pulled on a coat. He didn’t know what to make of those thriller novels, or for that matter, Pete’s story that someone had stopped by the ranch and claimed they’d rented a cabin. Leroy had taken Evelyn out earlier today, so they hadn’t been there. Pete had sent the potential clients away but questioned Leroy when he returned—and Leroy wasn’t having it.
Liam’s cell rang, interrupting his thoughts. Kelvin had needed to call him back, so Liam had waited on the porch. “Glad you didn’t forget me.”
“My apologies. I’ll get right to it, then. Fox’s lawyer got him out of prison.”
A few heartbeats later, Liam still hadn’t comprehended Kelvin’s words. “What do you mean his lawyer got him out of prison?” Where Malcom had been waiting for his trial.
The prosecution had convinced the judge that the guy was a flight risk. All that money and those international connections, he could disappear for good. No bail for him.
“I mean what I said. He’s free to walk the streets. The case was dismissed pre-trial. His defense attorney found some evidentiary problem.”
Nausea erupted in Liam’s gut. How could this happen? “Care to share the details? I don’t want to hear that I spent two years working this case and now he’s walking free. What happened?”
“I’m working on getting the details, Liam. I wanted to give you a heads-up.”
All that work, months of working undercover. Liam was glad he had stepped outside. He didn’t want Rae to overhear this conversation until he figured out how he would tell her.
“I can’t believe this.” Liam gripped the nearest lodgepole pine post.
“He’ll be back in prison, don’t you worry. He’ll be back where he belongs.”
Liam wasn’t so sure. A sick feeling swirled inside and crept up his throat. He paced, his boots clomping on the porch. A horse’s nicker echoed from the barn below. “Thanks, but I’m not sure what I can do with the information.” Liar. He knew, oh, he knew—
“Watch your back, for one. We believe he wants payback.”
Of course he did. But did he want it bad enough to seek Liam out? “You think he knows who I am or where I am?”
“In this day and age, it’s getting harder to keep your identity a secret. You know that. Just keep your picture off social media. Out of the news. That sort of thing. But . . . I’m not even done yet.”
“You’re killing me here. Tell me.”
Kelvin sighed long and hard. “We don’t know where he is. He just . . . disappeared.”
Great. “That it?”
“Isn’t that enough?”
“What about Enzo Astor? Have you found out anything more since sending me that picture?”
“He’s on my radar.”
Liam wished he hadn’t eaten the stew. It settled in his gut, along with fear and dread. He’d come here because he wanted to escape the ugliness. To get away from it. But it had been trailing him this whole time, and now it felt like he was coming full circle.
“You said he’s on your radar. What can you tell me? It could help us to find Zoey Burke.”
“This is DEA, McKade. You connect the dots.”
Okay. Right. “I hope you’ve got someone in town watching him.”
“I’ll take that under advisement.”
“You do that,” Liam said. “Now, I have to go.”
Drugs. Somehow. Some way. Every crime was connected to drugs. The big question—how did Zoey fit in with that scenario? Pieces were falling into place, but they seemed like the wrong pieces that were fitting into the same horrifying puzzle—and it wasn’t the puzzle he’d started on.
CHAPTER FORTY-NINE
Saturday, 8:52 a.m.
Saddleback Mountain Ski Resort
Rae had followed Liam to the resort in her rental vehicle. Piece by piece, they were uncovering the truth. This would be over soon. She felt that to her bones.
At the moment, she sat at a round table in the human resources office waiting to be given instructions on her new job. She would get to know the employees and “infiltrate,” as Liam had termed it. He believed she would be safe at the resort with him, and he would monitor her location at all times through her cell. He was watching every shadowed corner of the place through cameras as well. For now they would continue their plan to look for anomalies.
While she waited, she typed out notes and created a mind map, bubbles, and everything.
Five years ago, Zoey was taken by a stalker but escaped. She married Rae’s brother, Alan, and got rid of old thriller novels. Rae started investigating a human trafficking ring because of a comment Zoey