Page 77 of Armed ’N’ Ready

Dammit.

He shook his head. “Not as we expected. Neither Feldman or Chief Nelson is the man we’re looking for.”

A frown flickered across her brow, and he knew that look. She was worried—for Myer, he figured, and that pissed him off as it always had, but never more so than today. If he didn’t get this jealousy thing under wraps, he’d go fucking ballistic. He wished more than anything that he could go to her, take her in his arms, and tell her everything was going to work out. But he couldn’t, so he settled for one out of three.

“Everything’s going to work out.” Even as he said the words, something about the whole setup Myer had described over the phone still bugged him.

Her frown deepened. “So, what’s next? How do we find out who this person is?”

We?

Funny how she still considered herself part of the investigation. In a perfect world, he’d want her as far away from this as possible. If it weren’t for AUSA Bennett’s insistence, no way would he have allowed her anywhere near the federal building when Myer turned his ass in. He’d take every precaution he could drum up to protect her during this op, but he couldn’t shake the feeling of foreboding pounding in his gut. “We have to rely on Joe’s information to get us to the end game.”

Saxon sat at Nick’s side, and he dropped his hand to rest on the dog’s head. “He said over the phone that he never met Brian Argyle, the man he’s working for, but Brian Argyle doesn’t exist.” And Nick hated the not knowing.

“We’re hoping Joe’s laptop contains transactional records,” he continued. “We’ll dump everything on the hard drive and dig through it with a fine-tooth comb. Then we’ll issue subpoenas for every banking institution he wired money to. Eventually, we should be able to find out who took receipt. Unfortunately, money laundering schemes usually involve deposits overseas, so tracking it and getting assistance from foreign governments and banks will take time.”

“How much time?”

“Months. Maybe six by the time we get responses, analyze the results, then put an indictment package together.”

More worry lines etched her forehead. “What happens to Joe in the interim, while you’re waiting for all this information?”

“If he cooperates—fully—most likely the AUSA will cut him a deal.”

“Will he have to go to prison?”

“Probably,” he answered honestly. “It depends on the extent of his cooperation and on whether the AUSA is in a generous mood that day. Even if he is, a judge will have final say on sentencing. He won’t be charged until after we ID and arrest the man at the top. If his cooperation leads us to nailing the bastard, it will go a long way toward lessening his sentence.”

“Will he have to remain in custody, protective or otherwise?” she asked.

“Probably. Given that he fled to Canada, he’ll be deemed a flight risk.”

For seconds, they stared at each other. Silence filled the kitchen. There was nothing more to be said between them. At least, not today, and maybe not tomorrow.

Regret pummeled him from all sides. He wanted her more than he wanted anything else in his life, but he couldn’t act on it. Not yet.

He had unfinished business. She had to believe his feelings for her were real.

Chapter Eighteen

Nick turned left toward the main road they’d follow into the heart of Springfield. Behind them, Matt and his K-9, Sheba, followed, Eric and Tiger in the next vehicle, with Kade and his K-9, Tango, taking up the rear. Cox and his team of agents would meet them at the federal building.

At the first red traffic light, he tapped his fingers on the steering wheel, recalling the team of agents that had completely bungled safeguarding Matt’s wife, Trista, when she was in FBI protective custody. Those agents had made the ultimate sacrifice, but it shouldn’t have gone down that way. They’d been ill-trained and undermanned for that assignment. Hence the reason he was embedding Matt, Kade, and Eric within the FBI counter surveillance teams.

Since going through extensive police K-9 training with his friends, he knew them to be tough, seasoned cops who’d back him up without question. Thanks to the national Emergency Management Assistance Compact all their agencies belonged to, Matt and Kade’s assistance at the courthouse had quickly been approved by his own troop commander.

When the light turned green, he hit the accelerator. Saxon’s massive head stuck out through the kennel’s front access door, partially obscuring Andi sitting beside him on the passenger seat. Aside from her left hand ruffling the thick hair around Saxon’s collar, she sat rigidly, staring out the windshield and saying nothing. The only sounds in the vehicle came from the occasional squawks on the police radio.

Saxon pulled his head in and settled down for the remainder of the drive. From the corner of his eye, he glimpsed Andi wedged in beside the mobile computer docking station and his MP15 patrol rifle. She eyed the rifle warily then sank farther into the seat.

“It won’t bite,” he said.

“It’s not that.” Her expression said otherwise.

He stopped at the next light. “What then?” Aside from the white elephant taking up the seat in between them.

“I’m worried about what’s going to happen today.”