Page 32 of Baby Heal the Pain

CHAPTER 10

Evan

I leftthe SCIF and found my way back down to the first floor. Red’s team was gathering in the common room behind the gym. Thanks to Jensen, I knew them on sight and had a general idea of their roles. Besides Red, there were four other women on the team, from the blond tactical lead Cynthia Kessler to her tall, dark-haired partner Mai Li, who’d put the dart dead in the center of my neck. Then there was the long-haired brunette Kate Alder, who’d been in charge of the deep-dive into my life, and Tamela Sparks, who sported tight, black curls and who’d helped maneuver me onto the gurney at the cabin.

Then there were the men. TJ hadn’t joined them yet, but there was Jensen, with close-cropped dark hair and a beard, and Penn, the bald, clean-shaven logistics crew lead. No doubt he’d found blueprints of the cabin where I’d gone with Red and had laid out the plan to storm the building. From my minimal observations, coupled with both Red’s and Jensen’s descriptions of them, they were good people. That didn’t mean I was okay that they’d left her to fend for herself on Friday night, and I’d probably never forgive them for cutting short my one night with her.

Which meant I intended to avoid them as much as I could while I was their prisoner. I’d already scoped the first-floor layout, so I headed for the side door that opened onto a small, walled-in patio. I stepped out into the cool, mid-morning air. I turned in a slow circle, my gaze focused above the tops of the brick walls, but I couldn’t make out any landmarks that would give me a sense of where my prison was located. Not that it would have done me any good to know. The reason Jensen had been authorized to give me back my phone was because TJ knew as well as I did that no cops or high-placed friends would have the cache to oppose an elite, covert agency, even if those friends had been inclined to ride to my rescue.

With an annoyed and resigned sigh, I opened the contacts list on my phone and hit LeBeque’s number. She answered after a few rings.

“I don’t have time to do you any favors today,” she said.

“You sure?” I asked. “After all, I helped you take some reckless criminals off the street yesterday.”

“Christ, was that only yesterday?” she said.

I could hear the exhaustion in her voice.

“You sound busy,” I said. “Maybe I can help with your murder investigation into the dead soldier.”

“I already told you, that’s not Chicago PD’s case anymore.”

“I know damn well the feds are commandeering your resources to work their case.”

She dropped her voice. “How would you know that, assuming such a thing were true?”

“Experience. And like I said, I’m willing to help at no cost to the city of Chicago.”

She grunted. “And which appendage would I have to sell to earn this help?”

I grinned because I knew I had her attention, which meant I was close to having her cooperation. “The thing with the feds,” I said, mentally referring to the agency holding me more than the one exploiting her, “is they’re not set up for quick subpoenas. They don’t have the local relationships to open the right doors.”

“And if they did, what doors might they need to open?”

I took a deep breath and plunged into my ask. “The ones that lead to surveillance footage for, let’s say, the ten days leading up to the murder.” The amount of time O’Dell had been in town. She didn’t ask how I knew that, and I didn’t volunteer the information. “Don’t worry, I’m not talking about every camera in the city. I’m thinking cafés, restaurants, bars near the hotel.”

“Places where O’Dell might have eaten, grabbed coffee, or had a drink with a suspicious character.” She sighed. “That’s the great suggestion you have, Prescott, like I’m a rookie who didn’t start pulling that footage yesterday?”

“Not what I’m saying,” I hurried to get back on her good side. “I wasn’t offering a suggestion. I’m offering my eyes and free hours. I’m guessing your detectives haven’t gotten through 10 percent of the footage.”

She was quiet for a minute and I knew I’d hit a sore spot. “Less than that,” she admitted. “For the sake of argument, let’s say I’m amenable to getting copies of the footage to Sentinel Security. I’m assuming Bennet’s going to manage the feds when they find out?”

I glanced at the four-story brick building where Red’s team was holding me. “It’s above Bennet’s pay grade.”

LeBeque whistled. “What the hell have you gotten yourself into now, Prescott?”

I pinched the bridge of my nose and tried to erase the image of Red and me tangled up in each other at that cabin. If it weren’t for her and my concern that she wouldn’t be safe until the O’Dell case was resolved, I’d be killing time working out in HEAT’s state-of-the-art gym and leaving them to deal with the red tape I was currently shredding for them. “I can’t say,” I told LeBeque, “but I can have someone call you who can present credentials and coordinate with the FBI.”

“Shit, more feds, right? Don’t answer that. My IT team can have copies ready within the hour, but the order is going to have to come through the local FBI office.”

“Consider it done,” I said, despite having no fucking idea whether TJ could or would work with his less secret sister organization. “And hey, LeBeque, I won’t even take advantage of the favor I should be earning from this.”

“Don’t push your luck, asshole,” she said, then hung up on me.

It was good to know some things in my world, like LeBeque’s opinion of me, were the same as they had been two days ago. I slid my phone into my pocket and stepped back inside the building. When my eyes adjusted to being indoors, I realized Red was standing a few yards away from me. She must have been waiting for me. Laughter from the common room reached us.

“Sounds like you have a team gathering,” I said. “And I need to have a word with TJ.”

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