Page 161 of Possession

Carson holds his arms out low. “Who wouldn’t want to see me in my underwear? It’s a gift and a privilege. You’re welcome.”

I’m not the only one who wants to get on with things, because Landyn asks, “Where is Rocco?”

Carson finally gets down to business and crosses his arms. “Your boy is in custody.”

I can feel Landyn’s freakout coming when she exclaims, “What?”

I hold her to me even though she tries to pull away. “This is a good thing.”

“How is that a good thing?”

I focus on her worried blue eyes and try to calm her down. “Because it’s the safest place for him right now. We don’t need him to go back to Damian’s or incriminate himself with the club.”

She bites her lip, glances at Carson, and then back to me. “And Spencer?”

I pull in a breath and don’t want to say too much here in an unprotected area. “Spencer is complicated.”

That’s when Micah enters the ER. “Are you about done? You both need to debrief, and we need to monitor the situation. The wire room went dead. As soon as we cut off communication, the cartel stopped talking. We’re flying blind. I’ve got cars waiting outside to take us to the San Diego Division.”

I look down at my left shoulder as the doctor snips what looks to be the last stitch. He sets down his tools and rolls back on his stool. “You’re done. Keep it clean. No swimming or baths. We’ll give you some ointment to take with you.”

“Can I get a shirt?” I ask.

The doc stands and moves to the door. “I’ll have the nurse get you some scrubs.”

“Cute,” Carson jibes. “You two will match.”

The first thing I did when we got here was demand some clothes for Landyn. She might still be wearing that bikini underneath, but she looks like a hospital orderly in a set of scrubs that hang on her small frame. I don’t have the mental capacity for her to be waltzing around in that see-through shirt that couldn’t net fish if it had to.

I stand and collect her hand. “Let’s go. I’ll show you what it’s like to be on the other side for a change.”

I hold onto her tightly. We’ve been living in an alternate reality—a parallel universe. We made it to the other side. In all we’ve been through, we haven’t talked about what’s next. Where we go from here.

Hell, all we have is what’s on our backs. We left with only a bag of towels and guns.

I’ve got to get us through today and figure out what’s next.

* * *

Landyn

“We’ve cut off Alamandos’communication to most of his counterparts in the U.S. His teams are waiting for the load to cross the border. Damian’s home is being seized as we speak. This isn’t ideal since the product hasn’t left Mexico yet, but we couldn’t wait after the boat chase. At least you were the sole contact between the Marinos and the Jackals. The product is on the move, and Alamandos can’t do shit about it.” Tim’s eyes shift to me as I stand next to Brax in my oversized scrubs. “Edward Decker and your father have been taken into custody. Their assets are frozen. The scene wasn’t pretty.”

I exhale.

And all eyes in the room follow Tim’s to land on me.

I cross my arms and shrug. “What? Do you think I’m going to be upset about that after what he did to me?”

Carson glances at the men before turning to me. “Would you be willing to testify to that? Human trafficking on top of everything else we have on your father would really put a nail in his coffin.”

I only have to think about that for a moment. “If it helps to make sure he’ll pay for everything he’s done, then yes. I’ll do whatever it takes.”

Brax gives me a squeeze. “I’ll be by your side the whole time.”

“I just wanted to let you know.” Tim pulls in a big breath after bringing us up to speed. “Rocco Monroe is here in the holding cell. We need to figure out what to do with him. His deal is already drawn up by the U.S. Attorney if he tells us everything he knows about the Jackals.”

We’ve been here for all of ten minutes. The DEA San Diego Division is big, and we caused a stir coming in. Apparently, it’s not common for DEA agents to work with the CIA. Brax looked more like a rock star as they shuffled us down the hall to this conference room. An American flag stands in the corner next to a picture of the President of the United States and the Administrator of the DEA. The only reason I know that is because I read the nameplate. I’ve never seen her or heard of her in my life.

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