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I scrolled through his short contacts list and hit the ‘Call’ button when it appeared beside Adam’s name.
“Update?” a male voice asked through the speaker.
“You’re on speaker with me and Joanna,” West said. “We’re tracking Sewell. He might lead us to Portia. We need backup to help get her out.”
Adam didn’t reply.
“Sir?” West asked.
The silence lingered. Dread curled in my gut. I had a bad feeling about this.
“Conti,” Adam said slowly. “This is a massive operation. If we bust Sewell now, then there’s a good chance Ortez will find out. I’m not sure that we can justify risking the entire operation for the sake of one confidential informant.”
“What?” West sounded outraged.
I grimaced, but somehow, I wasn’t surprised by his words. Someone who masterminded the duping of an innocent detective surely didn’t mind a little collateral damage.
“Hold off for an hour or so,” Adam said. “Let me think it over.”
“Hang up,” West growled.
I ended the call. “That’s your boss?”
“Yeah.” A muscle in his jaw ticked. “There’s a reason he’s in his current role. He’s a good actor, but I’m pretty sure he doesn’t give a shit about anyone besides himself.”
“You’re not waiting an hour, are you?” I asked quietly.
“No.” He white-knuckled the steering wheel and turned onto a main road out of the residential area, into a more industrialized one.
“It’s dangerous without backup.” Him and I against who knows how many thugs? It wasn’t just dangerous; it was practically suicidal.
He glanced at me, his green eyes burning with intensity. “I trust you, Jo. You and no one else. If we call in a police taskforce, we can’t guarantee they’ll be fighting for our side. We could be arming the opposition—and letting them know we’re coming.”
I squeezed the bridge of my nose, a headache forming behind my temples. “Then I guess we’re going in alone.”
I couldn’t believe it. A month ago, I’d been happily married and oblivious to the poison infecting our ranks.
Only a short time ago, I’d hated my fake husband and would have been glad to never see his face again.
Now, I was gearing up to walk into battle with him.
How the hell did that happen?
I turned toward the window and rolled my eyes at my reflection. I knew exactly how it had happened. I’d gone and fallen back in love with my goddamn husband. Or maybe I’d never fallen out of love with him in the first place, and I’d just been fooling myself.
I turned back to him. “Tell me you have weapons hidden in here.”
A slow grin spread across his face, although it didn’t reach his eyes. “That, I can do. This girl is hiding all of my favorites.”
At least that was something.
He slowed and took another corner, then another, moving deeper into the industrial district. Finally, we turned onto a street lined with warehouses. He parked on the side of the street, killed the engine and switched off the headlights.
The sun was beginning to rise, and we could see enough of our surroundings not to need flashlights. We got out of the car as silently as possible, and I cringed as the cold air whipped around us.
West lifted a panel on the floor in front of the driver’s seat and withdrew a gun. I noticed a similar tab hidden on the passenger side, so I copied him and revealed a large compartment with a semi-automatic pistol inside. I clicked it together and checked the magazine. It was loaded. I pocketed more ammo.
“Got a knife?” West asked. “We might need to cut her free.”
