Sure, they’d grown up with an
us against them
mindset as their father taught them to play the game, and play to win. But the us was always the family. And the them was everyone else. Now, a them was threatening one of Maya’s own us, which meant her own feelings and issues didn’t matter. When threatened, what mattered was what always mattered—protecting family.
“Caleb came home to help you out?” she asked, more for confirmation than because she had doubts.
“Actually, I’m pretty sure your brother came home to bust me,” Tobias said, that same wicked grin he’d handed on to his children flashing. “He ended up arresting the good sheriff instead.”
“Does he know the rest? That you’re being set up?”
“Your brother is a smart man.”
Her head tilting to one side, Maya gave her father a long look. He wasn’t telling her everything. But what was coming through was a hint of hurt. Whether because Caleb had come home to
bust
him, or because there was still a rift between the two, she didn’t know.
But she planned to find out.
“That’s not why he’s sticking around, of course,” her father went on to say. “I’m sure he’d have walked after the arrest, considered the case closed, if not for Pandora.”
There it was again. That hurt, clear in his eyes. Maya frowned. She knew that despite his need for the con and all of his tricky ways, Tobias Black loved his kids. He’d fought to keep them when it’d have been easy to walk away. And all three had turned on him when he’d made his first major mistake.
Of course, given that the mistake had been a slap in all of their faces in the form of that bitch Greta, it wasn’t much of a surprise that he’d gotten the reaction he did.
He couldn’t have been shocked when all three of his children had turned their backs on him.
Tears in her eyes, Maya had to look away. Blinking, her gaze landed on the large painting of the family over the mantel. The gilt of the frame was at odds with the casual setting, a picnic in the woods. Celia Black’s smile showed her pride in the family surrounding her. Her boys on either side, baby Maya on her lap and Tobias, his arm protectively curled around her shoulder. Maya had missed her mother, but never felt like she was completely gone because Tobias had spent his children’s lives keeping her memory alive.
“We can figure this out,” she murmured.
“You’re planning to help me?” he asked, sounding surprised. But there was a look in his eyes, a calculation, that made Maya think he’d gambled on just this response.
Seeing that look, she hesitated. Her stomach clenched and she sucked in a deep breath, trying to keep her chin from quivering. Did helping mean forgiving?
“I don’t know,” she said in a low whisper. She stopped and swallowed, trying to get the words past the lump in her throat. “I really haven’t gotten over what happened the last time I tried to help you.”
There. It was out in the open. Not that it’d ever been in the dark. But, before, she’d always walked away when Tobias wanted to discuss the con-gone-wrong. Her arrest. His fall from grace in her eyes and her heart.
“What would you have had me do, Maya? Join you in jail? Or complete the transaction, clear the evidence and ensure your release?”
She’d have had him plan the job better. She wished he could have pulled it with his usual panache, instead of partnering up with that conniving tramp who’d used him, used them, then left them all to hang. She’d have liked him to have warned her that the guy they were conning out of a rare piece of art had made a deal with the cops. She’d have had him rush in and rescue her before she’d had to spend the night in that cold, nasty cell.
She’d have had him be infallible, instead of human.
Heart pounding with confusion, Maya rose and headed for the steps.
“You’re leaving?”
His disappointment was tangible. The hurt beneath it almost made her miss a step, but Maya managed to keep going. With a deep breath, she looked over her shoulder when she reached the hall and shrugged.
“I’m going to talk to Caleb.” She hesitated, then arched one brow. “Chances are, he’s already working the case himself. Better to know what he knows than to waste time trying to duplicate his investigation.”
Tobias nodded. In his eyes was the unspoken question: Did she forgive him?
But she didn’t have an answer.
Not yet.
“DO I NEED TO BOTHER listing the regulations you’ve violated? The rules you’ve broken?” Hunter leaned back in the vinyl booth of the truck stop, his look both penetrating and distant. Five miles out of Black Oak, the place was filled with truckers and travelers, all focused on food. “The fact that you’ve disappointed me and jeopardized your career?”
Simon stared back at Hunter, calculating the odds of getting out of this without being written up, sanctioned or demoted. It would all come down to how he handled the next two minutes.
“I’m pretty sure the rules and regs are still intact since I’m on vacation, and didn’t utilize any federal resources while on my break.”
“Were you aware that Maya Black was the daughter of a suspect in an ongoing investigation?”
“Were you aware that you’re asking me questions that you already know the answer to?”
“Were you planning to pitch a reasonable excuse, Barton, or just planning to play dumb?”
Simon’s lips twitched. “Could I get away with playing dumb?”
“Nope.”
A waitress with hair almost as wide as she was tall passed by and held up one finger to indicate she’d be with them in a minute.
“Then I’ll pitch this. I saw an opportunity to make contact with Maya Black. Following protocol I used one of my standard identities in case we needed to use the connection in the future. When she invited me here for the week, I seized the opportunity as it was made available. Since I was on vacation, I didn’t see the harm in following up on my own time.”
“You entered the vicinity of a known suspect without reporting your intentions to your superior.”
“I think I’m going to play the vacation card again.”
Hunter just stared.
Simon waited a beat, then huffed out a breath. “Okay, fine. I knew I was skirting the line. But I didn’t step over it.”
One brow arched, Hunter waited.
Thankfully the waitress showed up with a coffeepot. They both declined ordering, so she filled their ceramic mugs and was on her way.
“So I made contact with her,” Simon said with a shrug after sipping his coffee. “She needed someone to come home with her so she didn’t lose face, so I made myself available. Once here, I used her connections to get into Tobias Black’s bike shop.”
“How much contact have you had with Black himself?”
“Surprisingly little. The estrangement between he and his daughter is pretty deep. His girlfriend gave me the shop tour.” He hesitated. He didn’t want Maya hurt. Hell, at this point, he’d do whatever he could to prove Tobias’s innocence rather than his guilt. But Simon couldn’t lie. Not directly to Hunter’s face. All he could do was hope that the director’s friendship with Maya’s brother was strong enough that he’d go along with Simon’s plan to gather all the facts before making any moves toward Tobias Black.
“While there, I noted a suspicious crate. The opportunity arose to check it out, and I took it.”
Hunter had two brows up now and a look that was either anger or curiosity lurking in his eyes.
“The crate was filled with bike parts.” Simon paused, then inclined his head. “And guns. Lower receivers for automatic weapons, actually.”
Hunter’s gaze narrowed in calculation. After a few seconds, he inclined his head.
“Nice job not stepping over that line,” he murmured, finally taking a sip of his coffee.
Simon grimaced.
“I only saw one piece, but got a solid look. Do you want the serial number?”
Hunter reached into the inside pocket of his jacket and pulled out a pad of paper and pen. The man was like Houdini in a Boy Scout uniform. Always prepared.
“How many weapons did you see?”
“I estimate half a dozen lower receivers in the one crate. There were three crates there yesterday and I saw another dozen delivered this morning. I have no idea if all of them carry stolen goods or just that one crate.”
“Did you note any of the crates leaving the shop?”
“Not the same crates. I did see a stack of boxes being loaded into the back of a car, though.”
“Plate number?”
Simon took the pen and jotted that down underneath the serial number.
“When were you going to call this in?”
“Today.”
Hunter just stared.
Simon shrugged.
“Seriously. Today. I couldn’t go further without authorization.” Then, in the spirit of honesty, he added, “And I need access to company resources
before
I can go any further.”
“
If
you go any further.”
What a freaking time to find someone that mattered more than his career. Just when that very career was on the verge of skyrocketing. But he wasn’t leaving. No way, no how, would he desert Maya.
Hoping he wouldn’t have to make the choice between her and his career, Simon shook his head and bluffed, “I’m here, my cover is established and I broke the case. You’re not going to pull me.”
Hunter gave him a long, considering look. Then, leaning both elbows on the Formica table he leaned forward and said quietly, “You’re interfering in an ongoing case, in which we already have people established and are close to closing. Your presence here upsets a carefully orchestrated balance.”
Shit.
Simon’s stomach sank as he noted the seriousness of both Hunter’s look and his tone. The guy wasn’t bullshitting. Ambition fit Simon like a second skin, but right this second, it was pinching uncomfortably.
“You intruded without authorization. You jeopardized our position. And when you came across evidence that is relevant to the case, instead of contacting your superior, you chose to keep it to yourself.” Hunter ticked off the list of transgressions as if he was reading a recipe. “So tell me why I shouldn’t send you back to Savannah in disgrace with a disciplinary letter in your file?”
For a morning that’d started with incredibly hot sex and a great mood, this day was sure going to hell.
“You’re not that much of a hardass, Hunter. You’re pissed at me, but you can see the advantages to leaving me in place.” At least, Simon hoped like hell he could see them. A tickling of panic was making its way up his spine. He swallowed hard, trying to get past the dread obstructing his throat.
“C’mon, Hunter,” he said quietly. “I didn’t blow anything and I didn’t break the rules. Yes, I didn’t follow protocol, but I had a good reason.”
“Which is?”
Simon hesitated. He looked into the dark eyes of the man who was a legend. A man he’d spent years looking up to, even though they were the same age. A man who was his boss and held the future of his career in his hands.
“I was worried about Maya,” Simon admitted. “She’s innocent in all of this. I didn’t want to see her hurt, didn’t want to do anything that could send this tipping the wrong way. I wanted to get the facts first.”
“And?”
Simon frowned.
“Report, Barton.”
Ahh.
Simon nodded and shifted in the vinyl seat. Shoulders back, chin high, he came to attention.
“Illegal, most likely stolen fully automatic lower receivers are being run through Black Custom Bikes. There is no proof that Tobias Black is behind it. It could just as easily be one of his employees or his girlfriend.”
Hunter nodded for Simon to continue.
“Tobias Black appears to be solvent, and the real town leader. The mayor has nothing good to say about him, but that’s most likely a familial issue. Given his history and talents, running guns, just like running drugs, would be a major step outside his usual M.O.”