Page 37 of Sizzling Nights

He smiled at Theresa and another tear rolled down her cheek. He swiped it with the back of his forefinger. "Thanks, Jace."

He ended the call and kissed Theresa's forehead. "We've got this. Let's pack up."

She went into the kitchen and knelt down on the floor in front of the stove. He watched her slip her hand under and after several attempts, slide her laptop out. She stood and glanced at him. Shrugging she said, "I needed to hide it and didn't think anyone would look there. Not for a while anyway."

He chuckled. "Good thinking. But your cloud account is heavily encrypted. Your laptop isn't going to matter much."

"Not for that it won't. But I have notes I didn't have time to upload to the encrypted files." She set her laptop on the counter. "Marco, I cracked the code!"

He neared as she logged into her laptop and pulled up a spreadsheet. "See, it's zip codes. I didn't put it together until I saw your mail." She pointed to his mail on the counter. "The zip code is the same as a few of these accounts. That's why I wanted the extended zip code of the law office you were watching."

He chuckled. "That's fantastic. You're as smart as you are beautiful."

He pulled his phone from his pocket and swiped to open his photos. "I took these pictures from mail in the mailbox. Luckily he didn't check it today."

She looked at the mail and found a piece with the extended zip code. "Here it is. I now know this is the code for Blossom Springs and this building. I can match up other codes with the same numbers and the first five numbers. I can then try to pinpoint where these other businesses or people are located."

He leaned in and checked over her spreadsheet. It was long and he could see the organization of her information. "That's impressive, Theresa."

"Thanks. I took it from the ledgers. I've been trying to figure out where all these operators work and where the money is from. Working briefly, it's from all over the US. They're everywhere."

He whistled low and slow. "Fucking unreal."

"Yeah. That's what I said."

His phone rang and she jumped. He turned his screen so she could see it was Jace. He tapped the icon and greeted his friend. "Hey, Jace."

"Hi. Wes is fine with you at his cabin. I didn't tell him your name but vouched for you. I'll take you out there and give you the codes and show you some of the security features. Is it safe for you two to get out of the building now?"

"I think this is the best time. Fire trucks and police are all outside. With the melee of people and frenzy of the fire, we should be able to slip out unnoticed."

"What about a statement from the police?"

"Mitch is down there handling it now. After all, it was his vehicle."

"Gotcha. Okay, load up and come past the Sandbar. It's closed tonight, but I'll be in the parking lot waiting for you. Slow down when you get here, and I'll pull out in front of you and lead you there."

"Sounds good. We're packing up now."

He ended the call and nodded to Theresa. "Grab anything you need. Don't bring anything you don't need."

"Okay." She picked up her laptop and her notebooks and chargers from the dining room table and hurried to her bedroom. He grabbed his laptop and pulled the case from his closet. Setting that in the chair in the living room he hurried to his bedroom and pulled a duffel bag from the shelf in his closet. He quickly dropped in underwear, socks, sweat pants, shorts, and t-shirts. Pulling his toiletry bag from his closet he tossed that in and carried the duffel to the living room. He dropped the duffel on the floor in front of his gun cabinet and rushed to open it and fill it with extra weapons and ammo. They wouldn't go quietly if something were to happen.

24

Theresa packed quickly and lightly. A few clothing items that would have to be hand-washed in the cabin if need be. Her top priority was to have access to her stories to finally figure out the codes and hammer that last nail in the coffin of the Celtics. She'd stew in her own juices to get that story out and she was more determined than ever. At this point, they only had twenty-two hours until the next report dropped. And life could get a bit dicier.

She lifted her backpack off the bed and slipped her arms into it. Moving into the living room she saw Marco emptying his gun safe into his duffel. She grinned.

He nodded. "Safety first."

She chuckled. "Right."

He picked up his duffel, turned off the lights in the living room and kitchen, then peered out the living room window from the corner.

She peered out next to him and saw Mitch out there talking to the police. Other people milling about were looking at the car, which now sat in a pile of steaming ashes, parts strewn around the parking lot, and police and firefighters trying to keep onlookers from picking up the pieces to keep as souvenirs.

She swallowed as she stared at the car. "Thank God I wasn't in it."

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