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I blow out a breath. “Of course I’m going to keep digging. What do you think this is? My first rodeo?”
“Wow.” He rolls his eyes at me. “You’re funny when you’re in love.”
His statement almost knocks me out of my socks. “And you, my fine friend, need to get the fuck out of here with that kind of talk.”
“It’s the guy, isn’t it? Gabriel. The one who showed up at the park the other day.” Devan looks like he thinks he deserves to win a prize.
“You mean yesterday?”
“It doesn’t matter when. You’re arguing semantics with me. Which says everything I need to know.” He leans back and laces his fingers behind his head. Looking as at ease as he would if we were on a tropical beach vacation.
“You’re absolutely out of your mind.” And yet I am intimately aware of everything he’s telling me, just as I am whenever I think about Gabriel. “Now quit prying into my personal life and get back to work, my shadow partner. I really can’t do this without you.”
He salutes me and Devan and I both do our separate research to dig up dirt on the sex club. Eventually my eyes burn and I’ve got to push away from the desk to stretch.
“I just need a minute.”
He nods, too deep in focus, and I head to the bathroom. No, not bathroom.Caffeine. Lots and lots of caffeine, because my lack of sleep and that damn press conference gave me one monster of a headache.
Car keys in hand, I course-correct and head to the elevators, stopping only to press the button that will take me to the parking garage.
The doors slide open with a ding and Adam pops his head out, his eyes widening when he sees me. “Oh, shit. Layla.” He clears his throat, the sound devolving into a mild coughing fit. “I’m sorry!” His eyes are watering now. “I was on my way to find you.”
“You were looking for me?”
“Yeah. I’ve got info on the leaks.”
Well, shit. I grab his arm, hauling him into one of the interrogation rooms and shutting the door behind us, making sure none of the speakers are on. “Do you think you can announce it a little louder? Fuck.”
Adam looks sheepish. “I’m sorry.”
“I don’t want your apologies. You’ve got information? Show me.”
He bobs his head. “I can show you. Sure. No problem.” He grabs his cell. “I’ve got a VPN and some heavy-duty anti-tracking software on this baby,” he tells me. He pulls up a screen. “There is definitely no firewall issue that I found during my search and no hacks from the outside. There isn’t even an interrupt in connectivity in the weeks since you came into this case. Look.”
He shows me a spreadsheet with the information he’s compiled. “Can you put it in a language I’ll understand?”
“I’m, ah—” Adam breaks off and sweat practically rolls down his face.
He might be nervous but there’s no way he’s messed this up.
“The leak came from the inside,” he whispers.
My blood goes cold. I have enough wherewithal left to clap him on the shoulder. “Good work.”
Adam blushes, the color at stark odds with his paleness, and once again I’m grateful for his brains even though I’d never be able to work one on one with anyone this jumpy.
“I’ve got to tell my partner, but damn good job, Adam.”
Gabriel needs to know, too.My two partners. One in crime and one working for the law. The killer we’re both looking for has a person on the inside here. Orpeople. Who knows how many have been undermining me from the get-go?
Back in front of the elevator, I slam my finger into the button, waiting for its arrival. It’s taking too damn long. The stairs. One floor down. I pull open the handle and run right into Clint.
He smiles at me. “It’s really too bad you’re such a bitch to everyone,” he starts. “On camera, you’re a fine prize.”
“Maybe you didn’t hear Devan’s threat earlier, little one.” I caress his cheek and end with a hard tap. “Say something stupid again like Jerry is training you to do and you’ll be sorry.”
I push past him, heading into the stairwell.
