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“Not me. Ross. But he’s tied up and asked me to set up the exchange.”
That made sense with Ross’s ties from nearly twenty years in the Secret Service himself. “All right, give me the info and I’ll go pick it up.”
The drop was in forty-five minutes and on the south side of Orlando. He glanced at his watch. “We’re on it. Thanks, Joey.” He disconnected the phone and then started giving orders.
“Tank, you stay here with Melanie. Pierce, you’re with me.”
Melanie was standing in the entrance to the hallway, watching. “I’ll be back in an hour and a half, all right? Let Tank know if you need anything.”
“Where are you going?” she asked.
Will debated for a moment. How much could he tell her?
“Just a quick meeting,” he said.
She nodded, but he couldn’t read the expression on her face. “Be safe,” she said softly.
He paused as he passed her on his way to the door, tempted to step close and give her a much more satisfying good-bye. But Tank and Pierce were still here, and he really didn’t have time.
Instead, he met her gaze solemnly. “We’ll talk later, okay?”
Melanie pulled her arm around herself, grabbing her elbow with the other hand like he’d seen her do before.
Pierce whooped loudly as he rushed out the door. “Let’s do this!”
Will rolled his eyes, the moment broken. He turned back to Tank. “I’ll send updates.”
Tank waved a hand from his relaxed place on the couch. Will had chosen to leave Tank with Melanie for a reason though, because he trusted the man without exception. He would keep Melanie safe.
And Will could keep Pierce in line. Hopefully.
Pierce drove the SUV toward Orlando, hopping on the interstate to get them to the south side quickly. The dead drop was simple. Ross’s contact would leave the package—disguised as a fast-food bag—near a bench in the park. Will and Pierce would sit at the bench and grab the bag.
Will checked his watch again. Ten minutes out and fifteen to the drop time. His phone rang and he frowned at the name. “What’s up, Joey? Everything okay with the drop?”
“Everything is fine for the drop. I’m not exactly sure the same could be said of your operation though.”
“What makes you say that?” Joey was the keeper of all the intelligence. If she knew something he didn’t, then she better get to sharing.
“Your little request got me curious. I had Stephen flip on my deep dive program to dig up info on Melanie Byers.”
“Oh, Joey. I shouldn’t have–”
“Oh no, youdefinitelyshould have. Because she doesn’t exist. Honestly, I feel like I dropped the ball, because it was so obvious if we’d even bothered to check.”
Will froze, starting at the windshield, trying to understand what Joey was telling him. “What was obvious?”
“Melanie Byers, at leastyourMelanie Byers, doesn’t exist. Jeremiah Byers lived in Mobile before he won an extended stay at the Alabama State Penn, but there is no one named Melanie in his life.”
“So who the heck is staying in our safe house?” Will saw Pierce’s head whip toward him, and he pointed his fingers toward the road in a silent command to pay attention to his driving.
“Jeremiah has a step-daughter named Hannah. Hannah kept her father’s name when her mom remarried: Stone. And, if we needed more proof, Hannah Stone has a registered address at the Riverside Oaks Villas complex.”
Will’s head was spinning, and his anger was rising with every rotation. He struggled to find words but finally squeezed out “The nametag?” between his tightly clenched jaw.
Joey cleared her throat. “Yeah. That’s the bad news.”
“We haven’t gotten to the bad news yet?”
