Page 84 of Who's Afraid of the Big, Bad World

To Noah’s surprise, Rochelle didn’t immediately shut down Abasi’s view. “I agree that Eddie’s much more dangerous than I initially thought him to be. He seems very… driven.”

“Psychotic almost?” Noah offered.

“Yes.” Rochelle stared down at the murderer, looking thoughtful.

Sirens wailed in the distance. Again. It was a good job that Annabelle didn’t have any close residential neighbors; recent events would have had them running for the hills.

“The detectives were already on their way here,” Katrina said as she joined them at the window.

“I wondered at the fast response,” Noah said.

Only the sheer blind stopped Eddie from seeing them all, although Noah was certain he knew they were there.

“Does Annabelle know he’s down there?” Rochelle asked.

“No.” Noah watched as the two detectives climbed out of their vehicle. “She’s in the middle of an online art class.”

“Good,” Rochelle said. “That’s good.”

In the street below, the detectives approached Eddie, who remained relaxed. There was a lot of gesturing, and at one point, Johnson got out his phone—no doubt a threat to take Eddie in. At last, with a chilling smile, the Demons’ leader pushed away from the hood of his car and sauntered to the driver’s door. Before he got in, he grinned up at the warehouse and saluted.

The team, along with the two cops, watched him drive away.

As the detectives got back into their car to park it outside the warehouse, Rochelle turned to Evan. “Where are we on the Demons’ money?”

“We’re still doing that?” He looked surprised. “I thought because we’re quitting the team, you didn’t want anything else happening. I mean, stuff the cops won’t know about.”

“No, I never said to stop hunting for their money.”

“Good.” Excited, Evan sat at his desk. “Because I have something.”

“5-O are at the door,” Rodrigo said. “I’ll let them in.” He left the room.

Evan carried on. “I need to check a few things, but I think we’ve found the banks the gang, and their leader, use to stash their funds.”

“How long until you’re sure?” Rochelle studied the screen, her eyes sharp.

“End of the day? Tomorrow morning at the latest. I think.”

“Good.”

The main door opened and closed. The cops were on their way up.

“What do you want me to do once I find their money?” Evan said. “Just come tell you?”

“No.” As Rochelle straightened, she caught Abasi’s eye. “Take it all. Abasi will help you with where to put it.” The former mobster inclined his head in approval. “Make sure there’s no trail back to us,” she ordered Evan.

The rest of the team stared at their boss, open-mouthed.

“I thought we didn’t do this kind of stuff anymore,” Violet said.

“That isn’t what I said,” Rochelle told her. “I said there’s a hierarchy here. I’m the boss, and I get to approve or veto any plans we come up with. It’s the only way to keep us all safe.” She plastered a sudden smile on her face. “Gentlemen,” she said as she walked toward the cops. “Thanks for the assist outside. Have a seat. Can we get you a coffee?”

“I don’t think we gave the boss enough of a chance before we blew it,” Violet muttered to Noah, her attention on Rochelle.

“Speak for yourself,” he said before walking over to join her.

Detective Johnson sat with a sigh. “Mr. Hanson sends his regards.”