“He was very interested in Becca’s research. But I didn’t share it with him,” Diana said, her expression becoming cautious.
“What kind of research?” Valeria asked, pulling out her notepad.
Diana glanced around the office, then leaned closer. “Research into the Crown Mountain attacks.”
Valeria’s pen froze on her notepad. “Crown Mountain? But that conspiracy was resolved. Jason Prescott was arrested.”
Diana dabbed her eyes. “Becca thought the conspiracy wasn’t really over. She kept saying the attacks were too professional justto disappear. She thought the real operatives who carried out the attacks might still be out there.”
A chill ran down Valeria’s spine. “Operatives?”
“Professional mercenaries who did the actual dirty work while Prescott handled the corporate side.” Diana stood up. “She thought they’d escaped justice completely when only the business conspiracy was prosecuted.”
Valeria followed Diana to Becca’s workspace. Diana unlocked the bottom drawer and pulled out a thick folder filled with photocopied documents, newspaper clippings, and handwritten notes.
“She’d been building a profile of the unknown Crown Mountain contractors,” Diana explained, spreading the contents across Becca’s desk. “Look at this analysis.”
Valeria studied the documents, her heart sinking with each page. Professional coordination charts showing military-precision timing across all Crown Mountain attacks. Analysis of how attack timing exploited known weaknesses in county emergency protocols. Valeria read through Becca’s analysis, her stomach churning.
“She thought the mercenaries were lying low, waiting for attention to fade,” Diana said quietly.
“Professional mercenaries would wait exactly this long before returning,” she murmured, more to herself than to Diana.
The timeline was perfect. Crown Mountain’s corporate conspiracy “officially” solved with Prescott’s arrest. Enough time for the community to relax its guard and stop watching forthreats. Then Steel Protection arrived with military expertise that matched the original attack coordination.
“She was building a profile of the contractors,” Valeria said, studying Becca’s detailed notes.
Valeria felt sick as the implications became clear. The visceral fear of the locals at the diner hadn’t been paranoia. It had been instinctive recognition of a threat they’d faced before.
“I’m going to have to take this into evidence.”
Valeria gathered the files. They painted a devastating picture. Steel Protection matched every element of Becca’s contractor profile. Their arrival timing was strategically perfect. Their capabilities aligned exactly with the original Crown Mountain operational style. Their questioning pattern showed they knew more about Becca’s activities than any legitimate security company should.
And Dom had lied about Becca calling them, creating a false alibi for his presence at her murder scene.
Five minutes later, Valeria sat in her patrol car outside the County Emergency Management building, staring at the stack of evidence on her passenger seat. The implications spiraled through Valeria’s mind. Steel Protection members were Crown Mountain mercenaries under legitimate business cover. Becca had identified them through her research. They’d eliminated her before she could expose their true identities, then conducted systematic questioning to determine if anyone else knew what she’d discovered.
She pulled out her phone and called Gabriel. “It’s Valeria. I need to brief you and Dad on what I found. This is bigger than we thought.”
“How much bigger?”
“Steel Protection were involved in Becca’s murder,” she said. “They’re Crown Mountain mercenaries. They’ve come back.”
The silence on the other end stretched for several heartbeats.
“Jesus,” Gabriel finally said. “Can you prove it?”
“Becca already did the work. She connected all the pieces before they killed her.” Valeria’s voice grew stronger with conviction. “I’m heading back to the station now. We need to move fast before they realize we know who they really are.”
As she hung up and started her patrol car, Valeria felt grim satisfaction settling in her chest. She’d solved the case. She’d identified the killers. She was about to bring justice to the community that had suffered so much.
The mate bond ached like a physical wound, but she pushed the pain down. Dom had chosen his path when he’d decided to become a killer. She’d chosen hers when she’d sworn to protect and serve this community.
Chapter
Eleven
Dom parkedhis SUV directly across a small patch of woods behind Becca Matthews’s burned house. Days of investigation had yielded fragments and theories, but no solid proof of Steel Protection’s innocence. He needed something concrete, something the police had missed during their initial sweep of the crime scene.
