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She shouldn’t feel satisfaction at knowing his family of criminals had turned on him, but she did. Because of him, Liv no longer had a family, Luis should know what that felt like. The thought of him running and alone brought a smile to her face.
“So you don’t think the Cartel will spend resources coming after Liv?” Sean’s question was a good one.
“It’s not likely.”
“So I’m safe. I don’t have to hide anymore?”
The idea of leaving the cabin was bittersweet. She’d come to terms with losing her old life easily enough. There wasn’t anything she’d miss. But If they didn’t have to hide, Sean would probably go back to his life. What would that mean for them?
Hassick shook his head. “Luis still has a few loyal men. Locals who aren’t part of the Cartel. Until Luis is in custody, it won’t be safe for you to go home.”
“Oh.”
“Do you know of anywhere else he could have gone to ground that isn’t in your files?”
Liv considered what she had put into the USB. Gathering that information had been a long, tedious process that she had spent hours organizing and reorganizing for fear that when she finally found someone to turn it over to, they wouldn’t consider it enough to convict him. There were a few names, places, and videos she’d left out because they were either of a person she wasn’t sure was guilty or because they were powerful enough, she’d worried Luis would get their help to cover things up if their asses were on the line too. She’d left out everything that had to do with the local congressman and captain of police for that very reason. With federal help, that might not be a concern.
“Give me a minute.”
Liv stood up, ignoring Sean’s questioning glare. She went to the bedroom where she’d left her phone and the few other items she’d had with her when she ran. Praying this wouldn’t backfire on her, she powered up the device. As she walked back to the kitchen, her phone vibrated with hundreds of notifications from being off for so long.
She looked down and saw there were over a hundred missed texts. On a busy week, she usually got less than ten. Never anything personal, just requests from co-workers to swap shifts or asking her to come in early or stay late.
What could they all be about? Unable to resist, she clicked on the text icon. Ninety one of the texts were from an unknown number. She didn’t bother reading through them once she read the one she’d received that morning.
Unknown Number: You will die screaming like your sister.
A hysterical laugh bubbled up out of her as she reached the table. Sean looked at her with concern in his eyes.
“You Ok?”
Liv snorted. “Just processing the reality that Luis isn’t going to give up.”
Her voice sounded odd, and she realized she was on the verge of a panic attack. She’d somehow managed not to think about the nightmare that had been the day at the courthouse. Knowing someone wanted to kill you in a theoretical sense was very different from seeing it spelled out in writing. She took several deep breaths, forcing herself to at least fake calm as she sat back down at the table.
“I won’t let him hurt you.”
Sean’s words were like a balm and her heart rate slowed.
“Give me an e-mail address and I’ll send you the rest of my files. There are several names and places in there that weren’t on the USB.”
“Why weren’t they included?”
“Because the point of the files was to make sure Luis got convicted. With these names, I was afraid the police would either offer him a deal to testify or be too afraid to go after him.”
The offended look Hassick gave her was amusing. As if the idea of criminals getting away with crimes because they could help put away bigger criminals was ridiculous. She knew better. Even if he wouldn’t do that, there would be someone in his chain of command that thought going after a congressman would be more important than pinning a few drug deals on a known criminal.
She raised an eyebrow, daring him to argue. With a sigh, he nodded, then gave her an email address. Liv sent him the files.
Sean’s phone rang. He looked down at the screen and scowled. “I’ll be right back.”
He stood and stalked out of the room. Her skin prickled at his absence. Liv knew she wasn’t in danger, but having him next to her had made being brave easier. When had she become so dependent on him? Anger replaced fear. What could be so important that he had to take the call right that moment? Why did he need privacy? It was yet another sign that she needed to be careful. No matter how close they had gotten, it was obvious he was still keeping things from her.
Technically, she was keeping things from him as well. But she would have told him about Luis’s texts once she stopped freaking out. Not saying something right away hadn’t been smart, but she hadn’t wanted the two men to know how scared she was. Before she lost her nerve, she looked at the DEA agent.
“You might also be able to use this number to track him.”
She spun the phone and showed him the threatening text stream that could only be from Luis. Hassick scowled and picked up her phone, scrolling through the messages at a speed that impressed her.
