Page 19 of Marked for Danger

“Because you think I can convince him to go along with this crazy plan.” She met the other woman’s gaze and held it.

“We’re hoping you’ll at least try.”

Izzy’s mind raced as she weighed her options. She loved her brother fiercely, and her loyalty to him was unwavering. She owed her life to Olly. He’d saved her from a danger so unthinkable it still haunted her dreams.

A detail she’d held close to the vest since that horrific night.

Riedell and the others know what happened. They practically said as much.

Her heart sunk to her toes. Did Grady know, too? Had he looked into her background after they first met?

If he did, he never said anything. Not that she should even be worried about that right now.

Glancing back down at the paper still clutched in her hand, she didn’t recognize the street name, but that didn’t matter. Olly was here, and she was absolutely going to pay him a visit. As for the other…

“I’ll try.” She lifted her head and took in the room. “But that’s all I can do. I can’t promise my brother will even talk to me, let alone agree to—”

“All we’re asking is for you to try,” Hunt cut her off.

The room fell into a focused silence, the weight of the task at hand settling over them. Eventually, Sgt. Riedell moved the rest of the meeting forward and the four present discussed plans, strategies, and Izzy was provided with additional pertinent information. All the while, her mind raced with questions and possibilities.

But one thing remained certain—she would go to great lengths to protect the only family she had left. Which meant doing everything she could to get Olly far away from Dante Valdez’s corrupt world.

Izzy rose slowly to her feet. Sliding the thin strap of her purse back onto her shoulder, she gave each of the others a parting glance before muttering, “I’ll let you know how it goes” just before walking out the door.

Chapter 4

“Well there’s an hour and a half of our lives we’ll never get back.” Grady held the door open for his partner and waited for him to pass.

“No kidding.” Declan stepped over the threshold and into the lobby of their home away from home.

There were several districts within the DPD, but there wasn’t any other department Grady would rather work in. Even if some days—like today—he and Dec felt as if they were chasing their tails.

“At least we got Torres.”

Letting the door swing shut behind him, Grady walked with his partner through the tiled lobby, past the reception desk, and toward the set of stairs leading to their team’s secured space.

“True.” He swiped his I.D., the telltale click of the metal lock disengaging letting him know he’d been granted access. “Just wish the asshole was willing to wire up so we could take down Valdez.”

As long as the head of the snake was intact, the man’s sick and twisted business would continue slithering its way through Denver’s streets.

“We’ll get him,” Declan assured him as they started up the stairs. “Just need to find another way in.”

“Yeah, I know. Was hoping we’d found it with Valdez’s ex, but…”

He didn’t finish because he didn’t need to. They’d just come from a visit with Dante Valdez’s ex-wife, and to say she was less than receptive to the idea of sharing anything about her time spent with the dickhead was a major understatement.

The woman seemed to dislike cops almost as much as she hated her former husband, so their entire conversation was very much one-sided. He and Declan had done their damnedest to make her see that by helping them, she’d be ridding herself of Valdez for good, but nothing they said seemed to matter.

“She’s scared of him, you know,” he pointed out the obvious to his partner.

“Picked up on that, too, did ya?” Declan shook his head in disgust. “Asshole probably put her through hell when they were still together.”

“From what we know about Valdez, she’s lucky she got out of their marriage alive.”

The other man nodded. “And she knows if she talks to the cops, she’s as good as dead.”

“Yeah, she may be a piece of work, but she’s not stupid.” With Declan marching beside him, the he made his way up the stairs to the precinct’s second floor.

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