The room went quiet. Everyone understood the implications. The police chief believed his daughter had been killed by the same people he suspected of murdering Becca Matthews. The woman looked pointedly at Dom.
“I need to call my dad,” Valeria said, the words coming out before she could stop them. “He needs to know I’m alive and that I’m working this case.”
“Too dangerous,” Dom said immediately. “They could be monitoring all official communications.”
“My father is tearing apart this county looking for me,” Valeria shot back. “I need to get him to back off.”
The weathered man exchanged glances with the woman. “Chief Reynolds won’t call off the search without proof his daughter’s alive.”
“Having every cop in the state looking for her makes our job impossible if she’s here,” the large man added carefully, clearly choosing his words around Valeria’s presence.
The woman studied Valeria with calculating eyes. “What exactly would you tell him?”
“That I’m safe. That I’m onto something big with the Becca Matthews case, and I need to lie low for a few days. That he needs to stop the search.”
“Not happening,” Dom shot back.
“I’m not asking for permission,” Valeria said, her voice gaining steel. “I’m telling you what’s going to happen. I’m calling my father, with or without your cooperation.”
Dom’s alpha energy flared, but her bear met it with stubborn resistance.
“Multiple proxy routing established,” the quiet man announced. “Encrypted channel ready. Maybe five minutes before someone traces this back.”
Dom looked around at his team and then back at Valeria. “Limited information. Five minutes.”
“Agreed.” Valeria accepted the headset with steady hands. The phone dialed, and her dad picked up.
“Hello?”
“Dad?”
“Valeria! Jesus Christ, where are you? We’ve had every available unit searching. Your patrol car was found abandoned…”
“I’m okay,” she interrupted quickly. “Dad, listen carefully. I’m safe. I’m working the Becca Matthews case, and I’m onto something big. I need you to call off the search.”
“What? Slow down. Where are you? I’m coming to get you right now.”
“I can’t tell you that yet. But I’m following a lead that could break this whole thing open. I need a few days to work it.”
Around the room, she could see Dom’s team exchanging glances.
“Absolutely not. We found signs of…”
“Dad, listen to me carefully,” Valeria interrupted, her voice dropping to a more serious tone. “This might be an inside job. Someone with access to emergency communications. I can’t risk blowing my cover by going through official channels.”
The silence on the other end stretched long enough that she wondered if the connection had been lost.
“Inside job?” Heath’s voice was tight with controlled anger. “You’re telling me someone in my department…”
“I don’t know yet. But the Becca Matthews murder is connected to something bigger. Someone knew exactly how to exploit emergency response protocols. I need to stay dark until I figure out who.”
“Valeria, if there’s corruption in the department, we handle it internally. You don’t go rogue.”
“I’m not rogue, I’m undercover. Unofficial, but undercover. Give me forty-eight hours to work this lead.”
“Tell me where you are right now,” Heath’s voice carried absolute authority. “I’m coming to get you.”
“I can’t give you location details yet,” she said finally. “But if I don’t check in within forty-eight hours, resume the search. Until then, please trust me on this.”
