Chapter 14
The sling rubbedagainst my clothing in a way that made every movement louder than it needed to be. Not only that, but it made driving damn near impossible. I couldn”t turn safely, couldn”t operate my vehicle like I usually did. This morning, I”d had to call for a ride share. At least I was dropped off right in front and didn”t have to fight for parking in the structure.
I walked into the building and immediately felt eyes on me. That was normal, but it wasn”t as bad as it was right now. It was as if people were staring holes through my body. Everyone knew that I had gotten injured, that I had surgery. I”d gotten an overabundance of sorries and flowers delivered to my hospital room. I just wanted to go back to being plain old York Washington who hadn”t been shot by a gangster.
”Morning, boss,” Hunter said, making me cringe. Paul had forever changed the way I viewed those words. ”You okay? Can I get you a coffee?”
I didn”t want anything from him. Yes, I was aware that he was sucking up, but I couldn”t take it right now. There were much bigger stakes at hand.
”No, but thank you. I”m all right,” I said as I walked into my office and dropped my bag off beside my desk. ”You should start getting ready for the day. There are cases everywhere. Keep your eyes open.”
”What about the ones we”re working on now?”
I winced. ”On hiatus,” I said darkly as he continued to stare. I needed to figure out what was happening within my unit before I could continue hunting soulless beasts. ”Agent Hunter, can I help you with something or do you plan to stare at me for the rest of the day?”
”Sorry,” he muttered. ”We were worried that you were...”
I frowned at the way he trailed off. They thought that I was dead. Or dying. I knew that was a blow to all of them, but I couldn”t handle being their beacon of light right now. I still hurt, I ached all over. The meds were only doing so much, and I just wanted to curl up and sleep for a year. Instead, I pushed onward. As I always did.
”Thank you for the concern,” I said, evenly. ”But I need some time to work. Okay?”
”Of course, sir.”
Hunter headed for the door, and I sighed with relief when it shut after him. Right now, my mind was in a whirlwind and my body wasn”t much better. I was older than I was the last time I”d been shot. The pain was worse than I remembered. I wanted to go home, but I knew that wasn”t an option. Time was of the essence, and as we grew closer to cracking down on the dangerous mobs of this city, I knew that they would be breathing down our backs even harder. It was time to stomp them out once and for all, but first I needed to figure out what was going on.
A mole. A dead informant. A gunshot wound.
It was like some horrible joke gone wrong. Over the years, I had led my team with an iron fist, but now something—or someone—was sabotaging everything that I”d worked hard for. I couldn”t have that.
Glancing over the top of my computer, I pulled up my databases and began to search. First, I did a run through of everything I already knew about the Acetos, Triads, and Vitales. Their files were constantly updated with any tidbit of information that we thought would be relevant to capturing and prosecuting them. I glanced over the screen, trying to find any new information, but I came up with nothing.
”What am I looking for?” I muttered to myself.
No matter how many times I went over their files, nothing new surfaced. As I stared, I thought about Paul. He”d explained what was going on, but I still wanted—no, needed—a name. The fact that he was protecting his source so hard pissed me off, but part of me understood it. The contact he had might be our last tie to these vicious monsters that were tearing about our city. Once it was all said and done, they could face what they had done to me, what they had almost taken from me, but if we lost another informant, what the hell would we have?
Nothing.
Still, I couldn’t get the bits and pieces of conversation Paul had with the man out of my mind. No matter how hard I tried, I couldn’t make sense of it. Did I really hear something suspicious? Or had my mind made that part up as I laid bleeding in a filthy alley?
My fingers hovered over the keys. Normally, I typed ninety-two words per minute, but as I moved my fingers over the keyboard, I knew I was moving slow because of the guilt that sat in the middle of my chest like a stone. Hesitation coursed through me, but I didn”t stop. Letter by letter, I typed in a name.
Paul Gallo.
I smacked the enter key and his picture filled my computer screen. The same blond hair and blue eyes that I had started to associate with pleasure, friendship, and warmth stared back at me, but I felt something else along with familiarity. Uncertainty. Was Paul really who he said he was? It wouldn”t be the first time that someone had slipped their way into our agency for some unholy reason. The more I thought about Paul betraying not only me, but our entire team, my stomach twisted and churned.
Could he really do this?
I didn”t want to believe he could, but my stomach tightened once more, and I sighed. Shit. I had to keep going. I had to look. If Paul had something to do with the gang activity in New York, if he had even an iota of a tie to one of those detestable families, I needed to deal with him.
My finger rolled over the scroll wheel. The age seemed right, the fact that he was born in Jersey and had two loving parents that were now long deceased. He had no criminal record, not even a misdemeanor. Paul had grown up interested in arts and science before he became fascinated with technology. And fitness. It was as if he was trained from the time he was too young to understand that this was going to be his life. I knew that wasn”t the case, but his files were so straightforward, it was all I could think. However, there was nothing else there. Even the fact that he spoke Italian in high school was etched right there in black and white. Paul was innocent.
Right?
”Hey, boss! How”s the arm?”
I jumped as Paul”s voice broke into my thoughts. While I scrolled, I had been daydreaming about our time together, the late nights and early mornings all tangled up in each other”s arms. I questioned myself. How could he be guilty when I had slept with him? I still remembered the way it felt to be held by him, to see him the moment I opened my eyes after surgery. My stomach did flip-flops once more, and I wanted to gag. Instead, I exited the database and glanced up at Paul.
”You good?” he asked.
”Yes,” I said, bluntly. ”Pain as usual, but other than that, I”m all right.”
”Good,” he said as he let himself inside and crossed to my desk. Paul helped himself with sitting in the chair in front of me. ”Hungry? I was about to run to the bodega for something quick. Want a chopped cheese?”
”No.”
Paul”s smirk faltered, before it came right back. ”I guess that makes sense. Old men can”t have that stuff too often, can they?”
I tried to chuckle along with him, but it came out as a puff of air. I couldn”t muster more than that. The smile on Paul’s face fell away altogether. Our eyes connected. I wanted him to leave, to give me space to breathe while I tried to figure out if he was someone that the Vitales or Acetos knew. Or if he was simply in the wrong place at the wrong time.
”What?” Paul asked. ”You don”t miss me? You haven”t texted me since I drove you home.”
”I”m fine,” I said, trying to choose my words carefully. ”This thing isn”t exactly comfortable and the meds they prescribed make me sleepy.”
”Hmm. Yeah,” Paul said. I heard the urgent tap-tapping of his foot beneath the desk. ”Are you sure nothing else is bothering you?”
Oh, like the fact that I think you”re a traitor? Or how I”m almost convinced you”re a criminal? What exactly am I supposed to be okay with, Paul?
My skin bristled as he continued to stare. There was hurt in those blue eyes that tugged at my heartstrings. I could be right and Paul might be a traitor, but I had no evidence. As far as I knew, the story he told made sense. No one would believe he was a mole if there was no evidence to support that theory. I would just look like a rambling old fool that had lost his mind once he got shot. I shivered. If anyone thought I was slipping, they would have my job.
As I thought about that, my computer pinged. I quickly excused myself from Paul and tuned into the latest email. The higher ups, three to be exact, were waiting for reports from me. I quickly gave them the most generic info I could and turned back to find that Paul hadn”t moved. He continued to stare, his mouth in a straight line. A shiver ran up my spine. He was almost intimidating. What was that expression?
”You”re being weird,” Paul pointed out.
”Again, meds,” I said, evenly.
”Medication doesn”t turn you into someone I”ve never seen before,” he said, abruptly. ”Not this quickly, at least. What”s going on?”
I tried to clear my throat. ”I”ve already said that I”m working, Paul. Please, get back to your desk.”
The frown on his face deepened. ”Okay, that”s understandable,” he said, shortly. ”Should I still come over tonight or will you be busy then too? I thought we were going to watch movies with the girls. They”ve been texting me.”
Of course they had.
As much as I loved my girls, they were independent, sure little things just like their mother. And they loved Paul. I”d told them that we could all sit down and watch a movie together the day I got home from the hospital, but I”d still been unsure even then with my head full of Paul saving me and touching me, and holding my girls. He had hugged them like they were his own, had cared for them. I”d been soft that day. However, as the anesthesia wore off, and I had time to sit with my thoughts, the doubts grew.
Who was that man Paul had been talking to? Why wouldn”t he tell me? I had good reason for protecting Marianna, that much was clear. However, he had to know there was no way that I was a mole. I wanted these people to burn more than anyone else. And yet he wouldn”t tell me anything. Not yet, he said.
”Sorry.” I shrugged. ”I need to rest. Even sitting here is a lot for me right now.”
”Yeah, I”m sure it is. Well, I”m sorry I”ll have to disappoint the girls,” he said as he stood up. ”Tell them I apologize and I”ll make it up to them, okay?”
My heart flipped as he brought that up. Knowing Nyra and Navy, yes, they would be devastated. Neither of them knew how to handle rejection or loss well. I knew I was partly to blame for that, shielding them from the world after their mother”s passing. But I couldn”t help it. I just wanted them to be happy.
”Actually,” I called as Paul reached the door. ”Maybe you should come over tonight. They miss you.”
He searched my face. ”You sure, boss?”
I nodded. ”Yeah, they could use a friendly face right now.”
Paul smiled slowly. ”All right, I”ll be there.” He hesitated before he cleared his throat. ”Thanks.”
He disappeared and the door clicked behind him. Sighing, I sagged into my chair and shook my head. Either I was a sucker or a genius. On the one hand, I wanted Paul close because I had gotten used to him, so had my girls. On the other, I sided with that age old adage; keep your friends close and your enemies closer. If he was my enemy, I needed to see him. Feel him. Know him. Even if I prayed it wasn”t true.
Sighing, I logged back into my PC. My email popped right up, and I froze in my seat at the first unread message in my inbox.
Dear Mr. Washington,
We know who you are. We know you have kids. Back off the families or die.
Anonymous
I stared at it for a while, stunned. This email was secure. Everything I did was covered in a fine layer of security, and yet someone was telling me that they had been watching me. That I had to back off. My hand clenched into a fist as I stared at the screen. It was one thing to threaten me, but to involve my precious girls? That was too damn far.
I don”t give a fuck who sent it. I was going to make them suffer.