramona clutched the door. “I need to get home. I’m not even near my car or anywhere close to anything. Don’t do this to me. I’ve been loyal to you.”

He hit a button to unlock the doors. “Then be glad I didn’t just shoot you.”

The car pulled to a stop. The driver got out and when Ramona didn’t leave quickly enough, Nicolas put his foot to her rear and shoved her. She tumbled out onto the gravel alongside a highway that seemed remote with snow as far as Kelly could see.

Viceroy laughed. “Woman, you may think you hold something over my head because of our son but I have more children than I will ever know or care about. Be glad I didn’t take your phone, too”

The driver closed the door and they drove off. Kelly slowly moved away from Nathan and Nicolas’s feet by inches. They’d ignored her presence for quite a while, but she couldn’t expect that for long. Now that the woman who’d dominated the conversation was gone, the two left didn’t speak.

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