“The bush I jumped into. Sharp branch. They sanitized it, gave me antibiotics, and glued the wound instead of putting in stitches.”
He kissed her wrist. “We need to talk.”
“Did Barry tell you?”
“He hasn’t told me shit, Lucy. Completely keeping me in the dark. Brad and I think that Tobias is behind the hit, and you were the target, not the girl.”
She shook her head. “No.”
“Yes,” he said emphatically. “I watched the video in slow motion. The first bullet hit you in the back. You were the target.”
It was clear she didn’t want to believe it. “I don’t know…”
“I do. Tobias is neck-deep in this entire mess. I haven’t put together all the pieces, but he’s involved. Brad agrees.” He couldn’t tell Lucy how he knew, and he hated lying to her. He had to find a way to give her all the information without her knowing how he obtained it.
“It’s Rob Garza,” she said.
“I know—I talked to Nate after Barry cut me out of the loop. If Garza’s involved with Harper Worthington’s murder, it has to be because Tobias ordered it.”
She frowned. “Why? It’s his wife, Adeline. Garza is her campaign manager.”
God help him, but he had to lie. “I got a cryptic message from Kane. I’m trying to reach him, but he’s not available. Nicole Rollins told Brad that there was someone else dirty at the DEA. It’s likely that someone in-house figured out that you were feeding Brad the information on Tobias, or one of the goons who escaped that night told Tobias you were there. Or hell, he could have been watching the entire time while Trejo’s compound burned. I don’t know how! All I know is that you’re in danger.”
“Garza’s dead, Sean.”
“What?”
“He collapsed at the Dallas airport. Had a ticket to New York City he bought today. Kenzie and a couple other agents were at Adeline’s campaign headquarters with an arrest warrant when the call came in. They’re now on their way to Dallas.”
“Murder?”
“Most likely, but we don’t have much to go on right now. Garza was seen shaking the hand of someone he appeared to know, the man walked away, and a few minutes later Garza collapsed and died. We’re getting the security feeds, we’ll find the guy. Airports have the best security in the country, his ID would have been checked, and we can compare his image to the security checkpoint. We’ll know who he is.”
Sean knew a half dozen ways to get around airport security, but he didn’t say that to Lucy.
“But Elise has given a statement,” Lucy continued, “and so far, everything she said is holding up. She was working in D.C. as a prostitute and met Garza first as a john. He offered her ten thousand dollars to come to San Antonio and take compromising pictures. She didn’t know who or why until he sent her a photo of Harper Worthington and a location, plus a syringe that he said was ketamine in case Harper couldn’t be seduced.”
“Do you believe her?” Sean asked.
Lucy hesitated. “She’s holding something back. I’ll figure it out, and if I don’t, I’ll push her again. While the shooting the other night didn’t seem to scare her much, today was another story. A lot spilled out right after, things I think she’d have rather kept to herself. She’s calculating, but she’s smart. I’ll get the truth out of her, but it’s going to take time.”
“I know you will.” He kissed her again. He wished he had asked Mona Hill more questions, specifically about this girl Elise Hansen. But it looked like Lucy and her people were learning what they needed to know.
“Barry was on his way down here—we’re going to push Adeline tonight. We’re waiting for approval from on high.”
“Rick?”
“Probably. From what Barry said, when Juan called Agent Dunbar about bringing Adeline in, he went ballistic. So Juan went over his head.”
“Good for Juan.”
Lucy looked down at Sean’s hands. “What happened?” She turned them over.
He looked down. His knuckles were scratched and there was a bruise on the top of his fist. “I was an idiot when I was working out this morning. Letting off steam with my punching bag. Nothing to worry about.”
Barry, Brad, and Juan stepped off the elevator and approached Lucy and Sean. “Any word on Detective Mancini?” Juan asked.
“Still in surgery,” Lucy said. “The bullet went in through her side, at an angle, caused a lot of damage. But there’s plenty of blood on hand, and her captain is organizing a blood drive at SAPD if they need more.”
Juan glanced at Sean. Sean couldn’t read his expression, but Juan said to Lucy, “I’m sure Sean told you what Agent Donnelly learned today.”
“Yes. I don’t know how much to believe, sir,” she said. “I’m sorry, Brad—but my witness pointed at Garza.”