Elsa grinned. “That seems to be all I do lately.”
“I’m pregnant,” Addison whispered.
“Congratulations.” Elsa gave her a little hug. “How long can you continue training?”
“Pretty far into my pregnancy, but I’ll stop carrying the forty-pound bag in the next month.”
“Congrats,” Slash said to Addison before clasping Elsa’s hand. “I’ve gotta get you home for your luncheon.”
Twenty minutes later, Elsa was safely tucked at home, her friends en route to the house.
“This has been one of the most exciting days of my life,” Elsa said. “Thank you for showing me a glimpse into your secret world. I will treasure that, but honey, you can’t babysit me every day. You have to live your life, and I have to live mine.” She gave Slash a hug. “I’ll see you for dinner.”
“Today was special for me too, Elsa. I loved sharing that part of my life with you.”
As Slash drove toward ALPHA HQ in Tysons, her phone rang. It was Jilly.
“Hey,” Slash answered. “I was going to text you later today.”
“I am so pissed,” Jilly said. “Where are you?”
“I’m heading to Tysons. What’s wrong?”
“Will you be there a while?” Jill asked.
“All afternoon,” Slash said.
“Call me when you leave,” Jilly said, and hung up.
Slash pulled into ALPHA’s parking lot. Once inside, she made her way to Providence’s office. Her office door was open, she was on the phone, laughing. She glanced up, and waved Providence in.
“Speak of the devil, guess who just walked in,” Providence said. “I love you too.” Providence hung up and shook her head. “Why are my best employees total rebels?”
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” Slash said, biting back a smile.
“I heard Elsa had a blast this morning,” Providence said.
Slash smiled. “It was a one-off, and I trust her.” Then, Slash’s smile fell away. “I need to talk to you about next steps at Blue Suit.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’m confident Greg is involved with the disappearance of these women. I’m waiting for surveillance from traffic cameras, but beyond that, the man is a total mystery. I think it’s time to make the arrests. Karen is guilty of orchestrating the prostitution between dancers and members, but it’s unclear if she has anything to do with the missing women. She insists they’ve all ghosted on her.”
She and Providence discussed several arrest options.
“Karen’s there every day,” Slash said. “The VIP room is busiest on Friday and Saturday nights.”
“I know you want to find Greg, but we need you back here. Your own cases aren’t being worked, and local law enforcement should be searching for those missing women.”
“I have one request at Blue Suit,” Slash said. “I’m the arresting officer.”
“I don’t have an issue with that, but she’ll know you were undercover. That puts you at risk since the owner is still out there.”
“If he comes after me, I’ll be ready.”
“Let me talk to Cooper,” Providence said. “His wedding is this Saturday, so he’s trying to close out several things before he and Danielle leave for their honeymoon.”
“I completely forgot about that,” Slash said.
