Lone Witness

by Rachel Dylan

  “It’s about money, isn’t it?”

  “It’s always about money. And power. And the fact that these guys don’t deal well with anyone they feel is in their way. Whitney served a purpose for them. And now, whether it was to cut their losses or out of revenge, it’s done.”

  “This only furthers the argument that we’re really onto something. They wouldn’t be acting like this if there wasn’t something big going on.”

  “And the Feds will get to the bottom of it.”

  She deflated slightly. “I know.”

  He empathized with her. He knew how much she wanted to be involved and how hard she had worked on this. “I get how you’re feeling. You did all the legwork, uncovered the entire scheme, and then the Feds swoop in and take over. It’s natural to be upset about that. But remember that the DEA and FBI are equipped to handle circumstances like this. They deal with the cartels and can manage the risks in ways you can’t. You’re just one person.”

  She nodded. “I’m trying to keep my ego in check. I know this is much larger than me and my career. Whitney’s death certainly proves that.”

  “What’s most important is that you’re safe here,” he said. “Cases come and go, but your life is more precious than any of that.” He could’ve said a lot more, but he stopped himself. He didn’t feel like now was the appropriate time for any grand gesture. Not after the news of Whitney Bowman’s death.

  “What about Keith? If he is involved in all of this and was working with Whitney, then doesn’t that make him a target, too?”

  He’d had that same concern. “Already talked to Agent Nix about that. She’s on it. They also talked to Harrison Westgate, although he didn’t seem to have any information outside the Shelton case.”

  “Harrison is very sly. Hopefully they push him. I’ve gone back over everything in my mind, starting with the messed up search warrant. What if Harrison was in on it from the beginning?”

  “Leave it up to the Feds. They’ll put together the pieces.”

  She nodded.

  “They’re also working on a plan for Monica too. They don’t think anyone would know about her working on this, but they aren’t going to take any chances.”

  “Good. The last thing we need is more blood spilt over this.”

  Cooper’s phone rang, and he rose off the bed as he answered. “Yes,” he said.

  “It’s Agent Nix. We’ve got Keith Todd safe in custody.”

  “Good.” That was one less thing he had to worry about.

  “He was very distraught over the news about Whitney Bowman so we haven’t gotten very far with him yet. But my gut says this guy may be clueless. He seemed totally taken aback by the initial line of questioning.”

  “Really?” Now wasn’t that interesting.

  “Yeah. But we’ll know more once he pulls himself together and can be fully questioned.”

  “Thanks. Keep me posted.”

  “How did Sophie take the news?”

  “As you might expect.” He looked at Sophie who was staring off into space. He knew her well enough to know that she was taking it hard.

  “Remember. Don’t let her out of your sight, and no leaving the safe house. This could all come to a head very quickly. We’ve also got Monica secured in an FBI safe house. She was completely freaked out about the whole thing, but I think one of my agents got her calmed down. We should be squared away on that front.”

  “Roger that.” He ended the call and walked back over to Sophie. “That was Agent Nix.”

  “Do they have Keith?” she asked.

  “He’s safe and sound. But she says he’s torn up about Whitney. Could the two of them have had something going on?”

  “You mean romantically?”

  “Yeah.”

  She paused. “That thought never occurred to me. He said they were old friends, but I guess it’s certainly possible. That would add an additional twist to this mess,” she said softly.

  “A couple other things. Agent Nix said her first impression is that Keith may be clean.”

  “Really?”

  “Yeah. I thought you’d like to hear that.” She needed at least one piece of good news, given all the bad that had been happening.

  “Maybe I just made the leap based on the wrong assumption. What if Keith wanted me to put on the brakes to help Whitney because they were involved? Or maybe because he wanted them to be involved?”

  “That’s a very good point. I’ll make sure they go down that line of questioning with him.”

  “You know that only makes my point about Harrison even more viable.”

  “The Feds spoke to him once, and I’m sure they’ll talk to him again if they feel like they need to.” He noticed that she was frowning. “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t know how this all gets resolved.”

  “Hopefully with the arrest and prosecution of Manuel Smith.”

  “Won’t the cartel just replace him with another man who can still run the business in the city?”

  He nodded. “Yes, but it takes time to build up a power base.”

  She looked up at him. “Do you think I’ll ever be safe?”

  “Yes. If they can capture and put away Smith, that’s a big part of it. Plus, the Feds will get the heat for the take down and prosecution. Not you.”

  “That’s true. But I don’t want anyone in harm’s way.”

  “Speaking of harm’s way, Monica’s secured in an FBI safe house too. So you won’t have to worry about her.”

  She let out a huge breath. “We’re going to get through this, right?”

  He wrapped his arms tightly around her. “Yes.”

  He was going to do everything in his power to ensure her safety. Not only because it was the right thing to do, but because he knew he loved her.

  Chapter

  Twenty-Five

  Ashley was relieved that the police had released Juan. Beyond pure speculation, they had no evidence tying him to the car bomb. But she still had a bad feeling about the whole thing. If Juan wasn’t behind it—which she didn’t think he was—that meant someone else was after Sophie Dawson. And while she wasn’t friends with Sophie, it bothered her greatly when attorneys were under attack.

  She wasn’t naïve. One day it could just as easily be her in danger.

  Patrick had asked to meet her in Piedmont Park. It was a sunny and warm fall afternoon in the city. The park was filled with dog walkers and joggers.

  She didn’t have to wait long before he arrived.

  “Walk with me,” he said.

  “What’s going on?”

  He smiled. “You’re going to think I’m crazy.”

  “I already think that. So what’s up?”

  “This situation with Juan and the car bomb has really gotten me thinking.”

  She wasn’t sure what direction he was going with this. “What’s on your mind?”

  “I so quickly jumped to the conclusion that he was behind it. I was blinded by my emotional reaction and by the fact that the case against Ricky had gone sideways.”

  She raised her eyebrows. “I can’t believe you’re actually ’fessing up to all of these feelings. And especially to the enemy.”

  “That’s the thing, Ashley. I became a prosecutor because I wanted to be on the side of justice. I wanted to put criminals behind bars. And, of course, I wanted to excel in my career. But all it took was this one case to make me turn against those values and jump on Wade for a crime I don’t think he committed.”

  “Are you apologizing to me?”

  He shook his head. “Not exactly.”

  Now she was really confused. “Patrick, you’ve lost me.”

  They walked through the park for a minute in silence before he spoke again.

  “I turned into exactly the thing I am supposed to be fighting against. Granted, I don’t agree with a lot of your tactics, but this has shown me that I’ve had a bit of a blind spot.”

  She couldn’t believe where this conversation was goin
g. “Is this your roundabout way of saying you want to be my partner?”

  “I haven’t ruled it out.”

  She surprised herself by giving him a tight hug.

  He laughed. “I wasn’t expecting that.”

  “I think this could really be something great,” she said, taking a step back.

  He held up his hand. “I haven’t accepted yet, and we haven’t even talked specific terms.”

  “We can negotiate the agreement. But what I hear is that you’re very close to yes. I’ll take that. And I’m happy because you’ve realized that everything is not so black and white. Everyone deserves representation in our criminal justice system. So many innocent people are incarcerated.”

  “And that’s exactly what I wanted to talk to you about specifically.”

  “All right.”

  “I don’t want to take the cases like yours. I don’t want to defend heads of gangs and drug lords. I want to defend the people who are at the bottom of the rung, who have zero shot at getting a fair trial unless they have competent counsel.”

  She grinned. “I can work with that. But there will be times when I need you to work a high-profile case. The two of us as a team could be a powerful combination, and we could hook some huge cases. Remember, that’s how we make the money, by taking on clients who can pay the hefty fees.”

  “I could live with that. As long as you understand that day-to-day, that’s not what I want to do. If I’m going to cross over to the defense side, it has to be on my terms. And I don’t need an exorbitant salary. I’m not doing this for money.”

  “You really are an odd man, Patrick.” In her experience, most everything in life came down to money. She figured he would come to his senses at some point. Right now he was still in do-gooder mode. He’d shifted sides in the fight, but the bottom line goal was the same for him.

  “Do we have a deal, then?” Patrick stretched out his hand.

  She took his hand in hers. “When can you start?”

  Sophie hung up the phone after speaking with her father. Since she was feeling better, he’d decided to go home. But she’d been concerned about his well-being, so one of the K&R Security employees was providing him around-the-clock protection as well. He had insisted that it was overkill but had accepted because of everything that had happened.

  While she didn’t think Smith would go after her dad, it was a risk she wasn’t willing to take. Meanwhile, she was still holed up at Noah’s safe house with Cooper while the Feds did their thing.

  Cooper walked into the living room and took a seat beside her.

  “Any updates?” she asked.

  “The Feds can’t locate Smith, which isn’t that big of a surprise.”

  “And Keith?”

  “He’s still a mess, according to Agent Nix. She got him to admit that he was in love with Whitney, but it doesn’t seem like she ever reciprocated. Although Nix said it wasn’t clear whether Keith ever actually told her how he felt. That might only be adding to his angst.”

  “It’s hard when something happens to someone and you haven’t told them how you really feel. My father says that as awful as my mother’s death was, at least she knew how much he loved her. He didn’t hold back.”

  Cooper took hold of her hands. “Do you think I’m holding back?”

  “I think we’re still figuring things out. One step at a time. And I’m okay with that. As long as I know that we’re still taking steps together.” There was no doubt in her mind how she felt about Cooper, but the last thing she wanted to do was rush him. He’d already opened up so much to her and revealed the struggles he was facing.

  “Sometimes I wonder what you could even see in a man like me.”

  “Everything,” she said without hesitation.

  He smiled, and before she could say anything else, his lips were on hers. There was so much going on all around them, but as he kissed her, she didn’t think about all the turmoil. Her only thoughts were about Cooper.

  The next night, Sophie tossed and turned as nightmares invaded her dreams. She’d finally gotten back to sleep when she was awakened.

  “Sophie, get up.” A hand nudged her shoulder.

  It took her a moment to realize she wasn’t dreaming but that it was Cooper.

  “What’s wrong? Is my dad all right?” Her thoughts immediately went to the worst. Why else would Cooper be waking her up in the middle of the night?

  “Your father’s fine. I just called and checked. Landon has him on lockdown and has called in reinforcements just to be safe.”

  “Why?” Her mind was still groggy.

  “Because there’s been an incident at the FBI safe house where Monica was staying.”

  She sat up. “What? Is she okay?”

  “She’s slightly injured, but one of the FBI agents in the house is in critical condition. There was some type of explosion.”

  “In the FBI safe house?”

  “Exactly. Which means the FBI could be compromised. Noah is going to bring Monica over here. We can’t risk moving her to another FBI safe house if they’ve been compromised. He’s going to ensure that he’s not followed. First they’re going to get her patched up, but that won’t take long. I thought you would want to be up to greet her when she gets here, given the circumstances. I think she’s really shaken up.”

  “Of course.” She ran a hand through her hair.

  “I’ll give you some privacy. I’ll just be downstairs waiting for her.”

  Cooper left the room, and she threw back the large comforter and groaned. She was so thankful that no one was dead, but she felt directly responsible for Monica’s safety. The young lawyer didn’t deserve to have this happen to her. Sophie couldn’t even imagine how she would have handled a situation like this right out of law school. It was still hard for her now.

  She brushed her teeth and pulled herself together. It was almost four in the morning. There would probably be no going back to sleep for her tonight.

  As she walked downstairs, she heard voices, and she rushed the rest of the way down. When she saw Monica, her stomach sank. Monica’s eyes were red and puffy from crying.

  Monica ran over to Sophie and grabbed her in a tight hug. “It was so scary.”

  Sophie tried to ignore the pain in her side. As she held the shaking young woman, she made eye contact with Cooper. He nodded, seemingly trying to reassure her that everything was going to be all right.

  “Monica, I’m so sorry this happened to you. How’re you feeling now?” Sophie asked.

  Monica took a step back. “This is all insane! You didn’t tell me that someone would try to kill us.” Her voice shook.

  “I didn’t know they would either. And I definitely didn’t think they’d have any reason to come after you. But you’re safe here. This isn’t an FBI safe house. They have no way of finding us. We’re completely off the grid.”

  Monica sniffed. “I honestly don’t know if I’m going to be cut out for this kind of work.”

  “Sit down and let me get you some water.”

  “I’ll get the water,” Cooper said.

  Monica took a seat on the couch, and Sophie sat beside her. “I know you probably have a ton of questions. I’ll do my best to answer them, but I’m largely in the dark, just like you.”

  “The FBI told me I needed to go to the safe house because of the SIB case. But I didn’t get a lot of details. Then the next thing I know, some explosion happens, and I’m rushed out of there and over here.”

  “This is all about the Sanchez Cartel. We think at this point, given everything that’s happened, that Whitney Bowman was definitely working with the cartel.”

  “I just don’t get it.”

  “I still don’t know why a powerful CEO of a well-established bank would decide to work with a cartel, but maybe that will become known in the investigation.”

  “What happens now?”

  “The Feds are all over this. It’s out of our hands completely. They’re even talking to Keith.”
<
br />   “Keith? What could he have to do with this?”

  Sophie hated to talk about her boss to her young colleague, but she couldn’t deny it. “There’s some question as to whether he was involved in any way. Or whether he just had a personal relationship with Whitney that caused him to push us off the Shelton case.”

  Monica closed her eyes and leaned her head back on the couch.

  “I know you must be exhausted,” Sophie said. “Why don’t I show you where you’ll be staying, and you can lie down?”

  “I’d appreciate that.” Monica stood up. “And I’m sorry if it seemed like I was blaming you for all of this. I know it’s not your fault. It’s just been a rough few hours.”

  “That’s completely understandable.”

  Sophie got Monica settled into one of the bedrooms and came back downstairs to find Cooper in the kitchen.

  “How’s she doing?” he asked.

  “About how you would expect. But she’s strong. She’ll be able to handle everything.”

  “She has a good role model on that front.”

  Sophie poured herself some coffee and sat down beside Cooper at the kitchen table. “Everything still okay with my father?”

  “Yes. Safe and sound.”

  “I know I might be paranoid, but I can’t help it, as far as he’s concerned. He’s the only family I have. And after what happened with Monica, I can’t take any further chances.”

  “I promise we have it under control.”

  She wanted to accept his words as true, but she couldn’t help but wonder if she could believe him.

  Ashley had asked Juan to her office so she could face him on her turf. She’d had a few sleepless nights thinking about her future, and Juan was a piece of that. It was time to take a different road, and she was about to do something she should’ve done a long time ago. It was strange, because Patrick calling her out on the Juan situation had really been the catalyst for her taking action. She’d made excuses for Juan’s behavior for far too long.

  Juan sauntered in a few minutes later, wearing a smug smile. He had no idea why she had asked him there.