Page 79 of Barrett

His eyes widened. “You ran my name?”

“No,” I rushed to say before the panic completely overtook him. “We used someone who could go in undetected. We didn’t even know if this was your real name, but we could run face recognition. See if you’d come up anywhere, even a driver’s license, but nothing.”

Tears welled in his eyes. “They erased me. They took everything from me and now my identity too.” A choked sob rose up his throat. He covered his mouth with his hand. “I hate them. I’m glad I kicked him in the knee before I ran. He was already hurt. I knew if I hit him there, he’d go down.” That explained why the asshole limped.

Leaning forward, I gently put my hand on his arm. “Tell me who they are, and we’ll take care of it.”

“Taking them down won’t be easy.”

“Lucky for me, I have a mafia boss at my back, who knows a fuckton of powerful people, and has enough money to do whatever he wants.”

“They’re going to lie.”

I shrugged. “Wouldn’t be the first time someone did that to me.”

“I don’t want to go against them in court.”

“My brother will.” Even saying it had bile rising in my throat. I didn’t want Marshall anywhere near this, but he would do whatever he had to so the person or people could be brought to justice. I also didn’t think anyone would need a trial once Jordan found out who was doing it.

“My… my cousin’s name is Archie. His… his father is…”

“The chief,” I muttered. It wasn’t that common of a name. Holy fucking shit. “His son’s name is Archie. He has pictures of him on his desk, always saying how proud he is of his son who has a wife and two kids. The perfect life on the outside.”

“He’s sick. He doesn’t think he’s untouchable, just that no one is going to make it out to bring him down. He has a plan in place and an alibi my uncle would be more than willing to help him with. I don’t know for sure he’s involved, but he could be. If he’s not and finds out, he’s going to cover it up. Archie’s going through a divorce. His wife is threatening to take everything from him, including the kids. She has a wealthy family.”

I couldn’t believe this shit, yet at the same time I could. The chief was a raging asshole, who didn’t belong in the role he was in. It wasn’t surprising his son was a piece of shit too. I didn’t give the whole perfect son thing a second thought. Why would I? I didn’t give a fuck about any of them.

“Okay, I’m going to need you to give me as many details as possible. What he looks like now. What he drives, if you can remember the make and model. Anything he said that you can think of that could help.”

Noah started trembling and wrapped his arms around his waist. “I don’t want to go back there. He won’t let me get away a second time.”

“Reghan!” I called, causing Noah to jump. Reghan had to be somewhere close by. I doubted he’d go far.

“Yeah?” he asked, walking into the kitchen.

“Is there a panic room in here or a place where someone could hide and not be detected?”

“Yes.”

“If shit went down, Noah could go in there and be safe where no one could touch him?”

“Absolutely. I’d offer to take you to Jordan’s building, but once whoever this is knows my boss is involved, it will be a reason for them to think up a valid excuse to search his building. It happens more often than we’d like. If they were to find you there it wouldn’t be good.”

“Aren’t there rooms there for the same purposes?” I asked. Reghan’s lips pressed into a thin line. Okay, I was obviously not getting any information about Jordan’s building. Whatever. When I hopefully went to work for him, I would find shit out. I was beyond curious what was in that place that I couldn’t see.

“Noah?” I asked. “Okay?”

“Tell him,” he whispered brokenly. Not only was Noah scared because of what he’d been through at the hands of his cousin, but he had his uncle, who was the damn chief of the East Dremest PD. A powerful man who did a whole hell of a lot without having to answer to many. We had to play this carefully.

I relayed what I’d learned to Reghan so Noah wouldn’t have to say the words again. When I was done, I looked at Noah. He filled in the information I’d asked him for, but not without hesitation. His words shook and his hands were in fists. Tears streamed down his cheeks. This was someone who’d been through hell and continued to live in it.

The more he spoke, the more I thought the chief was involved. Maybe not at first, given how adamant he was that we catch the guy doing this before anyone else could, but with Noah on the loose, my bet was the perfect son would seek his father out for help. A one-man show could only stay that way for so long. Now he had multiple loose ends in Marshall and Noah.

What I wouldn’t give to get the chief out of a job and into prison as my final fuck you before I quit.

Sylvan came in as we were wrapping up our conversation. “Noah, why don’t I show you where the room is, in case you need to go in there. This way you can know what to expect. It’s very high tech and there’s a lot of stuff in it. A TV, food, whatever you could need.” I was grateful Sylvan thought to do that. It would hopefully help calm Noah’s anxiety a little.

Reghan nodded his head toward the back of the house, where we went through a door and out onto the expansive property. Any other time, I’d want to explore and see what was out there. I couldn’t imagine having this kind of land.

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