Page 34 of Clean Hack
“I might believe that more if you didn’t sound like you were barking that at me.”
“Lucy…” He let out a long breath and I could tell he was worried about the situation with Burke.
I should have rushed to tell him that wasn’t why I’d called. Maybe I even should have started in on the case I was bringing to him. But I didn’t, because if he was going to tell me something, I was for damn sure going to take it.
“I’m worried about him,” he said after a long pause. “He’s been in over two years. That’s a long time to go under. I know this wasn’t what you were thinking when you brought it to us, and the added development about the trafficking, well, it was something we just couldn’t turn our backs on and I think you would agree.”
“Yeah,” I chimed in honestly.
“But I haven’t really talked to him in a long time and I think this one might be messing with his head.”
I knew that was a real possibility. There was only so long you could live in a false identity and not begin to believe that it was real. I never meant for any of this to happen and I felt like shit about it.
“He got your girl out and to safety, or so he thought. But Savage somehow caught up with her and she’s been taken back. Burke was able to get a message to me, but it didn’t say much. All I know is that he has her again. But the boy isn’t there. Burke said that he heard one of the other guys say that Savage left him behind and wanted him dead, but there was a complication and they couldn’t get to the kid.”
I had no idea what that meant. Was he safe? Was he alone?
“Burke told me that she was being watched over by the Steel Paragons Motorcycle Club. He didn’t give any details as to which chapter though. Reading between the lines, I feel like the club took the kid in and he’s safe. I think maybe that was his plan all along.”
“What…” I sighed. “What am I supposed to do with all this information? What are you trying to tell me?”
“I need this to end, Lucy. It’s gone on too long.”
There was an edge to what he was saying. It was in the unspoken words. In the meaning of what he had to do.
“The FBI is closing in,” he said almost like he couldn’t help himself.
I held back a gasp as my heart did a little skip.
“What are you saying, Harrison?”
“I was given word earlier today. Agent Marks got wind that one of my men is on the inside. He has a location for where Savage is and he is currently putting together a team to go in.”
Harrison was a man of full control. Not because he had some need to have it and show that he had it. It was more like he had to have some great control with what he did. He had men that he had to look after and there were things that men like him didn’t just say. So the fact that he’d let it “slip” that the FBI had a location, well, didn’t get passed me. He wanted me to know. He wanted me to get that address for some reason. Maybe he thought he was helping me or maybe he just wanted to see what would happen.
“That wasn’t why I called,” I said, knowing that I wasn’t going to get anything else out of him. Not that I thought he had more. And it wasn’t like I couldn’t go digging myself. Which I was going to do, just as soon as I handed off the information I had for him.
“Yeah?” he asked sounding surprised. “Go on then.”
I did, talking a mile a minute to get everything out quickly.
“Take care of yourself, Lucy,” he said just before I hung up.
I didn’t even have a chance to set my phone down before it started ringing. I looked at the screen and saw that it was Nadya. I was torn between wanting to talk to her and needing to find out where Savage was. In the end, I answered.
“I’m leaving here soon,” she said. “Probably tomorrow. But then again, I’ve been saying that for…well, since I got here.”
“Oh,” I said unsure of what was going on.
I knew she was working on something, some kind of plan. Though she hadn’t really said, I had a feeling it had something to do with putting Savage down. Only, I was pretty sure she was in the same boat as me, the one where we had no idea where to find the man to put him down.
“I’m killing this phone. I’ll probably pick up a new one tomorrow, but I don’t think I’ll call you. Not until this is over.”
“I…I don’t think that’s a good idea. What if something happens?” I asked a little frantically. But then again, I knew I didn’t need to worry about her.
The amused chuckled filtered into my ear. It made a little smile twitch on my lips.
“I’ll text you, then. But I won’t answer until I’m done.”
