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“See, I think he knew more than he said he did.” It wasn’t fear or regret—it was guilt coloring everything he did. “I think he knew exactly what his brother was doing every step of the way and allowed it to happen.”
We both looked at the man hanging there.
“You don’t tell the people who value Boo-Boo the way we do the truth, because what we’d do is a thousand times worse than what we’re already doing.”
“Or he’s convinced his brother will come for him,” Doc suggested, though it didn’t seem like he believed that idea any more than I did.
I had an idea. So I touched my nose then pointed to the door. Doc nodded and checked on the IV and the restraints before following me to the fridge door. Once we were in the office, he raised his brows.
“We need to bribe him,” I said, and it flew against everything I wanted to do. “Convince him we’ll let him go…or whatever, as long as he tells us where his brother is and helps us get to him.”
Frowning, Doc folded his arms. While he didn’t reject the idea immediately, he didn’t look terribly enthusiastic. “He’s already had dealings with all of us. That’s not going to work.”
I hated myself. “It will if Boo-Boo does it.”
He gave a little jerk as he straightened. “We are not—” Then he cut himself off. “Fuck.”
“Yeah,” I said. “I’m not a fan. Except the longer Sharpe stays where we can’t find him, the more opportunities he has to come after us.” To come after her.
Hands on his hips, Doc began to pace. There was a stiffness to his steps that only showed up when he hadn’t had time to do his stretches. I should probably annoy him with a reminder, but being clean, sober,andresponsible kind of maxed out my card at the moment.
Not to mention, I’d already suggested one unpleasant idea. “Run it by Kel,” Doc said finally. “I don’t like it, and I don’t want to ask Little Bit to do it, but she does have the right to make that call.”
“If Kel agrees.” I didn’t miss the fact we were passing the buck on.
“Yeah.” Doc glanced back at the fridge. “I wish we trusted her mother.”
I didn’t say anything. Didn’t have to. We couldn’t trust her mother to do or say what we needed. Boo-Boo? She could follow a plan, but…
I really wish I hadn’t thought of this.
“I’ll go find Kel,” I said. “You good here?”
Doc waved me away, and I headed back out into the warehouse. Kel and Milo were talking to Alphabet in the kitchen. The smell of lasagna and garlic bread filled the air.
Score, Kel was in a mood to cook.
“I’ve checked all properties in the name of Sharpe, corporate and personal. I also checked for any under the name of Emersyn Sharpe. She has quite a bit, by the way.” Alphabet twirled a pencil. It was severely chewed around the eraser and had toothmarks along the body.
Those were easily explained by how he put the pencil between his teeth to type on the laptop. “The tricky thing is,” he said around the pencil. “Most of the properties are hotels, office buildings, and condos in more than a few places. It’s—an odd assortment. There are also some links to foreign investment accounts, including a group out of Colombia. Those people are bad news.”
“Boo-Boo has investment accounts with a cartel?” How did that happen?
“I don’t think they are hers exactly, but there are investments inhername. So—”
“You think the reason we can’t find him is that he’s using criminal resources to hide.”
“More than likely. Man probably has friends. People who will hide him, and he’s loaded, not like he can’t afford it.”
“Can you track the money?” Kellan asked.
“I’m working on that,” Alphabet said. “But it’s not as simple as it looks—they have an unhealthy web of accounts, trusts, and shells. I’ll get there, but maybe not before we track this guy down another way.”
I grabbed a bottle of water out as they swapped back and forth a few more ideas. The smell of the food made my mouth water, even if the conversation killed my appetite. Milo said he was walking Alphabet out, and I only half-listened to them going.
“What’s up?” Kellan asked, and I dragged my attention to him.
He leaned against the counter, shirt sleeves rolled up and his tie undone.
