Page 8 of Stealth Mission

As I hold the phone against my chest, I offer a wave. “Nice meeting you, Mayor.”

When I turn and walk away, I can feel his untrusting gaze boring into my back.

“I’m here.” I keep my voice low as I stroll down the block.

“You didn’t call back.”

Shit. I didn’t. “Sorry, got a little tied up.”

I’m going to refrain from telling him I got my brain scrambled by a stunner in a sundress the color of poppies with eyes the color of amber.

“Everything good?”

Oh yeah. For multiple reasons. “Better than. I just got an invite to a party from the mayor of Karma and he promises thateveryonewill be there. Golden opportunity, baby.”

“Damn right,” Marshall says with a laugh. “So, I’ve been on pins and needles over here. Was the car you shot at the same car that you and Scout chased in Carollia?”

“Same make and model, same color. I’ve got the tag.”

He whistles. “Damn impressive, sir.”

“The plate starts with the same three letters. Chances are good, but I don’t know what to make about that correlation. When we had that sighting of her, it wasn’t clear if she was with the driver and passenger willingly. This only makes me question that more.”

He speculates the same thing I have. “So if we find this car, we might find her being held against her will.”

“That’s what I’m thinking. My priority is to report the tag to the police and see if I can get any information.”

“Smart. Send it to me as well, I’ll get someone back at Agile working on it. Are you going to loop the police department in?”

I pause in the shade of an overhang as I try to place the sensation I’ve got in my stomach. “I know we’d usually want to include local law enforcement, but something I heard after the robbery doesn’t sit right.”

“Oh?” Marshall stops doing whatever he was doing in the background.

“A woman told me the police wouldn’t be responding to the crime and that I might not be able to find them at the station.”

“What the fuck?”

I nod even though he can’t see me. “My thought exactly. On top of that the mayor was…unsavory.”

“Fancy word.”

“You know me, I got the big vocabulary.” Which is total bullshit, I’m not fancy and never will be. “Anyway, he knew all about me. My name, where I’m staying. He seemed a little too interested.”

“No shit,” Marshall grunts. A car door closes and his engine revs in the background on his end of the call. “Watch your six, man.”

“Roger that.”

He sounds concerned now. “Do you think you should get Beast to send one of the guys up to Karma?”

Marshall’s an excellent boss. Beast is our Team Lead. Also an excellent leader.

“Not yet. I’m fine. We’re spread thin right now with Truck and Levi being stateside. Scout is in El Dorado with Nyx checking out some leads there. I’m gonna go check out this shindig tonight and I’ll keep you posted. What could go wrong at a party?”

Chapter Four

Selfies. Who the hell thought I’d ever be sending one? I snap the shot, smirking like a jackass and send it to the team.

I tap in some text to go along with it:All dressed up. Marshall, be sure to thank Danee for packing a Pelican Case full of suits for this bunch of wild animals. Must have cost a pretty penny. Fits perfectly. I’ll be in touch. If you don’t hear from me, you know where to start looking.

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