Page 45 of The Vigilant

I started to zoom out of the image when a faint outline of a face in the front seat caught my attention.

No…it couldn’t be.

I zoomed closer, the pixelation and the tint of the windows working against me, but I swore…

“Fuck.”

“What?” He followed me as I carried his cell around my computer and pulled up a recent photograph of GrowTech’s new COO.

My eyes flicked between the two before I made my declaration. “I think that’s Brock Carson.”

I gave Creed back his phone and let him weigh in.

He stood still as stone—and as silent—for a couple seconds that felt like they dragged out the space between each heartbeat.

“It looks damn fucking close for him not to be.”

“Yeah, that’s what I’m thinking.”

He looked back at me sternly. “What’s this Carson have to do with Kang other than drugs?”

It took everything in me to speak calmly while my mind raced a mile a minute.

“We’ve suspected Carson is dealing in sex trafficking, and specifically, has been procuring women from the Bay Area for the son of a Pakistani warlord.”

“So, the last man to see Mara alive left the club that night with a man who deals in the sex trade…”

His gaze met mine, but I wasn’t seeing him. I wasn’t seeing anything but those dark pearl-blue eyes, shimmering with whatI thought was emotion when Sutton told me about Mara’s relationship with Kang, but really the glimmer had been nothing more than lies.

I didn’t have proof, but I did have my gut. And I saw the look on Kang’s face that night in the alleyway. I heard the fucking fear in his voice when he begged me to save him from Sutton’s wrath. There was no fucking way that coward had the strength and mental acuity to lie about what he knew about Mara. Not when there was a knife through his hand.

And that meant only one thing: Sutton knew the truth and had lied to me.

“I was planning on following this Kang character for a day or two and then confronting him, but I haven’t seen him at all. And he hasn’t shared his location on his socials for about a week now.”

Since Sutton attacked him in the alley.

“If you think there’s more of a connection here, I’ll follow Carson for a few days and see where it leads me,” Creed continued and looked to me for confirmation.

“Yeah,” I croaked and nodded, powering down my computer and grabbing my keys. “Look, I’ve got to run. Elevator is at the end of the hall and will take you down to the cabin entrances. Guest one is first on the right. Code is 0525.” Ryan’s birthday. “And keep your phone close. I might have more information on Mara soon.”

His eyes pulsed wide. “You have another lead?”

My jaw pulsed like a beating drum in my cheek. “No, I’ve got a liar.”

His eyes only widened slightly, the stoicism of his face something I could only attribute as a Jedi-like ability to control his emotions. A skill I wish I had right now.

“You want backup?”

“No,” I clipped and headed for the door to the garage. “I’ll be in touch.”

He nodded. “Thanks for the hospitality.”

“Anything for a brother.”

The door slammed behind me, the bang like a gunshot that sent me sprinting to my bike, my heart already pounding like jackhammer in my chest.

She’d lied about Kang. Deep down, I knew it in my bones. She’d lied to me about what she’d learned from him, and once and for all, I was going to find out why.

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