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“Text me the moment he leaves his office and keep me apprised of his every move. We’re going to put Saxton in play in about thirty minutes. I’ll keep the team apprised of movement from this end.”
Laura Lee’s chest tightened. She knew what that meant. Her gaze flickered to her watch. They were purposely going to wait until just outside the twenty-four-hour window for contact that West had given her. She was surprised when Jimmy ‘Taco’ Wilson, Charlie Team’s lead, entered with takeout bags containing dinner for them. Her stomach lurched at the smell of the food. There was no way she’d be able to eat anything. If she did, she’d probably throw it up.
Jimmy handed a burger and fries to BT.
“West is still in his office at the university and Liu is out to dinner with his wife,” Garcia said. “They’ll both be kept under constant surveillance when and after you make contact with West.” He took the burger from Jimmy.
Jimmy handed a burger to Laura Lee. She waved him off. “I can’t eat anything until this is over tonight,” she said.
Jimmy Wilson smiled and reached back into the bag. “I anticipated that. Here, mashed potatoes, nice and soothing to the stomach.” He set the container on the table in front of her and then took a seat beside her. He placed a hand on her shoulder and gave it a squeeze. “How you feel is perfectly normal. Trust me, though, you’ll operate better with something in your stomach rather than leaving it empty. The team will have your back, Laura. You have to trust us.”
Her stomach tightened. “I do trust you. I can’t explain what it’s going to feel like to have to see him, to have to stand near him and talk to him.”
“He violated you and he hurt you,” Jimmy said. “This is your revenge. You’re not the same kid you were back then.”
“This time you have the upper hand, and he won’t have the element of surprise like he did when he assaulted you,” Garcia added. “And you’ll have the team nearby. One word from you and we swoop in and take him down.”
“What word would that be?” Laura Lee asked. “Lassiter said I should establish a codeword with the team that signals you to move in if I’m threatened.”
“First off, from watching, we’ll know when you’re either being threatened beyond what you can handle or we’ll know if you’re in danger,” Garcia said. “But if having a codeword makes you feel better, just say lightbulb and we move in.”
“Lightbulb?”
“Yes, that’s generally easy to work into a sentence. Did that lightbulb just flicker? You can say that if you don’t want to alert him that you’re calling us in. If it’s a serious threat, we’ll know, but the two syllables are easy enough to get out,” Garcia said.
“When you’re with him, to sell the badass personality, throw a lot of fucks around. Give him death stares. If he believes you just may kill him, he will be less likely to lay a hand on you,” Jimmy added.
“And if he does touch you in any way, tell him to get his hand the fuck off you or you’ll cut it off,” BT advised.
“I don’t think it will spiral like that in a public place though,” Garcia said. “Especially at the university where he works. He’s going to behave himself.”
Laura Lee agreed with that. She took a few bites of the mashed potatoes. It settled better than she thought it would. Before she knew it, she’d eaten the entire contents of the container. She’d tell Jimmy later, privately, how much she appreciated him getting them for her.
“Send the text to West,” Garcia said after he’d deposited his food wrapper in the trash bin.
Hesitantly, Laura Lee lifted her phone and tapped out a message consisting of three words. “I’m in Richmond.” Her eyes flickered to Garcia before she hit send.
They didn’t have to wait long for a reply. Two minutes later, her phone rang an incoming call from that same phone number.
“Confidence, Mizz Badass,” BT said with a grin.
Laura Lee closed her eyes and took a deep breath. Then she let it out slowly before she hit answer on her phone. “I’m here. What do you want?” Her voice was icy. She hoped it sounded more pissed than scared.
“It’s been a long time, Army Girl. I am eager to see you. You recall the place we last spent time alone together, don’t you? Come alone and meet me there in a half an hour.”
“No way, Harrison. I’ll only meet you someplace public. There’s a soccer game tomorrow morning at The Grass Stadium at the university.”
West huffed a loud breath. “And give you that much time to arrange backup and surveillance? Not a chance. You’re going to leave your hotel right now.”
“I’m not meeting you if it’s not in public,” she repeated.
“Very well, a public meeting. Drive to the university. I’m sure you’re staying somewhat close. Call me back when you arrive on the campus. I’ll tell you where to meet me.” He didn’t wait for a reply before disconnecting the call.
“He knew you’d insist on a public meeting. He already has the spot figured out,” Garcia said. He hit dial to Ops on his phone.
“Ops, go,” Dupont answered.
“It’s on. Saxton will be walking out of the hotel in five minutes to go meet West. If you’re available, I want you and Control on, and your help to coordinate. I’ll notify the rest of the ground team here and we’ll all be on comms,” Garcia said. He knew that Dupont and Yvette ‘Control’ Donaldson would be on in Ops.
