Page 92 of Liam
Nylah sent a quick look Courtney’s way before turning back to Eleanor. She spoke softly and carefully. “Do you know if he learned anything?”
Eleanor shook her head. “Not as far as I was aware.”
“Were you together that day?” Courtney asked.
“Yes. We went out for lunch, then he took me home. We watched a movie. When he left, he seemed completely fine.”
Courtney shuffled forward. “So he spent the whole day with you?”
“Yes. Well, from about lunch until late afternoon.”
“Did he message you after he left?” Nylah asked.
“He did.” A tear fell down her cheek. “To ask if he could come back to my place after the bar. I said yes…then never heard from him again.”
Nylah’s heart cracked for the woman. She’d really cared about Carlson.
Courtney rubbed Eleanor’s arm. “I’m so sorry, El. Was he at the bar with friends?”
She sniffed. “Yeah, some old high school friends. One of the guys is a firefighter, another a lawyer. He catches up with them often, but I don’t think they’d have anything to do with what happened.”
No. Whatever he’d learned that had gotten him shot, he’d learned it earlier that day. That was what he’d said before he was shot. Day…not night.
“I know this is hard,” Courtney said softly. “But could we get the names of the guys and look into them, just in case? And perhaps anyone he interacted with during the day? Even who served you at lunch…anything could help. We want to do everything we can to find out who did this.”
She nodded vigorously. “Yes. I’ll do whatever I can to help catch his killer. They took someone from me, and I want them to pay for that.”
Nylah swallowed. “We want them to pay too, El.”
* * *
“They took the bait,”Callum said quietly over the video call. “I got an email.”
Liam’s chest tightened. Was this it? Could they finally be a step ahead of these assholes?
Callum had scoured the web for countless hours before finally discovering a Project Arma hate group, and the second he did, he’d known it was the break they’d been waiting for. Little things gave them away. Like on the day of the engagement shooting, there’d been vague posts about something going down and the world being safer. And the day after, angry comments about needing a plan B. Someone had even mentioned the name Hawk.
Each member of the group was also former military.
They didn’t think Hawk had started the hate group. But they’d already identified some of the dead perpetrators as members, so it was at least a recruiting ground.
Callum had used his fake profile to leave subtle footprints of hate on the web for any survivors of Project Arma before even joining the group. Once he was approved, he participated in several chats, hating on himself, his team, and the Marble Protection men.
Conspiracy theories had been thrown around in various conversations, some even insisting the men involved in the project had their own secret agenda. That they’dwantedwhat had happened to them. Every member thought no man should have the abilities Liam’s team possessed; that they were too dangerous to exist.
“And there’s no way they’d know who you really are?” Jason asked.
“If they dig, they’ll find a full background for a Marshall Fawkes from Salt Lake City. A forty-five-year-old former soldier. It’s solid and will check out.”
“What does the email say?” Liam asked.
“It’s vague, and it asks more than it tells. Basically, they want information about me. They also ask if I want to be part of something great and what lengths I would go to in order to protect my country.”
Liam cursed. “Assholes.”
Jason’s hands fisted. “Okay. What’s next?”
“I’m responding today, giving them everything they’re asking for and making sure they think I’m all in for whatever they’re planning. That I’ll go to any lengths necessary to protect my country.” There was a dangerous edge to Callum’s voice.
