Xposed

“I’m searching the house, Agent Trace. You keep an eye on these two.”

Indi sat silently and listened as the agent searched through his house, touching his things. The longer he sat there, the madder he got…and the more he hoped that Hollister would know what to do. If this didn’t work the way he’d planned, things were going to get really ugly, really fast.

“Where does this elevator lead to?” The man called out.

“Basement. It’s my workout room. Nothing to see.”

“I’ll decide that for myself.” He punched the elevator to call it up to the main floor. If he was smart, he would see that was a problem. Hopefully, he wasn’t smart.

After a few seconds, Levi said, “What in the fuck is going on? Please tell me you didn’t let Hollister go. Whoever killed the Doctor will be searching for him. Word is already out on the streets that he witnessed shit that he shouldn’t have—shit that gets you killed.”

“Hey, where are the bodies? There was a bit of a bloodbath in the house before we went to find you guys.”

“The team cleaned it up. Everything’s good, babe. Now, when did Hollister tell you this? Why didn’t you tell me?”

Before Indi could answer, they heard the elevator coming back up. This would decide everything.

He was on his phone before the elevator doors closed. “He isn’t here. Send units to the bus station.” Turning to Clay and Indi, he said, “Don’t leave town. If you’re lying to me and hiding this boy, you’ll spend the rest of your lives in prison. He’s a witness to the murder of one of the biggest cartels in this country. If you’ve fucked up his safety, it’ll be the end of both of you.” Turning to Levi, he said, “Get back on the scene.”

Sky growled.

“If your service dog growls at me again, I’ll put him down.”

“And then I’d put you down,” Indi answered in a calm, threatening voice.

This time Clay couldn’t hold back. He moved in and bumped his body against the agent’s chest. “Having us as friends instead of enemies is much smarter…and healthier. You need to get the fuck out of here before the situation escalates one more tiny little inch. Give me a reason. Please.”

Levi pushed his way between them. “Clay, back down. The Associate Deputy Director is on edge—this case is on the verge of going completely clusterfuck and a lot of us have put in our time and energy trying to catch these guys. Did you miss the part where they are one of the biggest drug cartels in the US?” He turned back to his boss. “I’m sorry, Sir. Let me escort you out and I’ll deal with these two before returning to the scene.

“I’ll deal with his fucking ass,” Clay muttered as Levi led Marsh out the door. “I thought Levi was one of the good guys.”

“He is,” Indi answered. “If Marsh didn’t find Hollister downstairs, it means he was hiding in the safe room with his brothers. Trust me, he isn’t hiding from Levi. If I were a gambling man, I’d wager we just met the man that killed Doctor Jusching. Something spooked Hollister, and I don’t know what else it could be.”

“The Associate Deputy Director?” Clay questioned. “Fuck. How far up does this shit go?”

Levi stormed back through the door. “Please tell me you didn’t let Hollister and the boys go to the bus station! The reach of these people is far and wide. They won’t have a chance, Indi. We have to find them before anybody else does.”

Clay crossed the room to get right up into Levi’s business. “What was that shit you were talking earlier? Whose side are you on? Us or them? Time to man up, Levi. Pick a fucking side and stop trying to straddle the fucking fence,” Clay growled.

“Back down, Clay. My boss is an ass but surely you can deal with his assery until we make certain Hollister is safe. It’s not us or them—the FBI is us. They want this cartel just as badly as you want Indigo to be safe.”

Indi heard the elevator moving up from the bottom floor. Hollister stepped out in time to hear Clay’s last argument. Indi heard Hollister’s tennis shoes smacking the floor as he raced across the room and, by the gush of air he heard come from Levi, jumped into the agent’s arms. “You know I trust you, right?” Hollister asked Levi “You’ve been a father to me and my brothers, got me off the streets and cleaned up.”

“I hope you trust me, Hollister. I’ve tried to help…although I know I’ve put you or allowed you to be put in dangerous situations. After today, that stops. Things went to a level, with you, I never expected. You could have been killed!”

Indi waited for it. He knew what was coming next. The way Clay squeezed his shoulder, he did, as well.