Page 65 of Juan

Callie pursed her lips. “I wish I could say yes, but unless they find a smoking gun, it will take a few days to cull through all his electronics and paperwork. And to Juan’s earlier question, it would be good to find out what the ‘buyers’ are buying from him to close the loop on the money fraud aspects of his operation.”

“It would also be good to tie up how he gets the drug and how he delivers it to the buyers,” Leo added.

“We know he gets it from Johanna, though,” Juan said, hating how convoluted the justice system could be. He understood why, understood that guardrails and protections were put in place to protect the innocent. But damn it made it hard to go after the guilty. And Anthony Ely was guilty as fuck.

“Knowing and proving are two different things,” Leo pointed out.

“Absent seeing an actual handoff, how will we prove that Johanna is his supplier?” he pressed, visions of all their work leading to nothing if they couldn’t figure this one piece out. He knew it didn’t really work that way, that this one piece of evidence, or lack thereof, wouldn’t sink the entire case. But with so much at stake, he couldn’t help but be more than concerned.

Callie and Leo shared a gleeful look, and he had a fleeting thought that he wouldn’t want to be on either of their bad sides. Ever.

“They’re going to bring Johanna in for questioning, too,” Callie said.

Amber gasped. Juan frowned.

“Who’s they?” he asked. “HICC?”

Callie shook her head. “The FBI team opening the case is headed by one of Stella’s contacts. She’s been talking to him, and they think they can get the CEO of Bios Therapeutics to cooperate. She has a reputation for being a straight shooter. When the company had a small corruption problem with one of their affiliates a couple of years ago, she ordered an internal investigation, then self-reported to the authorities. We get the impression she values running a clean company.”

“If that’s true, she’ll want to do everything in her power to cooperate,” he said. Callie and Leo nodded. Some, but not all, of the tension in his chest eased. Bios’s cooperation didn’t guarantee Johanna would talk, but if she felt her job was at stake, and that she might be implicated in eleven cases of murder-for-hire, it definitely upped the ante.

“They’ll question Johanna, hoping she’ll confess to giving the drugs to Anthony?” Amber asked.

Leo nodded. “Again, to Juan’s point, it’s unlikely we can get any proof of a handoff.” He paused, then added, “Any legally admissible proof, anyway.”

Despite his lingering anxiety, Juan grinned. Any evidence that Toni’s cameras picked up couldn’t be used, but it was still damn helpful.

“Johanna’s confession is the next best thing,” Callie finished.

“When will we know about the warrant?” Amber asked.

“Stella, her FBI contact, and the judge are meeting at ten tomorrow morning. It’s possible the meeting will go longer than an hour, but no more than two,” Leo said.

Amber looked up at him, a hesitant smile lighting her gorgeous face. “I know it’s not the end, but it’s the start of the end, and I’ll take it.”

He couldn’t help but smile back. “You and me both.” Then turning his attention back to Leo and Callie, he asked, “If the judge agrees, when will they execute the warrant?”

“It depends on the scope of the warrant,” Callie said. “They may want to coordinate with other agencies, like the DEA.”

“Will Grace be involved?” Amber asked. “Isn’t her team out of California?”

“It is, and they wouldn’t normally be involved, but Stella can be very persuasive. Besides, I heard a rumor that she’s requested a transfer to the DC area,” Callie said.

“She has?” Dulcie asked.

“Why?” Philly asked at the same time. “She works for Reaper. I wouldn’t ever want to work for the DEA, but if I did, I’d want Reaper as my boss.”

Callie lifted a shoulder. “Don’t know. And it’s only a rumor. I haven’t spoken to her since she headed out the other day.”

“She didn’t say anything while she was here,” Dulcie said.

“Does she have a reason to confide in you, big guy?” Philly asked, waggling his eyebrows. “Pillow talk, maybe. I always wondered what DEA agents talk about late at night.”

Callie whacked him on the thigh. “No, you don’t, and it’s none of your business—leave Dulcie alone.”

Philly’s gaze dropped to his wife, then narrowed. “Do you know something, woman?”

Callie rolled her eyes. “I know that you get great joy out of annoying your brothers.”