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So screwed.
* * *
BRODY
The moment I walked into Aaron’s office was the first time I felt like I was able to take a full breath in eight days. Just knowing I was going back in had a thrill running through me, and it wasn’t just because of Lola, but the thought of ending the case and bringing Hut down.
“Did the break do you good?” Aaron asked as he leaned back in his seat behind his desk that was covered in files and paperwork.
“Yeah.” It was a half-truth, but he didn’t need to know that. “I’m ready to finish what we started.”
He nodded and steepled his hands on top of a stack of files. “There’s been a new development since you were away.”
I raised a brow. “There has?”
“Yeah. The guys will fill you in, they’re expecting you at the house in two hours.” He tilted his head. “Bring the asshole down, Brody. I don’t need to tell you how to do your job, but you know this one means more.”
I heard what he was saying loud and clear. His daughter had overdosed on the product Hut was selling, and that was one of the reasons why we’d been on this case for so long. He wanted to make sure that when we brought Hut down, there were no loopholes he could jump through.
There was an unwritten rule about being undercover so close to home, but Aaron had wanted Hut to go down for real this time. He didn’t want Hut to get off on charges he’d committed, so he sent the best team he had—which was us. If it had been any other case, I’d have told him it was a no-go, but you couldn’t really say that to a dad who wanted revenge on the piece of shit who’d supplied his daughter with the thing that killed her.
“I’m on it, sir.” I didn’t say another word as I pushed out of the chair and walked out of his office and into the den.
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The den was a collection of desks surrounded by offices. Each office belonged to a team leader that worked out of this floor, but they rarely got used because the teams were always working on new cases.
My office was in the far-left corner, and when I stepped inside, I blew out a big breath. A lone sofa sat against one wall, and that sofa had been used as a bed more times than I could count. I may have been married to Moira by law, but my job was my other half.
I logged on to my computer, catching up with a little paperwork and then grabbed my bag full of the clothes I needed to finish this case. My Mustang was left in the lot, and the shitty car I had to use was grunting to life.
Within two hours, I was walking in the house and being greeted with the grinning faces of my team. “And he returns!” Kyle shouted, holding his hand out for me to shake.
“I’m back and ready to get this case done with.” I threw myself into one of the chairs. “There was a development?”
“Yeah.” Jord reached for a tablet and passed it to me. “Ford wore a wire.”
“He did?” I scrolled through the transcript that someone had typed up, scanning the words. “They’re doing a deal?”
“Yeah,” Ryan grunted. “Twice as much as Carson takes, and this new buyer has demanded Hut be there.”
“But Hut is never there for the exchange.” I flicked my gaze up to the guys. “That’s our in.”
“Yep,” Jord said. “We’re gonna take this motherfucker down once and for all.”
“Did he say when?”
“That’s what we’re hoping you’re gonna find out,” Kyle told me, placing his hands on the back of his head. “’Bout time you got back in there, huh?”
I should have told the guys what happened—it was protocol, but they’d demand we pull back, and who knew how long it would take to get an inside man again. I wouldn’t do that. I stood, my body buzzing with energy I hadn’t felt since I walked out of Lola’s bedroom over a week ago. I was ready to get this case finished, but more than anything, I was ready to see her face again. I’d brave the storm and hope like hell that she hadn’t already told Hut about me.
“I’ll call you later,” I threw over my shoulder, my feet carrying me out of the warehouse and to the car.
The outcomes for what could happen when I walked into Hut’s house were endless, but the need to get in there was overwhelming. Above all, I was doing my job, but making sure Lola was safe in the process was paramount. I had to do everything I could to get her away from him, even if she couldn’t stand the sight of me.
Having been home for a week, I noticed every little difference the streets here had: the broken streetlights, the graffiti marking people’s territory, the trash lining the cracked sidewalks. We were only an hour or so away, and yet, it was like night and day.
My stomach dipped as I pulled up behind Hut’s SUV. He was expecting me back because I’d kept in contact with him while I was gone, but I wasn’t sure what reception I’d receive. He hadn’t wanted me to leave, but I hadn’t given him a choice. I knew it had looked suspicious right after what he did to Ted and Jace, but there was nothing I could do about it.
