Chapter 22: The Reckoning

*Dante*

I took a deep breath, trying to steady my nerves, as Nicolo filled me in on the dead ends they'd hit so far in the search. I was just about to tell him to widen the net when my secure phone buzzed–it was Jimmy, my guy in the Marshals' office.  

"Whatcha got for me, Jimmy?" I asked, stepping away for some privacy.

"So here's the deal with this Penny chick," Jimmy said, his voice crackling over the encrypted line. "Feds have had eyes on her for a while now. Her mom was busted decades ago and took a deal to become an informant. Since then her mom's been feeding them info, trying to stay out of the slammer herself. Word is, they were grooming Penny to infiltrate your crew."

I felt a chill run through me as the pieces started coming together. This wasn't just some personal beef Penny had with me. She was a sleeper agent, sent in to spy on us, maybe even set us up for an ambush.