Page 39 of Seductive Secrets

Dash stepped forward. “I’ll send some people to look into this. I also think we should get the FBI involved. And the DEA.”

James nodded. “I have some contacts at the DEA. I can call them and ask them for help with this.”

Dash nodded. “Do that. And I’ll call my people at the FBI.”

Kasim lifted his phone. “I’m sending my guards to the docks. They know how to do a preview visit and will be able to determine if something looks off.” He lifted a hand when Dash started to say something. “They also know how to blend in so as not to be noticed.”

Everyone was suddenly on the phone. Angela grimaced towards Chloe and Rosalee, then turned and headed to one of the computers. She logged into her email and pulled upthe files her boss had sent to her. Even as she skimmed through the details, warning flags sounded in her head. None of these demands seemed like something that would cause the dockworkers to walk off the job. James was right. This was a set up. Which made her stomach twist into knots. Someone was trying to lure her to the docks in order to trap her.

Just like years ago!

James must have sensed something with her because he immediately ended his call and walked over to her. He wrapped his arms around her and said, “I won’t let anything happen to you, Angela,” he assured her.

She rested her head against his shoulder, needing his comfort and assurance. “I know. It’s just… a bit like déjà vu.”

“Except this time, you won’t be put into a cellar and told that you’d be sold to the highest bidder,” he vowed.

Chapter 10

Angela stood in James’ arms, watching the screen in front of her. It was an image of the Baltimore Harbor docks as several federal agents moved towards the office where Joe told her the heads of the labor unions would be. It was late afternoon and there were several other workers milling about, but it was late enough in the afternoon that most people were already home or heading that way.

“Do you think they’ll still be there?” she asked.

James pulled her closer so that the whole side of her body was against his. “I don’t know. It all seems a bit surreal.”

“I agree. And it just doesn’t seem likely that Joe, the head of the Hazelton legal department, would be part of this mess.”

James kissed the top of her head. “I love that you still have faith in people, even after everything you’ve gone through.”

She shrugged. “It isn’t that I have faith in Joe, or even humanity. I’m sure that Joe does bad things. It’s just…” she paused, her lips twisting as she examined her feelings. She rested her hands on James’ where they rested on her stomach. “I don’t know. I would have said that Joe was the kind of guy who maybe waits a bit too long to mow his grass or takes too many items through the express lane at the grocery store. Joe simply doesn’t seem devious enough to be a part of a drug ring. He’s just too…suburban, I guess.”

“You’d be surprised, love,” he assured her.

Kasim and Rosalee had flown home, a problem in Alistar needed attention urgently. Marco and Chloe were out having dinner with a business associate. Dash was at the harbor,working with the federal authorities, and Callum had received a message from someone at one of his properties that needed his attention.

Everyone thought the issue was resolved, except for the cleanup. The mystery of the strange key was solved – it opened a storage unit where all of the delivery records were kept. The blue powder had been identified. The only issue that remained was that Mark and his fiancée were still missing.

So the federal agents sneaking up on what was most likely a trap seemed almost anti-climactic. Except for the two missing people, the mysteries had been answered.

But for some odd reason, Angela had a niggling sensation that something wasn’t right.

Still, she and James watched as the agents moved closer to the harbor office, everyone alert. They had armed personnel, as well as undercover agents, converging on the area. And yet, when Dash and an undercover federal agent stepped into the conference room, no one was there.

“What?” Angela gasped, startled by the empty room. “What’s going on? Where is everyone?”

Her cell phone rang and the caller ID showed that it was Dash. Angela answered it immediately. “Why isn’t anyone there? What happened?”

“They must have been tipped off that we were coming,” he told her. “No one is here.” He sighed and she pictured him running a hand through his short, dark hair. “If it was a legitimate meeting, the other participants would have been here, Angela. So, your instincts were right on. His call was bogus.”

She had him on speaker so James could hear as well. “So, what do we do next?” she asked.

She could feel Dash’s frustration. “We turn this over to the Drug Enforcement Agency,” he replied.

Angela glanced at James, neither of them happy about that plan. “I guess that’s for the best,” she replied, but everyone wanted a more satisfactory conclusion to the situation. “But what about Hazelton?”

“They’re involved, Ang,” he replied. “Somehow, they are involved. It might be just Joe working with the distributors, or there could be more people involved. In fact, therehaveto be more people. Your boss can only direct the activities. There has to be warehouse people doing the actual loading and shipping.”

“Right,” she replied, her heart aching. “So, I’m working for a bad company.”

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