Page 123 of Risky Passion

I let out a shaky breath, trying to focus, but my thoughts kept veering.

If Captain Watts is dirty, then every police investigation in Rosebud and probably Risky Shores, too, would be picked apart and scrutinized from top to bottom. Criminals could be set free.

A knot tightened in my chest.I hope we’re wrong about Captain Watts. I actually liked him. He’s a grandfather, for goodness’ sake.

“I’ll try Aria,” Cobra said. He put the call on speaker, and set the phone on the table as it rang.

Aria picked up on the second ring. “Cobra. You good?”

“Yes,” he said, his tone sharp with urgency, “but have you heard from Jaxson?”

“Yes!” Her voice brightened, relief spilling through the line. “I was just about to call you guys. Jaxson and Onyx found Blade and Viper. They’re alive!”

The room erupted in cheers, and Whisper pulled me into a tight hug.

“Thank God!” we both said at the same time, our voices overlapping.

Relief hit me like a tidal wave, knocking the air out of my lungs. I slumped against the edge of the table, my chest loosening for the first time in what felt like hours.

"That’s great news," Cobra said as he let out a long, relieved sigh. "How are they?"

"They’re still working on getting them out of the rubble," Aria replied. "They’re both weak and pretty banged up. Viper’s got a nastybroken leg, and Blade might have broken his foot. But those stubborn bastards are determined to crawl out of there on their own if they have to."

"Sounds like someone else I know,” Whisper called into the phone. “I hear you checked yourself out of the hospital against doctor’s orders."

"I couldn’t just sit in a hospital bed while my men were in trouble," Aria said with a huff.

Cobra chuckled, then he said, "Aria, I hate to bring this up now, especially after such good news, but . . .”

"What now?" Aria snapped.

"We’ve found something troubling," he said. He strode to the paperwork on the table and pressed his finger halfway down the page. "A name has come up in our research.”

“Who?” Aria demanded.

“Watts." Cobra sounded apologetic.

"Captain Ian Watts?" she snapped. “Are you sure?”

"All we have is that surname, so we don’t know for certain," Cobra said. "It could be a relative, but it’s sus as all hell. Especially as our investigations keep getting sabotaged."

“Jesus Christ.” Aria’s tone dropped to lethal. “Keep that to yourselves until you have concrete proof. If itisour Captain Watts, and he’s tangled up in this, we can’t risk tipping him off.”

“Understood,” Cobra said.

Aria huffed. “This goddammed town . . .. When are the nightmares going to end?”

“Speaking of nightmares,” Whitney said. “Hi, Aria, it’s Whitney Foster here, Jaxson’s brother.”

“Hi, Whitney, thanks for helping out. What have you got?”

“I found out B’s first name.”

“I’m listening.”

“Beatrice,” Whitney said. “I overheard Cooper Heathcote call her that . . . just before she shot him because he demanded more money from her.”

“Cooper is corrupt? Ah, Jesus. I hadn’t heard any of this. Christ. What the hell’s going on?”

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