“I watched the surveillance footage of the delivery. Can’t even tell if it’s male or female. Whoever it was knew exactly where the cameras are.”
“Yeah, they’re not going to make it easy for us.”
“Question is, who are they?”
“Hell if I know. What about Schrader? He behaving?”
“Remarkably so. He’s a bit incensed about not being able to make more money, but when I described to him the accommodations given to a convicted terrorist, he changed his tune. He’s quite fond of his house and his lifestyle.”
“You tell him about the tracker?”
“Yes. Didn’t seem to bother him, but my guess is he’s a little overwhelmed. We’ll let him get a good night’s sleep, and over breakfast we’ll reinforce our message.”
“Sounds good. Keep me posted.”
“Will do.”
Ash pocketed his phone and then drew Jules back into his arms. He held her for several moments without saying a word. There was no need. She felt the same way. What could have been a disaster had turned out much better than they could have imagined.
“Who’s behind all this, Ash?”
“I don’t know. Every time I think we have a lead, it evaporates into thin air.”
“Turner’s death didn’t end it.”
“No, I think Turner was a pawn. There’s someone else out there—someone with a whole lot more money and influence—calling the shots.”
“But what’s their endgame?”
“I don’t know that either, but we won’t stop until we find them.”
Jules let that settle in her mind.
This was what OZ did on a daily basis. Fighting against evil, corruption, and injustice. They wouldn’t stop until they’d tracked down and exposed everyone involved.
“This arrangement with Omar. That’s how you get some of your intel, isn’t it?”
“If you mean using him as an asset, then yeah. Putting Omar behind bars would solve almost nothing. There are always going to be brokers connecting evil with evil. Keeping Omar in play will yield us a lot more intel than putting him behind bars ever would.”
“How many assets does OZ have?”
“Hard to say. Maybe a hundred. They’re not always reliable. And keeping them in play means they’re still dealing with dangerous people. If we can, we protect them.”
“Do they ever go rogue?”
“Oh yeah.”
“Which is the reason for the tracker.”
“Yeah.”
“You never sent anyone to remove mine.”
“Couldn’t bring myself to do it.”
“I’m glad.” Turning in his arms, she cupped his face with her palm. “Seems weird, but that’s a connection I don’t mind anymore.”
“Speaking of connections.” He lowered his head and put his mouth to hers in a sweet promise. Pulling away, he looked down at her. “So, that forever we were talking about.”