Page 78 of Damian’s Conquest

Damian exchanged a look with Samson.

“It’s your call, Damian,” Samson said.

That was all he needed to hear. “All right. Quinn, call the other teams off their targets, and have Ryder and Vanessa meet me at the suspect’s house. Grayson, you and Cooper wait for my arrival.” Damian rose. “I’ll be there in twenty-five minutes. Nobody goes in there before I get there, understood?”

“If you say so,” Grayson replied.

“Hold it,” Cooper suddenly said. “The entrance door is opening.”

Grayson zoomed in with his cell phone camera, revealing a young woman, dressed in a Parka and jeans, leaving the house.

“Do you guys see that?” Cooper asked.

“It’s not his wife,” Eddie reported. “He’s not married. Perhaps his girlfriend, or a roommate. The house is a two-bedroom.”

“Oh my God, I know her,” Naomi said with a gasp.

Damian whipped his head to her. “You do? Who is she?”

“That’s Cynthia, the woman who works at Louisa’s Salon with Tracy. She’s the one who told me about her family, you know, about the fact that her grandmother and her uncle don’t like Mick and are trying to control Tracy’s life.”

“Shit!” Damian cursed. “This can’t be a coincidence.”

“She’s approaching Lassiter’s car,” Cooper reported, and everybody could see it on the monitor. “What do you want us to do?”

As Cynthia unlocked the old Toyota Corolla and got in, Damian ordered, “Grayson, you’ll follow her with the car. Cooper, stay watching the house. I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

“Ryder and Vanessa are only ten minutes out,” Quinn said, and put down his cell phone.

“Good,” Damian said. “Eddie, track Grayson’s GPS and send it to Sebastian’s cell. Sebastian, you’ll join Grayson.”

“Hold on,” Eddie said. “I’ve got something on the girl. The only Cynthia working at Louisa’s Salon is Cynthia Lassiter. Same last name as our suspect.”

“So she is his wife?”

“No. They were born on the same day. She’s his twin sister.”

Damian nodded. “Okay, let’s get them. Eddie, disconnect their cell phones so that if either of them spots that they’re being watched, they can’t warn the other.”

He looked at Naomi and was already making a move to get up. “You’ll stay here.” He glanced at his father. “Dad?”

Amaury nodded. “Don’t worry, son, Naomi will be safe with me.”

Then Damian dashed out of the conference room.

33

Grayson followed the rust-bucket Cynthia Lassiter was driving. Traffic was starting to pick up in the city with people heading into work early. He was driving one of Scanguards’ blackout vans rather than his sportscar and for once, was glad for it because it was less conspicuous. Still, he was pissed that Damian had asked him to follow the woman, rather than stay at the house to take down Ralph Lassiter.

He knew why Damian had sent him on this fool’s errand to shadow the suspect’s sister: he was still pissed that he’d called Naomi fat. Well, he was paying for opening his mouth now. He would have gladly apologized to Damian when he’d realized that Naomi was the woman he loved, had his father not interfered and tossed him out of the study. But whenever his father treated him more harshly than he treated anybody else, Grayson saw red. Unfortunately, it appeared that he and his father were cut from the same cloth, not that he’d ever admit that to anybody.

Well, he’d do his job, and follow the woman, and be the obedient soldier his father wanted, rather than the leader Grayson craved to be. His day would come. Now, if he could only muster a little patience, then things would be easier. But patience wasn’t exactly his middle name. That was another trait he shared with Samson.

As he followed Cynthia clear across town, Sebastian called him, and Grayson was able to pick him up on a corner without losing his target.

“Where do you think she’s going?” Sebastian said as he hopped into the passenger seat.

“Not to the best neighborhood, that’s for sure.” They were already in the Bayview district, in the southeastern part of San Francisco and heading farther south and closer to the San Francisco Bay.