Page 69 of Juan

Sabina laughed, too, and others grinned. “Yes, they probably will make him wear one,” she said.

“Nice,” Daphne hissed under her breath as she reached over and fist-bumped Amber.

“When will we know what charges they’re bringing against him?” Juan asked.

“They’re on the line with a judge now. Given the fake passport, an arrest warrant is being issued, but they won’t finalize the charges listed on it until the search is over,” Leo responded.

“I really hope they get him on more than that today,” Daphne said on an exhale, giving voice to his thoughts.

“We all do,” Ethan said. “But we have to be prepared for that not to happen. His crimes are complex, and this is a long game.”

“As long as he doesn’t make a connection between this raid and Amber and Zoe,” Juan said. Anthony would already be livid at having his life examined and questioned, like the common criminal he was. If he managed to tie the actions of law enforcement to Amber, Juan doubted an ankle bracelet would prove sufficient in keeping him from going rogue and coming after them.

Amber stilled. His heart stuttered. “What?” he demanded.

“Uh, I forgot to tell you that my lawyer contacted the local police in Virginia today with all the information he has on Zoe and the crimes Anthony committed the night she was born,” she said. “So, he’s um, probably definitely going to tie this to me. He might not know how the two things are related, but he’s about to be hit with both on the same day. He may be a piece of shit, but he’s not a dumb one.”

Juan stared at her. “You’re shitting me?”

She rolled her lips in, then shook her head. “Weird saying, but no.”

“We should definitely let the FBI know about the local police report,” Sabina said.

“On it right now,” Leo replied.

Juan took a moment to digest what she’d said. He didn’t like the surprise but knew she hadn’t kept it from him on purpose. And, truthfully, the more he thought about it, the more he liked the idea. Liked the idea of Anthony’s entire world crumbling around him all at once. No one deserved it more.

“Okay,” he drew out the word. “You and Zoe, and Clara and Adrian, are not to leave the Falcons’ property until we know for certain Anthony is locked up for good.” He fixed her with an uncompromising look. No way would he risk any of them. Ever.

Without hesitation, Amber nodded.

His mind still raced a mile a minute with ways to keep the four of them safe; he didn’t doubt her word, and her ready agreement allowed him to take a breath even if it didn’t erase all his worries.

“Assuming the police investigate the information Amber’s lawyer provided, and the DA decides to press charges, can those be added to the FBI charges? Or are the police charges separate from the federal charges?” he asked, turning his attention to the HICC team.

“They will probably stay separate for now,” Sabina said. “Until they have a bigger case against him on the federal charges. Once they have that, they can fold in the state charges if they have any tie to the federal crimes.”

“How does that work?” Amber asked.

“A few ways, actually,” Daphne answered. Then with a grin, she added, “Writers know weird shit.”

“Like what kind of shit?” Amber pressed.

“Based on what we know, there are several possible federal charges. The consolidator and holding company that his money flows through are located outside of Virginia; that makes the crime interstate. Not to mention fraud can be a federal crime. As can the use of the internet to commit crimes. Then there’s the drugs—theft from a federally subsidized lab, as most pharma companies are, is a problem.”

Sabina nodded. “And if the crimes against you and Zoe took place at the same time or around the same time, it’s arguable that his commission of them is tied to those federal offenses.”

Amber made a face. “Like he needed to silence a baby in order to keep committing them?”

Chad bobbed his head. “More like he couldn’t have anything disrupt his operation and a new baby would definitely do that.”

It seemed a bit of a stretch to Juan, but he’d bow to the more knowledgeable folks in the room. “It’s what we want, right? We want Zoe’s case to be rolled up into the federal charges? However that happens.”

“It would potentially impact his sentencing,” Sabina replied. “So yes.”

“The sum is greater than the parts?” Amber asked. “Meaning rolling the whole situation up into one set of charges makes a better argument for a longer sentence.”

Sabina inclined her head. “Generally, yes. But depending on the strength of the federal case, they may decide to keep them separate. That’s for the lawyers to decide.”