Erica stilled. He wasn’t being bossy; he was doing what he had from the beginning, looking out for her. What he said next confirmed it.
“Let me take care of this part. You deserve to walk in there like you belong. Because you do.”
Any further discussion was interrupted by a knock as the door opened.
Margie peeked inside. “Ready to shop?”
Tasha brushed past her, dressed for the heat in shorts, her hair up in a messy bun, scrolling on her phone. “We’re hitting SoCo first. Then the Domain. Dad says you’re classy, so we’re aiming high.”
She looked straight at him. “He said that?”
There was no denial. He gave her a look, with his penetrating blue eyes, that set off a giddy flutter in her stomach.
He bent and kissed her again, ignoring their audience. One hand braced on the island, the other on her chair, no contact except his mouth on hers. “If you haven’t noticed by now, I have excellent taste.”
Erica flushed, Margie smiled, and Tasha giggled.
Vince strode out the door like nothing about that had been accidental.
***
The conference room smelled of old coffee and someone’s cheap cologne. Coop stood at the head of the table, sleeves rolled up, as he laid out what Gruzinsky had given up.
“Shipment moves in ten days. Larger than the warehouse bust. Different route. Cleaner.”
A buzz moved through the Austin field team.
“Why didn’t we have that?” an agent asked.
“Because your target wasn’t talking to you,” he replied. “He was talking to us.”
Morgan sat halfway down the table, hands folded, watching him closely. He seemed like the type who ironed his shirts and alphabetized case files. But he also seemed competent from what he’d seen.
“What triggered the flip?” Kyle asked.
“Pressure. And leverage.” He didn’t look at anyone in particular when he added, “We had help spotting contradictions in his story.”
“Civilian help?”
Ready for questions, that one in particular, he didn’t miss a beat. “A source close to the case.”
“Close how?”
“Close enough,” he said. “You don’t need more than that.”
Kyle sat back, saying no more.
He clicked to the next slide. “We also got confirmation that the shipment includes military-grade components. Parts are harder to trace, and the weapons can be easily assembled elsewhere.”
That got the room’s attention.
“Washington wants updates every twelve hours,” Morgan put in, surprising him. “The DOJ is watching this one closely.”
A low whistle echoed in the room.
“Burnside?” someone asked.
“His name keeps popping up,” Coop explained. “It may be a coincidence, but until he’s cleared, he’s still in play.”
