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“Well, we’ve finally heard from Peter, and he’s confirmed that Dante has taken a new shipment of women. They were delivered yesterday.”
“Those poor women,” Joel breathed.
“Where has Pete been? Why did it take him so long to get back to us?”
“There was a snag in the timeline and the women took an extra five weeks to round up. Apparently, Dante is having trust issues and he sent Peter out to do most of the dirty work. It took longer than he thought it would, but he assures me that Dante trusts him completely. He’s practically become his second in command, and we need him in that position in order to take down the whole family.” Hearing that things took longer than anticipated and that Pete was alive and well, should have put Trista’s mind at ease, but it didn’t seem to. Instead, Joel noticed that she was even more agitated at her boss’s news.
“I’m not sure why he couldn’t have at least called. I thought the worst for weeks,” she said, trying to keep it together.
“I’m sorry, Trista,” Henry said, “I’ve been worried about him too, but I can’t imagine what you’ve been through these past few weeks. He told me that calling would have made Dante suspicious. He said that his calls were being monitored.”
“How did he finally call in?” Joel asked.
“He used one of the women’s cell phones that they confiscated. He had to break into the office where they were locked away, but he got in touch and now, we’re ready to move in. The rest of the questions can wait,” Henry insisted. “All I need to know from both of you is that you’re ready to get this investigation over with.”
“My team is ready and willing to assist the CIA whenever you’re ready, Henry,” Joel promised.
“Good to hear,” Henry said, “I really appreciate the assistance. I know that you have a personal interest in this case.” He did. Joel was the arresting officer when Dante was brought in the first time. He had to lie and say that protocols weren’t followed on his end when they released him. Now, he planned on being the one to put the cuffs back on Dante to bring him back in.
“I do,” Joel said. “I appreciate you letting me be a part of this investigation.”
Henry turned to look at Trista as if waiting out her answer. “I’m in,” she agreed. “I might be pissed off at my brother, but I won’t sit this one out. I want Dante back behind bars and now, he’s going to have company. I can’t wait to bring down his whole organization this time around.”
“Good,” Henry said. “We’re meeting back here tonight at six. Have both of your teams here and ready to move. We’ll go into the warehouse tonight. Dante plans on holding an auction tomorrow at noon and we’ll need to bring down his organization before that happens.”
Joel and Trista both stood and started out of the office. “This is going to work guys,” Henry assured, “it has to. We have too much on the line for this mission to be anything but a success.” Joel agreed with Trista’s boss. They had to bring Dante back in—otherwise, they had released a monster into society and that was something that they couldn’t let happen.
Trista
In the pastcouple of months, she and Joel had led their teams into two other warehouses, looking for Dante. Both times, they had come up empty, but that was because her brother was working behind the scenes to gain Dante’s trust. He would tell him about the raids, having everything moved before they even got there and it was frustrating, to say the least.
Now, they were getting their chance to finally bring Dante in, and she wasn’t sure what would happen after. She hoped that Joel would still want to be with her, but a part of her worried that he was just with her because of the danger that the case had put them both in. Joel said that he wanted her, but for how long?
And then, there was the whole matter of her brother. They were going to have to come clean and tell her parents that they buried a body that wasn’t their son. How would she ever explain that she had kept the secret that her brother was alive this whole time and she had known about it for months? There was no way that she’d expect her family to understand her keeping his secret because she didn’t understand it. How could she keep something like that from her own parents?
After she found out about Pete, she thought about calling them to tell them about him being alive, but then, she’d remember that all of their safety depended on them not knowing. Plus, she was under strict orders from Henry not to tell anyone about Peter. It was the only way that he’d agree to bring her back on the Gemini Brother’s case. It was a steep price to pay, but one that she was willing to because she wanted her chance to bring in Dante.
She and Joel called their team members to tell them to be ready to move in tonight. The whole mess was going to be over soon and driving into headquarters only made her realize that to be true. “You seem nervous,” Joel whispered, pulling her hand into his own.
“I am,” she admitted. “I guess everything’s coming to an end and I’m just worried.”
“Worried about what?” he asked.
“Well, about how Pete and I are going to tell my parents that he’s alive and well and neither of us thought to tell them.”
“You couldn’t tell them, honey,” Joel reminded. “You would have put them in danger if you had.”
“I know that, but this whole thing just plain sucks. I know that eventually, they’ll find a way to forgive both of us, but it will take some time.”
“Your parents are going to be so happy that their only son is alive and well, they will forgive you both,” Joel assured. “You’ll see—it will all work out. Plus, I’ll be by your side the whole time, just lean on me if you need to.”
“Thanks,” she whispered.
“What else are you worried about?” he asked.
“Us,” she admitted. “I mean—will there even be an us when this case is over?” she asked.
“Yes,” he said without hesitation. “I want there to be an us,” he said. “Do you?”
