Page 47 of Waging War
I can’t sleep. I can’tthink.
For days, I’ve thrown myself into work, avoiding Bruce while managing his casinos and making sure Remi is distributed evenly amongst his dealers. But every time I stop, even for just a second, I picture Hazel being corralled or bent until she finally breaks.
The thought is enough to make my stomach roll.
The pocket of my backpack vibrates, followed by the bright light of the phone screen. An unknown number scrolls across the front of the burner I recently acquired, and I set the binoculars down in a rush to answer.
Placing it to my ear, I pause, willing my heartbeat to slow. The fresh angry scars littered across my back burn as if to warn me. If Bruce or Jackie found me here, there would be more hell to pay than just a few lashes.
“Ben, are you there?”
Breathing at last, I answer, “Yeah, Sash, what’s up?”
Muffled shuffling scratches through the receiver. “Do you have the location yet?”
Now that Chief Barron’s family has been relocated, he’s given Sasha the green light to start pulling Bruce’s men. Jackie wanted to wait to start making arrests, but I’ve examined his reasoning from every angle, and it just doesn’t make sense. He’s either out to protect himself or he’s hiding something.
As far as I’m concerned, Jackie can thank us later for making this so easy for him.
“There’s a truck dropping the equipment needed to make Rhyomine at Lucky’s tomorrow night. Wait for them to make the drop, then you can take them out.”
I give her a profile of the guys Bruce has put in charge of retrieving and delivering the shipments. They’re lower ranking, and no one will even notice they’re gone once they make the drop.
“They’re not the brightest, but they’re strong as hell. You’ll need to strike fast.”
“Got it.”
I pause. “No one can know about this, Sash. I don’t want any other officers involved.”
“Barron is the only one who knows. I tried to convince the chief to give me a partner, but he’s hesitant. The only person he trusts is his deputy.”
Barron’s deputy isn’t someone I’ve had a lot of contact with, if any. “What do you think? Can we trust him?”
A car door slams, followed by voices coming from the static on her car radio.
“Mike? He’s the chief’s right-hand.”
“Respectfully, Sash, that doesn’t mean shit.”
She considers this a moment. “You’ve got a point. But you trust Barron, right? And Barron trusts Mike. They’re grossly inseparable.”
I can’t be upset about adding some extra muscle, but I tell her to keep an eye on him anyway.
“In the meantime, do you think you could gather some evidence?” she asks.
“What kind of evidence?”
“Anything we could use to prove he’s the one making and distributing Rhyomine. Killing Diablo isn’t the endgame. We want him brought to justice for what he’s done, and I want to watch him rot.”
Damn. I was really banking on offing the fucker.
“Be careful, Sash.”
“Don’t worry about me.” She gives a husky laugh. “I can take care of myself.”
It’s right as I’m hanging up that I catch a blur of movement across the field. I scramble for the binoculars and aim them toward a black shadow near Hazel’s apartment.
There, dangling from the window I planned on sneaking into, is a solid black figure.
