Page 89 of Storm Warning

“Doesn’t matter which one we get,” Elias said. “Andre and I won’t be using it much.”

“We’ll take this one.” She motioned to the right room.

After distributing the duffel bags to the rooms, the operatives met in the living room. “So, what’s our next move?” Elias asked.

“Events moved so fast this morning, we didn’t discuss people with axes to grind.”

Iona dropped onto a loveseat and leaned her head against the back. “That list would be too long to handle in the next few minutes. Can we narrow it down a little?”

“She’s right.” Elias joined Iona. “The number of people who want us dead grows with each mission, Andre.”

“Do you remember Jared Brown?”

Elias ran a hand down his face. “Yeah, of course. How could I forget that freak?”

“I don’t know who he is.” Iona nudged Elias with her elbow. “Talk.”

“Andre and I arrested him five years ago. He wasn’t happy that we’d interrupted his killing spree and threatened to cut out our hearts when he was released. Since he’s serving a lifesentence for murdering three family members, he won’t be getting out soon, if ever.”

“Can’t say I’m sorry to hear it. That’s horrible.”

“Yeah, his family thought so, too.” Elias shifted his attention to Andre. “Why did you ask about Brown?”

Man, he hated to tell his friend the news. No help for it, though. Andre would also have to share the information with the rest of his teammates. The members of Echo unit had worked alongside him and Elias to capture Brown. “He escaped from prison three days ago. The Marshals haven’t been able to find him.”

Elias stared. “Tell me you’re joking.”

“I wish.”

“Think he knows where we are?”

“What do you think?”

His friend grimaced. “Our fellow cops are still angry at us for turning on one of our own. They probably said too much to the wrong person, and word got back to Brown.” Elias growled. “Yeah, he knows we moved to the Nashville area.”

Iona frowned. “This is a large area. How would he discover your location?”

“The guy is a genius, even if he is crazy as a loon.”

“And he has friends with their hands in every corner of the criminal world,” Andre added. “Brown having a computer hacker in his posse of friends wouldn’t surprise me. So, yeah, he knows where we are and has someone tailing us if he’s still interested in us.”

“We need to warn the others,” Riley said.

Elias looked at Andre with his eyebrow raised. When he received a nod of approval, he pulled out his phone and called Seth.

“Talk to me,” was Seth’s greeting.

“We need a conference call with the rest of Artemis and Echo.”

“Explain.”

Between the two of them, Elias and Andre updated Seth on the latest happenings.

“Oh, man. I thought we’d seen the last of Brown for good.”

“So did I. Somebody lost their focus or bought into his good-buddy act in the prison.”

“The guard who looked the other way needs to lose his job and face charges.”