Kane said, “Hop in, we have a lot of questions to ask our guest and need a secure location. I have one in mind.” As soon as Jack closed the door, Kane drove off.
Chapter Twenty-nine
HOUSTON, TEXAS
Patrick made good time and they arrived at the administrative jail at quarter to nine that morning. They were walking up to the lobby when Lucy’s phone rang. She didn’t recognize the number.
“Kincaid,” she answered.
“Agent Kincaid, this is Felicity Dyson, Sean’s lawyer. Don’t go to the jail.”
“I’m already here.”
She turned immediately and went back outside before she went through security. “What’s wrong?”
Patrick followed her, concern etched in his expression.
“I don’t know what happened, no details yet, but a friend of mine from the jail just called me. Sean was transferred to the Beaumont prison this morning. There was an accident on the highway. No one told me about the transfer, I’m on my way to the jail to get answers.”
Ice ran down Lucy’s spine. “Beaumont?”
“It’s federal, maybe this was arranged by your boss Stockton or something and they just didn’t get the message to me.”
“No. No—this is all wrong. Are you sure?”
“I’m not sure about anything, to be honest. I’ll be there in fifteen minutes, but I don’t want you to be cornered by the press or Houston PD.”
“Jimmy Hunt is at Beaumont. Hunt hates my family. Someone set this up!”
Felicity didn’t say anything and Lucy thought her panic had scared off the lawyer.
“How do you know that name? Did Banner already talk to you?”
“No, I just got here—what’s going on, Felicity?”
“There was another prisoner on the transport bus with Sean. Jimmy Jay Hunt. How do you know him?”
“Oh God. Oh God.” This was revenge, pure revenge. Fear ate at her stomach. How in the world could Jimmy have orchestrated something so elaborate? To have all the stars align so perfectly that he and Sean would be on the same transport bus? “Hunt framed Sean. Got him somehow on that bus with him. This is the end game.”
“We don’t have anything confirmed yet.”
“This is not a coincidence. Hunt set this up!”
“That seems impossible.”
“Do you know who Jimmy Hunt is?” Lucy asked.
“Basics—”
“Do you know that Sean’s brother Kane killed his son? That he is Elise Hunt’s father? That he ran his crime family from Mexico for the five years he was on the run?”
Felicity frowned. “I didn’t know about Kane.”
Lucy took a deep breath and told Felicity everything that she knew about the Hunt family. There was a lot. Violence. Drug running. Murder. “After Rollins’s escape, she and her people killed multiple DEA agents, including her former boss. They learned that Sean had been the civilian consultant for the FBI who helped seize their bank accounts. They kidnapped him, forced him to steal money electronically, but he tricked them and alerted the FBI to his location. That’s when we got them all—so Jimmy Hunt lost most of his family and millions of dollars because of Sean. Everything—it’s all revenge. Brad. Nate. Kane.”
“I—”
“These are extremely dangerous people. Sean wouldn’t escape custody, he wouldn’t be party to this or to helping Hunt. He was in this jail for what? Twelve hours? How could he have orchestrated any of this?”
“I need to make some calls, get all this verified—”
“You don’t believe me?” Lucy knew she was losing it, but she knew Sean was in immediate danger.
“I believe you, Lucy, one hundred percent. But Banner isn’t going to believe you. I need someone above both of us to talk to him. Someone above reproach. I’ll be at the jail, outside the main doors, in fifteen minutes. Until then, lay low.”
* * *
It was fifteen minutes of hell.
Lucy called JT Caruso and gave him all the information she had; she trusted him to get more. She called Nate next, filled him in. She tried Megan, but her phone was off. She sent her a text message and hoped she got it as soon as she landed.
Then she called her sister-in-law Kate.
“I just got off the phone with Rick,” Kate said. “I’m heading out now. To Houston.”
“Do you know anything?”
“Rick said Sean is missing, suspected to have escaped with Hunt. One officer is dead, one is wounded.”
“Oh, God. Sean—”
“Is missing. He’s not there. Neither is Hunt. We don’t know what happened, but first responders arrived on scene twenty minutes ago and no one wants to talk to the feds right now. But because it was a federal prison transport, we have jurisdiction. The Houston