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I shrugged. All I’d been able to pin on Chief Souza was laziness. It was entirely possible that this had been going on under his nose for a long time, but the alternative was downright scary. “If so, he could tip them off and cause more problems.”
“And there could be other officers working with them. Other guys who could tip them off, even if Souza isn’t involved. There’s a reason they’ve been getting away with this for so long.”
I sighed. “Our best option is for me to go to Bryce and the FBI and share everything.”
“Will he take it seriously?”
“Not sure. Without evidence confirming Norman is Stinger and Mitch is actively participating in the trafficking, he might not follow up on it.”
“So let’s get it. The evidence. And then turn everything over. “Let’s see what we can dig up over the next couple of days. If we’re gonna do this, we need to know the FBI is going to crack down and keep everyone safe.”
He paled and focused on something over her shoulder, probably turning over the realization that his family could be in danger again. And that he would be powerless to prevent it.
Because no number of batteries and no amount of bottled water could protect against this. We needed to finish it. We had to ensure that those responsible went to jail for a really long time.
He was deep in his head now, if his slumped shoulders were any indication.
“Stop,” I said, placing my hand on his chest, feeling his heart pound beneath my fingers. “We’re close and making progress every day. As hard as this is, we’ve got to stay objective.”
He placed his hand over mine, and we stood like that for a minute.
“I’m so glad you’re here,” he said softly.
I put my laptop down and crawled into his lap.
“And I’m not going anywhere.” I wished I could make this better. But I couldn’t. His father was gone, and the best I could do was help him achieve the closure he desperately needed.
He wrapped his arms around me and sniffled, so I held him tighter. Paz always presented as the cool, unemotional type. But now that we had peeled back the grouchy exterior, there was so much more there.
And he shared it with me. That realization made my heart flutter.
* * *
“You do not need to clean,” I said, scooping up my files to save them from his manic scrubbing.
“Of course I do. We’ve got a guest arriving in”—he flicked his wrist and checked his watch, and damn, was it sexy. Since when was checking the time so hot?—“two hours.”
“It’s only Liv.” The timing was not ideal. But when she called an hour ago, she was already on her way. Granted, I had begged her to visit several times since I’d been here, but I assumed we’d agree on a date before she hopped in the car and made the drive.
Paz and I were balancing on a precipice. With one another, as well as with the investigation. And the next few days were key. We couldn’t sit on this information forever, and we were so close to putting the pieces together.
So the arrival of my best friend would throw a bit of a wrench into the plan. But knowing Liv, she’d get a burst of inspiration and spend the entire time writing furiously. Or she’d immediately pick up on what was happening between Paz and me, and I’d have to face the music. Because it was official: I was absolutely falling for him.
But at this moment, when he was in full on grouch mode, it was a bit easier to be objective.
“Have you seen my AirPods?” I asked, searching through my bag.
“I thought you found them yesterday.”
“Yes,” I said, dumping the contents onto the counter. “I found them in the linen closet. But then I lost them again.”
“This house is four thousand square feet,” he said, gathering up what looked like a sweater, a pair of sunglasses, and several empty sparkling water cans. “How do you generate this much mess?”
I took the stuff out of his hands. “Deep breath.”
But he was in full-on rant mode. “Dishes in the sink. Bras hanging from every doorknob. Papers everywhere. And that doesn’t include all your girl shit. The makeup and scrubs and lotions.”
I put my arms around him and gave his ass a firm squeeze. “Liv is going to love you, and everything is going to be fine.”
