Page 75 of Betrayed

“She’s going to break into the safe. Excellent.”

“All of our news isn’t good,” another voice said. “You’ve got Jonas, too, my friend. What Rock didn’t mention is the activity on one of our other surveillance feeds.”

“What?”

“It’s Mari. What did you do to piss her off this time, bud?”

“Just tell me what you have to say, Jonas.”

“She’s on the move, about ten miles west of town on I-10.”

“I left her at my suite not thirty minutes ago. Brock was covering.”

“Yeah, he’s tailing her, doing ninety out of the city trying to keep up.”

“Putain de merde!Why didn’t he stop her?”

“Orders were to surveil, not contain, man. Want me to have him run her down? It could get dicey if she doesn’t cooperate.”

“No. In her current mood she’d resist and probably do something crazy like go off road.”

“In a Mercedes?”

“It’s an S600 with a V-12 engine and has power. I’ve driven it. It’s not your mama’s Merc.”

“My mother drives a Buick,” Jonas deadpanned.

Any other time he would have laughed, but being far from a humorous mood, he clarified, “West, you say?” Then, as if to himself, “Where is she headed?”

“It’s Wednesday,” Jonas stated.

“And that’s relevant how?”

“You need to get to the club more. Wednesday is little black dress night. My guess is she’s going to rake you over the coals while communing with the sisterhood and a pitcher of top-shelf margaritas.”

“What’s the call? Are you staying to see what pans out at her house, or do I need to call Dex and have him keep an eye on your wayward sub until you get there?”

Just then, the door to the small brick house three doors down opened and Adri’s husband walked out. He also got into his car and backed out of his driveway. It was the opening he’d been waiting for.

“I can’t leave. The suspect’s home has just now cleared out. I need to get in there.”

“I can send Reed to help you search.”

“No. It won’t take long. Call Dex and let him know it might be midnight before I get there. And, Jonas, make sure he contains her until I do.”

“Roger that.”

“Have you got this?” he asked. This was his case after all. If he needed to stay, he would even though he would fucking kill him knowing she was there, alone, adamant that they were over.

“We’ve got it covered,” Jonas assured him. “Likely Adriana will take a while breaking into the safe. Once she finds it empty, I expect an all-out search of the house will follow, but in the end, she’ll leave disappointed, again. Mari’s cash and jewelry are secure. We cleared out the safe at the residence, just in case.”

“Maybe it’s provident my little hothead is heading out of town. When Adriana finds nothing, she’ll suspect Mari has already gotten an eyeful. Be prepared for her to move up her meeting.”

“Agreed. It’s good she’s out of town and out of trouble.”

His chuckle lacked humor. “She is far from out of trouble. As it happens, she’ll be lucky to sit comfortably for a week by the time I’m through with her.”

“I hear you, man, but go easy. She’s had it rough. I’ll be in touch if we have any major developments on my end. Jonas out.”

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