Page 71 of Cutter

“Do you suspect a red herring might be in play?” James Weaver asked.

“Anything is possible,” Cutter replied. “It’s a chance you and Emily will have to take. Though, I’m pretty confident it was an oversight on their part. The exchange between Diesel and JT was cryptic enough to confuse an accidental listener. If they suspected me, I doubt I would’ve left the saloon alive, or I might have suffered a fatal accident on the way home.”

“Sounds about right,” James said.

“What other choice do we have but to run with it?” Emily asked. “Let’s say the delivery is a ruse. What’s the worst that could happen, a loss of resources?”

“And my credibility would suffer. I know you don’t want to hear this, Emily, but Savannah SWAT has to be involved ina bust of this magnitude,” James continued. “That will surely attract the DEA’s attention. It can’t be helped.”

“I figured as much,” she said. “Once the threads were pulled together, we’d need help from the bigger cities. The Oquendos’s presence is too sweet a prize for the DEA to ignore.”

James turned to Cutter. “You heard a tentative timeline.”

“Yep. Diesel said the operation is scheduled for Thursday at two in the morning. A shipping container will be transported from the port to the big warehouse on Main Street. It wasn’t clear if the container would arrive at two or that his men were supposed to be there at two.”

“We’ll have to set up earlier and wait for them. I’d rather be way early. In fact, I’m going to check out the warehouse first thing tomorrow. That gives us three days to plan.” James rubbed his chin. “Is the container marked in any way?”

Cutter frowned. “Diesel mentioned a marking of some kind. I don’t know what.”

“Captain, if the information is solid, this is a big deal,” Emily added. “The Chaos is sending ten men to remove the contraband from the container and guard the transfer.”

“This bust has several moving parts. One goes sideways, and the bust collapses.” James glanced at her. “I understand your excitement, Emily. This has been your project from the start. But listen to me. I’ve been in law enforcement a lot longer than you. I’ve seen the best and most reliable operations fall apart for no good reason. Please don’t be disappointed if this one doesn’t go through.”

She shrugged. “I’ve already prepared myself for the worst.”

“Okay, I’ll have an update by the end of the day tomorrow. Regarding the prostitution ring.” James focused his attention on Cutter. “Where is the girl now? Darcy, right?”

“Yes, unless she gave us a fake name,” Cutter replied. “Blade, the Devils’ Spawn president, sent her to Savannah with one ofour guys before Nails or one of his men could catch on. He has a small apartment near the river.”

“The FBI has to be notified, and she has to be moved,” James said.

“Agreed.” Cutter stood. “But there’s a small hitch. I can’t be involved physically. Nails, the Chaos guy managing the prostitution ring, has put a tail on me. The animosity started the night when?—”

“Captain Weaver isn’t interested in that,” Emily interrupted. Cutter narrowed his eyes at her. Oh, boy, another spanking was in her future. But the captain didn’t know she’d disobeyed his orders to stay away from the saloon. She couldn’t allow Cutter to spill the beans.

“As I was trying to say,” Cutter continued, giving her a stern look. “Nails swears I’m up to no good, and he isn’t wrong. I’ve had to jump through hoops to see Emily because of the damned tail. Since Darcy knows me already, I’d offer to help. It’s too risky.” He held up a hand. “No matter what we do, the connection between the Devils’ Spawn and the Garden City Police can’t be made. If the Chaos link us together, we’re screwed six ways till Sunday. I’d have to leave town, and you can say goodbye to your investigation and drug bust.”

“What do you suggest?” James asked.

“If you’ll permit me, I’ll call Blade now and ask the best way to proceed without alerting the guy watching the clubhouse. He could just give you the address of the apartment over the phone, and the FBI, whenever they get their act together, could pick up Darcy.”

James nodded. “Sounds good to me. Let’s see what Blade says.”

As Cutter walked to the kitchen, James sat back and crossed one leg over the other. “Emily, I know all about the saloon. Yoanni couldn’t keep silent. She was too freaked out over theroofie incident and told me. I’ve been wondering how long it would take you to come clean. I’m a little disappointed you didn’t tell me the truth.”

She didn’t miss the tone of sadness in his voice. A pang of remorse struck her. Captain Weaver had always been straight and supportive of her. He deserved her trust.

“I’m so, so sorry, Captain. I went against your orders, and when the situation exploded in my face, I was embarrassed and felt so guilty, I didn’t know how to tell you.”

“Did you learn anything from the experience?”

Hell, yes. Her fledgling ambition had overruled common sense. Arrogance had made her careless. Impatience had nearly thrown her into Nails’s grip. She’d been woefully unprepared for the realities of a criminal environment. Had it not been for Yoanni’s and Cutter’s intervention… She shuddered, thinking about the big what-ifs.

“I’m not invincible, and the badge isn’t a shield. On the contrary, it makes me a target. I still have a lot to learn.”

He nodded, and she clasped her hands, feeling inadequate, silly, and young. Younger than her Tween personality.

“Don’t beat yourself up, Mayhew.” He smiled. “Not a single detective or police officer I know, including yours truly, has skated free from making mistakes. Some have been terrible. The idea is to reflect, gain experience, and draw from it when the time comes.”

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