“Thanks.” He took the wet rag and ran it over his face. After that, Olly rinsed out his mouth a half-a-dozen times before filling a glass with water and forcing himself to take slow, easy drinks.
“We will find her. We just have to figure out where Manning could have taken her.”
“Someplace close,” Wade surmised. “A plan like this…he’d need to hide that truck as soon as possible.” When Olly sent him a questioning stare, he explained, “There has to be damage to the front of the truck he used to run Izzy and Scarlett off the road. He’d want to hide that shit fast to avoid being spotted by the police.”
Because there’d been a BOLO—Be On The Lookout—put out over every law enforcement agency in the tri-state area.
“Our people are checking with any known associates connected with Manning and Valdez.”
Valdez. Valdez. That’s where this whole had thing started. And if it’s one thing Olly had learned from his time in prison and out…
The best place to start was always at the beginning.
“This is about Valdez,” he announced. All eyes went to him, so he quickly explained his train of thought. “Manning may have been running the operation, but Valdez was the one who owned it. And when Valdez was taken down, Victor Manning wasn’t even on our radar.”
“You’re right.” Noah nodded. “It was Valdez and his other partner.”
“Maria Sanchez,” Grady chimed back in. “She was the bitch who managed La Concina.”
“And she’s the bitch who lured Rose into Valdez’s car the night she went missing.”
“So Valdez gets dead, courtesy of our boy Grady, and Sanchez gets picked up and sent to prison,” Declan continued for them.
Olly picked up where the detective left off. “We thought the whole operation was shut down after that, but we now know that wasn’t the case.”
“Which means Manning was working for Valdez…” Grady added. “Or rather the one person left who could still be in charge.”
“Maria Sanchez.” Olly looked to Noah, since he was the highest ranking law enforcement official in the room. “Where is she serving her sentence?”
A smile formed on Noah’s face. “Denver Women’s Correctional Facility, over on Havana.”
Hope bloomed in Olly’s chest for the first time since receiving Grady’s terrifying call. “That’s only fifteen minutes from here.”
“Less than that if I’m driving.” Wade headed for the door.
Olly was right on the man’s heels, and when he looked like he was going to stop him, Olly shook his head and let him know, “I’m coming with you.”
“You’re a felon, Olly.”
“And the man who took Scarlett only did so because she and I were trying to do your damn job for you! So work whatever FBI magic you have to, but I am coming with you.”
Wade looked to Noah, who gave his partner a nod. “Come on.” Noah took the lead. “You and Grady can ride with us.”
Grady turned to Declan, who was already putting a hand up to wave them away. “I’ve got Izzy. Go. Just be careful. And keep me posted.”
Olly and the others ran out of that house and to what he prayed would lead them to Scarlett. And one tense meeting—and a cushy deal from the A.D.A. the woman didnotdeserve—and they were back on the road and headed out of the city.
A cabin. That’s where Manning had taken his Scarlett. A fucking cabin in the middle of the fucking woods. Because that’s what Maria had ordered him to do.
As part of her deal, she’d told them everything. How Manning had gotten a message to her about the FBI raid on the club. How she’d orchestrated the false Washington leads from behind bars to throw authorities off Manning’s trail.
And how she’d used an inside informant—a vice cop who was currently being booked and charged with a slew of charges that would land his ass in jail for at least a couple decades—to get Scarlett’s real name, photo I.D., and where she was staying.
Which meant Manning had been keeping eyes on Olly’s place. And they hadn’t even known it.
Nausea rolled in his gut, but he fought the urge to puke a second time. He needed to stay strong. For Scarlett. Because he would find her. He would find her and bring her back to him, where she belonged.
And the first chance he got he was going to tell her how he felt. No more waiting for the perfect moment. Because this situation right here was proof that those precious moments were never a guarantee.