We could find the answer. He was alive.
But we were far away from him at the moment.
Rock was right. We needed to contact Roy. Buck would take care of Father Jim.
Right now, all I wanted was to get to Zee.
I’d go down for a murder I didn’t commit if it meant saving the woman I loved.
34
Lacey
I jerked upward in bed.
Had I actually slept? One of my burner phones—I had three—was buzzing and vibrating against the nightstand. Only Rock had this particular number.
I grabbed the phone. “Hello?” I said breathlessly.
“Hey, baby.”
“Rock! Thank God! Where are you? Are you all right?”
“Shh. Calm down. Reid and I are fine. I’m in the Honolulu airport, using a pay phone.”
“With a credit card?”
“Yeah, but don’t worry. It’s in my alias’s name. We’re good.”
“Thank God. When did you get in?”
“Just a few minutes ago. I need you to do something for me.”
“Of course. Anything.”
“I need to talk to Roy.”
I glanced at the clock on the night table. Six-thirty a.m. “He was just here a few hours ago. That reminds me! I have some incredible news!”
“What?”
I filled him in quickly on Morgan’s attempt to bribe me.
“That’s awesome, baby.”
“What should I do?” I asked. “Obviously, I’d take it to the NYPD in a normal situation, but it seems half the force is dirty these days.”
“Reid has a guy. Buck Moreno. Give it to him. He’ll know who to trust on the force.”
“How do I get in touch with him?”
“Just a minute.”
I waited while Rock presumably conferred with Reid. Seconds seemed to morph into hours, until finally…
“Jot down this number.”
I hurriedly grabbed a pen and wrote down the digits Rock repeated.
“Use a burner, not this one. Tell him who you are and what you have. He’ll come to you. He knows how to make sure he’s not followed or watched.”
“Good. Good.”
“Now, I need you to get Roy for me. Bring him to the suite, and then call this number. I’ll be waiting.”
“Why didn’t you just call him?” A bad feeling squirmed in my gut.
“I want him at the suite, where I know we can speak freely.”
“He’s probably asleep. I called everyone here in the middle of the night to show them the video.”
“He’ll wake up. This is important.”
“What do you want me to tell him?”
“Just tell him it’s important. That Reid and I need him. He’ll come.”
“Okay.” I gulped. “I’ll get him here as soon as I can.”
“We’ll be waiting. Reid’s talking to the captain of our private plane now—the one that will take us to the coordinates.”
The coordinates. Rock and Reid could be walking into mega danger. But I couldn’t let myself think about that. Not now.
“How long do I have?” I asked.
“As long as it takes,’ he said. “But make sure it doesn’t take long. We want to get moving on the Pacific as soon as possible.”
“Got it. And Rock?”
“Yeah, baby?”
“I love you. I love you so much.”
“I love you too, Lace. More than you’ll ever know.”
“Come back to me. Please.”
“You can count on it.”
After the call ended, I called Roy on another of my burners. It rang several times, and just when I was sure it would go to voicemail, he finally answered.
“Roy, it’s Lacey. I need you to come back to the hotel suite.”
“Charlie and I finally just fell asleep.”
“I know. I’m so sorry, but it’s important. Rock and Reid are in Honolulu, and they said they have to talk to you before they get on the plane to go to the coordinates.”
“Fuck.”
“What is it?” Charlie’s voice.
“We have to go back to Lacey’s suite.”
“Why?”
“Hell if I know.”
“Please,” I said into the burner phone. “It’s important.”
“Yeah, I know. We’ll be there as soon as we can.”
Roy and Charlie arrived an hour later, looking like they’d both just rolled out of bed. I quickly scanned the hallway.
“No one followed us,” Roy said.
“Are you sure?”
He nodded. “Trust me. We’ve both been on high alert since this shit started.”
“Good. Have a seat.” I grabbed the burner phone and called the number Rock had given me.
“Lace?” he said.
“It’s me. Roy and Charlie are here.”
“Does that burner have speaker?”
“I have no idea.” I took it from my ear and checked. “Yeah it does.”
“Good. Put it on speaker.”
I pressed the button and sat the phone on the coffee table. “It’s on. Can you hear me?”
“Yeah,” Rock’s voice came through clearly but softly among the hustle and bustle in the background. I understood. He was in the middle of the airport, but still, ears were everywhere.
“I’m here, Rock,” Roy said. “Charlie’s with me. What’s going on?”
“Bro,” Rock said, “I want you to know, before I ask you what I’m going to ask you, that Reid and I trust you implicitly. Got it?”
Roy’s face went pale. “Uh…okay. What the hell is going on?”
Rock cleared his throat. “Did you call Nieves Romero the night Dad was killed?”