Page 83 of Rescued Faith

“No! This militia wants the publicity. The attention. They want to make a spectacle of my family. I will not give them the satisfaction. And there is no need to cause the public to panic. We will go on with the events as planned.”

With that, the man turned and left, Jason Woods and the mayor right behind him.

Small conversations erupted around the room. Jude and Penny joined Bryce and Olivia.

“Gutsy move on his part to keep this quiet,” Olivia said.

“He’s not wrong though. These groups want the glory and frenzy. If people knew the governor’s wife and son were missing, do you know how many false leads we’d be sifting through right now? At least keeping it quiet will help us focus on the leads we already have,” Anthony said.

“What leads?” Bryce asked. “As far as I can tell, we’ve got nothing.”

“Not exactly.” Olivia hooked her thumbs through loops on her uniform vest. “You said Sosa was behind the kidnapping of Libby and the kids, but we know he has some tie to the militia too. We have the two dead bodies from the trailer. One of them was Arturo Hernandez. The other we’re still identifying, and we’re processing the scene. That will take time.”

“And we have Emma,” Anthony said.

Penny turned to face Jude. “I want a crack at her.”

Jude paused a moment. “We’ve got nothing to lose. Let’s give it a try. She’ll be transferred to the federal prison soon.”

“I’m going with you.” Bryce didn’t want to let Penny out of his sight, even if she was going to the police station and accompanied by his federal agent brother-in-law.

“You can watch through the one-way glass with me,” Olivia said as she nudged his arm.

Penny stared at his arm where Olivia had made contact. Her eyebrow twitched.

“You good, Pen?” Jude asked her.

“Great.” She flashed a fake smile. “Let’s find our lead.”

Before long, Anthony was sent on a call, but Bryce and Olivia stood behind the one-way glass window, staring at a stark-gray room with a worn table and old wooden chairs. Penny leaned against the wall, picking at her cuticle. She didn’t look up when the door opened and Jude escorted Emma inside.

But Bryce noticed the slight narrowing of her eyes. She was a lioness on the hunt. He almost felt sorry for Emma.

Almost.

“You’re on a sinking ship, Emma,” Penny said, still focused on her nail beds.

“Whatever.”

Jude pulled out Emma’s chair since she was still handcuffed. He took a seat across the table while Penny circled the small room.

“Why are you wasting my time?” Emma speared Penny with a look. “You wouldn’t have me here if you didn’t need something.”

“Oh, we have everything we need. We’re just nice enough to offer you one more chance to lighten your sentence. I’m sure you think you’re protecting Alonzo, but it’s only a matter of time. I doubt he’d be so kind to you. I bet he’ll cave as soon as he’s in custody and leave you holding the bag.”

“Nice try, but you won’t get me to turn on him. He loves me.” Emma didn’t look too worried as she leaned back in her chair.

“Pretty confident words for a woman he left behind.” Penny rounded the table and leaned in Emma’s face.

Emma’s only response was a sharp intake of breath and deadly glare.

“Oh, she’s good.” Olivia chuckled.

“Yeah, she is.” Bryce leaned his forearm on the frame of the glass, taking a little pressure off his injured leg.

Jude sat back watching the exchange, letting the women talk. Penny pulled out her phone and set it on the table in front of Emma. “This guy gave us everything we needed to know. Before he died.”

Emma sat up and looked at the screen. She laughed. “Ramos? He was a low-level dealer. He knew nothing. You’re bluffing.”

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