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“Okay,” she says softly. “And just so you know, I did not make her fret. I’ve been listening to her talk all night about how worried she is.”
Teagan laughs. “She threatened me a few times if I didn’t stop. She said you can take care of yourself, and if you needed help, you’d ask.”
I sigh. “Sorry,” I apologize to Jade. “I’m on edge.”
She nods. “It’s expected. This shit is beyond crazy. I’m just glad you’re here and okay, rather than…” she trails off, but I know what she means.
“Go.” I wave them off. “Go, get some food and sleep. You need it.”
“I’ll be checking in,” Jade says, and I have no doubt she will. “If you don’t respond within two minutes, I’ll know you’re in trouble and I’ll have this place swarming with men. Okay?”
I give her a smile. We got off on the wrong foot when I met her, but she’s grown on me, and she’s taken Teagan under her wing. She’s protecting her since I’m no longer as close to her anymore, distance wise, so I’m thankful to her, and I appreciate that she’s also trying to extend that wing to me too. “I’ll answer,” I promise. “Now go.”
We say our goodbyes and I get back to work. I’ve printed out over one hundred documents, half of which will probably not be needed. But I want to ensure we have everything. I need to ensure that we have whatever it takes to bring Jamie back home.
The system Robert has is great, but there’s something that has my spine tingling about it all. I don’t understand how he managed to get his hands on this type of system. This is something the CIA, MI6, or FBI would use, so how does Robert have it? Then again, I don’t know him, nor do I know what Kelvin’s other line of work is.
I’ve always been distrustful and it’s starting to come out again. I don’t know who to trust or when to do so. I’ve lived my life always going with my instincts, but right now, those instincts are screwed a little.
Senator Michaels pops up for the fifth time. He’s got connections to the judge, the Chief of Police, the District Attorney, and to two other people who I didn’t see any relevance to, but now I’m second guessing myself. If these people are connected in more than just their job capacity, then it could be a good shout that they’re involved in the trafficking ring.
I move out of my office and head toward the conference room where I’ve gathered all the files. I need to find those two people I put into the no pile and take them out. I hurry down the deserted corridor, and the hairs on the back of my neck stand up when I realize I’m alone.
Where the hell is Amadeo and Robert?
I get to the conference room and close the door. My cell is in my pocket, and I contemplate calling Dario. I take a deep breath and scold myself. Amadeo and Robert could be anywhere—the bathroom, on a call, anywhere. Why am I getting spooked? This isn’t like me. I need to calm the hell down and refocus on the job at hand.
I look through the files, steadying myself once again and getting back into the zone. My brows knit together as I notice there are a few files missing. Frustration eats away at me as I try to remember if I left them in my office or not. I sigh and start looking through the piles of files that I have. There are over a hundred here, so it’s going to take me a while, but I need those two files. I need to read through them and see if there’s something I missed.
I sink to the floor with piles of files around me and sift through them. This is going to take forever. But I know that the two files I’m after are in this room. I put them here.
“Portia,” Amadeo says as he pushes open the conference room door. “Is everything okay? I’ve just had a call with the boss,” he tells me.
I get to my feet. “Is everything okay?” I ask, my heart racing.
He nods. “They have spoken with the judge and have some information. He said he’ll be a little longer and asked me to ensure that you go home and sleep.”
I give him a soft smile. “Thank you, Amadeo, but right now, I need to find some files that I have misplaced.”
He nods, stepping further into the room. “Which ones?” he asks. “I can help you look. It will take half the time if I do.”
“That would be great,” I tell him. “The names on the files are Henrick Velleni and Joseph Kline.”
He nods and takes a pile off the table and starts to look through them.
“I’m sorry, Portia, but they’re not here,” he tells me a while later.
He’s right, they’re not. Together, we’ve searched through this entire room and the files aren’t here.
“Ugh,” I moan. “Where the hell can they be?” I ask. “I’m going to look in my office and see if I’ve somehow left them there.”
He dutifully follows behind me. Each step of the way, I feel a deep sense of dread, like something is going to happen, only I’m not sure what.
“What the hell?” I gasp as I enter my office and see the two files I’ve been searching for are sitting on my desk. I know for certain that they weren’t there when I left. “Damn it,” I hiss. “What the fuck is going on?”
“Miss Portia, maybe you need some rest,” Amadeo says softly. “You’ve been working hard for a long time. You may be tired.”
I shake my head. “No,” I say adamantly. “These files weren’t here when I left this office. Someone is fucking with me.”
