“There might be,” Pasco said. “If he’s the slightest bit savvy, he’ll have taken it offline. He doesn’t have any bank boxes or own or rent property other than his condo, so that limits the search area.”
“We know he has one other location he uses,” I said. “Wherever he’s keeping the dogs, which we haven’t found yet.”
Not for lack of trying, but there were too many isolated buildings in the radius we were checking, and they were all on private land, which required just cause, and warrants, and lots of red tape to get a damn thing done. I paced in front of my desk, the frustration mounting. Riker was no criminal mastermind, but he was still ahead of us. It wasn’t just frustrating, it was embarrassing.
“To store his kompromat, my bet is on his condo,” Pasco said. “Think about it. We know he has accomplices, based on the intel from the hired guns you took out that night. They must work with him in that location. Do you think he’s going to hide his blackmail material where other low-lifes could find it?”
“I hope you’re right. And if it’s stored offline at his condo, how would we deal with it?”
“I think we’d better meet in person to discuss it.”
Cami knocked at the office door.
“Pasco, give me a minute.” I muted the mic and opened the door.
Her face was white and her hand shook as she held out her hand to me to show me her phone.
Dread knotted up my gut as I took it from her and stared down at the screen and the message from an unknown number.
That recording wasn’t the only thing I can use against you, bitch
Guess who’s here with me
I grabbed Cami and held her against me. I unmuted my mic.
“Pasco, we need all hands on deck. Cami and I will be at HQ in ten.”
“Roger that. Details?”
“Riker’s been in touch. He might have taken someone close to Cami.”
“He’s bluffing, right?” she asked.
I hugged her tighter.
“I’m sending out the alert,” Pasco said. “I’ll get a comms call set up as soon as possible. See you shortly.” I slid my phone into my pocket and wrapped both arms around Cami.
“This is all my fault,” she said, and I wished I could make it all go away. “I should have known he would come after someone I love.”
28
CAMI
Kyle did an impressive job of keeping me calm while he drove to HQ. En route, he spoke to the team via his car’s Bluetooth so I could remain apprised of the situation. We arrived there a little over ten minutes after I’d received Scott’s text. Bella barked and wagged her tail as we pulled into the parking lot. Kyle clipped her leash on her and led us both into the building through the team members’ side entrance.
The place was abuzz with activity. Kat was on two cell phones and nodded in the direction of the conference where Pasco had set up a command center. Lang and Wheeler were packing bags with weapons and supplies.
Kyle had told me what to expect. They would be preparing for everything because we didn’t have enough information yet. We weren’t even sure anyone was missing because Kyle had asked me not to contact my friends until I was on Pasco’s network.
This is just a precaution. Everyone’s fine. Everyone has to be fine.
“Hayes is twenty minutes out,” Pasco called from the conference room.
The three screens on the walls showed traffic feeds, and he seemed to be monitoring those while typing frantically into his keyboard.
“Any reported incidents?” Kyle asked Kat.
“Police scanner’s been quiet,” she answered. “No 911 calls that could pertain to this.” She pulled me into a hug.
