Hidden Prey (Lawmen) by Cheyenne McCray

messages, Laura always came across as sarcastic and put out. She clearly didn’t like her job.
    Tori thanked her and disconnected the call. When she handed Landon his phone, she saw concern in his gaze. She repeated what she’d been told.
    “What are we going to do?” she asked him.
    Landon raised his phone. “I’ll call the Tucson Police Department again and file a missing persons report. Usually the police wouldn’t consider him missing yet. But the cartel’s involvement changes that.”
    She listened to him file the report and then he disconnected the call.
    “There’s nothing you can do right now.” He appeared to be trying to give her the news in a way that wouldn’t upset her. “Our main concern is keeping you safe. We have agents watching your parents’ house and the Tucson Police Department is looking for your ex-boyfriend.”
    For a moment there was silence between them as he clearly let her come to terms with what he’d said.
    “What else do you need from me?” She tried to sound less shaky than she felt.
    “This is a witness statement.” He pulled up a form on the center screen and started typing. “Let’s go over all of it again and see if you can remember anything else.”
    Feeling as if everything had become surreal, Tori once again began giving her account of what had happened.
    When she finished, he looked at her, his expression serious. “Is there anything else you can remember?”
    She shook her head. “Not that I can recall.” She frowned and scrunched her nose as she thought about it. “It seems like there’s something, other than the name, that I’m missing. I just can’t remember.”
    “Do you think revisiting the site would help?” Landon asked.
    “I don’t know.” She pictured the scene. “Maybe.”
    “Let’s go.” Landon pushed back his chair and Tori did the same. He cleared the monitors before they walked out the door.
    The ride to Bisbee from the DHS ICE office didn’t take long. Landon worked over details in his mind and Tori seemed to be lost in her own thoughts. Tori’s guard detail followed in an SUV behind them.
    When they reached the site, police tape was up and the white car that Miguel had been driving was gone. The vehicle was U.S. Government property, an undercover vehicle, and would have been moved to another location where it would be photographed, searched for evidence, and so on.
    Landon’s mind turned to the scene last night. He remembered the unrecognizable face and his blood boiled.
    Sonofabitch. They had to get these bastards.
    He thought about Miguel’s wife and two kids, and gripped the steering wheel tighter. Landon needed to pay his respects to Jane. The memorial service would no doubt be scheduled for the following week.
    When they pulled up to the site, the SUV with Tori’s guard detail stopped beside them. Landon trusted the two agents assigned to protect Tori, but he couldn’t help but feel like he needed to be there for her, too. He’d never felt that way with any witness, and he shouldn’t be feeling this way with Tori.
    Even the thought of having her get on the witness stand was hard to handle. He didn’t like the idea of putting her in even more danger than she was already.
    He parked the SUV and turned to Tori. “Stay here.”
    She wore one of his other ball caps and a blue overshirt he’d kept in his truck, so she was wearing something different than the last time. However, he wasn’t taking any chances by letting her out of the car.
    When Landon climbed out of the vehicle, he searched the area with his gaze. The two agents in the other vehicle, O’Donnell and Johnson, were still assigned to Tori.
    Both Johnson and O'Donnell looked around, attempting to make sure the area was secure.
    Agent O’Donnell looked at Landon. “It’s too open. Too many places a sniper could be hiding.”
    “We’ll make this quick.” Landon opened the passenger door and met Tori’s gaze. “Stay in the SUV and try to remember everything