“This is the break we need, even if it isn’t conventional,” Walker confesses.
“She didn’t tell you any more?” Rob asks.
“No, and I didn’t ask. I didn’t want to risk scaring her away. Hell, she doesn’t know I’m here today. I spent the whole night stewing over what I should do. I’m worried she won’t turn up if she knew.”
“What’s her name?” Fisher asks, poising his pen over his paper.
“Look, I did this against her wishes. I’m not going to reveal her identity until I know for sure she’s safe.”
Walker sits forward, running a hand over his jaw. “So why did you come?”
“Because it was the right thing to do, and I know how hard Rob has been working to bring these people in. I knew I could trust him and Beau.”
“That goes without saying, but I warned you not to look into this,” Rob comments, frowning.
“If I had listened to you, you wouldn’t have this evidence right now.”
“We thank you for coming to us,” Walker declares.
“I still think one of us should go with you, just to be safe,” Rob stresses.
“No one will know where I am or when we are meeting. I’ll be fine. It’s in town and the place can get busy on weekends, you know that.”
“I have that dinner with Faith and our parents on Friday night. I’ll have to cancel again.”
“My God, please don’t. She made herself sick worrying over plans last week, don’t stress her out even more.”
“But—”
I give him a pointed look. “No buts.”
Walker sits forward. “We will still need to bring in at least two other officers to cover the ground. I know you said no more people, but to cover that derelict building, we will need more men. We can also have the place completely locked down so no one can hide inside to blindside us.”
Turning to Beau, I suck in my bottom lip. “What do you think?”
He reaches out to pat the top of my hand. “I think it’s a good idea. This way, they can make sure everything is covered by an officer.”
“If you think it’s best, I suppose it will be okay.”
“Is there anything else you can tell us?” Walker asks.
One of you is corrupt doesn’t seem like the appropriate answer, so instead, I say, “Nope. That’s everything.”
“We will still need to speak to the witness,” Rob explains softly, making me doubt his innocence once again.
“As soon as I know she will be safe, I’ll bring her here. I’ll explain who Beau is and that she’s safe and can trust him.”
“We will let you know once we have them in custody,” Walker promises.
“Just keep one of us updated on Friday. If anything feels out of place, don’t hesitate to call,” Fisher offers.
“You can call me. I can pass anything on,” Beau lies. “These guys will be busy and need their focus.”
“I’m good with that.”
“So, on Friday at nine, you’ll go meet this witness and we will sort out everything on our end.
I puff out a breath, smiling. “Thank you. I’ll be glad for it to be over.”
“No, thank you for coming to us and not doing this alone. You did the right thing,” Walker promises.
“Any time,” I reply, pushing out of my chair. “I have to get going. I have work. Thank you for hearing me out.”
“I’ll walk you out,” Beau offers, standing up.
I wave goodbye to the others before stepping out of the room, opening my mouth to curse whoever it is out.
But Beau grips my waist, pausing my words. “Don’t say anything,” he whispers from the corner of his mouth. We reach the door leading out, and he forces a smile to Hayley. “Buzz us out please, Hayley.”
The door beeps and Beau places his hand on it, pushing it open.
The second we step outside, I take in a lungful of air. “That was intense.”
“Yeah,” he agrees wearily.
“I don’t even know what to say. Each of them asked questions that could implicate them in one way or another.”
“Agreed. I didn’t get a better read on them either. Those questions would be something we would ask anyway, so nothing really stood out.”
“Maybe I’m wrong,” I add, yet I don’t believe my words. One of them is guilty. I can feel it.
Beau runs a hand through his hair, blowing out a breath. “No, I don’t think you are. I had my doubts before, you know I did, but after that meeting, I could feel it. I can’t explain it.”
“I’m sorry. I wish I had been wrong, if that helps.”
“It’s fucked up, that’s for sure. Before you came, I looked over the timeline of the break-ins, and there isn’t a pattern. Which is unusual as they’re normally in one local area.”
“What about the times you thought you had the gang’s location?”
“Same. It didn’t add up. Someone was definitely tipping them off. Some of the raids were planned only minutes before we left, which means someone had to have called or messaged them on the way.”
“Who was there?” I ask, hopeful.
“That’s the thing, we all were. Even I was sent out on that raid.”
My lips part, ready to ask if he could access phone records during that time, but movement from behind Beau pulls my attention.
I duck my head, hiding my lips from him. “Rob is here.”
I look up, forcing a smile as Rob strolls over. “Hey, Rob.”
“Everything okay over here?” he asks, his brows pulled together.
“Yeah, I was just telling Beau to stop stressing about not being there. He’s set on cancelling with Faith, which I don’t think is wise.”
Rob slaps Beau on the shoulder, gripping him. “Stop worrying, mate. We have her covered. I promise she will be safe.”
Beau forces a smile. “Thanks, man.”
“I’ll leave you to it. I really do need to get going,” I inform them, before giving Beau a pointed look. “I’ll speak to you later.”
He gives me a short nod. “Bye, Hayden.”
“See you around, short stuff. And stay safe, yeah? You never know what they’ll do to you if they find out what you’ve been up to,” Rob warns.
A sense of foreboding crawls up my spine as I give him a tight smile.
“They’d regret trying. Us Carter’s aren’t known to be taken down easily.”
I take a few steps backwards, giving them a salute before turning and heading towards my car.
For Rob’s sake, he’d better be innocent.
My family would destroy him.
CHAPTER TWENTY-EIGHT
My heart hasn’t been in tonight’s segment and it’s showed in my work. I’m actually surprised we finished earlier than normal, as I read quarter to nine on my phone.
I had been distracted the whole night, waiting to receive a message off Beau or Liam. I hadn’t heard from either since earlier on in the day, when Beau called to say they had set up.
My concern is probably unwarranted; we still have fifteen minutes until the initial meet is meant to take place. Yet Beau and I had hoped someone would show up early. We both want this finished; Beau more than me, since someone he considers a friend is a suspect.