Page 70 of Knife in the Back (New Orleans #4)

Everett had been the last one to go, and only after he’d asked her several times if she was okay. She wasn’t, but she thought that maybe, with him, she would be.

Once Antoine had read the PI’s report, he’d marked the addresses Kaleb had frequented on the map they’d taped to the whiteboard.

There were nine addresses. Seven houses and two warehouses.

She wondered why Kaleb had gone to all these places. She wondered which were part of his drug business and which were tied to human trafficking.

“We should go to these two,” Molly said, pointing at two houses on Magazine Street.

Both were on the parade route and both were three stories tall, exactly as Susan Snyder had said.

“I don’t know,” Naomi said, trying to figure out what was bothering her about the two houses.

“None of the other homes are on the parade route,” Molly said. “These houses are exactly as Susan described, aren’t they?”

“They are,” Naomi conceded. “But…” She pointed at one of the warehouses. It was between the Mississippi River and Tchoupitoulas Street. “This one is also three stories.”

“But it’s not a house,” Antoine said. “And it’s not on the parade route.”

That was true as well. “It’s only four blocks away. Susan could have heard the music.”

Antoine shook his head. “We’re looking at houses .”

He and Molly continued laying out their strategy for approaching, entering, and searching the houses.

But there was something about the warehouse. Naomi brought up its street view on Google Maps. The building was solid brick. Three stories. Very few windows.

It was situated near some self-storage places and a few open lots that stored containers carried by ships into the port of New Orleans. It was isolated, with river access, which made it perfect as a sex trafficking den.

But it was not a house.

Maybe Susan had been wrong.

“She never saw the outside,” Naomi said, interrupting Molly and Antoine.

“What?” Molly asked. “Who never saw the outside of what?”

“Susan. She never saw the outside of the place. She was drugged before she got there, blindfolded when she was taken out to the motels.”

“Okay,” Molly said slowly. “And?”

“And…what if it only looks like a house on the inside? What if it’s a warehouse on the outside?”

Both Molly and Antoine looked surprised. “I don’t know…” Antoine said.

“It’s possible, right?” Naomi insisted.

“Yes,” Molly said. “If we strike out with these two houses, we’ll check it out. But we’re looking at the houses first.”

The two went back to discussing their plans.

Naomi wanted to scream once more, but this time was because it felt like they were patronizing her. Burke had never done that. Not even once.

“Think about the traffic,” she blurted out.

“Cars?” Antoine asked.

“No,” Naomi snapped, then drew a breath. “Sorry. I mean people. They’ll have customers at all hours. You think that can happen here in a residential neighborhood? The neighbors would go crazy.”

“She’s got a point,” Antoine murmured.

“I know,” Molly said. “Like I said, we’ll check it out.”

“But only after you look at these two houses,” Naomi said, trying to rein in her irritation.

“Yes,” Molly said firmly.

“Fine. I’m going, too,” Naomi said.

Molly shook her head. “You’re not. You’re not trained, Naomi. I’m sorry.”

Naomi stared. “You’re kidding, right? I was a cop.”

Molly winced. “In the evidence room.”

Naomi closed her eyes and tried not to seethe. “I am going.”

“Sorry, hon,” Antoine said, giving her a one-armed hug. “Burke wants you safe. We can’t be worrying about you when we go into these places.”

Naomi thought that Antoine rarely went on missions like this one and that he was probably less trained than she was, but she bit her tongue.

Molly squeezed Naomi’s shoulder. “We’ll keep you up to speed.”

Naomi watched them leave through narrowed eyes.

“I can’t believe this,” she muttered, then stared at the one address on the map that met all their criteria, except for being an actual house.

“What’s going on?” Eleanor asked from the doorway. She was leaning on her walker, a sure sign of her fatigue.

“Molly and Antoine are being…well, they’re not listening to me.”

“I know,” Eleanor said. “I could hear you from my room. What are you going to do about it?”

Naomi heard the roar of Burke’s SUV as Molly and Antoine departed. They’d be lucky to get out of the Quarter at this time of day. They’d be closing down the roads on the parade route in fifteen minutes. Traffic had been snarled for hours.

“I don’t have a car and I don’t think one would be all that useful anyway.”

Eleanor nodded. “True enough.”

“But…” She remembered Burke’s bike, leaning against the wall in the mudroom. She felt the first spark of control. She was not hopeless or helpless. “Burke has a bicycle.”

“So what are you going to do with it?”

“I’m going to the warehouse.” She nodded toward the whiteboard. “On Burke’s bicycle. It’s probably the fastest way to get anywhere right now.”

“Stick to the roads at least three to four blocks off the parade route,” Eleanor cautioned. “Any closer and you’ll be stuck in wall-to-wall people.”

Naomi abruptly deflated. “I don’t have a weapon and I don’t know the combination to Burke’s gun safe. I’m not going after him unarmed. I’ll have to guess the combo.”

“Or you could borrow mine.” Eleanor reached into the pocket of her cardigan, which Naomi only just noticed was hanging inches lower on one side.

The older woman brought out a Glock 19. “You take care of this, y’hear?

It belonged to my husband. I didn’t want to leave it in the house in case those thugs broke in.

It hasn’t been fired in years, but my husband kept it clean. ”

Naomi took the gun, checked the chamber, then popped the magazine. It held seventeen rounds. “That should be enough.”

Eleanor reached into her other pocket and brought out a fully loaded thirty-three-round magazine. “In case it’s not.”

“You’re amazing,” Naomi breathed. “Thank you.”

“You’re a good soul, Naomi. Go get your man. Just…be careful. And don’t tell your mother that I gave you that gun.”

“I won’t.” She kissed Eleanor’s cheek and ran down the stairs to the mudroom where Burke kept his bicycle.

Where she gained the undivided attention of three boys and one gruff bodyguard. Harrison stared at her with knowing eyes. Naomi stared back.

“Naomi?” Everett asked, then grunted when Jace elbowed him in the gut. “Mom?” he corrected himself. “Shit, man, don’t do that. It hurts.”

“We talked about this,” Jace said. “You’ve got a great mom.”

“Yeah,” Elijah added. “Treat her with respect.”

Naomi wanted to hug them all. Instead, she cupped Everett’s cheek. “Thank you. I’m proud of you.”

He looked at his feet. “You shouldn’t be. I was awful.”

“You’re sixteen and your father lied to you. I was thirty and I believed his lies until I caught him red-handed.”

“He hit you. I remember that night.”

“I’m sorry you had to see that.”

He looked up, his eyes glassy with unshed tears. “I just wanted everything to be normal. For us to be…happy. Together.”

“I know. But you and I are together now. And when I get back, I’ll make you some cookies.”

He looked a little green. “Everyone’s been making cookies. I’m kinda sick of the sugar, to be honest. Rain check?”

“Absolutely.” She kissed his cheek, thrilled when he didn’t rebuff her. “I love you.”

He didn’t say it back, but he smiled. It was enough.

“Miss Naomi?” Jace said, poking at the bulge in her jacket pocket. “What are you doing with that”—he lowered his voice to a whisper—“gun?”

She winced. Busted. So she decided to be truthful. “Going after Burke.”

She glanced at Harrison, expecting him to take the gun away. But he just stood there looking…satisfied.

Jace frowned. “Molly and Antoine are going after Burke.”

“I don’t think he’s where they’ll be looking.” She took hold of the handlebars of the bicycle. “It’ll take me at least half an hour to get there. I hope Burke has that much time.”

You’ve been living on borrowed time for years. I think your time is up.

Elijah raised his brows, suddenly looking so very adult. “Are you going alone?”

“You can’t go alone, Mom,” Everett said, frowning. “It’s dangerous. Harrison should go with you.”

“I can’t,” Harrison said. “What if they’re waiting for all Burke’s people to leave so that they can get to you? My job is to protect you. That’s what I’m going to do.”

“He’s right,” Naomi said. “And I was a cop, honey. Even if I only worked the evidence room. I’ll be okay.

” She hoped that she wouldn’t need the gun, but she’d kept up with her firearms practice, both before and after she’d gone to prison.

“And I’m not going alone.” She made a split-second decision, once again glancing at Harrison.

“I’m going to ask André to meet me there. ”

Harrison nodded once in approval.

To her surprise, her son hugged her, a full, two-armed bear hug. “Be careful.”

She hugged him back. “I will. Bye, guys.” She headed outside with Burke’s bicycle, then dialed André Holmes.

“Naomi. Did you find Burke?”

“No, but I think I know where he is.”

“Where?”

She gave him the address and he groaned. “That’s only a few blocks from where the parade starts. Are you sure?”

“No,” she admitted, “but it makes the most sense.” She recounted what they’d learned from the PI’s report.

“That actually does make a lot of sense that they’d put it on the river,” he said thoughtfully. “Both for the customer traffic and river access. I’ll go. You stay where you are.”

She opened her mouth to say no, that she was going, but she knew they’d only waste time arguing. “Hurry.”

The call ended and Naomi tucked her phone back into her pocket. Squaring her shoulders, she threw one leg over the bicycle.

Hold on, Burke. I’ll be there soon.