“I told you to relax. The more you fight, the harder it is to breathe.” When he finally closed his eyes and stopped struggling, taking long, slow deep breaths, she was grateful.
“Did you call 911?” she asked Jarek.
“Yeah.”
She nodded and turned her attention to the man who’d attacked her. Using the light of the moon, she examined his neck tattoo. It was as crudely done as Kiko’s, making her think this assailant had done prison time too. She wasn’t familiar enough to know if the ink was a known gang symbol or if it meant something else. The good news was that she hadn’t almost killed one of the port authority agents. That would have been much harder to explain away.
With quick movements, she patted him down with her nondominant hand. He didn’t have any more weapons on him. The gun was lying in the grass somewhere. There was a wad of cash in his pocket, but no ID.
“That figures.” There was no point in asking his name. He couldn’t talk, as the slit in his throat was located below the vocal cords. She eyed Jarek. “We’ll need to wait for his prints to be placed into the system to get his name. I’m sure he’s done prison time, maybe even served with our buddy Kiko.”
If the assailant recognized Kiko’s name, he didn’t let on. Or maybe he was still too scared and freaked out about the hole in his throat. Hard to blame him about the latter.
“The ambulance and police will be here soon.” Jarek’s gaze was grim. “We need to decide how much to tell them.”
That he was willing to hide the truth of their illegal search surprised her. And if she were honest, it made her feel guilty. “I don’t know if your fellow officers will buy this story, but we can claim we were planning to take a walk by the river, thought the open gate was a shortcut, then realized we were trespassing and turned to leave. As we did that, this guy attacked me.”
Jarek nodded, although she could see the uncertainty in his eyes.
“If you want to be upfront and honest, we can show them the photos of the drugs we found.” She nodded at the man who was breathing through a hole in his throat pried open by her fingers. “Based on the prison ink, it’s not a stretch to assume he’s involved in the drug trafficking.”
The assailant looked away, which only confirmed her suspicions. She leaned over him again, holding his gaze. “Nod or shake your head. Was it your job to get the drugs to the warehouse?”
The assailant didn’t move.
“Answer me. Was it your job to get the crates with drugs to the warehouse?”
He still didn’t respond. She sighed as the wail of sirens echoed through the night. The cops were on their way. She glanced at Jarek. “It’s up to you, Jarek. But it might be better if we bypass the local cops regarding the drugs we uncovered and go straight to the DEA.” It was something she should have considered earlier, after they’d been found at the safe house shortly after texting with Ray Bond.
He nodded slowly. “That’s a good idea. I can make some phone calls later.”
“Great.” She’d suspected he’d feel better getting someone from law enforcement involved. He was such a straight arrow when it came to following the letter of the law. And while she could admire that, there were times it was very inconvenient. “Later is fine. After we’re finished here, we need to get to the warehouse.”
“No reason to do that. We already know how the drugs are getting into the city,” he protested. “Liquid Gold Coffee and Tea, LLC is responsible.”
“Yeah, we know the drugs are in those boxes, but we don’t know who’s running this operation. Pablo Hernandez or someone else?” She wasn’t going to give up on their plan to stake out the warehouse. She was convinced they’d find the answers they needed by watching the place. “We also don’t know for sure Pablo is the one who put a hit out on me. We need answers, Jarek. And even if this guy here wanted to make a deal, he won’t be talking anytime soon.”
Jarek looked resigned as red and blue flashing lights brightened the sky. Oddly, seeing the lights didn’t make her want to cut and run the way they used to. Somehow, she’d gotten used to working with Jarek and his fellow law enforcement officers.
“I’ll head up to meet them.” Jarek rose to his feet and turned away. She watched him go, then turned her attention back to the assailant.
“You need to seriously consider cooperating with the authorities,” she told him. “I saved your life despite how you attacked me with a lethal weapon. It’s your turn to help us figure out who’s trying to kill me.”
The guy stared at her but still didn’t attempt to talk or respond in any other way. She ground her teeth together in frustration.
“Nod or shake your head. Did Pablo Hernandez send you after me?”
The assailant closed his eyes and turned his head away. She sighed. So much for being grateful to be kept alive.
She glanced up at the starry sky. Had God been watching over her tonight? Had he guided her hand to help save this guy’s life? Jarek believed that, so maybe.
If so, she found herself hoping He’d continue to do guide her until they uncovered the truth. She was more than ready for this nightmare to be over.
Jarek flagged down the squad, not surprised to see Calvin Wynn and Tyler Parker, the same two officers who’d responded to his shooting Stewey. “This way,” he said, gesturing toward the open gate. “Di has the assailant down and is holding open his airway.”
“What were you and Dina doing here?” Wynn asked.
He hated lying to his fellow officers. Hiding the truth about what they’d found could cost him his career. Swallowing hard, he did his best to sound believable. “Taking a shortcut to the river. Realizing we were entering the port authority, we turned around to head back, but that’s when the assailant attacked Di.”
