Shade(194)
The door opened and Lucky came inside, closing the door with a serious expression instead of the affable one he normally wore around Lily and Beth. He was wearing jeans and a T-shirt, which Shade was sure was a hell of a lot more comfortable than the suits he usually had on.
The women gaping at him in shock weren’t staring at the jeans and shirt, though; they were gawking at the ATF jacket and hat he wore.
“Beth, Lily.”
“Why are you wearing that?” Lily asked, standing up, her face turning pale.
“Because I’m an ATF Special Agent. I’ve been undercover since I took over your father’s church. It’s taken me this long, and over forty agents, to shut down a pipeline which carried drugs and firearms through nine different states.”
When Lily’s pale face flushed with color, Shade knew she was remembering the different times she had confided in the pastor she admired.
Lucky continued, “When Cash joined the military, he never forgot you two. He was especially sickened with Beth’s treatment, and he knew it wouldn’t be much longer before Lily would be receiving the same. Shade’s father, Will Hunter, had retired, so Cash asked him to stop by Treepoint to check on you two.”#p#分页标题#e#
Lily’s eyes flew to Shade at the mention of his father, the former sheriff.
“I was going to tell you when Dad came back into town next week. Think, Lily; why would I hide that from you when I’ve confessed to much worse than that?”
Lily nodded. Thankfully, she seemed to believe he was telling the truth.
“When he stayed here those few days, Will decided he liked it enough to stay indefinitely. He and his wife both were tired of moving around so much and wanted a break from it.
“They settled here, and as you both know, it wasn’t long before he gained enough respect to become sheriff. That’s where his military training came in handy. He soon discovered the pipeline and notified the proper authorities.” Dean walked farther into the office, leaning against the corner of Knox’s desk.
“This is where the conversation becomes confidential.” Lucky stared at both of the women, giving them a silent warning. “I had left the military and joined The Last Riders. I had been in the Seals and had served as a military chaplain, but when I left the service, I no longer felt the call to serve as a pastor, so I left that part of my life behind. But I wasn’t content. I missed the action of being in the military, so when the CIA approached The Last Riders to become a paramilitary group, we accepted.
“That’s how we ended up in Treepoint to begin an investigation. The ATF offered me a position as a Special Agent to lead the investigation, but I had to go undercover to do so. The people who had begun developing leads ended up dead, so I waited for a way to enter the community that would be above suspicion.”
Beth cut in. “Our parents’ deaths created the perfect opportunity.” Her face had gone as white as Lily’s as she gazed at Razer.
“Sadly, yes. I’m sorry.” Dean paused then continued, “I became Pastor Dean and began my investigation. It’s taken me all these years to gather enough evidence to win my cases. I was a week away from making my arrests. I even had the warrants ready to go, but it all came crashing down today. “
“Why today?” Beth asked.
Shade silently watched Lily’s reaction to Lucky’s bombshell, knowing Lily only wanted to get away.
“Because of Lily. We pooled all our available resources together, but to do that, I had to break my cover.”
“I’m sorry,” Lily said. Even after learning she had been betrayed by Dean, she was apologizing.
“Thanks to Shade’s quick thinking, we were able to serve the warrants in a two-hour mass bust and arrested three-fourths of the people we were after, and we’re confident we’ll be able to locate the remaining ones.”
“How?” Lily asked, visibly relieved.
“We had interagency cooperation. It was one of the deals Shade made for The Last Riders. In return, they sold the pending patents’ right to a technical computer system for pennies on the dollar than they would have made.
“One of the conditions was that they had to use their technology to help find you.”
It was the use of the planes which had cost both him and Lucky. It required special clearance and technology which were only used to find terrorists in other countries. Unless the agencies all agreed, with the permission granted by an office of extreme power, they would have never found her in time. When Lily’s location had been pinpointed, the Porters had been close by and had moved in with enough fire power and skill to save her.