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Finding my inner strength, I reach for her hand again, taking it far more gently this time, and take off for the person I am looking for. Maxxy keeps pace with me this time, furrowing her brows. “Hoodoo, where are we go—” She stops as we reach Raid’s door, and I press the buzzer for access. Maxxy raises her brow at me. “Raid? What do you think he can do?”
Shrugging, I grimace. “I don’t know, but we have to try.”
The door clicks, and I step back. The security door opens to Raid wearing his headphones, eating a cup of ramen with some chopsticks, as green coding runs up and down all the screens in front of him.
“Hey, you here about the Charlotte stuff?’Cause I’m running a search now and still coming up empty on any surveillance we may have missed. I’m pretty sure we’re all good on that front.”
I gesture for Maxxy to enter his den first, then I follow and close the door behind me. Raid sits taller, placing his noodles on his desk, and nods. “We’re not all good, are we?” he asks.
“This isn’t about Charlotte. I do think we’re okay there. But Maxxy… she’s being blackmailed, and I need you to try and find the footage and delete all the copies.”
Raid glances from Maxxy to me and back to Maxxy. “Is this thenakedtype of blackmail video?” he whispers to Maxxy, and I lean forward, slapping him upside the head.
“No, you idiot, it’s of Maxxy when she was in jail. She stabbed that inmate, then Selene covered it up. Selene is threatening Maxxy with the footage. Saying she will release it if Maxxy doesn’t leave Defiance and go to work for Selene and the Bachelors for three years.”
Raid scowls. “What! That’s crazy. Youcan’tleave Defiance.”
Maxxy rolls her shoulders. “It’s either go with Selene, or she releases the footage to the heat. Then I’ll go back to jail for stabbing Alina, with added time for lying, letting someone else take the fall, and covering it up. Plus, the Bachelors have their men everywhere. Who knows what could happen? I won’t be safe inside. My only option is to do what she says. For the safety of everyone.”
Raid lets out the same small laugh I did when she told me. “No, this isnothappening.”
I nod in agreement. “That’s exactly what I said.”
Raid spins, facing his computer, and starts typing. “Tell me, Maxxy, where did you see the evidence file?”
Her eyes bug out of her head like she’s shocked. “Ahh… um… on her cell.”
“Good, I’ll try to ping it now,” he says, typing some shit into his keyboard.
Maxxy glances at me sideways, and I reach for her hand again, taking it in mine. “It’s going to be okay,” I mouth to her.
She grimaces at me like she doesn’t believe me, and I squeeze her hand for reassurance.
Raid continues. The only sound in the room is the tapping on his keyboard and the slight hum of the computer towers. “Okay, I have access to her cell…buuutshe knew we’d be coming for her.”
“What does that mean?” I ask.
“She’s not only got an encrypted access area on her cell, but I’m also not sure I’m going to be able to break through the firewall. Honestly, this is like some next-level security shit. I would expect this from someone in the CIA or FBI, not a civilian.”
Maxxy snorts out a laugh. “Remember, she’s with the Baton Rouge Bachelors. They would have tech from the CIA and FBI because the agenciesusethe Bachelors. Hell, some of them probablyareBachelors. After all, it is a secret establishment for the elite of the elite… doesn’t matter if they’re also criminally insane.”
Sinking in on myself, I turn to Raid and grip his shoulder. “Brother, we need this footage, and we have until the end of next month to get it from anywhere Selene and the Bachelors might be hiding it. You think you can handle this?”
Raid glances at Maxxy, who is suddenly looking a little more hopeful. “Yeah… I gotcha, Max. I’m not gonna let you be taken from us.”
Maxxy bounces on her toes excitedly. “Oh my God, Raid. Do you really think this is possible?”
He grimaces. “I don’t know, but I’m sure as shit gonna try. And Maxxy, if it gets close to the deadline and I’m no better off, Hurricane won’t let this slide. Defiance will fight for you, of that, I am sure.”
“Fuck yeah, we will,” I reinforce.
Maxxy’s eyes well with tears, and she leans into my side, embracing me. “I don’t know what to say.”
“Let me talk to Hurricane. Lord knows he’s going to fly off the deep end about this. You just go take care of Maxxy right now, Hoodoo.”
I wrap my arm around her shoulders, pulling her to me. “You don’t have to tell me twice. C’mon, kitten. Let’s go. Thanks, Raid. Appreciate you.”
“Anything for family, brother.”
