Page 172 of Beyond the Blue Horizon
That was only a few hours away.
Cash pulled in a steeling breath before he continued. “There were six of them on the plane, and I can’t find anything that says the trip isn’t legit. Found a meeting scheduled for nine a.m. tomorrow morning with a start-up. Just don’t like how fuckin’ close he is.”
River blew out a sigh of frustration while my guts tangled in knots.
Didn’t like it, either. Almost as much as I didn’t like the way I’d left Piper. The way she’d been so close to admitting who she was afraid of before she clammed up. My only solace had been that she hadn’t heard from whoever the bastard was in years. The bastard who’d scarred her back and scarred her soul.
But what was eating at me most was the look I left on her face.
Like I’d already broken her.
But that’s what this would be if we let this spiral any further.
A complete breaking.
Thank fuck Cash had broken that shit up before we crossed a line that we couldn’t take back.
Because having Piper Whittman that way?
Whatever I was trying to stop myself from feeling was going to bust free of the dam.
Rage burned across Kane’s face. “Say we don’t take the chance, break a couple rules, and take this fucker out. Maybe a mugging that goes south.” He might have been nothing but grins and jokes, but he was the most bloodthirsty vigilante of us all.
It’d been discovered last year that he’d gone rogue and had been taking out a bunch of sick trafficking bastards for years.
Otto heaved a massive sigh. “Not that I wouldn’t love to see this fucker in the ground, but it’s risky, man. Piece of shit is high profile.”
He shook his head. “And with his wife and kid missing? It’s only going to cause a brand-new media shitstorm. Reignite the whole thing. Alicia and Lucy’s faces will be plastered all over the place again. Don’t think we can go that route unless it’s absolutely necessary.”
“Otto’s right,” River agreed.
“Yeah.” I offered a rigid nod. “Know how desperate Alicia is to start their new life, and that would likely postpone their relocation by at least six months and would only increase the chance of them being exposed by tenfold.”
“So, what do we do?” River’s attention jumped around to each of us.
Blowing out a strained sigh, I sat forward and nervously tapped my fingers on the tabletop. “You all know about theblacked-out SUV I saw slinking through the motel. Pretty sure I saw the same one earlier tonight, and it gave me the same damn feeling.”
Lifting the hairs at the nape of my neck.
I inhaled before I blew the strain back out. “Something woke me up this morning. A sound or just a sense. I’m not sure. When I went to check it out, was pretty sure I saw a light in the woods. Someone lurking. I took off after them but could never catch up to anything. I might have just been chasing something in my imagination, but none of this bullshit sits right.”
Unease blustered through my crew.
“And the SUV you saw earlier?” Otto asked.
Regret tightened my chest. “Tried to tail it through town but lost him at a light.”
“Fuck,” Kane mumbled under his breath.
“I was going to suggest that we add extra security to Unit A, anyway,” I continued. “But after this? We need to have someone on Alicia and Lucy twenty-four-seven.”
“Do we even need to vote on that?” Kane asked with a glance around the room.
Everyone shrugged in clear agreement.
It was always our priority.
Our only purpose to ensure the safety of those in our care.
