Page 51 of Kevin's Destiny

“And?”

“Abby, her name was Abby Strokes, and this trainer, the one I was waiting for information to come back on, is a first cousin to the murder victim.”

Yvonne looked at him in shock, and pulled a chair to the side of his desk and sat down heavily. “Do you think he’s posing as a trainer, and is here to get to you?”

“No clue. According to other things I’ve dug up, this Strokes has only been working for the owner Shedrick for a month. I don’t know if he’s after me, or if the gang is branching out into legitimate business, trying to corrupt them.”

“Where is Shedrick based out of?” She looked at him then widened her eyes. She reached for the pad of paper in front of him to take her own notes, and jerked back as thoughts struck her. “Wait, how did Cole know about Shedrick? Did he reach out to us, or did Cole reach out to him? How long ago did Cole get the application from Shedrick? How is his background check? Where is he from?”

Kevin gathered the papers on the desk in front of him, and organized them. When they were in the order he wanted, they went over them one by one. “Shedrick lives here in Colorado,” he said, and showed her the address.

“That’s about forty-five minutes north of Denver.” She held up her finger, jumped to her feet, and ran out of the office. She was back in under a minute with her laptop. She laid it on his desk, and Kevin watched as her fingers flew across the keys, then swore.

“What?”

“According to Google Earth, the address of Shedrick is in a suburb, and there isn’t enough room for a horse. Let alone a racehorse.” They both looked at the location on the computer, and she looked at him with a worried look. “Call Cole and gethim here. I’m going to call Harmon to see if he’s left for Seattle yet.”

Kevin nodded and picked up his phone to dial. Yvonne walked out of the office, went to hers and picked up her own phone.

“SSA Harmon,” came the barked reply, and he sounded rushed.

“It’s Wilson, have you left for Seattle yet?”

“Not yet, I had a last-minute meeting, I’m leaving for the airport in an hour.”

“Don’t.” She practically screamed at him. At the movement in her doorway, she looked at Kevin. “Hold on a sec, Harmon,” she said, and turned to Kevin. “Harmon’s leaving for the airport in an hour.”

“Cole said that Shedrick reached out to him last week. Bring Harmon here. I can call over to Ryan and have backup here by the time Harmon gets here.”

“Harmon, I’m a security guard for a rich rancher. I do background checks. I work side-by-side with Kevin Lassiter. The project we are currently working on is running checks on potential owners, trainers, and jockeys. You’re on speaker.” She pushed the button and set the phone on the desk. “This morning, Kevin was waiting for one last piece of information to come in about his check.”

“Okay.”

“The guy labeled as the horse trainer is the first cousin to a woman by the name of Abby Strokes.”

“Who’s that?”

“The woman in the prison that my ex-wife killed. The woman that made the call to the gang in Seattle about the bingo card.”

“Fuck me,” Harmon whispered faintly. “Do you know where he is?”

“Not right now, but we’re going to set him up.”

“How?”

“I made a call, and I have eight former SEALs, five former military personnel, me, Yvonne, and another retired FBI agent at my disposal. They will be at our location in thirty minutes. We’re going to lay it all out and plan. I’m inviting you down to sit in on the planning, but when it comes to the take down, I’m going to tell you right now that my guys will be in charge.” He looked at Yvonne and they exchanged a nod.

“You will be on private property, and one of the owners is one of the former SEALs, he was the Lieutenant of their team.”

“This isn’t how I normally work, Lassiter, but from the sounds of it, you have everything under control. If this will lead me to any of the gang members we have been after for years, then I’ll follow your lead. I only ask that we can take them off your hands once the arrests are made.”

“By all means, take out the trash,” Kevin said, and Yvonne realized his voice had turned hard, and it sort of turned her on by his take charge attitude.

Yvonne gave him the address, and Harmon said he would be there in four hours before he rang off.

“What now?” Yvonne asked. “I’m going to have you take the lead on this. I’ll back you in whatever you need.”

“Thank you,” he said with a release of air, walked around the desk, and gathered her into his arms. After holding her for several long minutes, he placed a gentle kiss on her lips, hugged her tightly for a few seconds, then stepped back. “I’m going to gather my information. The guys should be here within thirty minutes.”