Free Hurricane Force (A Miss Fortune Mystery Book 7) by Jana DeLeon Page B

tendencies that got agents killed, but he wasn’t an alarmist.  
    “I don’t think the roads are clear yet,” I said. “What did you find out?”
    “Two of Ahmad’s men were spotted at a casino in New Orleans. A field agent made them at a craps table. They passed off some of the fake hundreds.”
    I blew out a breath. I’d been hoping for the best, but I’d gotten the absolute worst. “You’re sure it’s the same money?” I asked, even though I already knew the answer. Harrison would have made them check the money five times over to be sure.
    “The field agent got with the manager and got the bills. They match the ones that were passed off before. I don’t have to tell you how serious this is. Ahmad missing and his men turning up in New Orleans with the counterfeit money…they’re too close.”
    I thought about the hundred-dollar bill in my pocket. “You have no idea.”
    “What do you mean?”
    I filled Harrison in on the windstorm of hundreds that had hit Sinful. I’d barely finished when he started a string of cursing. “You’ve got to get out of there. I don’t care if you leave by boat or on foot. Hell, I can send a helicopter.”
    “Because that wouldn’t be noticeable. And where would I go? New Orleans is clearly out, and that’s the nearest big city. The airport and bus station are out. If Ahmad has any idea that I’m here, he’ll have men watching those places.”
    “Well, you can’t stay put, either. You’re a sitting duck in that town with only one way out. And despite the fact that we worked carefully on your cover image, you’ve managed to stick out like a sore thumb with all the crap you’ve wound up in the middle of.”
    I started to argue, but didn’t have a good comeback. The truth was, he was right. I had done a horrible job of disappearing into small-town America. I’d been in the fat middle of every major crime that had happened in Sinful since I’d arrived and managed to complicate things even more by dating a deputy. It was like I’d never received a day of training in my life. And while I didn’t regret any of the things I’d done, I could totally understand why Harrison was so frustrated.
    And then an idea began to form…it was a long shot, but hadn’t my entire trip to Louisiana been just that?  
    “You’re thinking about this all wrong,” I said.
    “I don’t think so.”
    “You’re trying to get me to safety, but safety is an illusion until Ahmad is dead. If he’s discovered the counterfeit money, and the presence of his men suggests that he has, then this is a prime opportunity to take him down.”
    “No way. It’s too dangerous.”
    “How is it any more dangerous than doing it overseas? I have an advantage here. We have no reason to think that Ahmad knows I’m here. We suspected he had new buyers in the area before I ever blew cover. He won’t be expecting me. We can take him down—make this entire mess go away forever.”
    “Do you even hear yourself? Mounting an operation would take weeks. We have days at the most. And with that storm that just blew through, law enforcement availability will be at an all-time low.”
    “So fly them in. Call one of your buddies at the FBI and tell him this is his chance to put a promotion in the bag. Buy him season tickets to whatever sports team he’s into. Hell, buy him a hooker. Just make it happen.”
    Harrison went silent, and I knew he was running through all the possibilities.
    “I’m not really a librarian,” I said quietly. “Let me do my job.”
    He sighed. “Damn it, Fortune. Let me talk to Morrow and see what he thinks.”
    “But you’re with me on this?”
    “God help me, but yeah, I am. I’ll text you once I’ve talked to Morrow.”
    I disconnected and shoved the phone back into my pocket. Ida Belle must have been watching from the living room, because she pushed the door open and came outside, under the guise of retrieving the hamburger buns. She pulled a garbage bag from the