Page 8 of Critical Witness

Hannah sagged with relief when he left and turned back toward the tiny living room. Her laptop sat open on the coffee table. An invitation to something bigger. She told herself she didn’t have a choice. Not really.

She drafted the wording of her email in a document, rereading it multiple times and adjusting the wording so it was both professional and urgent. With each hesitation, she reminded herself what was at stake. She couldn’t get kicked out. And she definitely wouldn’t be making any deals with the scummy landlord.

After working up her courage, she created a new email address and sent emails to the major news companies, using the email of the highest-ranking person she could find in the company. To show them she was serious, she attached a still from the video from just before the shooting.

When it came time to hit send, a funny tugging in her chest made her keep the emails anonymous. Just in case.

Her hands were shaking when she finished.

Yelling erupted in the apartment next door, pulling her attention from the laptop. Through the thin walls, she could hear every word. She looked around the bleak apartment. Whatever happened, this was going to change her life. She was just praying she was making the right choice.

CHAPTERSIX

They were usingthe small conference room at BTS as mission command for now. Tank and Pierce were combing through the intel that Joey had given them last night after she’d unceremoniously ignored his request for the information on Coulter. Will knew it was because Kensington had been arrested and she was doing everything in her power to clear his name. Or at least get him out of jail.

His phone rang, and he answered without looking to see who it was. The only people with this number were Black Tower.

“Gilbert,” he said by way of greeting.

“We’ve got a complication.” Ross cut straight to the point, apparently.

He bit back the curse word that threatened to escape. “That didn’t take long,” he said drily.

“There was a witness to the shooting. She got it on camera, and she’s trying to sell the footage to the highest bidder.”

Will turned so the rest of the team couldn’t see the expression of surprise and dismay on his face.

“Who is she?”

“We’re still trying to figure it out. We got a tip-off from our friends at WBC Media.”

“She’s a reporter?” Will cringed. In his experience, journalists were the lowest of the low, willing to do anything to get a story—even if it meant selling out a classified mission and putting innocent lives at risk. “How did your boys in black let a freaking reporter into a secured area?”

“Relax, we don’t think she’s a reporter. Miranda’s got some hotel security footage for you to look at. She was wearing a catering uniform. Pretty sure she’s just a hotel employee who was in the wrong place at the wrong time and thinks she can make a quick buck by selling the video.”

Will clenched his jaw. He still didn’t like it. Who tried to profit off an attack like this? “Fine. I’ll take a look at the video. What’s the problem if she sells it?”

“We don’t know what’s on the video yet, but it might have footage of the shooter. And that’s the other update. We’ve narrowed down the shooter to three options. I’ll send you their information via the secure link. We’d like you to bring her in, get the footage, and try to use it to confirm the shooter.”

“Easy.” He guessed they were headed to Florida after all. What were the odds the shooter was still around?

“Unless the shooter finds her first,” Ross countered.

“You think they know about her?”

“I don’t know. But with the Syndicate potentially involved, we can’t take any lead for granted. They’ve got people everywhere.”

Will sighed. “All right, we’re on it.” He looked back toward the conference room. “I need to talk to Joey.” He was still waiting for that information about Coulter.

“Ah, about that.” Ross’s voice made Will narrow his eyes.

“What?”

“Joey’s bringing in someone for backup. But she’s pulling double duty until they get here. She’s at the courthouse now, but she’ll be back in an hour.”

“Are you serious?” On an op like this, the last thing Will needed was his information on a time delay.

“Head to the airport. We’ll be in touch,” Ross said before disconnecting.

---