Page 31 of Six
“Long—very long—rap sheets. They tended to operate more in the Georgia, Florida, Louisiana area. This is the first event on record for them up north,” Joe answered.
“Any idea who hired them?”
Joe shook his head. “Not yet. Their accounts have been seized and because they’re wanted for multiple crimes in several states, the Feds have stepped in. I assume they will be chasing the money, although they might not be inclined to share that information with me if they do find it.”
Cyn waved off his concern. “Franklin can help if we need it. But other than maybe seeing if it ties to the people who hired Anthony and Albert—whom I refuse to refer to as ‘Vetch’—I don’t think it’s going to help us. At least not straightaway.”
Cyn, Nora, and Devil shared a look before Devil turned her gaze to Six. “Which begs the question, Six. What do you plan to do and how can we help?”
Chapter Fourteen
Gavin watchedVioletta consider the question her friends put to her. He thought he was doing a pretty good job of winning her over. But watching how she interacted with her friends might give him some additional insight into how best to work with her. Not that he wanted to be like Devil, Nora, or Cyn, since his plans for himself and Violetta included far more than a platonic friendship. His supervisors might not be happy with him, but fuck that.
Violetta started to say something but stopped when tentative footsteps sounded on the stairs. All six of them turned to see Abyasa enter the kitchen. She halted, her eyes darting around the room, then she took a breath and continued in.
“Abyasa, is everything okay?” Cyn asked, coming around the kitchen island to greet the woman.
She nodded. “Candra and Shinta are resting, but we wondered if we might have some water to drink?”
With a small shake of her head, as if she couldn’t believe she hadn’t offered, Cyn hurried back behind the island as she assured Abyasa that they could have anything they wanted. Cyn was handing her a tray filled with glasses and a full jug of water when Violetta spoke.
“Abyasa, may I speak with you?” she asked.
The woman looked up, then nodded, and the two put their heads together as they walked back toward the stairs. Gavin could catch the murmur, but not make out any of the words. When they reached the stairs, they paused, spoke quietly for a few more seconds, then Violetta gave Abyasa’s arm a gentle squeeze. The woman nodded, then turned and started up the stairs. Violetta watched her go and when she was out of sight, she returned to the group.
“Everything okay?” he asked.
Her eyes flitted to his before landing back on her friends. “Gavin and I are going to head back to my place and start comparing the files and filling in any missing information. The plan is to bring Shanti Joy down as Jeremy intended.Howwe do that remains to be seen, but I think we need to start by compiling our intel.”
It wasn’t exactly the reason he’d hoped to be invited back to Violetta’s place, but he’d take it. He’d had the luxury of observing her over the past six months, of getting to see and know the woman she was. She hadn’t had the same opportunity, and he was more than happy to give it to her.
Five sets of eyes swung in his direction. He glanced at his half-empty bottle of beer, then set it on the counter. “Abyasa is okay with you leaving her and the others here?” he asked.
Violetta nodded. “That’s what I was talking to her about. Devil speaks better Malay than I do, and also Candra and Shinta’s mother tongue. Devil’s made them feel safe enough that they are okay to stay here.”
Gavin wasn’t the only one who let out a deep breath at that. He doubted there was a better place for the women to be, but no one standing in Cyn’s ridiculously large kitchen wanted them to be uncomfortable.
“Then I think we have some things to do tonight,” he said, stepping away from the kitchen island. He let his gaze drift around the room, and he murmured his “thanks” for the drink and general “nice to meet yous.” Three minutes later, he was following Violetta down the drive and back to her house.
The trip was a quick one and soon, he was pulling to a stop in front of her porch as she parked in her garage. Rather than enter the house through the mudroom, Violetta walked out to join him, closing the garage door behind her.
“Everything okay?” he asked as she approached.
“I want you to go through the files Heather gave me access to and see if I missed anything,” she replied. Not an answer to his question.
He nodded, but didn’t drop his question and instead, repeated it. “Everything okay?”
She shot him a look as she led him to her front door. The night sky was clear, and there was a little nip in the air. He could hear the ocean lapping against the rocks on the other side of her home. Maybe some night, they could build a bonfire out back and sit around it with some wine and some of those s’more things he’d seen in movies but never tried.
But first things first.
“Seriously, Violetta, how are you doing?” They’d stepped inside her house and when she was done resetting her alarm, he reached for her arm to stop her from turning—or walking—away from him again.
“I’mfine,Gavin. I’m always fine,” she shot back.
“Now who’s the one hiding behind a chipper facade?” He only half teased. Not that her response was exactlychipper,but it certainly wasn’t honest.
She cocked her head to the side. “You admit to hiding behind a facade, then?”
