Page 14
“I want you to stay close to me, Charlotte.” Hawk circled around to stand on her right side and wrapped his left arm around the back of her waist.
“Not a problem.” She looped her arm behind him and snuggled nice and close.
Damn, he loved holding her.
“Let’s go,” he said.
They stepped out of the elevator, and he quieted his mind, tuned in to the sounds around them, and scanned the parking lot on their way to his truck.
Remy would react if there was anyone or anything strange.
Hawk gave special attention to the support beams that were wide enough for someone to hide behind and to the dark areas near the corners and between the cars. He didn’t think the people after her would be stupid enough to make a move on her here, but he was not taking any chances.
Charlotte kept her eyes focused ahead of them and, as if sensing the need for silence, remained quiet until they reached the truck.
Hawk pressed his key fob, the horn honked once, and he opened her door. Remy waited while he helped her inside, set her bag on the floor by her feet, and swung the door shut.
He opened the back door.
“Place.” Remy hopped up into the back seat and stood with his head between the front seats. His tongue lolled in and out with each pant.
Hawk shut the door and hurried around to the driver’s side. He swung open his door, and the bing from the elevator arriving at the garage level was amplified by the concrete structure.
A few seconds later, the door began to slide open.
“Shit.” Hawk jumped into the truck and started the engine. “Buckle up and hold on.” He waited until she was secured, put the truck in gear, and sped out of the spot.
“What’s the matter?” Her voice was surprisingly calm.
“We’re about to have company.” He didn’t know who it was, but he wasn’t sticking around long enough to find out.
Her gaze shifted toward the elevators as the doors opened fully, and an angry-looking older man in a sharply tailored suit came charging out, shouting Charlotte’s name.
“Ms. Cavanaugh! Charlotte!” He was waving his arms overhead. “Stop! Stop!”
“Oh, my God!” She twisted to look at him as they passed by. “That’s Ambrose Pennington.” She faced forward, fuming. “Damn Helene and her big mouth.”
“Remy, down.” The dog lay flat on the back seat and kept his head down.
“We’re heading to my place.” Hawk’s wheels squealed on the concrete with each turn he made to get to the main floor. He didn’t slow down until he got to the street, where he was forced to wait until there was an opening in traffic before he could exit the lot.
Hawk doubted Pennington would hop in a car and pursue them, but he continued checking his mirrors as he sped away from the HRA building.
“I still need to get my bag from my house.” Charlotte gripped the handhold again and watched the road. “And I’d really like to see my mom.”
“We’ll have someone get your stuff, and we’ll figure out a way for you to see your mom.” He set the tissue-wrapped electronic listening device in one of the cupholders. “Hey, Siri, call Cole.”
“ Calling Cole Lambert. ” A disembodied voice came through the car speakers.
The phone rang twice, and he answered. “Lambert.”
“We just left Charlotte’s office.” He pressed the gas pedal and merged into traffic on the freeway. “Pennington came charging into the parking garage as we were leaving.”
“Dulce’s dad has known Pennington was scum for years,” Cole said. “The senator will be glad to see him exposed for the piece of shit he is.”
“I found an HJ-697 in the fire sprinkler in her office. I’ll send it to Beatrice, and maybe she can pull some prints. In the meantime, I took a picture of the side with the serial number and will send that to her and Sammy.”
“Those devices are cheap as hell and easy to get ahold of,” Cole said. “But maybe we’ll get lucky and they can use that serial number to figure out where the device was purchased.”
“My guess is Kimball put the bug in her office after she found that file.” Hawk was sure he was the one responsible, since he had unfettered access to the building and all of the offices in it.
“Luna tracked that plate number you gave her.” Papers shuffled in the background. “It’s registered to HRA, and the description you provided of the man behind the wheel fits Vincent Kimball. I’m texting his photo to you now.”
“What do we know about him?” Hawk checked the mirrors, and his phone pinged with Cole’s message.
“Sixty-two years old, a glorified thug with a huge, very unstable chip on his shoulder.” Cole continued. “No dad around when he was a kid, middle child with a bunch of brothers and a sister. They all grew up running the streets in a rough part of Norfolk, Virginia. He pulled a lot of petty stuff as a juvenile—shoplifting, underaged drinking, flattening tires. He stole a woman’s purse from a grocery cart once. On his eighteenth birthday, he decided to up his game and stole a patrol car, took it on a joy ride, and ended up wrapping it around tree. To send a message to him and any other kid who might think it’s funny to steal a patrol car, the judge sentenced Kimball to twenty-two months. Instead of scaring him straight, it just made him meaner.” Paper shuffled. “He pulled a seven-year stint for armed robbery, released after three.”
“How does someone with that kind of history end up working as the head of security for an organization like HRA?” Charlotte was understandably confused. “I would think a position like that would warrant at least a background check and substantial experience.”
“He grew up with a guy named Leonard Everett, who owns Bernardi Transportation. In addition to trucking services, Everett also owns a fleet of commercial buses. And I’ll give you one guess who signed his company to a hefty contract a few years back.”
“HRA.” Hawk shared a look with Charlotte before turning back to the road.
“You guessed it. Kimball was added to HRA’s payroll system three days after that contract was signed. And the contract award amount is much higher than the average cost of other bus transportation outfits. Right now, all we know about the contract is that it provides buses and drivers, so there’s no explanation for the higher cost.” Cole’s frustration was apparent in his voice. “Sammy’s working on another project, so Luna has pretty much taken the lead on this, and she’s determined to figure it out.”
“Cole, I might know what the buses are for.” She made sure to speak loudly enough for him to hear. “HRA has intake facilities all over the Southwest for families and unaccompanied minors who’ve come across the border illegally.” Her brows drew together as she thought it out. “Perhaps this Everett person was contracted to pick them up and transport them.”
“Where are they transported to?” Hawk asked.
“I don’t know—I’ve not been made privy to that information.” She rubbed her forehead. “I’m not even sure who would have those details or why there is so much secrecy surrounding them.”
“It’s no coincidence those two are connected to HRA.” Hawk had never been a believer in coincidences, especially when so many powerful people with a lot to lose were involved. “Everett must’ve used his contract as leverage to get his friend the job at HRA.”
“But if they hadn’t been okay with his demands—like hiring an obvious criminal as their head of security—they could’ve just gone with another bus company,” Charlotte said. “There are tons of them out there, and they’re much cheaper.”
“Maybe Everett is offering something other trucking companies can’t?” Hawk wondered aloud.
“But what?” Charlotte didn’t seem convinced.
“Unfortunately, HRA has locked things down pretty tight, making it a bit more complicated. But with the connection Sammy established into HRA’s system and the top-level access Casey has—thanks to his position working for Burke—they should be able to connect the dots between HRA, Everett, and Kimball.” Cole’s confidence in their skills infused each word.
“So, you think all of this—the list, the contract with Everett, HRA hiring Kimball—is connected?” Charlotte twisted to reach into the back seat. “It’s okay, Remy.” She stroked her hand from the top of the dog’s head and down his back.
“My gut tells me it is.” Hawk felt like the answer was just out of reach.
“Agreed,” Cole said.
“Cole, Charlotte would like to see her mom.” Hawk knew how worried she was about Donna. “Unless you have an issue with it, I’m going to call Calliope and arrange to have them meet us at a diner near my place.”
“I trust your judgment, Hawk.”
His boss’s trust in him and the other people on the team was one of the many reasons why Hawk would never leave OSI.
Charlotte stopped petting the dog to set her hand on Hawk’s forearm and mouthed the words, “Thank you.”
He winked.
“One last thing—Luna is officially going to be joining Dark Ops,” Cole said. “As soon as they get her stuff packed up, Caleb and Dawn will be helping her relocate to Virginia.”
“That’s great news. She’ll be an incredible asset to the team.” Hawk thought about Caleb and Dawn and how worried they must be about Luna leaving their protection in California.
Not that he could blame them.
When she was seventeen, a psychopathic cult leader with an unhealthy attraction to young women and girls lured her to his secured compound not far from where Hawk grew up. Dawn had gone after her and ended up being trapped on the compound with her. Hawk didn’t know all of the details, but what he did know wasn’t good.
Had Caleb, his K9 partner, Jake, and the guys from OSI not gone in after them, God only knows what horrors they would’ve suffered.
“Must be tough for Caleb and Dawn to let her go,” he said.
“They were hesitant, initially. After all, Dawn basically raised her after their folks died. But Luna reminded them in no uncertain terms that she’s not a naive teenager anymore. She’s twenty-three now, mature beyond her years, and smart as hell. She went directly to Beck and told him she wanted to work with the Dark Ops team.” There was respect in Cole’s voice. “OSI has grown so much, it was getting tough for Sammy to do everything. They approached me about having Luna join us, and since we’d already planned to establish a tech team for Dark Ops, I, of course, said yes and formally offered her the position.”
Since that first time he watched Beatrice and Mathias work a crime scene, Hawk could tell OSI was a top-notch organization loaded with talented people.
“It’ll be good to have her on the team.” Cole actually had a hint of excitement in his voice. Well, as much excitement as his stoic boss was willing to display. “Make sure to keep me in the loop.”
“Will do,” Hawk said. “Thanks, man.”
Charlotte called out, “Yes, thank you, Cole.”
“You bet.”
Hawk tapped a button on his steering wheel to end the call.
“Why don’t you go ahead and program those numbers into the burner phones.” He lifted her hand from his arm, kissed her knuckles, and released her. “I’ll call Calliope and let her know where to meet us.”
“You know, I just remembered that I keep some things at my mom’s house.” She grabbed her bag and retrieved the phones. “Instead of having someone go by my place to get my suitcase, Mom can just pack up my stuff and bring it with them when we meet.”
“If you’re sure, I’ll let Calliope know,” Hawk said.
“Absolutely.” Charlotte started programming numbers into the burner phones.
“Siri, call Calliope.”
“ Calling Calliope Daniels.”
“Hey, Hawk.” It was nice to have her back to her chipper self again.
Her father recently had a health scare when a mass was found on his lungs. Fortunately, doctors were able to remove it, and after a few rounds of chemo, he was found to be cancer-free.
“Hey. How are things going there?” Hawk turned to find Charlotte anxiously awaiting her response.
“You kiddin’, Donna and I are having a great time.” Calliope laughed. “Charlotte, your mom is a hoot.”
“Yeah, she can be.” Charlotte’s relief was apparent in her grin.
“Hawk, Donna’s been asking to see Charlotte. Is there any way we can make that happen?
“Actually, that’s why we’re calling.” Hawk had already given thought to where they could meet. “Remember that diner near my place?”
“The Chicken Nest?” she asked.
“Yeah. Why don’t you two meet us there at”—he looked at the time on the dash—“four o’clock. Does that work?”
“I’m sure it will, but let me check.” Her voice was muffled as she ran the idea by Donna. “Okay, we’ll be there.”
“We took care of things at Charlotte’s office.” Hawk told her how OSI was now connected to HRA’s internal system and how Pennington came looking for them in the parking lot. “She won’t be going back there anytime soon.”
“Maybe never,” Charlotte mumbled.
“Charlotte, you’re so helpful to OSI, why don’t you just consult full-time?” Calliope’s suggestion made sense. “Get the heck away from all that bureaucracy.”
“That’s not a bad idea.” He turned to Charlotte briefly. “What do you think?”
“I never really thought about it before.” She chewed her lip. “It would be nice to do more one-on-one work with victims. And let’s be honest, by the time the dust settles on this mess, HRA may not exist anymore.”
“How about we get through this, then you can decide what you want to do.” Hawk hated the people who’d upended Charlotte’s world.
“Charlotte, I’m going to hand the phone to your mom before she tackles me and takes it away from me.” Calliope chuckled. “Hawk, watch your back, and we’ll see you at four o’clock.”
“Charlotte?”
“Hi, Mom?” Upon hearing her mom’s voice, Charlotte’s shoulders dropped, and she gave a huge sigh of relief.
“Oh, my goodness, are you okay?” Donna asked.
“I’m okay.” She turned and gave him a sweet smile. “Thanks to Hawk.”
He felt undeserving of the way Charlotte looked at him like he was some kind of hero. But he would do everything in his power to keep her safe and to rid her life of the people who would dare hurt her.
Hawk reached over and smoothed his thumb down her cheek, then put his hand back on the wheel. She might not realize it, but his touch seemed to soothe her nerves. It certainly soothed his.
“Mom, you know the stuff I keep in the guest room for when I stay at your place? Would you mind tossing all of it in a bag and bringing it with you?” Charlotte nodded. “Yeah, I’ll need the bathroom stuff, too. Awesome, thanks. I love you, too. See you soon.”
Hawk noticed that Charlotte didn’t tell her mom the reason she couldn’t go home was because an asshole was lying in wait for her. Best to save that little detail for a face-to-face conversation.