Total pages in book: 123
Estimated words: 114819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 114819 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 574(@200wpm)___ 459(@250wpm)___ 383(@300wpm)
Stop overthinking.
Cash forced his attention from the video feed to the email he had begun crafting.
As much as he hated to admit it, Dev was one hundred percent correct. Cash acted on emotion. He understood he couldn’t continue to glue himself to Dev’s side while investigating the case properly. It made perfect sense. Cash’s constant presence was going to bring suspicion.
Cash needed immediate help in the field. His three-man show wasn’t cutting it. Joe and Shanna were as exhausted and overwhelmed as he was. Being an undercover agent was a hard line to toe before factoring in that two-thirds of their team were newbie agents.
Clearly, they were all in over their heads. Look what Dev accomplished last night. Even being fully monitored with Cash being inside Dev’s personal apartment, he was still able to sneak away.
Which made the problem of finding a bodyguard for Dev that much more complicated. The right person had to fit well in Dev’s life while watching the biker like a hawk.
The stakes were too high. The evil forces at play had too much to lose. The cracks needed to be sealed up immediately.
All the emotion messing with his judgment also needed to take about fifteen steps backward. Cash was deeply in love with that manipulative, crazy biker. Every day, hell, every single minute of every day, his feelings grew stronger, more solid. Of course he wasn’t leading effectively. The case had come to an utter standstill. They were stuck in neutral with no foreseeable way out.
Cash typed an email to his direct supervisor, Lily Collins, deputy attorney general.
The latest updates from Dallas: Chaos ensues. A prospect of the Disciples of Havoc motorcycle club, recently released from prison, was found dead late last night. Additionally, the local news has reported the Dallas DA’s past connection with one of the club’s brothers. We’re under a winter weather warning which keeps us locked down together today, but I need more eyes on the informant. Time isn’t on our side, especially now. The protection detail needs to have advanced tactical security training. Someone who can keep up with and mesh well in Devin Fox’s world. The biker brothers are pure mayhem. My time would be better spent leading a new direction in the investigation.
That being said, do you have an update on reliable security candidates? I need to begin vetting them.
Cash signed his name and pushed send as Dev lifted two plates of food to the camera and cocked his head toward the small dinette inside his apartment. An invitation for Cash to join him.
The man who made everything harder than it had to be was signaling his peace offering. Cash pressed his thumbs in his eyes until the act became a full hand scrubbing over his face, trying to wipe away the exhaustion. He prayed to the universe to give him strength.
“I’m crashing for a few hours. The Dallas DA’s holding a press conference at nine o’clock this morning. I’ll be up before then,” Joe said from the hallway at the entry into the living room.
Cash turned in his chair, facing the agent who’d become integral to the mission. “Any word on what she plans to say?”
Joe shook his head. “Not yet. Communication with the DA’s department has gone silent.”
Of course it had. Cash nodded his understanding. “Good night.”
Joe stood there a second more before giving a single nod and turning away. The man clearly had more to say but held his tongue. Joe had had Cash’s back since the beginning, but it appeared that loyalty may be waning. He didn’t blame Joe in the least.
“Thank you, Joe. You’re the glue that keeps the operation together,” Cash called out as he got to his feet.
“Yup.” Joe’s bedroom door clicked shut.
Cash stretched his long body, his fingertips almost touched the ceiling. Then he ambled toward Dev’s apartment. He couldn’t keep himself away, no matter the mistakes he continued to make.
Chapter 5
Cash straddled the end of the workout bench, lifting one dumbbell after another, pushing himself further than his usual number of reps. He had also increased the weight today, needing the burn to help clear the fog messing with his brain.
His muscles strained and ached as he lost himself in the movement. Hours had passed since he’d first sent the email to his superior. The only word he’d heard back was to wait for a phone call. No timeframe was given. It could be hours or even days for that matter. But, with each minute that passed, worry mounted, building at a steady pace.
His head hurt. He closed his eyes. The hypnotic trance of movement only achieved through excessive exercise enticed him, numbing his body. What did it say that his happy place was the newly carved-out space on the bottom floor of Dev’s building? He’d purchased an elliptical and a set of dumbbells. Cash pushed his body past his own limits every day until he could no longer feel. These few minutes alone, in this head space where nothing else existed, provided balance. The fear and anxiety in his life dissolved into a psychedelic abyss.