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I snorted. Lyle was really selling it. The camera zoomed out, showing the men in uniform behind him. One I recognized as an FBI negotiator.
The chief of police stepped up to the podium and gave an update on the search, and I closed the window. No point listening any longer. There wasn’t a shred of evidence for them to find.
Twenty million dollars changed things, if only a little. But Lyle was filthy rich, and we’d known there was a major chance he’d offer a reward even before we decided to help Mrs. Lowenstein.
For the last two weeks, I’d been monitoring his every move, from his phone calls to his google searches. The first week, he’d thought it was a kidnap for ransom, and he waited by the phone for a call that never came before calling in a private firm for help. The only firm that would take him on had fired him as a client yesterday. I hadn’t gotten a chance to check what he was up to this morning, but it looked like the FBI had moved quickly once he made the call.
I sat back down and typed in the codes that granted me unfettered access to Lyle’s life.
* * *
The national attention on the Lowenstein case was unwelcome but didn’t worry me. We’d expected it and had contingency plans in place for every possible outcome.
What did worry me were the texts Lyle had received a few hours after his press conference. Messages from other numbers on my watch list.
Steven Pullbar, a highly decorated detective from Texas, and Chad Pearson, a lawyer from Oklahoma, had set up a meeting with Lyle. Like Lyle, they were stains on humanity who thought it was their God-given right to take their anger and frustrations out on the women in their lives.
I sent out a message to the team, calling for an emergency meeting, and we all gathered in the conference room.
“Are you going to tell us what the emergency is, or are you going to stare at us?” Tyler asked.
I rolled my eyes and dove right in. “Lyle Lowenstein had a nationwide press conference asking for information about his missing wife and kid.”
“When?” Betty asked, scowling.
“A few hours ago, but we expected this.” I took a deep breath. “What we didn’t anticipate was that Chad Pearson and Steven Pullbar would contact him and set up a meeting two days from now.”
“Dammit. I would’ve thought they’d moved on by now,” Izzy said.
Adrienne threw her hands up and cursed in Italian. Tyler got that pensive expression that I recognized as her thinking up the best ways to kill someone.
Chris was the only one who didn’t have a reaction.
After I filled them in on the reward money, I asked if they could provide me with a list of all the stops that were made during the transport for the three women.
Everyone in the room went so still that I wasn’t sure they were breathing.
Betty broke the silence. “You aren’t going to like this.” She paused, eyeing the others before coming back to me. “Redemption handled the transports, and the Lowensteins are staying in their cabin until we secure their permanent placement.”
The anger was a slow build in my system. So many questions hit me at once, and it was impossible to decide which to ask first. “I think I’m going to need you to explain,in detail,” I said in a low tone as rage made its way into my bloodstream and started to boil, “how fucking Redemption,” I spat the name out like a curse, “is involved.”
Tyler, never one to back off from a fight, took a challenging step forward. “We decided to outsource. You had too much on your plate at the time, and it was impossible for all of us to do our jobs and guard the house. Betty made a call, and Redemption enthusiastically offered to help out with the transport and safe house situation.”
That was a simple enough explanation, but it didn’t explain why I was the last to know about it.
“I don’t care that you’re mad. We didn’t keep it from you, we just didn’t tell you. And for the record, you never fucking asked,” Tyler said through clenched teeth. “We went through their security and beefed it up where necessary. The compound is locked down when they have a guest. Only brothers in and out, save for the wives of officers.”
“Your aunt doesn’t know anything, in case you were wondering,” Betty said, like that made any of this any better.
“Peyton,” Jessen said, pulling my attention from Tyler and Betty. “We kept waiting for you to ask. When you never brought it up, we let it go.”
“I didn’t think to ask because I didn’t know I had to. How the hell was I supposed to know you’d pull Redemption into our business?”
“We needed a solution, and we were drowning. We have to check out their final locations, organize transport, set up their lives.” Tyler talked fast, fury laced in every word. “It’s more than just paperwork and creating a life that’s searchable online.”
I turned and stared at the white wall, giving my anger a few seconds to simmer down. Men went to Redemption seeking the second chance they couldn’t get from society. They came from all different backgrounds, most of them tragic. It made sense that they’d help those who needed it. They understood the importance of a second chance better than anyone.
I turned back and let out a breath. “You know you should have told me. And you know that I never asked because I was already so involved in their lives. I needed a healthy distance. But you still should have known better than to keep this a secret.” I let my hang head for a moment. “Guess I better let them know what’s going on and figure out the routes they took to get back.” I swallowed down the sourness that filled my mouth. It was only a call to Uncle Wolf.
