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“I’m not. Play all you want, Shane Blue. Bed a hundred women if you like. But I can tell you that the love of the right woman, that special someone…there’s nothing like it on earth. You’re my friend, Shane. I only want you and Corey to be happy.”
It was so good to be past all the bullshit his undercover assignment had forced on him and Jason. “I’m ready to settle down with Belle. She is the one, but something is holding her back. Corey, too, seems to be trying to hit the brakes.”
“Don’t let him. Trust your gut, Shane. Do what you have to do to make sure you have a future with Belle. Corey will come around. You’ll see.”
They heard footsteps coming down the hall and both of them placed their hands on their weapons as protocol demanded, though it was likely their replacements.
Corey appeared at the end of the hallway. He walked over to them.
“Your shift doesn’t start until six in the morning, bro.” Shane looked at the time on his cell. 9:51 p.m. The dance wouldn’t end for a couple more hours. “What are you doing here and where is Belle?”
“I just dropped her off at Stone Ranch. She was exhausted from all the cooking yesterday and today. Also, I came because I wanted to get an update on this Trollinger and Kip issue.”
Something on Corey’s face told him there was more to the story than just exhaustion and that he’d come for more than just wanting to be filled in on what was going on with their mission.
More footsteps. This time, the expected duo, Dylan and Nicole, walked up to them.
Dylan, in typical Dylan fashion, didn’t wait for “hellos” or handshakes but jumped right in. “Good news, men. The tech trio believes they’ve come up with something to keep Lunceford out of our systems. Our ROCs will be fully functional and secure by ten tomorrow morning. Jena wants us all to log on ten minutes later. She and her guys will run a couple of tests. If all goes well, after that, we should be good to go.”
Nicole turned to Shane and Jason. “How was the shift?”
“Quiet. Dead quiet.” Jason always carried quite the load, being Swanson County’s main peace officer. He cared deeply and took his job as sheriff very seriously. “Besides the ROCs, did Black or Jo dig up anything else on Lunceford or Trollinger?”
Nicole nodded. “I just saw Black at the dinner. The agents in Seattle found an envelope in the mailbox mentioned in the letter Kip sent to Cindy. Inside was five hundred thousand dollars’ worth of diamonds. They’ve got to be some of the jewels Lunceford stole from Anton Mitrofanov’s father back in Chicago.”
“I’m beginning to think Cindy is telling the truth,” Jason said.
Corey pointed to the closed door of Trollinger’s room. “There’s no way that Kip’s sister isn’t part of some bigger plan, whether she is telling the truth or not.”
“Did they find anything else?” Shane looked at his teammates. The bond he felt with them and the other members was deepening.
Nicole continued, “A note addressed to Cindy. It was from Kip telling her to meet him in Aberdeen, which is about two hours from Seattle. The agents went there and discovered a warehouse full of computer equipment.”
“What about Kip?”
She shook her head. “They believe he had been there though. The place looked just like the kind of command base Lunceford has set up before. There are agents in place in case he or any of his associates return. Our tech trio will get all the recovered equipment by tomorrow. You know them. They’ll be able to use what they find in it to help us with our search. I think we’re closing in on the asshole.” Nicole’s words were met with all of them nodding their heads in agreement.
“God, I hope so.” Jason sighed.
“We also got a verification on Trollinger’s story about the man bumping into her at Donna’s Diner in Twin Falls,” Dylan said. “A waitress remembered the incident and gave an accurate description of Cindy. She also said the guy who spilled the drink on her had tattoos down his arm and spoke with a Russian accent.”
“Everything Trollinger has told us seems to be true.” Corey was clearly beginning to come around some, if only some, that Cindy might be telling the truth about everything.
Shane wondered if he’d misplaced his distrust. Maybe the woman was in danger. Maybe Kip was really coming for her, though there’d been no sign of him coming to Destiny yet.
“Damn, that’s some coincidence,” Jason said. “Kip is known to be working with the Russian mob and it just so happens a man with tattoos down his arm is in the same diner with his sister.”
“All we can do now is keep poking around in every hole we can find until we locate that damn snake,” Dylan state flatly.
Jason nodded. “When it’s quiet like this, we all know to expect the worst.”
“Exactly why we must remain vigilant, sheriff.” Dylan was one of the best agents in the entire CIA. “Flowers and I can take it from here.”
“I’ll be here at six sharp.” Corey turned to Shane, his stare revealing he had more to say.
Shane patted Jason on the shoulder. “See you tomorrow.”
Jason nodded and left.
