Page 60 of Fierce Hope
“I’m not afraid for me,” Gillian interrupted, glancing at her watch. “I’m afraid for anyone who gets in his way. Including you.” She reached for her purse. “I’ve already stayed too long. He sometimes checks my location from the GPS on my phone.”
“Wait,” Jade said. “You need to tell the police if you think he’s involved in something illegal.”
Gillian gave her a pitying look. “The man is one of the most respected attorneys in northern California. He plays golf with a state senator and two US congressmen. Who exactly do you think would believe me?”
She placed a twenty-dollar bill on the table. “Consider yourself warned, Ms. Villanueva. Whatever you found in those church books, it might be better to pretend you never saw it.”
With that, she slid out of the booth and walked briskly toward the exit, the bell jingling as she disappeared into the gray morning.
“Stay put,” Deke instructed. “Axel will be following her. I’m coming in.”
Jade sat frozen, staring at the half-eaten toast on her plate. Her heart pounded in her chest, and she found herself mentally reviewing everything she’d uncovered in the church records. What had she seen that could be worth killing over?
The vinyl seat across from her compressed as Deke slid into the booth. In his dark jeans and gray henley, he looked like any other diner patron, except for the intensity in his eyes and the barely noticeable earpiece.
“You okay?” he asked, his voice both in her ear and across the table, creating a strange echo.
She removed her own earpiece. “I think so. That was ... not what I expected.”
“Sounded like she was genuinely trying to warn you,” he agreed. “Kenji and Zara are doing deeper background checks on Kent right now. And we’re still planning to check that storage unit as soon as we leave here.”
“She seemed scared,” Jade said. “Not just for herself, but ...” She hesitated, remembering the look in Gillian’s eyes. “She really thinks I could be in danger.”
Deke’s expression hardened. “If Kent Wycoff is involved in something illegal, and he thinks you’ve discovered it, that puts you at risk.” He raised his hands in a helpless gesture. “Or she’s totally lying and she really did try to scare you away from her husband. Only way we’ll know is to check out her husband.”
The waitress appeared, eyebrows raised at the change in dining companions. “Coffee, hon?” she asked Deke.
“Please,” he nodded, then turned back to Jade as the waitress walked away. “I know this is a lot to process.”
“I’m an accountant,” Jade said, attempting a smile that felt wobbly. “I’m supposed to be sorting through paperwork, not receiving cryptic warnings in diners.”
Deke reached across the table, his hand covering hers briefly. “We’re going to figure this out. No one’s going to hurt you.”
The warmth of his hand was reassuring, but Jade couldn’t shake the chill that had settled into her bones. She’d spent years looking over her shoulder, waiting for her past to catch upwith her. Now danger had found her anyway, through the most unexpected avenue.
“Griff’s getting the car,” Deke said, releasing her hand as the waitress returned with his coffee. “We’ll head to the storage facility next.”
As they left the diner and stepped into the cold morning air, Jade scanned the parking lot with new awareness. The dark sky, the idling trucks, the passing cars on the highway—any of them could hold a threat she hadn’t even known to watch for until today.
But Deke’s steady presence beside her as they walked to the waiting car made her feel safer than she had any right to feel. Whatever secrets Kent Wycoff was hiding, whatever connection they had to her, she wouldn’t face them alone.
For now, that would have to be enough.
33
The acidfrom that terrible diner coffee roiled in Jade’s stomach as she followed Deke through the main hangar at Knight Tactical headquarters and up the stairs to the command center. How had her life veered so dramatically from spreadsheets and client meetings to covert operations with ex-special forces operators? A week ago, her biggest concern had been finalizing tax projections for a local dentist. Now she was embroiled in what appeared to be organized crime.
As they rounded a corner, they nearly collided with two men deep in conversation. The shorter one—dark-haired with the physique of someone who spent serious time in the gym—looked up first.
“Well, look who it is,” he said, his eyes sliding from Deke to Jade with obvious interest. “The junior team returns.”
“Jack,” Deke acknowledged with a nod. “Austin.”
The second man, big, almost Deke’s size, with shrewd eyes, offered Jade a polite nod. “Hey, Jade. Nice to finally meet you. I’m Austin Daggett.”
“And I’m Jack Reese,” the other one added. “We’ve heard a lot about you.”
“Have you?” Jade shot Deke a look.
