deserves. I owe her that much to see her request through. It’s the least I can do after I failed her so badly.
Although I’m pissed about Alex’s demanding ways, I hit him with a fact that will knock his attitude down a peg or two. “Kristin made a $30,000 payment to Gabriele Francesco two weeks before the FBI’s raid on Substanz.” I give him a second to absorb my first disclosure before hitting him with another. “It was refunded in full the day following Dane’s accident.”
He clicks on rather quickly. “Because the hitman didn’t get his mark?”
An agreeing hum has barely left my lips when someone’s fist pounding into a steering wheel sounds down the line.
“Alex…” I pull my phone away from my ear to check our call is still connected before squashing it back up against it. “Are you there?”
When my question is answered with nothing but silence, I realize Alex wasn’t beating the steering wheel with his fists. He used his cell phone.
Cursing, I disconnect our call before trying Alex’s work number. He didn’t let me finish, so he isn’t just working off half-truths. If he’s going home as suspected, he could potentially walk straight into a death trap.
When the phone in Alex’s office rings out two times in a row, I resort to a new low.
With my number being unknown, I didn’t anticipate for Isaac to answer as quickly as he does. “Unless your calling to tell me what got Isabelle so worked up after seeing you yesterday morning, I don’t have time for you.” His tone is thicker than usual, incapable of hiding his anguish.
“I need Regan’s cell phone number.”
He’s quick to deny any knowledge of her existence, but before he can hang up on me, I aim to sway his opinion on the matter. “I could have hacked into her laptop, but this was quicker and more respectful. Which would you prefer me to do?” When nothing but his burly breaths come down the line, I add, “Please. It’s urgent.”
I don’t know what gets me over the line, the desperateness in my tone or Isaac’s eagerness to keep me out of his records, but he hands over Regan’s details with only the slightest threat. “If I find out this wasn’t critical, my reputation will live up to your expectations.”
While murmuring out a halfhearted agreement, I scratch pen to paper, farewell Isaac with a grunt, then punch Regan’s cell phone number into a device tracker I designed during my time with the analyst division of the Bureau. It’s faster than the old version, and it brings up Regan’s location immediately.
It’s worse than I thought.
Alex isn’t just heading straight into the line of fire.
So is his girlfriend.
After punching an alert into the Bureau’s mainframe, announcing gunfire at the Bureau-owned apartment block Alex lives in, I dial Regan’s number while hightailing it to my car. I could get in shit if it’s a false alarm, but I’d rather be cautious than sorry. Some mistakes you can’t undo.
I learned that the hard way.
It takes Regan a few seconds to answer, but when she does, I’m confident Isaac gave me the wrong number. “Hello.” She only speaks one word, but her tone is so brittle, I’m confident she’s on the verge of crying. That’s not like Regan at all. Not in the slightest.
“Regan?” The unease in my voice is understandable. I feel like I’m about to be snagged in a trap. When a whoosh sounds down the line, I take that as confirmation I have the right person. “Is Alex with you?”
“No, he’s in his apartment…” I hear her forcefully swallow before she mutters, “… with Kristin.” The brutal slam of my car door drowns out what she says next.
After pressing the start button on the dashboard, I pull my seat belt across my torso. “He’s with Kristin?”
The whoosh from earlier returns. “I think?”
“You think or you know?” I don’t mean to snap at her, but I’ve had enough assumptions the past few weeks to last me a lifetime. It’s time for me to start working off facts.
As I throw my gearshift into reverse, then tear out of my parking bay, Regan replies, “I don’t know. He cuffed me in his car.” When I curse under my breath, her panic doubles. “Why does it bother you if he’s with Kristin?”
“Because he didn’t let me finish.” I push my car to its absolute limit. I’m not going to lie, I need the hit of adrenaline that comes from a sting. I’ve