No.
Keep me updated, he texted back.Sliding the phone into his pocket, he stepped back to look up at the fourth floor of the building where the unit with the unlisted tenant was located.
There was no point in trying to race to the marina.If the guy there turned out to be Barros, he would probably be long gone by the time Angel got there.
But there might be a way to make Barros come to him.
With any luck, the best chance of making that happen might still be on the fourth floor.
****
TJ pulled his hoodiedown over the brim of the ballcap to help keep the wind-driven rain out of his face as he strode up the small hill at the edge of the gravel parking lot, heading away from the marina.The storm front had moved in fast on the drive here, the wind gusting hard enough to rock Bristol’s car on the highway.He’d left it parked a couple blocks away and smeared mud over the license plates in case anyone was looking for it.
He still had no idea who this CI was, or if he was walking straight into a trap.His only reassurance was the weight of his weapon against the small of his back, and that his handler was en route with two other people from the Portland office.
No one else knew what he was doing.So if shit went sideways before that, backup was too far away to save his ass.
Once again, he was all on his own.
The stark reality of it hit him in a way it never had before.Until moving to Crimson Point, he’d managed to convince himself that he preferred being alone.
Bristol had changed all that.
The depth of his feelings for her were undeniable, had taken him completely off guard.He hadn’t made any promises to her when he’d left because he didn’t know what the future held, and he refused to lead her on or give her false hope.But seeing her cry for him just before he’d walked out the door...Dammit, he missed her already, and the thought of spending the rest of his life without her was too bleak to contemplate.
He pushed all that aside, going on alert.At the crest of the hill, he paused.A lone figure stood on the other side of the quiet dirt road.Tall, rangy, with a hoodie pulled over his head.
TJ took a cautious look around.It seemed like the guy was alone, but the hilly landscape made it impossible to see where any other potential threats might be hidden.And the telltale tingle at the nape of his neck confirmed that his subconscious sensed something was up.
The guy spotted him, pulled his hands from the front pouch on his hoodie and held them up in front of him, palms out.TJ continued toward him, watching him closely and ready to draw his weapon if the guy made a wrong move.
When he neared the far edge of the road and got close enough to get his first good look at the man’s face through the slanting rain, shock ripped through him.
Holy shit. It was Leandro’s right-hand man.
“You alone?”Jon said.
“Yeah.You?”This was unbelievable.Nobody, not even him, would have guessed someone so high up the chain would be feeding them bits of intel all this time.
Jon nodded, glancing around furtively.“I wasn’t followed, but no guarantee we’re alone out here.Let’s do this fast and go our separate ways.”
“Sounds good.They’ve agreed to a deal for you.”
Jon looked back at him sharply.“And to getting my family set up here?”
“Yeah.Just as long as this isn’t a setup, and the evidence you turn over is legit.”
“Of course, it’s legit,” he snapped, blue eyes shooting sparks.“You think I’d put myself in this position, risking the worst kind of torture and death imaginable by doing this, risk the lives of my family by making shit up?”
“Standard procedure.”Now he was dying to see what the evidence Jon had gathered contained.But that wouldn’t happen until after TJ turned it over to his handler and let the agency do its thing to verify the contents were authentic and useful.
Jon started to reach one hand toward the hoodie’s front pouch.TJ tensed and shifted his stance, his hand reaching toward the small of his back.Jon stilled instantly.“The drive’s in my pocket,” he said.
“Move slow.”TJ’s fingers curled around the grip of his pistol.
Jon slowly reached his hand into the pouch and came up with a thumb drive held in his fingers.
“Is this everything?”