Page 34 of Shadow

“Sandra’s protective.”

“She’s like that with everyone.” He wrapped both hands around the fresh mug, steam rising. “When I transferred here eighteen months ago, she adopted me.”

“Tell me about the timeline.” She needed to focus. “When is Roger being released?”

“Tomorrow. Friday afternoon. Two p.m.”

“And Destiny?”

“Her safe house was breached. She was already out, but she’s compromised. She’ll be kept with Roger.”

“And if Roger and Destiny don’t testify?”

“Case collapses.”

Everything riding on two people.

Two people Draven Frost wanted dead.

Two people Daphne had to keep alive.

“What’s Draven’s current status?”

“Don’t know.” Asher finished his coffee and tossed his cup into the trash. “He doesn’t do his dirty work, so…” He lifted a shoulder.

“He wasn’t at the courthouse.”

Again, the shoulder lift.

“Why eighteen months?” She looked up. “Why has this case taken eighteen months to build?”

Asher’s expression shifted. “Actually, it started long before that in Denver. But when things heated up in Renegade, I moved here to join the field office.” His eyes regarded her, a little coolness in them. “Building a RICO case takes time.”

True.

But not complete.

“What’s your endgame?” she asked. “Personally. What do you want from this?”

“To take down the syndicate. Stop the trafficking. Get justice for the victims.”

“That’s the official answer.”

“It’s the real answer.”

“Is it?”

Something flickered in his expression. Then his mouth opened, closed, and a sigh. She thought that might be all she’d get, until he said quietly, “I want to stop feeling like I’ve failed everyone who needed me.”

Martha?

She stared at him. “You tried to save her.”

“Trying isn’t the same as succeeding.”

No. It wasn’t.

“Roger and Destiny won’t be Martha Lintz.” She said it with more confidence than she felt. “I don’t fail.”