Page 66 of Knockout

“Meaning?” Liam shoved Blake and Jasper in, and they all sat.

“Meaning I spent the last hour at a sports bar easing up to Lieutenant Turnbull and settling in,” Dakota said as she sat beside her husband. “Asking about his life and getting him sauced enough to say things he wouldn’t have otherwise.”

“He’s on the take?” Liam’s brows rose. “I looked into him. Apart from a cushy post and a cupcake level of responsibility, I couldn’t find anything untoward.”

“It’s all in his wife’s name,” Clare said.

Dakota nodded. “He claims she made a bunch of money a few years ago by investing in some multilevel marketing scheme.”

The same one as the guy in prison Morgan had talked to? He’d called the jail earlier about the fact he’d been notified Raphi was there. No one had a clue what he was talking about. So the whole thing had been a hoax to get him out and away from the department so that the Hummer of gunmen and their friends could begin their attack.

Liam said, “You went undercover?”

“He doesn’t know me.” Dakota shrugged.

“And she has better legs than me.” Her husband grinned.

Jasper chuckled.

Liam went to scratch the back of his head, but he stopped short because it was still tender. “So, he has money, but he has an explanation for it.”

“The company folded.” Clare shook her head. “Before his wife could’ve worked with them.”

It was one of the two female FBI agents in the room who said, “And he has a Corvette, a lake house, and both of his kids go to private school.” Addie Franklin was Russ’s niece. “Though, the kids are on scholarship this year. The Corvette is getting old. House needs updating. The money he got is running out.”

The other agent was Bob’s daughter. Stella said, “We might be able to lean on him. Get Dakota to dangle some bait.” Stella grinned. “She’s pretty good at that.”

Dakota grinned as well. “I’m in. This is fun.”

Josh said, “As if we don’t have enough open cases of our own.”

Speaking of cases, why were they in town meeting with Clare anyway? “Does one of them involve Vanguard?”

Dakota tipped her head to the side. “I’ll fill you in after your thing is wrapped up, yeah?”

Liam nodded. “I would like to get to the bottom of this. Dirty cops, payouts. My father’s death.”

Clare glanced at Gage when he slid his arm around her. “My people discovered a connection between the Russian family you’re going after, the Hurstwhile Center, and Roxie’s…you know. Brad Mills.”

Liam nodded. “The Russians are behind what the center is doing and the dirty cops, right?”

Clare shrugged. “We can’t prove who the instigator is.”

“We need to bring down Raphi Obolensky. Then, this empire ends.” It had cost too much already.

Blake squeezed his shoulder. “And get this Brad guy in the process.”

That sounded great. “Where is Roxie?” She had been working this afternoon when he’d texted, following a lead.

“Trying to get a location on Brad.” Clare lifted a hand. “She has a team for protection.”

Wherever she was, it was good to know she was being safeguarded. Meanwhile, it seemed like he’d been handed the chance to avenge his father’s death.

Liam glanced around. “Let’s make a plan.”

THIRTY-TWO

Roxie stared at the screen of the laptop on the trunk of the Toyota. The breeze whipped her hair across her face, so she tucked it back behind her ear. She needed to redo her ponytail but wanted to get into the house more.

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