“Not shocking,” he said, and I could hear him tapping something on the other end, probably a pencil or pen, against the desk in the background. “Meet me at McDonald’s in Winter Park, it’s far enough outside Coyote territory that you should be okay.”
“Great,” I said as I relaxed. “What time?”
“Meet me there in an hour,” Captain Getty said then hung up the phone without saying goodbye.
“One hour,” I repeated. I turned on my heel and started across the area rug, and into the living room where Ridley sat, coffee in hand, sketchbook in her lap as she created a piece for a client she had later that evening.
“Hey, Ridley.” I sat beside her. Careful not to shake the seat and mess up her sketch.
“Yeah?” she asked, not glancing up from the intrinsic floral design. “What do you think?” She stopped drawing so she could turn the page toward me. The drawing was stunning.
“So beautiful,” I said, and she nodded toward the vase by the window.
“That’s my inspiration. The woman I’m doing this for absolutely loves orchids.”
“What’s not to like?” I suddenly felt a little anxious.
“What’s on your mind?”
“I’m going to get a wire. I’m meeting someone from Orange County Sheriff’s Office, but I’m worried about being followed. Any suggestions?”
“We both leave at the same time, but you drive my Jeep and I’ll take your car. We both have long dark hair. We’ll wear sunglasses and no one will be the wiser at least for a while. By the time anyone is able to catch on, you’ll be long gone.
“You’re a genius.”
“I know,” Ridley said and returned to her drawing. “When do you need to leave?”
“In about twenty minutes.”
“Okay, no problem, I’m almost done anyway.”
I climbed into Ridley’s Jeep Wrangler and immediately turned the AC to full blast, this was so refreshing. Running one hand over the smooth dashboard, softly making a small promise to myself that I would get a better car and spend some of my money from the house after this was all done.
On my way to the McDonald’s, I kept checking the rearview mirror, but I didn’t notice anyone suspicious. When I pulled into the parking lot, I was pretty sure I hadn’t been followed, but I scanned the parking lot anyway. There were lots of cars, which was ideal given that we wanted to blend in, but no one was lingering or paying me any attention. Even though we were unlikely to be spotted, I turned off the Jeep and stepped out into the bright sunshine as the light breeze lifted my hair from my shoulders, and filled my lungs with the smell of fried foods and grease.
It was a good day, I was finally making some real progress in this case. I picked up a piece of trash that blew across the parking lot in front of me and grinned up at the sky. Not a cloud in sight. Maybe I was just being sentimental, but I like to think that it was Jared’s way of saying he was here, and he was proud of me.
Captain Getty stood on the sidewalk at the back corner of McDonald’s. His hands motioning with his words, his brow furrowed, and though I couldn’t hear him yet, his lips moved at such a speed that expressed excitement. I couldn’t see the face of the man he was speaking to, only the large broad shoulders and the thick waves of dark brown hair. The man whose back was to me seemed familiar, maybe it was his stance. For some reason, my heart quickened and approved of the way the man’s biceps flexed as he adjusted his stance.
“Get her out of this,” the man said.
“You know her, you know that there is no dissuading that girl of anything, she is like a dog with a bone.”
The man chuckled, and my steps faltered. “You’re telling me. I confided in you but trust that you won’t tell her. I want to be the one who does that, it is important to me.”
I froze a couple of feet away as it dawned on me that I was the person they were talking about. I pressed my back against the wall, just barely out of the line of sight, and leaned forward just enough to get a closer and better view.
“I won’t say a word, but if you don’t want her to learn who you are then you need to get going, I’m supposed to meet her in fifteen minutes.”
I glanced at my watch, realizing that I was really early. I must have sped the entire way.
“Listen, Easton—” At the sound of his name, a chill racked over me. “I appreciate you telling me that you were hanging out with Kobe and keeping her safe. I won’t tell anyone, but seriously consider telling her,” Captain Getty said.
“I will, just not yet. I want this to be all over before I tell her. If Dante or anyone found out that I was undercover—”
There it was, the words I’d been waiting for, Easton was an undercover cop.
Captain Getty looked around Easton for a second. “She’ll be here any minute. I’m giving her a wire, so hopefully this will help close this case quickly.”
“Thanks,” Easton said as he finally turned his body to scan the parking lot, narrowing his dark eyes that I knew so well.
“Are you fucking kidding me?” I said from behind the bush, not caring how ridiculous I must have looked as I pushed through the shrubs, only a few paces away from the two men. “You’re a cop?” I stopped, and his jaw dropped in surprise. “Do you have any idea what it would have meant to me to know that you were a cop?”
“DEA,” Easton clarified.
“Okay then, more than a cop, Drug Enforcement Agency. Jesus Christ, Easton.” I paced back and forth. “Why the hell didn’t you say something?”
“I have a job to do.”
“And what? You don’t trust me? I’ve been
