“I guess we’ll find out.”
An hour later, they sat with the rest of the Team in the ops room at The Cave, the Team’s headquarters, while Megs ran through roll call of the principle Team members. Victoria had come with them as Eric’s guest. Lexi was a supporting Team member in her own right and had a special interest in this, so she’d come, too.
Megs stood at the far end of the conference table, Ahearn, her partner, sitting next to her. “…Chaska Belcourt. Harrison Conrad. Sasha Dillon…”
Sasha waved to Victoria, mouthing the words, “I love your dress!”
Eric couldn’t remember ever seeing Sasha in a dress, but okay.
Megs droned on. “Dave Hatfield. Eric Hawke. Creed Herrera. Jesse Moretti. Malachi O’Brien. Isaac Rogers. Gabe Rossiter. Nicole Turner. Austin Taylor. How’s the weeklong fertility rite going, Taylor?”
Everyone laughed.
Taylor took Lexi’s hand, a look passing between them. “It’s going well. Thanks for asking. Tomorrow’s the climax.”
More laughter.
There was an evil glint in Megs’ eyes. “Ahearn and I are coming.”
And it was downhill from there.
When the dirty puns subsided, Megs got down to business. “Ted Breece, who relieved us of seventy-two thousand six hundred dollars, has been apprehended in Miami. He was pulled over when an officer ran his plates and discovered they were stolen. Apparently, he’d been hiding out with an ex-girlfriend. He is now enjoying the fine hospitality of the Miami-Dade Pre-Trial Detention Center.”
The room exploded in cheers.
Eric had just one question. “Is it going to be difficult to extradite him to Colorado? If he’s facing charges in Florida …”
“My understanding is that once our governor issues an extradition request, Breece will go before a judge in Florida. The court will decide whether there are enough facts to support extradition. After that, Breece will fly the friendly skies back to Denver. He’s facing two felony warrants here, and, thanks to Lexi, we’ve got lots of documentation.”
Lexi beamed. “This is almost like a wedding present.”
“Any chance we’ll get that money back?” Conrad asked.
Megs shrugged. “I seriously doubt it. Breece had a bad gambling habit. He probably blew it all before he skipped town.”
Megs went through what the DA had told them they could expect once Breece reached the state and the kind of prison sentence that might await him. Then she asked them all to write an impact statement—a description of how his crime had affected them as an individual volunteer with the Team.
“Can’t they just turn him over to us?” Moretti asked through a dark scowl.
Eric thought that scowl probably had less to do with Breece and more to do with what had happened earlier this week. Moretti seemed sharper edged than usual. Or maybe it was Eric’s imagination.
“I appreciate the sentiment, Moretti, but vigilante justice hasn’t been legal here for a while now,” Megs answered. “I don’t want any of you writing to him to give him a piece of your mind. Let the justice system handle it, and keep the Team’s reputation clean. Got it?”
After the meeting, Eric offered to give Victoria a tour.
“I got a tour last time, but you can show me around again.”
So he did, answering her questions, going into a bit more detail than he otherwise might, doing all he could to make the moment last. He didn’t want to say goodnight. They only had tonight and tomorrow, and then …
She finally ended the tour when she saw that Lexi was leaving. “I need to go help Lexi get her things. She’s staying at the inn tonight. You probably know that, don’t you?”
“I’ll make sure the groom memorizes his vows. I also need to write the best man speech. Do you have your speech ready?”
She rolled her pretty eyes. “As if … I had it ready before I flew out here.”
“Overachiever.”
“Do you want help?”