Mine To Protect (Mine #6)(26)
She stood in his office now, doing her best to look confident and poised, while the assistant director took turns glaring at her and Russell.
“Special Agent Monroe killed a man and then skipped town?” The assistant director’s face had gone red, a very, very dark red. “What. The. Hell?”
“He believes that other hitmen are after Zoe,” Russell said, his voice calm and easy, as if he wasn’t even a little bit intimidated by the big boss.
I’m plenty intimidated. But she was doing her best to follow Russell’s lead.
“Of course, they’re after her! With two million dollars on her head, I’m tempted to kill the woman myself.”
Her fa?ade crumbled a bit at those words, and Lauren knew her gaze had widened.
The assistant director threw up his hands. The overhead light gleamed off his balding head. “It was a joke! Shit! Luther Bates can put most of the East Coast crime families out of business in one giant swoop—the guy just has to roll on them. Zoe is the key to him rolling. That means she’s worth far more than two million dollars to me. She’s worth everything.” He sat down at his desk and huffed out a heavy breath. “Do we have a name for the dead man?”
Russell stepped forward and put a manila file down on the Percy’s desk. “We do. Kyle Lawrence. Guy was ex-military, an Army sniper, so his prints turned up in the system. Seems like Uncle Sam taught the guy some valuable skills…”
Percy flipped open the file. “Then he went freelance.”
“Lawrence didn’t usually go for up-close kills, but I’m guessing after he missed the first time with Zoe Peters, he realized he had to step up his game.”
Percy grunted. “But his game ended.” His gaze scanned the report. “So who is the power player here? Who’s the one offering up the two million? Got to be one of Luther’s former, uh, associates.” He leaned back in his chair. “Luther should freaking realize if he cooperates with us, we can shut that * down before he offers up more money on Zoe’s head.”
Lauren cleared her throat. “Maybe…maybe he doesn’t care what happens to Zoe. Or at least, he doesn’t care as much as you think.”
As soon as she spoke, Percy’s gaze zeroed in on her.
But it was Russell who spoke next. “Lawrence looked familiar to me—me and Vic. So I did some digging. Once upon a time, the guy was hired muscle for Bates. But when Bates went to prison, Lawrence went off grid.”
“One of Luther’s ex-goons went after the guy’s daughter?” Percy asked in disbelief. “What did the guy want—Luther to send the full force of his power raining down on him?”
“I think,” Russell muttered, “he just wanted the two million. And he didn’t care that he was screwing over his ex-boss to get the money.”
Percy nodded, obviously buying that story.
I don’t agree. Lauren straightened her shoulders—more than they were already straightened. “I did my research on Zoe Peters. Luther was hardly involved in her life at all. They’ve barely spoken since she became an adult. Why are you both so convinced that he’s going to keep cooperating if we protect her?”
“I’m convinced,” Percy said, his words clipped, “because Victor has an agreement with the guy.”
Lauren bit her lip. “But what if Luther is just jerking him around? Using Agent Monroe? Using all of us?”
But Russell was shaking his head. “No. Not happening. No one uses Victor.”
Perhaps, but… “We’re not talking about some petty criminal. We’re talking about a criminal mastermind.” She inched closer to Percy. “He had plants at the FBI. Agents who were working with him. Is it really such a stretch to think that he could be manipulating us all now? Redirecting our attention?”
“The bastard has been meeting with a new lawyer in the last few months,” Percy mumbled, rubbing his jaw. “We’ve known for a while that Luther thinks he’s getting his ass out of prison. We’ve been watching for an escape attempt, but it looks like the guy must think he has some legal leg room to use in order to garner himself a new trial.”
Russell stiffened. “You don’t seriously think any judge in his right mind would ever let that guy out?”
Percy suddenly looked very, very weary. “I think Luther Bates has plenty of tricks left up his sleeve. That’s why we need Victor to turn Zoe so badly. She is our last shot with him. Victor builds her trust, he gets her on our side and then we see just what damage she can really do to her father.”
Lauren glanced between the two men. “So you don’t think it’s possible that Luther Bates could be the man who sent Lawrence to kill Zoe? You don’t believe he could be the one who put out a hit on his daughter?” Maybe he wanted to stop her from turning on him.
Percy’s gaze suddenly sharpened on her. “I think there are no limits to what Luther Bates will or will not do.”
Okay, that was—
“And I think the FBI’s main focus needs to be protecting Zoe. Turning Zoe. Using her. Before we lose her.”
That sounded so…cold.
“We can’t let Luther get ahead of us.” He tapped his chin, considering. “Okay, okay…this is what I want. Find out all you can about Luther’s new lawyer.”