Rip came and stood beside her.
“But I’m not naïve, and I’m not as trusting of the FBI anymore,” Lela said. “The last time I put my life in their hands, two of their agents were killed, and I nearly was too.”
Rip held her hands. “I haven’t led a sheltered life,” Lela said. “I know what the cartel is capable of. There is no place I could hide that they couldn’t get to me.” She shook her head. “As much as I wish it was true, the FBI can’t keep me safe.” Lela paced the room. “There has to be another way.”
“It’s up to me to protect you,” Rip said. “I’ll keep you out of harm’s way until the trial.”
“I just thought of something.” A ray of hope shone for Lela. “There’s something I haven’t told you…or anyone.”
Rip leaned against the wall. “Let’s hear it.”
“I turned over evidence to the FBI, enough to get Ortiz arrested,” Lela said. “That’s what got me into this predicament.” She took a breath. “But I didn’t give them everything.”
Rip raised his brows. “Speak to me.”
“Well, some of the documents were encrypted, so I couldn’t read them. I didn’t want to hand anything over like that. I wanted to know what the information was first.”
“Where are they now?”
“I stashed the original flash drive in a safe at my apartment.”
“So it’s still there?” Rip said.
“It has to be. I had the safe installed in a hidden place. No one can find it, I’m sure of it.”
Rip lit up. “It might be evidence to crack this wide open. If we had more leverage against the senator and his cartel associate, maybe we could back them off. It’s worth a try.”
“I agree. If Ortiz took the trouble to have the documents encrypted, then they have to be important. I bet it’s something he wants to make sure no one finds out about,” Lela said. “Does Stealth have the capability to decrypt documents?”
“Travis will get it done.”
Lela grinned. “Then it’s time to bust that idiot Ortiz, big time. I’m sure he thinks he’s outsmarted all of us.”
“We’ll see about that,” Rip said, and took Lela’s hand to drag her to the cabin. “Pack up. It’s time to get off this boat.”