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“Sorry about that,” said the bartender, setting down their food. “Cops are suspicious by nature, and we always like to know who’s frequenting our bar.”
“I get it,” said Gaspar. “Rangers and SEALs are fucking suspicious as hell, so you can imagine what’s going through our minds with all that inquisitiveness.”
“Don’t let anything go through your minds, stranger. It’s just cops being cops.”
“Cool,” said Nine. “We’ll eat our lunch and leave you all alone.”
“Take your time. No harm, no foul. You folks have plans for dinner tonight? There are some great restaurants in the area,” he said, suddenly very friendly.
“We promised the girls a great dinner out tonight, so we definitely could use some suggestions,” smirked Gaspar.
“Well, they look like they deserve a night out,” smiled the man.
He wrote down a few restaurant names and handed them to Nine, then left them alone to eat their meal. It was nothing special. Just as advertised. Bar food, but it was hot, good, and inexpensive. After paying cash for their food and leaving a generous tip, they walked out of the dark bar and noticed at least six cops standing outside.
“Now, why do you suppose they didn’t go inside?” asked Gaspar.
“Maybe they heard there was company,” he said, smiling at his friend. When back inside their truck, they turned to see all of the men walking into the bar. “I guess that confirms it. We’re not welcome at The Shield.”
CHAPTER TEN
“What do you make of the envelopes being handed out?” asked Nine.
“I think it’s exactly what we said. Payday. I think every fucking cop that goes into that building is in on this shit. Whatever this shit is. Which makes me believe that whatever Al and Mike are doing in New Orleans, someone else is doing in other cities.”
“Yeah, but we need to know what it is they’re doing. Code? Do you have anything on that ship yet?”
“Yep. Seems Al’s woman, Maureen, is incredibly sick. She’s been taken to the doctor’s bay twice. The first time, they said she was seasick. This morning, the doctor said he thinks she has food poisoning. Of course, they don’t want to say that because it could panic the passengers.”
“How did you hear that?” smirked Nine.
“Don’t insult me. That dude has more bugs on him than a stray dog has fleas. I’m headed into their cabin now while he’s with her in the medical bay. Hannah is watching for me. Nice cabin. Three times the size of mine. Seems Maureen really splurged for this.”
They could hear Code moving around the room, opening and closing drawers and doors. Then he said one word.
“Bingo. A will leaving everything to Al in his bag. Maureen has quite a nest egg. Seems she owned a chain of high-end salons and spas in Dallas. The woman has a nice hefty sum in her accounts, that’s for damn sure.”
“So, this is all about changing wills?” asked Alexandra. “It can’t be just that. I mean, after one or two, they’d be questioned to death.”
“Maybe it’s not just them,” said Erin. “I mean, we saw the payday envelopes. Maybe two guys go into different locations and do their thing and get out. They move to another city or another location, and two more go in.”
“See, that’s why I married you. You’re brilliant,” smirked Nine. She gave him a pouty expression.
“You mean you didn’t marry me because I’m good in bed?” He laughed, shaking his head.
“First of all, you’re fucking amazing in bed. Secondly, I married you because you’re everything I am not, and I need you to balance my soul.” She kissed him and smiled at him.
“You’ll be rewarded for that later.”
“Children? Can we focus? I’ve found two prescriptions that have me worried. One is for painkillers, and it is an opioid. The other is sleeping pills. Either one could easily be misused. I think I need to find a way to get Maureen off this ship.”
“Brother, she has to want to get off that ship, and she may not be in a place to want that just yet. Keep an eye on them. Have Hannah make friends with her. Maybe she’ll open up.”
“I’ll see what I can do. What happened with Teddy and the girls when they met with Mike?”
“Bastard tried to force them to sign a contract for Maison Soleil that was twenty-five percent above normal pricing. The team is looking into his role there, but he damn sure is acting as the muscle.”
“Hey. Gotta go. Hannah said they’re coming back up to the room.” Code was cut off, and the others just looked at one another.
