Page 18 of Redemption

“It’s not good, is it?” My morning brew is cooling, but I can’t bring myself to drink it. It’s too bitter.

With a sigh, he comes over and tosses the information on the coffee table. “No idea what it means, and that’s the part that worries me.”

I take the manila envelope off the table, and I slide my finger along the seal when there’s a knock at the front entrance. Dominic, whose injuries have mostly healed, pops his head in. “Mr. Williams has arrived. He’ll be in shortly.”

When the door closes, I give Jay a questioning glance. “I thought—”

“He had to rearrange his schedule because of another crisis. Sorry—we changed the time while I was with the police. There’s only so much texting you can do when you’re supposed to be listening.”

A security guard, who was stationed near the rear entrance, comes to the front door, hand on his gun. “Williams is known to you?” he asks.

“Yeah,” Jay says. “A schedule change. Sorry I didn’t get a chance to loop you in.”

The extra safety measures have taken getting used to. For a long time, Jay was my main source of protection. Then in deference to Finn, and because we didn’t understand the reason for the confetti bomb, we brought on Dominic and his crew. But now we have three other firms in rotation, and it’s easy to forget to tell someone something.

When the guard heads back to his post at the rear of the house, Jay sighs. “IfIwas looking after my ass, I’d be annoying myself. I’m always forgetting to tell people shit lately.”

“Do you want me to hire somebody else? Remove tasks from your plate?” I’ve never had money coming out of my account faster than it’s going in, and a brief flare of uncertainty shoots through me. If he needs more help, I can’t deny him. Everything hinges on his ability to juggle multiple jobs, and maybe that’s not fair.

“Nah.” Jay shakes his head. “You’re bleeding cash. I need a better organizational system till Finn’s out, and then he can take over some of this, right?”

The door behind us opens. “Two days.” Evander enters the house. “We’re making our move in two days.”

I toss the manila envelope onto the coffee table and rise to greet Evander. Whatever bad news is in there will have to wait. “Two days?” Excitement laces my voice, and I am excited, but that familiar unease lurks under the surface. Like anything good—the wait is forever and then everything happens at once.

“I got word the last guard I needed in place is changing shifts tomorrow. So, we should be good to go for the day after that.” His cylinder of files is clutched in his hand, and he taps them onto the table.

Jay rubs his hands together. “You’re going to take us through your steps now that the plan is set?”

“I am.” Evander settles into the couch beside me. He spreads out the sheets and flattens them down. Plans A through D are clearly labeled and color coded. We’ve picked up an extra plan. If C was risky and dangerous, I’m not sure he needs to explain D.

While he clarifies the various scenarios, I listen, but it’s hard to focus when I have no ability to influence the outcome. Do I want to understand what’s happening and whether things go smoothly? Yes. Unlike the last time, each explanation doesn’t calm me but instead causes my uncertainty to swell.

Jay meets my gaze across the coffee table and gives me an encouraging look. “Nothing obvious you haven’t thought of.”

Evander chuckles. “I’ve had a whole tactical team on this. If there was an obvious flaw at this stage, somebody would be getting fired.” He looks between me and Jay. “There’s one loose end I haven’t been able to tie up. Might be nothing, but I have to ask in case either of you knows the story.”

“Okay.” I take a sip of my drink and wince at the taste. Finn would love this brand of battery acid coffee, but it’s not my favorite.

“My sources tell me he’s gone to see the warden a few times. Could be nothing, but I was hoping to get a definitive answer. I couldn’t get anyone there to talk, which is always a concern.”

Jay and I hold each other’s gaze for a moment, and I frown. “He tends to get in trouble a lot. Could it be related to a fight or altercation?”

“Could be. I have a source who says Finn was attacked in the showers within the first few days of being there.” Evander rubs his face. “Does the name Hagen Volkov ring any bells?”

“Like a choir,” Jay admits.

“Would he owe him or be owed anything? I didn’t get a lot of information from my contact, but I understand the Volkovs have branches inside this particular prison.”

I purse my lips. Finn called Hagen for help when he was trying to track me to Ireland and didn’t have enough money or resources to get himself there. “Yes,” I acknowledge. “He owes him.”

“Experience tells me he’s having pressure applied to him in there to dosomething, but we don’t have a clue what or when. If he is sent to isolation, and our plan is already in motion, we’re sunk.” Evander gathers his color-coded sheets. “I wanted to flag the issue before go-time. If you’ve got any way to get a note to him, I’d do that. If not, we’ll take our chances. He’s kept his nose clean so far. Much cleaner than at maximum. I don’t like surprises, and this situation could become volatile.”

Jay takes a deep breath. “I don’t know if I can communicate with him in time. I don’t want to tip off anyone to what’s about to go down.”

Evander closes the lid on his cylinder and eyes the two of us. “I can get a message to him, but I don’t want him acting out of character either. There’s a delicate balance here.”

I shake my head. “Let’s leave it. He’s been steady so far apart from the one incident, right? So, status quo for two more days is risky, but probably no riskier than trying to communicate through someone who could give us away. Right?” I look to both of them for confirmation. Is this the safest decision? Even if Finn knows we’re coming, there’s no guarantee he’ll behave himself. He’s not going to ignore a threat.

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