Page 21 of Blind Justice

“Disney World?” Noah raised an eyebrow.

“Yeah, laugh it up.”

“So?” Noah bit his cheek to still his chuckle.

Darren’s mouth twitched in something close to a smile. “Getting bang for his buck—wife and kids, mistress, and a work thing. Bringing an entire security team. Big deal going down there. Shipment’s coming in soon.”

“What kind of shipment?”

“Big. Fairchild’s been buying up rocks. Verdant Horizons are the ones doing the design for the new capitol building entrance and the rest of the state buildings. Word is ghost guns are getting shipped in with the decorative rocks. First batch is coming in soon.”

Noah’s stomach tightened. Verdant Horizons was a sprawling operation, a monopoly in the state’s landscaping contracts. Their reach extended far beyond beautification projects—they had lucrative deals with public parks, corporate campuses, even the governor’s mansion.

Fairchild was a smooth-talking tycoon with a pristine public image, but whispers of corruption had followed him for years. And Noah was the man who was going to take him down.

Noah leaned back, considering the implications. If Fairchild was now using Verdant Horizons to smuggle ghost guns, the corruption ran deeper than anyone had suspected. Fairchild had cultivated a network of powerful allies, from local business people to city council members and state officials, ensuring his company’s dominance in the market. He wondered if there was someone in the state’s attorney’s office. How else would Fairchild get his name?

“Fairchild’s leaving tonight?” Noah asked.

Darren nodded. “Yeah. He’s meeting his buyers in Florida. But the real action’s here. The rocks now and sod in the spring. They’re going straight to the capitol building site. First shipment is already en route.”

Noah’s mind raced, connecting dots. The capitol building project was a high-profile endeavor, a symbol of progress and renewal for the city of Pierre. No one would suspect the crates of decorative stones lining the grand new entrance might be concealing deadly contraband. It was a brilliant cover, one that would be nearly impossible to unravel without tipping off the players involved.

Darren stood abruptly, finishing his coffee. “That’s all I’ve got. Fairchild finds out I’m talking, I’m a dead man.”

Noah gave a curt nod. “You’ve done your part. Stay low.”

As Darren disappeared into the crowd, Noah lingered for a moment, the information settling heavily on him. This wasn’t just about Fairchild or the weapons. It was about the rot that had spread through the state, corrupting everything it touched. And if the shipment wasn’t stopped, the consequences could be catastrophic.

He walked back to his car, his mind already turning over the next steps. This was far bigger than Ruth’s situation, but the thought of her steadied him. He had promised to keep her safe. With Fairchild out of town, the situation bought him some relative safety and time. Fairchild didn’t want him dead; he wanted leverage. Noah was sure Fairchild would want to be there when they went after him.

* * *

Noah leanedagainst the cold steel railing of a footbridge in the park near the U.S. attorney’s office, the late afternoon air biting at his skin. His phone was still warm from the call he’d just made to Alex, who now strode across the nearby path toward him. As Alex reached the bridge, his sharp gaze flicked over Noah’s face, reading the tension there.

“What’s so urgent we need to freeze out here?” Alex shoved his hands into his coat pockets. His voice was low, his tone serious.

Noah didn’t mince words. “Fairchild’s got my name. He’s looking for a way to leverage me.”

Alex tensed. “What happened?”

Noah recounted his conversation with Darren. When he got to the part about the ghost gun smuggling and the rock and sod shipments destined for the statehouse, Alex’s face darkened.

“Guns in decorative rocks?” he muttered. “He’s not just bribing for contracts anymore. He’s escalating.”

Noah nodded grimly. “And he’s got eyes everywhere. The only way he has my name is?—”

“Is to have someone in our office or to have us bugged.” Alex pulled up his collar.

“If we play this wrong, he’ll see us coming a mile away. We need to loop in the FBI. But we need to go directly to Ethan Hayes. We don’t know how far this goes.”

Alex exhaled sharply. “Okay. The Everhart ladies have a dinner once per month. The guys play poker. It’s at Charlotte’s. We can talk to Ethan then. In the interim, we start peeling back the layers. Hilton’s records—those codes you’ve been working on hold the key. If you can crack them, we’ll have the list of everyone Fairchild’s greased to make this happen.”

“And if Fairchild gets wind of the code break,” Noah said, “he’ll put a hit on me. On you. Hell, on anyone connected to us. At this point, he thinks, if he can leverage me, I’m worth more to him alive.”

Alex’s jaw tightened. “We can’t go to local law enforcement. If we request a protection detail, can we even trust them?”

Noah shook his head. “Not a chance. We need to turn to someone we know. Brad Killian. He’s outside this mess and knows how to deal with these kinds of threats.”

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