Page 10 of Find Me
Penny glanced his way and nodded. “Drugs, money laundering... and extortion, too, by the looks of it.”
“Fuck,” he grumbled, slowly shaking his head. “We need to find a way to connect these dots.” He ran his hand over his face. The hour was growing late, and fatigue was beginning to set in, but they had to keep going.
As the minutes passed since they returned to the warehouse from the bar, Hawke stayed quiet, while Penny delved deeper into the murky world of Victor Romano, each new revelation fueling Hawke’s need to put this matter to bed and quickly. He worried for Phoenix and Rhys, as well as his friends within its walls, if Romano had any ties to those bugs.
Penny’s fingers flew over the keyboard, her piercing eyes darting back and forth between the computer screen and the stack of documents.
But the deeper she went, the more worry sank deep into Hawke’s gut. Until he couldn’t take it anymore. He cursed and rose from the desk. “This is dangerous. Too dangerous,” he told her.
She spun in her chair, watched him closely. “You don’t need to worry about me. I can handle myself.”
“None of us can handle ourselves against Romano,” he told her firmly.
She didn’t even flinch. “Let’s just focus on gathering evidence of Victor and Julia’s relationship. We still have no idea if he has a hand in this. It could all be a coincidence.”
“We know that they somehow know each other,” Hawke said, reaching into his pocket. “But we need to knowwhoVictor really is.” He fired off a text to Hunt, one of Rhys’s closest friends and participant at Phoenix.
“Who are you texting?” she asked.
“Hunt,” he said, and then caught Penny’s deep frown.
“Isn’t it a bit late for a meetup?” she asked.
“No,” he muttered. “Not when Romano is involved.”
As expected, Hunt’s immediate reply was,I’ll be there in 20.
And Hunt was right on time, as Hawke arrived at the Italian restaurant. Heavy curtains framed the arched windows, casting a muted glow on the walls adorned with dark paintings of sultry women in the restaurant. Hawke noticed Penny’s slight hesitation the moment she set eyes on Hunt.
“What’s wrong?” he asked her.
“I probably should have mentioned that Hunt hates me,” she said softly.
Hawke frowned. “Why?”
She pointed to herself. “Hacker.” She gestured to Hunt. “Cop. Those two things normally don’t go together.”
He realized he should have considered that, but figured since Penny was very good friends with Elise, she would have met Hunt many times. He never realized the conflict they’d share.
Wanting to show Hunt he was on her side, Hawke took her hand and led her forward. He felt the jolt spark between them, as much as she did, if her quiet gasp and firm hold told him anything.
Seated at a booth, Hunt ran a hand through his messy golden-brown hair, watching them closely as they approached, his light brown eyes holding a slightly harder edge than usual. He looked every bit the seasoned NYPD detective he was: tall, muscular, and uncompromising. His stare focused on their held hands before he lifted a questioning brow at Hawke.
“You know Penny,” Hawke said, waiting for Penny to slide into the booth before he joined her, finally letting go of her hand.
“I do,” Hunt said, tightly. He looked to Hawke and sighed. Then said to Penny, “Hello, Penny.”
“Hi.” She smiled rigidly.
Hawke restrained his laughter. At least they were being cordial.
Hunt’s gaze finally swung back to Hawke. “What do you need?”
With Hunt being in Rhys’s inner circle of friends, he was in the know for all the inner workings of Phoenix and its troubles. “We’ve got an update on the bugs,” Hawke said, before turning to Penny. “It’s your update.”
She drew in a big deep breath and then relayed all the information they knew so far.
When Penny finished catching Hunt up, he folded his hands on the table. “Romano is not someone to be trifled with. He’s a powerful figure in the criminal underworld. The organized crime unit has tried to pin something on him for years, and even the FBI is working the case, but he’s slippery, always managing to stay one step ahead of them.”
