Page 65 of Maddox

“Attorneys?”

“Yes, sir.”

“We need to talk to someone, Maddox,” she offered. “Everything will be fine.”

I turned toward her. “Like I said. I don’t like this.”

“Neither do I, but what choice do we have? We have vital information that could help.”

The men seemed to have itchy fingers, acting like we were the enemy. Gray and I were going to have a long talk when all this was over. Something was way off about this. The thought she was being used continued to furrow in my mind. “Fine, but we expect answers.”

“Yes, sir, I understand. You’ll get them.”

As I led her back to the SUV, the suits stood around us as if we were still going to make a run for it. What the hell was going on?

When we were safely seated inside, I tried Gray’s number again. So far, he’d avoided two calls. That wasn’t like him and was something else to piss me off.

“Gray. I’m telling you. Give me a call.”

“You can’t get him?” she asked, the fear returning to her voice.

“No.” I rubbed my jaw, thinking about how this was going to play out. Until the very end of my career, I hadn’t been on the receiving end of harsh questions. Then they’d come fast andfurious. This reminded me of the two long days I’d spent in debriefing meetings.

Interrogations. That’s what they’d been. Even with what Charmaine had gotten herself in the middle of, she didn’t deserve any additional harsh treatment.

The sons of bitches weren’t racking up the best points.

Minutes later, the entire brigade drove underground to a private parking area. When we stepped out, the others did as well and I noticed they were paying close attention to the space. What in God’s name were they expecting?

They climbed out, scanning the area like I would do in any covert operation. Once they opened the door, I sensed they were in a hurry.

We were escorted to an elevator, half the men cramming inside, the others remaining where they were.

She huddled next to me and the closeness was as damning as before.

When she touched my hand, I had a strong urge to take her away from all this.

As soon as the doors opened and we stepped out into the lobby, we were stopped.

“I’ll need to take your weapon, Lieutenant.” Well, one of the other men had a voice.

“Why?”

“Because it’s standard procedure.”

“You mean you’re afraid I might use it.” I reached into my jacket pocket, debating whether I should follow his orders.

“You’ll get it back once the meeting is finished.”

Somehow, that didn’t make me feel any more comfortable.

I checked the ammunition before I handed it over, staring him directly in the eyes. “As soon as the meeting is over.”

“Yes, sir.”

We were led down a corridor past several offices, stopping at a closed door seconds later. “You’ll be in here, sir.”

“What does that mean? I won’t be in there with him?” Charmaine asked, her anxiety rising.

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