Total pages in book: 86
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 83777 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 419(@200wpm)___ 335(@250wpm)___ 279(@300wpm)
“I don’t want you involved in this, Devin.”
“You’re involved, so I’m involved. End of story,” Devin argued. “Besides, I didn’t really do anything. I was just asking questions. I wanted to see what they have and if they were close to pressing charges or anything like that.”
“And?”
“There’s nothing, and I mean nothing. That’s why I’m telling you not to let Brian or anyone else come in that clubhouse without someone watching every move they make.”
“You think he’ll pull a fast one?”
“I don’t know, but I have a feeling he might. Something about all this just doesn’t feel right.”
“Because it isn’t.” I knew the truth. I knew Maddox was behind all the bullshit, but I couldn’t tell her that. I couldn’t tell her anything. “But that isn’t for you to worry about. I need you to do what I said and trust me on this. We are handling it.”
“I know you are, and I do trust you. But I don’t trust Brian, and I want you to be careful.”
It meant something to me that Devin trusted me like she did. With all the secrets and our past, I’d given her plenty of reasons not to, but she was here and giving me all the support I could ask for. “I appreciate that, and I will. Now, let it go and leave the worrying to me.”
“I miss you.”
“I miss you, too, baby. I’ll call when I can.”
I ended the call and went straight to Preacher’s office, letting him know about Devin’s warning. He shook his head and grumbled, “I’m over this guy’s bullshit. It’s time to show him who he’s fucking with.”
“What are you thinking?”
“I’ve got an old military buddy that is high up in the Bureau. If I can just get him some solid evidence against Maddox, we could bury him.”
“We’ve got plenty. You’ve seen what Shep found.”
“Yeah, I know he’s dirty. You know he’s dirty, but the bank statements and time stamps are all circumstantial. We need something real. Something they can’t ignore.” He ran his hand over his beard. “We gotta catch him in the act. Video footage of him with these trafficking guys or at the very least, him admitting that he’s involved.”
“Alright. We’ll find it.”
“I’ll get my guy at the Bureau ready, but I’m not giving him shit until we have something that’ll stick.”
I nodded, turning toward the door.
“And Creed?” Preacher’s voice dropped, his eyes hard. “We do this smart. I know you want this motherfucker gone. I want him gone, too, but we gotta be careful with this shit. One wrong move, and we’re done for.”
“Understood.”
I walked out of his office and started down the hall to find Shep and Grim. We were close. I could feel it. And once we had him pinned, there would be no badge, no cop buddies, and no bullshit that would save Maddox from what he had coming.
I made my way back to Shep’s office, and as soon as he spotted me, Shep proudly announced, “I’ve got him tied to three burners. One of them pinged off a tower near the Vault the same night Gabby was snatched. Another near…”
“It’s not enough. We gotta have something more than burners and bank statements.” I crossed my arms and leaned against the doorframe. “We gotta have something concrete, or we’re just wasting our time.”
“I’ll find something.”
“You have to. Preacher’s on standby with his guy at the Bureau. We get one more piece, one clean, irrefutable piece, and we hand him over.”
Shep cracked a rare grin. “On it.”
He turned back to his laptop, and we spent the next couple of hours going through hours and hours of CCTV videos from all over town trying to hunt down Maddox. It was like searching for a needle in a haystack. We were all reaching our wits end when my cell phone started to ring.
I pulled it from my back pocket, and I was surprised to see that it was Devin calling. It wasn’t like her to call from her landline, so I answered, “You okay?”
“No.”
“What’s wrong?”
“Mom and Dad are fighting,” Chrissy answered. “It sounds pretty bad. They’ve fought before, but not like this. Dad’s really mad, and I think he’s been drinking.”
“Where’s Austin?”
“He’s at Malcomb’s house.”
“Okay. Stay put, and I’ll be there in a minute.”
I was already grabbing my keys from my pocket when I told her, “I’m on my way now.”
“Okay.”
In the background, Brian’s voice bellowed, “Chrissy, open this goddamn door!”
“Don’t open it!”
“O-okay.”
“I’m coming, kid. Hang on.”
I ended the call and immediately dialed Devin’s number. She didn’t answer, so I tried the landline. Again, no answer. Fuck. Rage vibrated through my chest as I headed for the door. Grim’s eyes narrowed as he asked, “What’s going on?”
I didn’t even slow down. “Maddox is over at Devin’s place.”
The words had barely left my mouth when he and Shep stood and followed me out to the parking lot. I didn’t bother telling them not to come. I knew nothing would stop them, so I just kept moving forward, praying we could get to her before Maddox did something stupid.