Unwanted Blood (Harper) novel Chapter 82

Chapter 82

Harper’s POV

Colton finished adjusting the bandage on his leg and looked up from the sofa. “I’ll tomorrow. He just set the trap. He won’t expect us to come again so soon.”

I put my glass of water down on the coffee table. “No.”

Colton’s brow furrowed. “Why not?”

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“Because he’s waiting for us.” I held his gaze. “He’s leaving those breadcrumbs for us to follow. He wants us to keep chasing.”

I stood and walked to the table. The satellite printout was still there, folded at the creases, the edges curled from being handled too many times.

“Since the moment we got that recording, he’s been buying time.” I tapped the map with one finger. “The hospital delay. The lawyer’s injunction. The staged illness. The trap at the facility. Every single move was designed to keep us occupied, to keep us running, to keep us acting instead of thinking.”

I looked around the room. “And we’ve been playing his game the whole time. We’ve been reacting to every move he makes, chasing every shadow, falling into every trap.” I let that sit for a second. “But we don’t need to chase him anymore. The evidence is complete. What we need to do is hand it to the right person, and make sure the police can’t be blocked by his lawyers. That’s the path that actually brings him down.”

The room was quiet for a long time.

Ryder spoke first. His voice was low, stripped of the anger he’d been carrying since the night before.

“You’re right.” He was looking at the floor, his bandaged shoulder pulled tight against his chest. “We’ve been letting him pull the strings.”

Colton was sitting with his injured leg propped on the footstool. His voice was rough. “Indeed. I kept thinking one more scout and we’d have him.” He shook his head slowly. “But catching him doesn’t matter. As long as he’s alive, he can delay. He can appeal. He can find a loophole and walk. ”

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Chapter 82

288 Vouchers

I softened my voice “I’m not saying you were wrong.” I looked at him directly. “Without that scout, we wouldn’t even know where he is. You did the job. Now we need a different approach.”

Colton looked up. “How do you hand over the evidence?”

“I need someone who can bypass the lawyers and file directly.” I thought it through as I spoke. “Not the local precinct-Dylan’s lawyers have influence there. We need a federal angle. Cross- border commercial fraud. The kind of charge that doesn’t care about his connections because the investigating agency doesn’t operate in his jurisdiction.”

Ryder spoke from the sofa. “I know someone. Vancouver, International Commercial Crime Division. Good investigator. Clean record.” He paused. “But I don’t know if Dylan’s bought him. Westbrook has reach. I can’t guarantee the line is clean.”

“Then we verify before we hand anything over.” I met his gaze. “We confirm the channel is clear. If it’s compromised, we find another one. But we don’t move until we know.”

Ryder’s POV

The discussion wound down after that.

Harper moved to the table to collect the map. At the same time, Adrian reached for it from the other side.

Their barely fingertips touched above the paper. Adrian pulled his hand back immediately. Fast. Like he’d been burned.

Harper didn’t think anything of it. “You want to keep it?” Her tone was casual. Routine. As if nothing had happened.

I caught Colton’s eye across the room. He’d seen it too. Neither of us said anything. We didn’t need to.

Adrian nodded, then he took the map, folded it along the existing creases, and set it on his lap.

Harper left the living room and headed for the kitchen. The hallway swallowed her silhouette.

I waited until her footsteps faded. Then I stood.

My right shoulder burned with every movement-pain made me deliberate-but I was steady. I crossed the living room and stopped in front of where Adrian was sitting.

“Step outside with me.”

Colton was already on his feet, followed me.

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11:43

Chapter 82

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