Page 27 of Cops and Robbers

Now that it was in his possession, he was collecting the ingredients to make it larger—even to turn it into a long-range weapon. The man who had murdered people in the Middle East in the video had killed hundreds that day. If Matsuda could make one larger, it could cause multiple people to be possessed, and they could kill thousands.

Kate turned off the computer screen, stomach revolting and her head swimming. That was what Matsuda had his hands on. That was what the Dragon SEALs were after. Kate wanted to help them not only to save lives but Naomi’s life as well. Kate breathed in deeply to get a hold of herself and kept her eyes open for anything else.

Tucked under the mounted monitor lie two picture frames. Raz hadn’t displayed photos in his entire house, yet he had pictures here?

Each picture contained the same four men as if they were family. The first photo, taken at a campsite, showed Raz sitting beside a tall, dark-complexioned man at a rustic table. Behind them, a scrawny, pale guy with ratty, wavy dark and gray hair lounged against the red tent. The last figure had his back to the lens but glanced back over his shoulder as the camera snapped.

There’s four in their group? Her research had only hinted at two of them. Setting down the photo with excitement in her shaking fingers, she walked over to the poster board. At the top were two photos, side by side. One was a photo of a figure in a black hood, and the other was a photo of a younger-looking man with cold, shrewd brown eyes and short black hair staring back at her.

The latter was Eiji Matsuda.

Kate swallowed the lump in her throat. Red strings branched from his picture in every direction, while the other one only had a few. She rose onto her toes and ran her fingertips over the black hood, obscuring the figure’s face from the camera. The name posted under the image simply read, “Midnight.”

To Kate, she was Naomi. The sister she had left in Matsuda’s clutches. But not for long, Mimi. I’m coming to save you like I should have years ago.

With a tongue that felt too thick for her mouth, she searched through all the red connections.

Thousands of bones stolen from Paris Catacombs, one article said, and another, Three dead as the largest storage of dysprosium was stolen from a Chinese mine.

The deaths were ones that weighed on Kate’s shoulders. Out of all the known victims listed, he’d only pinned one victim’s photo to the board. The man with dark features, a soft smile on his face, was gazing down at a little girl with similar features in his lap. Lukas Vogel. The significance of that photo wasn’t lost on Kate. Raz knew this man. She wasn’t sure how well, but the information created a lump in her throat. If Midnight had killed someone close to him, he’d never agree to help free her. She was even surprised he had been as nice as he was, considering his team had to believe Kate might be Midnight. And she had done her ruse that way to get their attention. But if that were the case, she’d have to play her cards close.

She didn’t know what happened to Naomi to turn her into a killer, but Kate knew it was Matsuda sending her a message. He’d never wanted Naomi. Kate was the one he wanted because she had figured out the truth and escaped him. And he’d turned Naomi into a murderer to grab Kate’s attention. Tears pricked at her eyes at the thought of what Naomi had been through.

All because of me.

If Kate didn’t free Naomi from his clutches, she feared the woman would choose to become an Archfiend to free herself from Matsuda. There would be no going back for Naomi. She’d be a monster bent on destroying humanity and Fallen for more power. Kate shook her head and concentrated on the board.

Kate was familiar with each of the robberies described in all the articles and knew every individual’s face associated with Matsuda. Raz would only be interested in this information if he had a personal stake in the case.

Her heart swelled with hope. Everything about her plan was falling into place. But she had to get the Dragon SEALs on her side first. If she didn’t, she’d have no choice but to work alone—her timeline was too fragile to break. But she knew that without their help, she’d surely fail.

“Find what you’re looking for?” a neutral-toned voice asked.

Kate whirled toward Raz, who stood a few feet behind her at another hidden entrance. Where did that door come from? The wall had been flush.

She shrugged even as sweat trickled down her palms. “Almost.”

“You almost spilled water all over my bathroom floor.”

“Figured it might grab your attention after a while. How much do you know about Matsuda?”

Raz froze, his mouth forming a displeased, flat line. “How much do you know?”

Raz’s gaze strayed to the poster board behind Kate. The picture of the man the Dragon SEALs had been hunting stared back at him. Eiji Matsuda.

“I know you had a friend look into my friend Bonnie,” Kate said.

“How the hell—“

She lifted a hand. “It’s all been a ploy, Raz. I needed to find out if you were a Dragon SEAL.”

His jaw locked, sending protesting stings through his head. So she really was baiting me this whole time. He crossed his arms and leaned against the doorframe hidden in the wall behind him. “And you know about the Dragon SEALs, how?”

“I have friends in the CIA, and I heard about the team, particularly from Matsuda’s circle.” She walked from one side of his desk to the other, running her fingertips over the wood. “The secretive group who throws grenades in everyone’s plans with the Mirage, the guy who can get in and out of places undetected. Of course, I didn’t know the dragon part was literal or that there are four members until now.” She stopped and swung toward him, her brown eyes twinkling with something close to hope.

“And how did you learn I might be a part of this team?”

She hopped up to sit on the edge of the desk. “It took some digging. The Mirage is the only one on the CIA’s radar, and even then, he’s impossible to find. But I tracked your particular service records in relation.”