to repay her debt. Just like she wouldn’t fall on the knife for Smith, she won’t for me either, but she’s convinced she doesn’t need to get her hands dirty to achieve a good outcome.
“I think we have a way of unearthing Rimi’s location.” Smith lays a set of official-looking documents onto my desk before pressing his palms to the battered material. “Although we have no intel Roxanne is with him—”
“We both know he is,” I interrupt, confident I know him well enough to know what direction he’s taking.
He lifts his chin. “Ellie contacted some friends in the Bureau about an operation that’s being kept under wraps. When her inquiries didn’t yield any results, she contacted less- attributed colleagues.”
When I shift my eyes to Ellie, she faintly smiles. She isn’t comfortable with the line she’s crossed, but she’ll wear the injustice if it has her name smudged from my tally board sooner rather than later.
“What I said earlier about Internal Affairs investigating my department wasn’t a lie. We’ve been under scrutiny for a couple of months now.” Ellie digs through the stack of papers Smith laid out until she finds a trio of two men and one woman. “With bureaucratic tape the thickest it’s ever been, IA will never say who their main suspects are, but even rookie agents can smell a rat.” She waits to see if Smith smiles about the wit in her tone. When he doesn’t, she gets back to business. “These were the main runners for IA’s investigation. I reached out to the first two with the hope a little bit of ego-stroking would entice them into an unethical conversation.” She screws up her nose. “They didn’t take the bait. However…” she places down a photo of a man I’d guess to be mid-thirties with a dramatic flair, “… he loved having his ego stroked. So much so, he wanted to exchange pictures.”
My lips quirk. “You went in as an admirer instead of a colleague?”
Smith doesn’t look happy when she nods. “Previous exchanges with him assured me it was the right route to take.”
“Was it?”
Smith nods along with Ellie this time around. “They exchanged photos. He admired Ellie’s almost nude photograph…” he overemphasizes the word ‘almost’ to ensure I understand she wasn’t exposed “… long enough for me to poke around on his computer. He’s the nark IA is seeking.” After waving his hand over the official-looking Bureau documents, he adds, “This is only a handful of stuff he’s shared with the men his team is chasing.”
The extra beat of my heart is heard in my question. “Is Rimi’s current location amongst this?”
Disappointment smacks into me hard and fast when Smith shakes his head. “But it unveiled a way we can find out where he is.”
“How?”
Ellie takes over the reins. “You’re not the only one chasing Castro. A specialist team has been on his tail for months. From what I’ve heard, it’s a joint CIA/FBI operation, which makes no sense whatsoever since Castro is a US citizen.” Realizing she’s getting off track, she waves her hand through the air, shooing away her inquisitiveness before starting again. “Anyhow, the lead on the case discovered Castro is after a new mark.”
“Roxanne?”
“No,” Smith and Ellie say in sync. “This woman.”
My brows join when Ellie sets down a photograph of Isabelle Brahn. “What does Isaac’s girlfriend have to do with this?”
“Nothing,” Ellie says with a grin, pleased by the confusion in my tone. “Castro merely thinks she’s this woman.”
She hands another photograph to me. Just like Isabelle’s image, I immediately recognize the blonde in the photograph. When I told Brandon James I did some digging, I wasn’t lying. Not only did Smith discover he’s the son of the New York governor—who I happen to have ties with—we also unearthed his first love, mindful not even the ultimate betrayal can break a connection between soulmates. Take Smith and Ellie’s joint operation as an example.
“Castro wants Melody Gregg so badly, he’s willing to come out of hiding to get her. He purchased tickets to an event Isabelle was set to attend as Melody this weekend.” Air whizzes from Ellie’s nose when she exhales deeply. “Unfortunately, the stunt was siphoned down the gurgler a couple of minutes ago.”
“Why?” I don’t mean to be blunt. I’m merely lost as to why they’ll build up my eagerness only to squash it like an ant a second later.
“Isabelle Brahn was just arrested,” Smith informs, his tone low.
I shrug like it’s no big deal. “Have a replacement