Page 163 of Risky Obsession

“I’d rather he lived to pay for his crimes,” I snapped.

“Okay.” Kane stood, raising his hands.

Shit. That was a bit aggressive. “Sorry. I just hate it when people don’t suffer for crimes that hurt other people.”

His face twisted into an expression that I couldn’t read as he backed away. “Yep. Okay. Don’t be long.”

“Kane. Sorry, it’s just?—”

“It’s okay. Make your call to Aria.” He strode out the door.

Goddammit.

I dialed Aria.

“Aria Morgan.” Her brisk tone commanded authority.

“Aria, it’s Lacey.”

“Lacey. Jesus, I’ve been trying to get hold of you.”

“I know.”

I told her about Kane nearly drowning, how I’d captured the killer, and how I believed he also killed Gunter Sachs and the staff at the fancy chateau we stayed at. I finished with details of him trying to kill us.

“Son of a bitch! Who is he?” Her voice sharpened.

“I’m hoping you can tell me. I’ll send you his photo.” I sent her all threephotos I took of his bloody face, and I zoomed in on his image as I waited for her response.

“Son of a bitch,” Aria stammered. “That’s Cooper Apollo. The bastard who tried to kill my team and then stole the gold from us in Kyrgyzstan.”

“I thought so,” I said. “You ready for more bad news?”

Aria groaned. “What now?”

“He was on the phone when I whacked him over the head, so the call was live. He was talking to Grant Hughes.”

“What the fuck!”

“I couldn’t believe it either. Do you have any leads on Hughes?”

“No. We doubt Grant Hughes is his real name, though. We’re still picking through the rubble that used to be his house, but so far, we haven’t found anything useful. And on top of that, we’ve had no sightings of him or his chopper.”

“Bloody hell. I told you he’d been planning that escape for a while. I have the number Cooper was talking to him on. Maybe it will lead to something.” I relayed the last number dialed on that phone.

“Thanks, but I have a feeling it will be a dead end. He probably had it encrypted. Sneaky fucker.”

“Aria, speaking of sneaky, I’m one hundred percent certain my phone was tapped.” I gave her a summary of my reasoning.

“Shit. I’m not happy about that.”

“No, I bet.”

“Lacey, you did some excellent detective work over there.”

“Thanks, Aria. Captain Watts isn’t happy with me.”

“I’ll handle him. Listen, Cooper’s connection to Hughes confirms he’s involved with Chui’s criminal empire that never seems to end.” She released an exasperated sigh. “I need to talk to him.”