Page 35 of A Lethal Betrayal

Dane said, “It depends on where they were on the island. Maybe they weren’t close. Maybe no one was followed. A team member was there to keep watch until the guy with the passcode for the safe arrived. They saw us enter and made the call. They arrived after Mac. One guy tags the SUV. The other goes upstairs. He clears the apartment and assumes we’ve left. Goes to the safe to see if Owens left anything incriminating behind. Then leaves again. The other two team members show up later because they were farther away and they’re a clean-up crew. Make sure to take anything that puts Owens in the apartment. Wipe it down. That kind of thing.”

Mac mused about all Dane had said. So many moving pieces. This seemed more and more like a well-oiled operation.

“Still doesn’t tell us why he didn’t look for us. If we weren’t in the SUV downstairs, then why wouldn’t he search for us?” Koa asked.

“We have to figure out who the hell was in the apartment and ask him.”

Dane turned to Mac. “What about you? Why were you at the apartment, and how did you find it? And what about your boss? Did he tell you about it?”

Mac gritted her teeth. They still thought she was the enemy. She decided to be honest. It was really her only shot.

“I had a feeling about Casper. Ever since Owens’s body was found, he has been acting strange. But honestly, I’ve had my doubts about him all along. He’s not very good at his job, but more than that, he seems to know everything and everyone, but lies constantly. It’s…weird.

“I figured out Owens had way more money than a Senior Chief should have. There were two pictures in his personal locker belongings, one of his boat, and the other a view of the beach from an apartment. It had the word Candyland written on the back. I dug until I found it. So I went to Owens’s place because I didn’t want to tell Casper unless I found something. I thought… I thought he would go check it out if I told him and keep me out of it. Then I wouldn’t know for sure what was going on. He did that today. He sent me here to interview you, Dane, while he and Tom Rutledge went to speak to Owens’s team members. Rutledge filled me in. Otherwise, I would’ve been in the dark. We decided to run the investigation our way and keep Casper out of the loop as long as possible because neither of us trusts him.”

Dane leaned forward and put his elbows on the table. “You can see why we’re not going to show you all our cards at the moment then, can’t you?”

She hated to admit it, but she did. “I get it. It just sucks. To be honest, Rutledge and I could use some help.”

Dane cocked his head and then looked at Cain. He raised an eyebrow. Cain just stared at him but didn’t say anything.

Koa yawned. “He’s asking if we can divide and conquer. Bring her in somewhat and share what we can.”

“I got that.” Cain’s tone was exasperated. “I guess, but Dane, you’re liaison with her. Don’t let her fuck us over.”

Dane nodded. “Roger that.”

Mac clenched a fist and breathed through her anger. Where the hell did he get off talking about her like she wasn’t there? She wanted to argue and point out that she could be trusted and was a damn good investigator, but the truth was, if she pushed it, they’d just cut her out of the picture. Since they seemed to have a better idea of what was going on than she did,at the moment, she was stuck biting her tongue.

Cain stood. “The rest of you get your asses home. Back here at oh-nine-hundred. We’ll assess and see what the plan is.”

Everyone got up and started moving out. Cain called to Jace, “Take care of the kid and make sure he’s cool.”

Jace nodded.

Dane looked at Mac. “You ready?”

What the hell was he talking about now? “For what?”

“I have to take you back to your car unless you want me to drop you at your place, and you can pick it up in the morning. Up to you.”

What she wanted to do was strangle him and his boss. She bit back insulting words and glanced at her watch. It was going on two a.m. “Just drop me at my place.”

She followed him out to his SUV, and they got in. Dane sat silently in the driver’s seat.

“Are we waiting for Christmas or what?” she demanded.

He stared at her. “Checking the security footage to make sure no one else fucked with my truck.”

She’d walked into that one. Once again, she bit her tongue and sat silently fuming. How had this gone so wrong?

Dane’s cell sounded, and he glanced at the screen. “All clear.” He started the SUV and headed off Sand Island. “Where do you live?”

She gave him the address, and he turned up the coast. In traffic, she lived about forty-five-minutes away. It should be about twenty at this time of night. Oahu sparkled in the darkness. A bunch of twinkling lights in the middle of the deep, dark ocean. Suddenly, she longed for home. For knowing her neighbors and being with her family. For not being surrounded by darkness.

Dane cleared his throat. “I think we need to divide up the tasks.”

“What tasks?” She had no clue what he was on about at this point.

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