Page 61 of Fast Justice

Even the SAIC didn’t seem to know what to say. “The ballistics report will take a while, so we can’t say for sure what happened. In the meantime, I can’t speculate on why he was there except to say that chatter suggests that he was possibly there to collect you and your mother, at your father’s request, and return you to him.”

That lined up exactly with what Oceane had told them about her exchange with her former bodyguard.

“What we need to figure out is how he and the others found you in the first place,” he continued.

“I don’t know,” she cried, tears shining in her eyes, her face drawn. “I don’t know how they found us, who the others were, or who sent them. I don’tknow.”

The SAIC shared a look with Gabe before speaking to her. “I realize this is all very difficult for you.”

“Difficult,” she echoed, her mouth twisting into a humorless smile. “Yes, it certainly is.”

“We’ll need to question you further, once you finish here. One of my agents will bring you down to—”

“I’ll escort her,” Gabe said, understanding that business had to be seen to, but disgusted by the timing and delivery. The man had basically just told her she’d needlessly killed the man she’d trusted with her life for more than a decade, and now he was dragging her away from her mother’s fucking body before she’d even had a chance to say a real goodbye. “But not until she’s ready to leave here.”

The SAIC nodded once. “Fair enough.”

He walked away, and Gabe breathed a little easier. Oceane had composed herself, but now she just looked shut down, arms wrapped around her ribs. “Did you want to…” He gestured behind them at the morgue door, where her mother was.

She shook her head. “I can’t right now. I can’t deal with any more.”

That he totally understood. At this point he considered it a miracle that she wasn’t a hysterical, sobbing mess right now. “You want to go to the cafeteria? Get some coffee or something?”

She blinked at him, almost whispered her response. “I don’t have any money.”

Shit, of course she didn’t. She was in witness protection and had just come from the scene of her mother’s murder. “I’ll buy.”

Another shake of her head, her chocolate curls bouncing around her shoulders. “I just need to sit and be quiet for a while.” She moved to one of the chairs lined up along the wall and sank into it.

Unsure what to do, he took the second seat away and simply waited, giving her the quiet she’d asked for while hopefully making her feel less alone. And safe, hopefully.

“I can’t even bury her,” she murmured a few minutes later, almost to herself.

That was another blow on top of everything else, some salt to go into the gaping wound of her loss.

“She used to visit her parents’ grave every week near where we lived in Veracruz. She bought a plot for us beside them. I guess I can’t even give her her final wish and see her laid to rest there.”

Gabe was pretty sure that once Nieto got wind of this—and that would be soon—he would pull strings from behind the scenes and have someone within his organization take care of everything. He didn’t say it to Oceane, though, and he was never so glad for a distraction in his life than when his phone buzzed with a text from one of the marshals standing guard outside. Hamilton was here with Victoria Gomez, and requesting to see them. What did she and Cap want?

“My team leader’s outside with Miss Gomez,” he told Oceane. With the threat level and recent breach of security, the marshals and FBI agents standing guard wouldn’t let anyone but agency personnel back here without his knowledge and permission. “They want to see us.”

Oceane frowned. “About what?”

“Not sure.”

She sighed. “All right.”

He texted back that it was okay. The door at the far end of the hall opened a minute later and Hamilton walked in with Victoria Gomez. “Cap,” Gabe said as he stood, still surprised. “What are you guys doing here?”

“We heard what happened. Miss Gomez wanted to come down and see if there was anything she could do.”

At that, Gabe and Oceane both looked at Victoria, who stood watching Oceane with an unreadable expression. She wore jeans and a long-sleeve shirt with a high neck on it, even though it was still over seventy-five degrees outside. To cover the scars Ruiz and his men had inflicted.

“You…came here for me?” Oceane asked, sounding puzzled.

Victoria nodded once, shadows in her eyes. Oceane might be years younger than her, but that look in their eyes was the same age. Ancient way before their time from all they’d seen. Lockhart had seen it in some of the guys he’d served with in the military. “I heard what happened. I’m so sorry for your loss.”

Oceane lowered her gaze to the floor. “Thank you.”

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