Page 25 of Red Flagged

Almost as if the universe was eavesdropping on his thoughts, Dante’s phone rang. He checked the screen.Chris Hatch.

“Hatch,” Dante said after pressing Accept.

“Castone.” Chris’s greeting was raspy.

“You sound like shit. Why are you calling?”

“Got a cold. General update and just checking in on you. There’s been whispering about the Campos organization.”

A growl rolled up inside Dante’s chest. Outside, Luna leaped up and grabbed the bouncy ball out of the air and Dani laughed. Dante ground his teeth.

“Maybe it’s just gossip. But Aldo might be upping efforts to get that get out of jail free card. The two suspects in Simone’s murder were found.” Dante perked up. Maybe this shit show was over. Hatch continued, “Before you get excited—dead. Very dead. As in, it took a while for them to be identified and one is a nobody. Alonso Campos is in the wind. We had eyes on him, but he’s disappeared. Which frankly is a pain in my ass.”

That was unfortunate. Dante wondered who was getting demoted over that.

“Dante.” Hatch’s tone seemed wary as he continued. “Aldo told his lawyer to pass along his condolences to you. He is ‘sending his thoughts and prayers,’ to be exact.”

Dante stiffened at the words. Aldo Compos was a psychopath. He wanted out of federal detention and would do everything he could to make it so.

“That’s the real reason you’re calling me.”

“The higher-ups would like you to check with Daniella one last time. Maybe she’ll have remembered something new.”

Dante wondered if he should remind his ex-boss that there were actual qualified homicide detectives on his sister’s case. On the other hand, this was his sister, his niece’s mother, and he wanted justice.

“In my opinion, he’s stirring the pot,” continued Hatch. “And not only is he good at it, but he also has his unhinged little brother on the outside keeping him updated. He’s not planning on going to prison.”

“He’s already in prison.”

“You know what I mean. Staying there.”

“Why did you really call? Just to tell me a psychopath is still after my niece?”

“Stay vigilant, Castone. Don’t let your guard down. I really wish you’d gone WITSEC.” Another pause. “If you need anything, let me know.”

Dante glanced back out the window. Dani was bending over Luna, petting her and presumably telling the dog what a good girl she was. Not wanting to add to her trauma, they hadn’t talked about what had happened that night since he’d picked her up from Hatch’s office. Was it possible Dani knew something more without realizing it was important? Possible, but not probable. Dante knew kids heard shit they shouldn’t, but Simone had been tight-lipped. Still, they needed to talk again and sooner rather than later.

“Fuck.”

“Keep her safe, Castone.”

“With my life.”

Hatch clicked off and Dante moved closer to the window. He needed to call Dani inside but didn’t look forward to the laughter and joy fading from her expression. A few houses away, a nondescript gray sedan parked against the curb caught Dante’s attention. He’d never noticed it before. He didn’t like it.

Without conscious thought, he stepped forward and yanked the front door open.

“Dani!” he bellowed.

His niece’s attention jerked from the dog to him. Dante must not have been as good as he thought at hiding his feelings. Dani’s face paled as she grabbed Luna’s collar, and they ran toward him and into the house.

“Sorry, honey,” Dante said, wrapping his arms around his trembling niece. “I didn’t mean to scare you.”

“What happened?” she asked.

Luna seemed to sense that Dani and Dante were upset. She leaned hard into their legs as if she was trying to hold them up or include herself in their hug.

“Nothing.”

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