Page 22 of Four Cards Exposed

The stakes were higher than ever now that Susan was here as well.

It killed him that Susan was in danger—that he had done such a piss-poor job of getting close to the Mendoza Cartel that Lorraine had brought her in.

Speaking of Lorraine.

Where the fuck is she?

Too scared to come out and meet me today, probably.

Sweat poured down his forehead as he started his third lap around the park. Although the city was known for its green spaces, most of them were concentrated around the higher-income areas of town, leaving low-income areas as virtual deserts. Green Acres Park, despite its unoriginal name, was one of the exceptions—seven acres of greenery, with sports fields, space to run, and plenty of water fountains.

He stopped as he reached the coffee and hot dog stand, nodding at the two homeless men sitting on a bench. He purchased a water bottle for himself, like he did almost every day.

“Get them a couple of hot dogs later, will you, Sundeep?” James asked, nodding towards the homeless men and handing the vendor twenty dollars.

“Sure thing. I take it you had a good fight last night?” Sundeep faked a jab and pointed at James’s bandaged eyebrow.

“It was okay. You should see the other guy.”

Sundeep erupted into an enormous belly laugh. James made a note to beat up the federal agent the next time they met in the office.

A jogger approached with her dog and ordered a large coffee with skim milk, no foam.

“This isn’t Starbucks,” James grumbled under his breath. “Cute dog,” he added, louder this time, kneeling down to pet the mutt.

Lorraine turned towards him. “I knew you wouldn’t miss today’s meeting,” she said cheerfully. She sobered when she caught sight of his face. “Are you okay?”

James tried and failed to swallow his irritation.

“What the fuck is she doing here, Lorraine?”

“She volunteered, James. I didn’t force her.”

“She’s not trained for this.”

Lorraine shrugged, lowering her voice. “It was our only chance to bring in someone close to Mendoza.” She looked up, her dark eyes boring into him. “I also think she needed this, James. She hasn’t been herself since … since the incident.”

He frowned. “And you think this is the answer? It’s too late to debate this now, anyway. I wish you’d told me.”

“There was no time.”

“I will protect her,” he said gruffly. “No matter what.”

“I know you will.”

“She knows how to blow the whistle in an emergency, right?”

Lorraine nodded. She threw the ball at the dog she’d clearly borrowed from a colleague, showering it in excessive praise when the animal brought it back.

“Moore has a small cruise ship—the Eleanore. That’s where last night’s fight took place, but Mendoza was there as well. He and Moore disappeared together for a while. It’s possible that’s where the drugs are coming in.

“We’ve been through all Moore’s properties. Why didn’t we know about this?”

James shrugged and stretched against the bench, careful not to look at Lorraine.

“I’ll look into it. This may be the break we needed. When’s the next fight?”

“I don’t know yet. They’ll let me know.”