Page 16 of Colton’s Secret Identity

“The FBI sent me here short-notice to try to break open the entire cartel. I have to admit that as much terrible stuff as I’ve seen the last five years in Southern California and surroundings, this is just as bad, maybe worse. I don’t like seeing our hometown overrun by drug dealers.” Dylan appreciated that he didn’t have to spill his guts out to Callum. His older brother knew him well, could read him often before Dylan knew what he was thinking. He didn’t have to tell Callum that there was a big bad weight on his chest. Grief over what seemed lost to the drug traffickers and the aftermath of their hold on the community.

“Yeah, it’s been rough—” Callum’s tone turned grave “—and we’re glad to have you helping us out. As I’m sure you know, we have the FBI on our task force, but now with your op joining forces, I have hope we’ll make enough headway to get rid of all of this vermin. I hate admitting it, as does Thelma, but the truth is that we’re in over our heads with the constant stream of drugs to our streets.”

Dylan knew his brother referred to RGPD’s chief, Captain Thelma Brady. He’d had interaction with her during his stint at RGPD, of course, but never saw her in the role she’d now assumed with the task force. His team had briefed him on RGPD’s involvement in the task force coordinated by the sheriff’s department, and how indispensable Chief Brady’s acumen was to their efforts.

“You don’t sound relieved, bro,” he spoke as he observed the strain etched in the lines on his brother’s face. Same as what he’d seen on Veronica’s.

Veronica. He had to shake his memories of their past bond. Remind himself that they were work colleagues again, yes, but nothing more.

Cal shook his head. “There isn’t any such thing as relief in my job, except when we save a kid from drowning in the river, for example. But then that’s short-lived, isn’t it? There’ll always be the next one to save, or a bad guy to catch.”

“Sounds like my job most days.” Dylan had missed this. Bonding with his brother over what mattered to both of them.

“Except with this drug thing, we’re dealing with pure evil, aren’t we? People who will make the wrong choice time and again, all for profit. To hell with the innocents who get sucked into the addiction.” Callum wasn’t one to hold back when it came to his beliefs, and keeping his territory safe had always been his passion. “I worry about you, Dylan. I know you’re good at what you do—heck, the Bureau wouldn’t have plucked you out of RGPD the way they did if you weren’t already a hot shot. And that was over five years ago. You’ve got to be damn near unbeatable now. But the risk, it doesn’t stop. And it’s gotten worse, am I right?”

“You’re absolutely right,” he agreed. “But it’s the same for you. You’re ass-deep in drug-related crime, too. Take your task force, for example. You’re managing players from so many different agencies, some of them known to you, others new. You have to figure out who to trust, and with what, to get the bad guys. My job is more specific, to be fair. Stay undercover long enough to nab the bad guy.” Dylan wasn’t going to sit here and allow Cal to act as if being a sheriff was “lower” than a federal agent. They both knew that the playing field was level when you stared down the barrel of a punk’s gun.

“Speaking of drug trafficking, you know why we call our takedown Operation Goose Down, don’t you?” Callum had some of his spark back.

“Because you’re too stupid to come up with something zippier?” Dylan couldn’t resist teasing Cal, and it had an additional benefit of lightening the heaviness of their conversation.

“Wiseass.” Cal grinned nonetheless. “It’s because of where the first body was found. We’re trying to find a killer who we think is related to the drug ring.”

“At the Geese in Flight stop.” Dylan mentally pictured the first stop of the scenic Enchanted Highway, a thirty-two-mile-long tourist attraction on Interstate 94 in the southwestern part of the state. It happened to run adjacent to the outskirts of Red Grove, and the Coltons had long been fans of it, visiting the various sculptures as they were finished by the artist Gary Greff. “Actually, that’s pretty genius, bro.” Dylan’s gut tightened. “Wait a minute. What do you mean by ‘first body’? Has there been another murder?” He’d been so deep with Hawk’s business and frankly a bit unsettled after meeting up with Veronica that he’d not been worrying about the local crime scene save for anything definitely drug-related. What had he missed?

“It was an almost-murder, found by none other than our own Fearless Fireman.” Cal’s words sounded light but Dylan sensed the weight of the crimes in his chest, and worried about Cal, how his body was holding up to the stress of the criminal assault on their county. Dylan knew he referred to Dylan’s fraternal twin, Aiden. “Aiden overheard they found a body on his scanner and went out to investigate, at the mile fifteen site. But it wasn’t a body. It was a Jane Doe, barely alive.”

“At the Grasshoppers in the Field.” Dylan’s gut roiled with bile as he digested the reality of the evil that had ridden into North Dakota and their area in particular. “Do you think it’s the same attacker in both?”

“Yes, no, maybe.” Cal gave a short nod, shrugged. “These victims, and where they were placed, may be related to the drug scene you’re working, but it’s too early to tell. We’re getting so few leads it’s frustrating.” Cal rubbed his hands together, revealed a forced smile. “But that’s my problem to worry about, bro, not yours. You get these traffickers, and make it quick. It’ll come out in the wash if the attack and murder are related to Rex, Slim or the cartel at all.”

“I’ll work on it with my new partner.” Dylan paused, needing to tell Cal about meeting up with “Monique” and forming a business alliance, but he didn’t want to get Veronica in trouble if she hadn’t reported it to Cal yet.

He needs to know, Dylan. Veronica’s admonishment echoed in his mind, made his heart pump faster.

“Spit it out, Dylan.” Cal’s brow was raised, and while he looked straight out the windshield, Dylan knew that he was visible in Cal’s peripheral vision.

“What?” He instinctively inflected his tone with innocence. Faux innocence, but he thought it sounded good.

“You really want to play this game, bro?” Cal faced him now, his gaze intent. “We’re on the same team.”

He sighed. “We are. I was sent in here short-notice to home in on Slim.” He explained what he’d accomplished so far, told Callum where he and his henchmen were living. “My op and your task force collided in a meeting today. With Veronica Martin, aka Monique, Frisky nightclub manager.”

Callum paused. “I’ve got my own team working this issue. I assume we’re both going after Rex?”

“It’s bigger than Rex, and I hope to have him and his boss in cuffs before long, but yes, that’s the group we have in our sights.” He explained what he was doing, what had happened so far. Cal listened with an attentiveness that reminded Dylan so much of their father. When he finished his update, Cal’s brow rose.

“So you’re in cahoots with Monique from Frisky now?”

“Yes.” He expelled a long breath. “She’s one of yours, right?” At Cal’s stony expression, he continued. “She told me, Cal.”

“What the—”

“Because she’s a, we were, we were RGPD colleagues. I knew Veronica five years ago.”

“The way you word that makes me wonder how well you knew her, Dylan.” Callum’s tone wasn’t judging, but curious. Cal nodded. “That explains the intel Veronica passed to me on a burner today. I figured her ‘meeting’ might be with you, but I couldn’t be sure, and I sure as hell wasn’t going to risk your cover by asking you.”

Dylan stayed silent this time, not sure how much to reveal to Cal. He could trust him with anything, but he didn’t want the eldest Colton to think he’d let personal feelings get in the way of doing his job.