Chapter 21
Dakota
“Your girlfriend is scary as hell,” I whisper next to Crow while we watch Thorne Bishop's interrogation from the adjacent room.
“Detective Alvarez is your girlfriend?” Anna asks, confused.
“Hell yeah, and you don't know the half of it. When she interrogates you, she won't let go until she gets everything you know. Speaking from experience — she put me in jail,” the hacker confirms.
“Your girlfriend put you in jail?”
Anna stares at us in amazement, probably trying to figure out if Crow's joking or telling the truth.
“Well, maybe I deserved it. She was real professional about it, though. Arrested me in the morning, and by night I was in cuffs. Not the fun kind,” she quips, raising her eyebrows. “Though I'll admit she's the best. When I got out, she tried to put me back in for something I didn't do, but that's another story.”
In the interrogation room, Detective Isabella Alvarez calmly opens a brown folder. Her movements are deliberately slow, calculated to build tension.
“Mr. Bishop,” she begins in a quiet voice. “Do you know why you're here?”
“My lawyer…”
“Your lawyer is on his way,” she interrupts without raising her voice. “But you and I both know that when he arrives, it'll be too late.”
“Too late?”
“For a deal.”
Thorne shifts uncomfortably in a metal chair that creaks under his weight. The detective maintains silence, waiting. It's a technique I've seen before. Silence scares more than questions.
“See how she plays him?” Crow comments. “She's an artist. Makes you think you got a chance and then, bam! Crushes you like a roach.”
“What deal?” Thorne finally asks, though his voice has lost its characteristic confidence.
“The one that could keep you from spending the rest of your life in prison,” Isabella responds, laying out several photographs. “We have evidence of conspiracy to commit murder, corporate fraud, stock market manipulation…”
“You can't prove anything.”
Isabella smiles. It's a smile I've seen before on others. The smile of a predator who knows they've caught their prey.
“Are you sure?” she asks, sliding a photograph. “Do you recognize this warehouse? Or do you need me to refresh your memory about this morning's kidnapping? By the way, Mr. Bishop, do you know what happens to people like you in maximum security? It's not pleasant, I assure you.”
“Damn, it's so hot when she gets all dominant!” Crow sighs.
“How did you two end up together?” Anna asks, clearly having been turning this over in her mind.
“We worked a case together. The same one she wanted to throw me back in jail for. She's too law-abiding for my lifestyle, but hey, the handcuffs are fun.”
Anna shakes her head and rolls her eyes, focusing now on the interrogation room where Thorne starts to crumble.
“It was their idea. I swear,” he mutters.
“Whose idea, Mr. Bishop?”
“The consortium. Important people. That woman's made some dangerous enemies,” he adds with a sneer, though the fear in his eyes shows clear.
Isabella nods slightly, encouraging him to continue.
“The actress… Olivia Carlson. She was perfect. Her career was over, she needed money badly.”
“And Dottie Thompson?” Detective Alvarez presses.
“She needed money. Her husband lost his job. I helped her, maybe took advantage, she didn't deserve it. She's a good person. I pretended I had feelings for her. We had an affair. Then…” he pauses, running a hand over his jaw. “We told her Olivia had a video of us making love. That she was blackmailing us both.”
“But there wasn't any video, was there?” Isabella states.
“No. I have a family, too.”
“Son of a bitch!” Anna snarls, and I have to hold her back from storming into the room.
Isabella continues the interrogation, relentless.
“What was the final plan?”
“The prototype couldn't see the light of day. It would change too much. Entire industries. There's too much money at stake. Billions.”
The detective leans over the metal table. Her face remains impassive while Thorne continues his confession. I find it fascinating to watch her technique, the way she maintains control without raising her voice.
“Explain exactly why Ms. Sinclair's technology posed such a threat,” she requests in an almost whisper.
“You don't understand, do you?” Thorne mutters. “It's not just about one company or profits, however big. It's an entire industry. Distribution networks, power plants, infrastructure worth trillions that would become obsolete overnight. Hundreds of thousands of jobs.”
“Why did you breach the company's servers?”
“We needed access to all the project's technical details,” Thorne sighs, hiding his face in his hands.
“For what purpose?”
“To bury it,” he admits. “Or adapt it. Control it if possible. If we couldn't stop it, we could at least profit from it.”
“And this morning's attack? The kidnapping of Ms. Dakota Martinez? The shots in the auditorium?”
“A final desperate attempt. If we couldn't steal the technology, we'd at least prevent it from coming to light.”
“By killing Anna Sinclair?” Isabella growls.
“It was a message,” Thorne explains. “For anyone who might try to develop something similar.”
“What a piece of shit!” I mutter, gently rubbing Anna's back as she leans against me.
The detective rises calmly.
“Mr. Bishop, you're under arrest for conspiracy to commit murder, corporate fraud, stock market manipulation…”
“My lawyer…”
“Call all the lawyers you want,” Isabella interrupts. “Your confession is recorded. No one will keep you from spending many years in prison.”
Just then, the door opens, and another detective pokes his head in.
“We've got Olivia Carlson,” he announces, giving Isabella a thumbs up. “She was trying to catch a plane to Belize.”
“Wow, and in movies they always get away,” Crow jokes.
Outside the police station, reporters crowd behind police barriers. Cameras flash non-stop as we exit, but Anna stops on the steps.
“It's over,” she whispers.
“It's over,” I confirm, stroking her left arm.
Suddenly, she grabs my waist and kisses me. It's not a soft or shy kiss despite the press. It's intense, passionate, almost desperate. Her hands tangle in my hair and for a few moments I forget where we are, the cameras, the reporters, everything.
“Damn, and she seemed so quiet!” Crow shouts, earning an elbow from her girlfriend.
The flashes pop. Within seconds, the photos will be all over social media.
“Sorry,” Anna whispers when we break apart. “Couldn't help it. Too much built-up tension.”
“Don't be sorry. Though I think we just gave them quite a headline.”
“Which hashtag you like better, #PowerCouple or #Annakota?” Crow asks, seemingly posting a photo to her social media. “Whatever, I'll use both. Want a pic with me? Gotta show off my famous friends.”
Anna smiles and motions for her to join us.
“Thanks for everything,” she whispers, kissing my cheek. “Think there's enough evidence to arrest the others?”
“They'll all go down. I promise. That's why we have this reformed criminal helping us,” I add, nodding toward the hacker, who keeps typing messages on her phone.
“Reformed?” she jokes. “Just 'cause I work for the good guys now doesn't mean I'm totally reformed. Just means they let me play with the latest tech and nobody watches me.”
Detective Alvarez rolls her eyes, but a small smile plays on her lips.
“See?” Crow tells me with a wink before blowing a kiss to her girlfriend. “Sometimes handcuffs bring people together.”