55
“I needto speak with my team,” Zeke said to Liv. “Shouldn’t take but ten to fifteen minutes. You okay here?”
She nodded. “Go do what you have to do. I’ll track down Mitch and tell him about Rogers and O’Fallon.”
He leaned forward and kissed her temple, then made his way to a smaller conference room down the hallway. He sat down at the laptop that Ash had set up for him, typed in the visitor password, clicked a few more buttons, then stared up at the FBI logo emblazoned on the large, wall-mounted screen while waiting for the clock to strike the top of the hour.
His gut churned like a combine disk cutting through the soil’s crust for the first time in spring. After clearing the water park, he’d sent a text to Cruz, asking him to gather everyone together for a videoconference. He checked his phone’s clock. Two more minutes.
Sweat gathered at his temple, and he swiped it away.
Using the mouse, he double-clicked the browser icon and, with a few keystrokes, he opened his web-based e-mail, clicked on the link Cruz sent him, and waited for everything to connect.
Seconds later, the Theater appeared and everyone, except Lynette, who he knew wouldn’t leave Brodie’s side until she delivered him back to Liv, was seated and waiting.
After a quick audio check, he got right to it. “Thanks for dropping everything to meet with me.” A cocktail of dread and failure mixed with an unassailable determination filled his chest. His gaze landed briefly on each person present, and he cleared his throat. “I need your help.”
Phin’s propped-up foot fell from his knee, Rohan began plucking away at the laptop in front of him, doing God-knew-what, and Cruz sat forward, bracing his forearms on the table.
Grams smiled.
“Mom gave us the bare bones,” Cruz said. “What do you need us to do?”
Months—years—of pressure lifted from his shoulders, and Zeke released his first full breath in hours, even though it felt like a thousand stinging bees crawled up his throat and clung to the backs of his eyes. He loved this lot of pains in the ass.
Clearing his throat one last time, he filled his team in on Liv’s attack, the taunting call and pictures, Callie’s kidnapping, and their thoughts on possible suspects. “The police and FBI are doing what they can to find this guy, but they have to do it all by the book.” Images of Brodie’s room, Callie’s taped face, and Liv’s quivering chin blasted through his mind. “I want this guy. Whatever it takes.”
Everyone nodded their agreement.
“Whatever you need,” Rohan said, “it’s yours.”
“After this,” he swallowed against the sharp ache in his throat. “Whoever wants out can go with my blessing.”
Rohan stopped typing. The silence couldn’t have been thicker if someone had dropped a smoke grenade between them.
“But I hope you’ll choose to stay. When this is done, I’ll finish training Neuman and delegate some of my other responsibilities so I can focus on the business side.” As he said the words, his voice grew stronger, more confident he was doing the right thing, for them—and for him. “From this point forward, Cruz will take the lead on operations, and I’ll try my damnedest to stay out of everyone’s way.” A smile pulled at one side of his mouth. “I can’t guarantee that I won’t slip or piss you off at some point, but you have my word that I’ll try and that I’ll listen.”
Everyone either grinned or nodded their head again. Everyone but Phin.
“You got something you want to ask, little brother?”
“What about our shadow op recoveries? Will we still take those on?”
In other words, would they still be required to stretch, and sometimes break, the law.
“Yes.”
Phin’s hand fisted on the table.
“This is what we do, Phin. We return property to its rightful owner. We right injustices when the legal system falls short.” He leaned toward the screen. “But every person on this team can decide for themselves which recoveries they’ll take part in.”
Phin’s body relaxed. “I can work with that.”
The heavy stones Zeke had been carrying on his shoulders crumbled to the floor, and he released a breath.
“What’s the plan?” Cruz asked into the silence.
“I don’t have one.”