Page 33 of Only the Hunter

“When you didn’t respond, I became worried.”

I wait, bracing for him to tell me I’m silly or paranoid.

“What’re you doing here, Evie? What do you need from me?”

“I can’t find Lina.” She’s my witness, but she’s also Daniel’s. He rescued her in a sting.

“Protective custody.”

“No. There’s no record of her.”

“That’s protocol.”

I pause, studying him. Not him so much, but his eyes. Are they cold? Dead? Or is there a hint of warmth?

At the very least, there’s curiosity, and he’s here. He didn’t have to respond. On an inhale, I opt to roll the dice. “Someone’s deleting official documentation on her. Scrubbing her from the system.”

“Want some advice?” Daniel asks.

“I want whatever information you have. I had her relative’s address—her cousin in New York. Do you have it?”

“Evie, my bet is she’s no longer in the country.”

“Well where would she be? Would they return her?” She’s been in the US for years. We promised to help her in exchange for her testimony.

“Wherever the NGO moved her.”

“NG… The human rights group? WITSEC relinquished protective services? You know that for a fact?”

“I don’t know anything for a fact. That’s my guess.” He pushes up from the chair. “Case is closed, my plate’s loaded, and I’m following orders. My advice? Do the same.”

Everyone keeps telling me that. “I can’t,” I admit, pushing up to stand, well aware I’m not getting anything else of value out of Daniel. “She’s my responsibility.”

“Do you not trust the system?”

I’m not sure if that question is testing my IQ or if he’s really so steeped in FBI culture that he’s a believer.

“Fine.” His shoe scuffs the floor as he comes around the desk, passes me and puts his hand on the doorknob, signaling this meeting is officially over. “I get it. It’s hard to step away when you’ve made a promise.” He drops his gaze to the floor, then scans the wall. “I’ll tell you this. And only this. You’re not wrong about this case. But you’re looking in the wrong direction.”

With that, he opens the door, and points to the side door he let me in through.

“I’ve got to get back to my team. We’re in the middle of something. That door will lock behind you.”

He turns to the hallway, presumably to another office.

“Thank you, Agent Price.”

“Don’t know what you’re thanking me for. We never met, remember? You say otherwise, I deny it.”

And with that, he’s down the hall, leaving me alone in an empty shell of a building.

When I pull the heavy metal door open, bright sunlight blinds me for a second. I wait until the door clamps shut and double-check that it did indeed lock behind me. It did.

Good.

Daniel gave me more than I expected. He gave me the confirmation I need to search for Lina, and he gave me a tip. The NGO. I have a file on them back at the house.

And even if someone took important pages from the case file, I’ve worked with that NGO before. I have other files on them. Some boxed up and in storage downstairs in my basement.