Chapter Twenty-Two
“You’re sure he’s going to be there?” Danie sounded so young and vulnerable when she tightened her grip on Frida’s hand.
Once she left the safehouse, plans had changed. James had received a call from Shane, telling them to bring JaKheel to home base, even if it wasn’t the initial plan. James looked grim after his call, but everything moved fast; James would stay with Nicholas and bring JaKheel in while Mercy and Frida would go get Danie.
Despite everything, Frida offered the young girl an encouraging smile. “I can guarantee you he’ll be there.” She didn’t mind repeating if it set Danie at ease. From the moment she’d arrived where Danie was living and explained the situation, the girl had repeatedly asked her if she was telling the truth.
There was no doubt the situation was still dire. It was one thing for JaKheel to accept the deal, but things could go wrong. The young man could be playing them in order to escape, or their carefully laid plan could unravel in the blink of an eye. Despite everything she’d suffered in her life, Frida prayed for Danie’s own happily ever after, one her sister never had.
The rest of the route, Frida listened the best she could to Danie’s happy chatter about the future, keeping her calm until they reached the Agency. Immediately, Frida saw a couple of men she didn’t know discreetly patrolling the perimeter, and that was a sign the danger level had spiked.
Mercy drove the car right to the entrance, and Alex came out to usher them inside.
Emme smiled and welcomed Danie inside. “Welcome, Danie. We’re so glad you’re here. Follow me. I have someone who is impatient to see you.”
Danie kept a tight grip on Frida’s hand as Emme lead them to a small bedroom. As soon as Emme opened the door, Danie let go of her and flung herself into JaKheel’s arms and started weeping.
Slowly, Emme closed the door on them and sighed. “It’s a mess of a situation.”
Frida could only nod. “Are you going to leave them alone for now?”
“We’ve secured the room. A signal can’t get in or out, and we have eyes and ears on them. They’ll remain locked in for now. JaKheel had been informed of the situation and agreed to it. There are a couple more things you should know.”
Frida rubbed her neck as she Emme told her about Ward. “What a mess. Are we certain it’s him?”
“We’re digging, but it doesn’t look good. That’s why we have eyes on him and plan to have him meet JaKheel. If they recognize each other, that would be undeniable proof.”
Tiredness pulled at her, and she dreamed of a shower and changing clothes, but Frida knew her work was far from done. “Where’s Malco?”
“He’s with Shane in his office, planning how to keep everyone safe.”
Frida needed to see him, make sure he was all right as her last image of him was him bleeding on the floor in her arms.
“Hey, Frida, you’re back!”
Rina came rushing and took her in a big hug. “I’m so happy you’re all right. This place turned into a fortified castle while you were gone.”
Even if she badly wanted to see Malco, she owed it to Rina to give her a little time, so she followed her into the conference room and felt nauseous at the endless piles of papers all over the place.
“Anything new on the finance front?”
Rina grimaced. “Not really. I keep digging, but nothing else comes up.”
“Well, change of plan. Start gathering everything we’ve got so far. We’re going onto offense. But for now, you need a break. You’ve been working non-stop, and you need a clear head for the next phase.”
“Just trying to keep up with you. You’re a machine, boss.”
Frida felt blessed to have Rina by her side. “Go check with Emme and see if you can bunk here or if someone is available to drive you home.”
Rina winked. “Do you think that if I beg, Alex will escort me home and nap with me?”
Rina sauntered away as Frida laughed, but it quickly died. Sitting on one of the chairs, she thought about what she had to do and almost felt overwhelmed. But she had done it before when she’d brought down her dad and his organization, and she would do it again.
Removing her shoes, Frida looked for a pad and paper and scribbled down notes for Rina on what data would be needed.
Deep in thought, her brain stimulated despite the fatigue, Frida started to put the skeleton of her case on paper. Better to start now as once they were done here, she’d need to submit her case, and DA Pool would need to be bypassed.
She kept writing until her eyes began to burn and the words in front of her blurred. She heard a sound behind her that made her jump and look around. It took a few blinks before Malco came into focus. As Danie had done before, it was her turn to go to him as the reality of what had happened hit.
“Are you all right?”
Malco didn’t answer and only opened his arms, and she went to him, careful of his side. When her face pressed into his chest and his familiar scent filled her nose, a half-sob came out of her. How close she’d come to losing him hit her full force. If they had aimed higher, she’d no longer hear the steady rumble of his heart in his chest.
Malco didn’t say a word as he rubbed her back steadily, his cheek pressed to the top of her head.
When she could finally draw a full breath without breaking down, she spoke. “You scared me to death, Malco.”
“You walked out on me when I was unconscious, woman. That scared me too.”
Damn, she hated it when he showed his vulnerability
