Page 71 of Under Fire

Hollis paused before saying. “The gun that was used to kill Barcos.” From Agents Wells and Harris’ expressions, what she said was not a surprise to them. She hid a smile. They were right about not being ready to go out to the pastures just yet. They were still on top of their game.

“But the serial number was wiped out and non-recoverable,” Detective Tomlin said.

Agent Wells chuckled before saying. “Not for the FBI or someone who used to work for the Bureau. Once an FBI agent, always an FBI agent.”

Prosecutor Irvin glanced over at Agent Wells. “I take it that information turned up in your investigation as well.”

“Yes, it did.”

All Irvin could do was nod. The FBI was not legally bound to share evidence with local authorities. Especially if it was part of a larger federal investigation or it involved corrupt officers.

Hollis met Agent Wells’ gaze. Since he wasn’t releasing the fact that the gun belonged to Nyla or the names of the two officers involved, neither would she. It felt good to know they were on it.

Agent Wells then spoke, directing his question to Locke. “Since this is part of a bigger federal investigation, it would help our case if an announcement wasn’t released that your client has been cleared. Doing so will alert the corrupt parties to begin burying any additional evidence. What we don’t have yet is the identity of the person calling all the shots. In fact, we believe he was Barcos’ boss.”

“Barcos had a boss?” Detective Connors asked, surprised.

“Yes. It was a closely guarded secret that we were able to discover through an informant before he was killed. Years ago Barcos was running out of money, and some guy with a lot of funds stepped in to fund his operation, with the understanding that he would keep doing so as long as nothing could ever be traced to him. So far, nothing has.”

“You have no idea of this person’s identity?” Irvin asked.

“Not a clue, and I doubt anyone will talk for fear of retaliation. I understand there are those who don’t even know his identity. As I said, it was a closely guarded secret. Because we’re dealing with the same person calling the shots in four different states, we believe he’s not someone living in this area. But then, we might be wrong.”

Locke nodded and then said, “I will take your request up with my client.”

“Hey, this team needs a name,” Detective Connors said. “Give us a name, Prosecutor Irvin.”

Irvin smiled, thought about it a minute, and then said, “The Integrity Team.”

“The Integrity Team,” Agent Wells repeated. “I like it.”

***

Later that night, Locke walked into his bedroom. Hollis was already in bed, sitting up and reading news articles on her phone. He had been detained downstairs when he returned all the calls he had received. Namely from family and friends who had heard about what had happened.

Dak even called to make sure they were okay. He assured him he was and thanked him again for Rexar. He asked about Hollis, and said he and Mellie were looking forward to meeting her one day. News certainly made its rounds about his interest in Hollis. He honestly didn’t have a problem with that.

While talking to Dak, he had given him Malik’s message. He confirmed Malik was once part of the Inflight Unit and was presently working as a paramilitary contractor for the government. He’d also known Hollis’ brother Derek, although he had never met Hollis. Derek had also been part of the Inflight Unit, and his code name was Blue Jay. According to Dak, Crow was determined to hunt down the men who had killed his best friend and deliver his own brand of punishment.

Hollis placed her phone on the nightstand and smiled at him. “I thought you had forgotten about me.”

He moved to sit on the side of the bed. There was no way he could ever forget about her. “I had a lot of calls to return. It seems what happened made national news.”

“You mean what could have happened. I am thankful for Rexar. Next time you talk to Dak, please thank him.”

“I have. He was one of those who called.” He could tell she was naked beneath the bed covers, and he intended to join her. He could have lost her today. They could have lost each other. Never before had any woman come to mean so much to him.

“I think we covered a lot in that meeting,” she said, cutting into his thoughts.

“Yes, we did. It was a first. To my knowledge, no team has ever formed like that. Usually everyone in that room works independently, and definitely not with the defense.” He let out a deep breath and said, “Legally, there is no defense since the case against Karl has been dropped. Prosecutor Irvin and I will meet with the judge in her chambers tomorrow and tell her about the plan the FBI has requested.”

Hollis nodded. “Did Karl agree?”

“Yes. He sees the wisdom in doing so. He doesn’t want to put Nyla at risk. I assured him our work wasn’t over until we helped bring the guilty parties to justice.”

He eased to his feet. “Enough about them,” he said, removing his shirt, then his slacks and briefs. “I want to concentrate on us.”

She scooted over as he eased into bed beside her. He reached out and smiled. Just as he thought, she was naked. Her skin was smooth as silk, and he loved touching her all over. He loved her scent. He loved everything about her.