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“Their bosses were pissed about losing product, and Kent was irate about being left out of the loop. He was always informed of the raids and could give leads to navigate the product a different way. They paid him to keep the inventory flowing. Our involvement stopped all that, and he was blamed. In order to save his ass, he promised information on the underground activities which were eliminating the deliveries.”
“Several times, he took calls. From what I read, this payday was taking him away for good.”
“Special skills,” Rowan says under her breath, referring to my lip reading.
“Knew something was wrong. Felt it to my Goddamned bones,” Ace says, his dark eyes sharp.
“Came to me, apologized for taking me away. Fucker actually thought I wasn’t in the same state. We came here and found the place a wreck. Saw your gun and the pocket knife with the ring. We know you and found the messages. Robbie called with the distress signal for the salon when he couldn’t locate you or Rowan. We were already on the move.” Major’s voice is bitter and calculated, his face cold.
“What messages?” Rowan asks hoarsely.
“Back in the Corps, we had codes. To the unaware, they looked like dashes or equations. Whitman marked your counter to give us a head start. The crown on his Rolex was pulled, locking in the time he left. The message on the mirror was the catalyst. Mad Jack was back,” Ace clarifies.
“How’d you find us?” Rowan asks Ace, who glances at Robbie.
“I have an acquaintance who is familiar with the trade.”
“You have friends who smuggle drugs and weapons?”
“Not my friend, and not a smuggler. More like an ex-entrepreneur in the illegal trade.”
“Like a Kingpin?” She ponders in amazement.
Max and Finn chuckle, Max stating, “More like a friend who is enamored with Ember. Robbie despises him, but he’s cleaned up his act.”
Robbie slices his eyes to Max, mumbling, “Dade knew where Kent was. He also had some valuable information. Wallace orchestrated his move with the assumption he’d get the information and disappear as a wealthy man. He wasn’t stupid, knowing we’d come looking. Therefore, he’d told his contacts last night was a good night to transfer products while we were preoccupied,” Finn tells us.
“He knew all along the guys are working with you?” Jewls asks in confusion. “Why kidnap and beat them?”
“He didn’t know it was Hayes Security. According to Dad, Wallace was boasting it was a specialized task force within the MNPD. After our embarrassing fiasco a few months ago, he never thought Dad would dedicate a unit specifically to this,” Robbie justifies.
“I handed the reins over to the Director at the ATF, outlining his leak, and gave them the coordinates for last night’s transfer. We may have been busy, but the job still got done,” James concludes.
“Fucking ballsy,” one of the ATF agents mutters disapprovingly.
“That’s boss!” Rowan squeals, raising her hands in the air like a cheerleader. “We got rescued, and those assholes lost their payday!”
The room is silent, all eyes on her. She slinks back, her face flushing. “Is it bad form to praise?”
“No, babe. I think they got sight of your ring.”
She bites her lip, displaying her hand. “Not to steal your thunder for all the valiant and heroic things you did, but I’m getting married.”
There’s a split-second pause before the room erupts. April and my mom’s cries shriek through the speaker system.
Rowan is yanked out of my hold and into James’ embrace.
I catch Talon’s smirk before he locks eyes with me.
The look says it all.
Yeah, brother, I love you too.
36
ROWAN
Security Analyst
