Page 112 of Dash

“Don’t say shit.” I nudged my head toward the woman. “She’s not your responsibility.”

“This is control,” Mina announced in my ear. “Patching through. Go ahead, Green.”

“This is Green,” Mac’s voice crackled in my ear. “We’re in the clear. Signing off.”

“Copy that, Green,” Mina said. “Merciandarrivederci.”

Knowing that Green Team had not found anything suspicious in Monique’s apartment, I made my decision. “Guzman, take Monique up to one of the guest suites. King, help Guzman. You.” I pointed at Paolo, who jumped in his chair. He was too scrawny to help with the load, but his apartment had been cleared. “Go with the guys and stay with Monique until she wakes. I don’t want her choking on her own vomit.”

“Okay.” Paolo stood and slid the chair out as Guzman and King braced Monique between them.

I got up, and, holding on to my cane, opened the door for them. Monique’s shoes fell off. I stuck my cane in one of the two oversized Chinese plum vases that flanked the dining room doors, picked up the woman’s shoes, and escorted the group out to the hallway. Dressed in black combat gear for the evening, wearing a tactical vest and a set of visible comms, Shaw lifted his eyebrows and gave me his “what’s happening” look.

“Where’s Ferranti?” I asked

“Doing the rounds,” Shaw reported.

“Stick to this door like glue,” I ordered. “Guzman, King, drop off the cargo, find Ferranti, and get him posted with these two.”

“Hold on,” Paolo spat. “It’s not like I’m going to steal something.”

“Don’t take it personally.” I dropped the woman’s shoes in his hands. “Go, all of you.”

“Which one of the guest rooms should we use?” Guzman asked, hoisting Monique higher between him and King.

“Follow me.” Sandy materialized next to me, as always, ready to help. She started toward the elevator by the back stairs. I watched the little group disappear around the corner.

The sound of Thena’s laughter drifted across the dining room ornate doors. A smile hijacked my lips. I loved that sound. I wished I could make her laugh like that all the time.

As I turned around to reach for the dining room door, Mina’s voice piped up.

“This is control,” she announced. “Report. Patching through.”

Sebastian’s voice crackled in my ear. “Control, this is Red Team. Do you copy?”

I stopped in my tracks. Next to me, Shaw stiffened.

“Red, this is control,” Mina replied. “We copy. Go ahead, Red.”

“We’ve got something.” The tension in Sebastian’s low bass rose my hackles.

“Red, describe,” Mina said just as I’d instructed.

“We cracked the combination in Jorge Rivera’s safe,” Sebastian reported. “We found two half-empty vials. It’s possible we’ve located the poison used to make Athena Astor sick and or the substance that killed Richard Astor.”

At last, I had my target.

Chapter Thirty-one

Dash

Standing in the hallway, I clenched my jaw, fisted my hands, and dug my nails into my palms. Fuck Rivera. He’d been so helpful, so cooperative. He’d gone out of his way to look and act innocent. Worse, he’d never given me cold-blooded killer vibes.

“The chemical response team will be here in a few,” Sebastian reported. “We’ll have confirmation then.”

Confirmation would be important to prosecute Rivera, but right now, I needed to put a lot of distance between him and Thena. Gritting my teeth, I slid the Glock from my holster and, meeting Shaw’s gaze, knocked my head toward the door. “With me.”

Shaw flipped his carbine’s safety and lifted his weapon to his cheek, ready for action. With him at my back, I opened the door and sidled into the dining room. Linked to the comms, Bozeman had heard the report and was already on his feet. Ignoring Thena and Arthur’s wide stares, I came up behind Rivera and aimed my gun at the back of his head.

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