‹ Prequel: Beta

Gamma

01

Savannah Decker sat in her new office, looking out at the Dallas skyline that showed perfectly from her seat. “Hey boss,” a familiar voice called out, and she looked up to see Liam Nichols standing there, a smirk on her face.

“Don’t call me that,” Savannah frowned. Yes, technically she was now Liam’s boss. She had taken over as the head of the Dallas DEA office when her old boss, Dominic Gregory, had gotten recruited to lead the Washington DC office. Liam had worked in the Dallas office a lot longer than Savannah, who had arrived in town just a few months before. But, she had eight years of prior experience working in the Chicago DEA office. Plus, Liam wouldn’t have wanted the head job anyways. He much preferred the computer work with the occasional physical chase.

Savannah had always loved the chases. She loved the rush of running after the bad guy, gun in her hand. The adrenaline pulsing through her veins when they fought back. But, she had agreed to give that up in exchange for the head DEA position, also known as sitting behind a desk and not getting her heart rate up. It wasn’t her first choice, but after getting a couple of concussions in the last chase, she finally relented to not being able to be on the front line anymore. That had made her boyfriend, Tyler Seguin, especially happy. And he’d been even happier for her when they offered her Dominic’s old job.

Savannah stared at Liam. “We still do the same jobs,” she told him. “I just sit behind a desk now.”

Liam laughed. “And make all the calls,” he reminded her. He slapped a manilla folder down on her desk in front of her. “Pablo Barolo,” he stated. “Got a call from the San Antonio office this morning. He’s smuggling drugs over the border. Heading this way.”

Savannah thumbed through the file. “Where’s he headed exactly?”

“I don’t know his final destination, but he’s in route right now. I’m tracking his phone. Poor guy isn’t smart enough to shut that off,” Liam shook his head.

Savannah smiled. “Good, meet him when he gets here,” she told him. Liam nodded his head as he exited her office.

Her phone started ringing and she glanced at the caller ID, recognizing the area code from Chicago but didn’t know the number. “Savannah Decker,” she answered the phone.

“Savannah, I heard a rumor that you worked your way up the ladder in record time and are top dog down there now,” a familiar voice sounded.

Savannah couldn’t help but smile. “Marco? Where did you hear that gossip?” she questioned her old boss. Marco Delano had been the person she reported to when she worked in Chicago. He was the equivalent of Dominic, but five inches shorter with a mouth that sometimes got him into trouble. That mouth was something that he had in common with Savannah and something he always appreciated about her.

“Good for you, Savannah. We always knew you were made to be higher up than you were here. Proud of you. No one else deserves it more.”

“Thank you,” Savannah told him sincerely.

“I do have a serious question though,” he spoke.

“Shoot,” she replied.

“You remember the Sonny Diego case?” he questioned.

Savannah’s heart nearly skipped a beat. Of course she remembered that case. It had been the one that had always escaped her. Sonny Diego was a big drug dealer in Chicago and yet she could never find enough evidence to put him behind bars. He always seemed to be one step ahead of her, and she despised that. When she left Chicago, she promised to never forget that case and would put Sonny in jail if it was the last thing she ever did.

“Of course I do,” she stated.

“We’ve got a new lead,” Marco declared. Savannah’s heartbeat picked up with excitement. “He’s got a new drug. Gamma. Performance enhancing. It’s like Ritalin on steroids. He’s targeting these young studs that are getting drafted,” he continued.

“You think you’ve got the evidence to get him this time?” Savannah asked, her intrigue piqued.

“I think we’re close. You still open to coming back to help us?” he asked her. She had told him before she’d do anything she could to help solve this case. Including coming back to Chicago. She would pack her bags now if it meant putting Sonny behind bars.

“You know I am,” she replied. She didn’t know how Tyler was going to feel when she told him she was going to be heading to Chicago to help with a case. He liked her behind the desk, safe and sound in his eyes. But it wasn’t like she was going to be battling Sonny one-on-one. Marco had new people in his office that would do the physical work. She just had the knowledge of all the background.

“I’ve got a flight for you for tomorrow,” he told her. Savannah shouldn’t have been surprised that he already booked the ticket. Everyone knew Savannah would be back in a heartbeat in this case.

“See you then,” she said, getting ready to hang up her phone.

Right before she hit the button, she heard Marco’s voice. “Oh, one more thing!”

She lifted the phone back to her ear. “Yeah?”

“I heard another rumor. You dating that hockey player down there?”

Savannah furrowed her eyebrows. What did it matter who she was dating, and who had he heard that from? It wasn’t like the Chicago DEA office was full of Dallas Stars fans that followed the players’ personal lives.

“Yes, my boyfriend plays for the Stars,” she told him.

“Good, we may need him,” Marco replied.

That got Savannah’s attention. “What do you mean, Marco?” she demanded.

“Sonny Diego’s target market is NHL scout players or ones that just got drafted,” he revealed.

Savannah inhaled deeply. “Fuck,” she muttered.

“I’ll see you tomorrow, Savannah,” Marco brought her back to reality. “Thank you for agreeing to come back.”

“I’m gonna catch the bastard,” she muttered. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” she added before hanging up the phone. She leaned her head backwards, groaning. Sonny Diego was dealing in the NHL? This was turning into a twisted case. She just hoped it was just staying in Chicago for now. She didn’t want Tyler involved in this in any way.

Her mind suddenly went to her boyfriend. She made a mental note to ask him if he knew any of the up-and-coming kids playing in the Blackhawks system. She wasn’t going to give him many details of the case, but Tyler may come in handy when it came to knowing the NHL and players in the system.

She figured she’d tell Tyler that night that she’d be going to Chicago the next morning. But, she first needed to let the two other most important people in her life know. Her twin sister, Shea Decker, and their best friend, Alex Dayton, knew everything about Savannah’s life. When Savannah had been working in Chicago and the other two had lived in Dallas, they had started a group text among the three of them, which continued to this day. They were in non-stop communication with each other. She texted the group. Anyone needs some popcorn or pizza from Chicago?

Shea: You missing your old home?

Alex: Planning a weekend trip?

Savannah: More like being sent back there

Shea: What do you mean?

Savannah: Got a call from Marco. They’ve got a lead in the Sonny Diego case. I’m headed back to Chicago tomorrow morning.


Liam walked into her office, and she sent one more quick text before setting her phone down on her desk. I can tell you two more later. See you at dinner.

She looked up at Liam. “Figure out where Barolo is?” she asked him.

“He’s headed to an old abandoned warehouse. You good with me taking Mal with me?” he asked, referring to one of the new agents in the office, Mallory Hughes.

Savannah nodded her head. “Yeah, let me know if it gets dicey. I’ll send Masters, too,” she told him. Liam agreed before heading out of her office. She felt a twinge of jealousy that he was going to capture a criminal and she was stuck in her office, but she had agreed to take a backseat to the physical work and put her health first. And, she’d still get to see him put behind bars, and that really was what mattered.

She opened her computer and found an email from Marco in her inbox. Included was her flight information as well as a file about Sonny Diego. As she scanned the document, she recognized most of the information, as she had gathered all of it when she was still working the case in Chicago. But, there were a few new things that had popped up recently about him. There was also the mention of the new DEA agent that had replaced Savannah when she had left for Dallas. Savannah didn’t know much about Maren Jacobs, but she had a feeling they would be working closely to finally catch Sonny.

The rest of the afternoon went by quickly. Liam had called and told her they were in the process of catching Barolo and he would likely be brought in before the end of today. She was happy Liam’s case was going as planned. She told him that he would be in charge of processing everything since she was on her way to Chicago the next day and was unsure when she would be back in the office.

Savannah knew she needed to leave around 5:00 in order to get to dinner reservations she had that evening, but things always seemed to pop up at work. At 5:27, she shut down her computer and put it in her bag. Just because she was headed to Chicago didn’t mean that she was going to ignore her work in Dallas. She would just have to pull double duty.

She glanced at the clock one more time and rushed to her car. She knew Tyler would give her a hard time about always running late when it came to leaving work on time. She yelled at the drivers on the road that were in her way and causing her to be even later. She still needed to change when she got home and then get to the restaurant. She and Tyler were meeting a big group of people for dinner that included her sister, Shea, and Shea’s wife, Audrey; Alex and her boyfriend, Jamie Benn; as well as Jamie’s brother, Jordie, and an old friend from back home, Emile.

“I know, I know, I’m late,” Savannah said as she ran through the front door. “I’ll change quick and be ready to go.” She didn’t even stop to greet Tyler’s dogs who were excited to see her, as she made her way to the bedroom to get into different clothes.

As she grabbed clothes out of the large closet, she suddenly noticed Tyler. He was leaning against the bedroom doorframe, just staring at her. “Yes?” she asked.

“How was work?” he asked her.

She looked at him curiously. “What have you heard?” she questioned. While Tyler was a good boyfriend, he wasn’t one to normally just ask how her day was. He had an agenda.

“Oh something about you going back to Chicago,” he revealed.

Savannah frowned.”Who opened their mouth?” she asked as she slipped her shirt off and replaced it with a new one. She noticed Tyler briefly get distracted by her half nakedness, but he quickly recovered and came back to their conversation.

“Your sister,” he said. He didn’t seem angry. Maybe he’d just learned he couldn’t step in between Savannah and her job. Everyone knew he’d tried before and failed. “She said you’re going back for some open case?” he asked.

Savannah shimmied out of her pants and changed into a pair of shorts that went well with her top. Living in Dallas in the summer meant that shorts were a must, especially when meeting friends for dinner. “Yeah, which reminds me. I have a question for you,” she spoke. “Tell me about the biggest names for the Blackhawks that are up and coming.”

Tyler stared at her. “Why are you asking me that?’ he inquired. “And you never answered my question. You’re going back for an open case?”

“To answer your question, yes, I’m going back for an open case,” she told him without going into any more details. She could tell that frustrated him, and she decided to throw him a bone. “I was working on this case forever when I was there. But, we could never catch the guy. We either didn’t have enough evidence to convict him or he’d just flat out escape us. My old boss called me today and said they had a new lead. I’ve always said I’m going back if it meant catching the bastard, so I’m going back. Tomorrow,” she added. She waited on him to say something, but when he didn’t, she decided to go back to her question for him. “So, those big names for the Blackhawks that are up and coming?” she asked again.

“I’m confused. Why are you asking me that?”

“It has to do with the case. I can’t say much more than that,” she told him.

Tyler looked at her confused. “The case has to do with the Blackhawks? What the hell? You deal with drug dealers. You can’t be telling me someone is dealing drugs out there,” he shook his head.

“I really don’t know much,” she told him the truth as she ran her brush through her hair quickly before deciding to just throw it up in a pony tail anyways. “Marco just mentioned that it has to do with the scouts out there. I’m going there to figure out more. I just didn’t know if you knew any of their new kids out there?”

Tyler shook his head. “I don’t,” he told her.

“We can talk more about this later. We’re already going to be late for dinner,” she told him, leaving the bathroom in their master bedroom and heading back towards the living room.

Tyler followed her. “And whose fault is that?” he asked with a chuckle.

“I’m texting Alex and Shea and letting them know we’re on our way. You want to drive?” she asked, though she already knew the answer. Tyler hated the way she drove, and he would always drive when they went somewhere together.

“Yes,” he said, grabbing his keys and wallet and opening the door for her. “Bye, boys,” he said to the three dogs as Savannah walked out the door.

“I told them you were late getting home from golfing,” she said with a smile.

Tyler’s eyes widened. “You’re such a liar!” he cried.

“Me? A government employee lying? Never!” she smirked.

Tyler rolled his eyes but didn’t say anything as he unlocked his SUV. “Get in,” he ordered.

“Yes, sir!” she said sarcastically as she pulled open the passenger door and hopped inside. “Better drive quick. We have four minutes to make it there on time,” she told him, though she knew it would take them a minimum of ten minutes to get there.

“I accept the challenge,” Tyler smirked as he turned the ignition on and sped out of the parking garage.
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Tyler & Savannah are back! I'm super excited for this story and hope you all are, too. You'll meet some new faces and see some old familiar ones as well. Let me know what you think!