19. Derek
Derek
“You want to tell me what that was all about? Or are we just going to ignore the fact that you almost broke Eli’s jaw and then fucked Alexis in his bed shortly after?” Dean’s snide remark made me want to break his.
“Does it matter?” I shrugged, not giving two shits about Eli and his fucking jaw right now.
“ Does it —Derek, it wasn’t easy to convince Eli to work with us in the first place, and with the shit you just pulled, you’re lucky he still even is.
” He pressed his fingers into the bridge of his nose and squeezed his eyes so tight I could see the wrinkles that formed on the corners.
“What the fuck has gotten into you lately?” He added with an exhausted sigh.
“Nothing.” I snapped, running a hand through my hair and tugging at the nape of my neck as I moved to walk towards the stairs. I didn’t owe him an explanation for my behavior; I didn’t owe Dean anything.
“Well, this nothing almost cost us our only essential lead on this assignment. You need to figure your shit out before it makes matters worse…” He called over my shoulder; his tone was stern and aggravated.
“and Derek...” I stopped at the top of the stairs and sighed heavily.
I knew I had fucked up and lost control of myself. But seeing him wrapped around her with his mouth on hers snapped something inside of me. I couldn’t stand seeing Alexis with someone else, not when I finally had her within arms reach.
She was mine, and I’d be damned if I let someone like Eli Wilder get in the way of that.
“Did you really have to fuck her on his bed? Couldn’t keep it in your pants until you got home?
” Dean teased with a sigh, the harshness in his tone lightening as he stepped up beside me and slapped a hand on my shoulder.
While he was upset with how I handled things, he cut me some slack and didn’t scold me any further.
I probably could have waited to have her, but the thought of claiming and fucking Alexis in the bed of a man who wanted her just as much as I did was an opportunity I couldn’t resist. I needed him to get the message that she was off limits—mine, and what better way to send that than covering his sheets in both her cum and mine .
What I did may have come off as fucked up, but I don’t regret a second of it. Alexis sure as fuck enjoyed it.
“One of these days, Dean, you’ll understand. But I’m not explaining myself to you right now,” I chuckled lightly before we began descending the stairs to the exit.
If only he knew what Alexis did to me and how crazy she drove me. I was a man starved before she came along, and now that I’ve had my taste and fill of her—I couldn’t get enough. She was an addiction, the best kind.
“Oh, I get it. Don’t think you are the only one having some fun around here, Derek,” Dean gave me a sly grin, holding open the door at the bottom of the stairs. “I just don’t broadcast it to the world. At least… not yet.” He winked before stepping outside and heading down the street to my truck.
Now, that was a story I wanted to hear.
As Dean and I approached the main entrance to the CIA office, he stopped me, placing his hand in front of the door and holding it closed.
“Yes?” I raised a brow in annoyance.
“You’ve already provoked Eli once; let me do the talking in there.” Dean pleaded, and I couldn’t help but roll my eyes at his request .
“He started it, but I’ll play nice… Again.” I held my hands up and sighed.
“Derek.” His tone hardened as he shoved my shoulder.
“I said I’d play nice, Dean. What more do you want from me?” I gestured my hands out wide, unsure what else he was insinuating.
He groaned and aggressively pulled open the door—determined to slam it in my face, I’m sure. I followed Dean to the elevator bay, and we rode the first one that opened up to the fifth floor.
Reaching our floor, we exited the elevator and approached my office. From the looks of it, Eli had already made himself comfortable sitting behind my desk and taking in the view of the city through the windows.
“Make yourself at home, why don’t you,” I commented as soon as we entered the room, closing the door behind us.
“Like you did at my apartment? I’m sure I know exactly what I’ll be returning to. Thanks for that, by the way.” Eli huffed, spinning the leather chair around to face us and crossing his arms over his chest with a look of disdain planted on his face.
“ You— ”
Dean jabbed me hard in the side with his elbow, stopping the many savage words I had for him from leaving my mouth, and I cleared my throat instead. He fucking deserved it.
I glared at Eli before dropping into the two-person couch in the corner of the room. I set an elbow on the armrest, with my other arm stretched out across the back. I may as well make myself comfortable for this discussion. We could be here a while if Dean was going to play the good cop .
Shifting his gaze from me to Eli, Dean sighed and clicked his tongue.
“Look, being blunt, we need more than just a map of the headrace system, Eli.” Dean started, leaning over the desk and resting his palms on top.
“That’s all I got for you.” Eli shrugged, slumping back in the chair, lacing his fingers, and resting them on his stomach.
“We can’t keep our end of the deal if you can’t give us helpful information," I added from the far end of the room.
“Are you saying that map wasn’t helpful?” Eli gloated with a smirk.
“It is and isn’t. We need names.” Dean pressed, running his tongue along his teeth. “One specifically.”
Eli huffed with a smile and rested his hands behind his head, turning the chair to face the windows.
“Now, that kind of information is going to cost you a lot more than just simply protecting my ass.” His light and casual attitude was beginning to irritate me.
I stood, and immediately, Dean shot me a pointed glare to sit the fuck down .
Eli was turning this into a game, and I wasn’t interested in playing.
Muttering curses under my breath, I sat back down like a scolded child and instead pulled out my phone to check my emails—anything to distract me from the direction this conversation was currently headed.
“What more could you possibly need, Eli?” Dean moved to lean against the window and cut me out of their discussion completely. I casually rolled my eyes—fine with me .
“Scrubbed background, new identity, and cash to sustain me for at least a year after the fact.” My brows rose at his words.
He must’ve known that we would ask for more after handing over those blueprints. The sly fucker knew precisely what he was doing with us. He had thought all of this out before we even entered his apartment. That son of a bitch.
The scrubbed background and new identity were both doable and within our authority to issue.
A pain in the ass as far as paperwork was concerned, but still, nothing we couldn’t give him.
As for the money… That was a different story.
It would have been easier for him to ask us for a fully stocked safe house instead.
As I contemplated how we would even attempt to get him the money he required for the information, a realization snapped into my head, and my eyes widened.
If we could meet his demands, not only would we get the name we so desperately needed, but I could get rid of him entirely, keeping him away from Alexis.
I didn’t know the full extent of their relationship and history, and frankly, I didn’t give a fuck.
I just wanted him gone and out of the picture for good.
I should be the only person she ran to with her wants and needs, not him.
If he were still here in this city, he would be nothing more than a problem to me—one that needed to be taken care of by whatever means necessary.
I wanted the fucker gone with no way back.
This just so happened to be the more convenient and reasonable option.
Running through the contacts in my phone, I brought up Dean’s number and quickly sent him a text message. Hearing his phone go off from across the room, I sat back in my chair with the smuggest of smiles on my face. Fucking checkmate, Eli .
Dean pulled his phone out of his pocket and unlocked the screen, seeing the message I had just sent him.
Derek: Do it.
He looked over his phone screen to where I was sitting, and I nodded. His face showed just how reluctant he was about my plan. He knew as well as I did that obtaining the money would be near impossible. But Eli didn’t need to know that, and he wouldn’t find out until it was too late.
“Looks like it’s your lucky day, Eli. Because we can get you all of those things, provided the name you give us checks out.” Dean agreed, holding a hand out to Eli, expecting him to take it.
If Eli wanted to play games, then we would happily oblige. I held my breath, hoping he would take the bait and play right into our hands. It was all we had left at this point.
Eli sat there momentarily, staring at Dean’s extended hand and playing out all of his options in his head. Was he dumb enough to blindly trust us on our word alone? Or would he change his mind and walk out the door, leaving us with nothing?
“What’s it going to be, Eli? A fresh start with a new name and life, or spending the rest of this one hiding under the CIA’s skirt from Anathema?” I cut in over the silence and leaned forward, resting my forearms on my thighs .
Eli huffed with a grin, which said exactly what he was thinking: that he had won this deal, and his bold move had paid off. He reached out, shaking Dean’s hand in agreement. It’s too bad he’ll find out later that he actually lost this game instead.
I stood and walked over to the desk, crossing my arms over my chest.
“Seeing as we have a deal, what’s the name?” I ordered, raising a brow.
“Not so fast, Derek.” Eli released Dean’s hand and stood to face me. A smug grin pulled at the corner of his lips. “I want this deal in writing before I tell you anything.”
Fuck. “Fine. Dean, take care of it.” I bit down on my tongue to avoid giving away any hint of deception that threatened to break through my facade.
Hopefully, this wouldn’t come back later to bite us in the ass; Conrad would not be happy to know that the CIA promised this asshole a new life and a year's income for a single fucking name.
“Dean, outside.” I gestured to the door as I turned to leave the room. Dean followed closely behind me and pulled the door shut as we stood in the hall.
“What the fuck, Derek? You can’t be serious? You know we can’t make this kind of deal…” His eyes were wide with concern and possibly shock.
“Just write up the deal, get it signed, and get me the name.” The longer we waited to do this, the more time Eli had to reconsider his agreement .
“Alright, but when this backfires on us, it’s your ass that’s going to Conrad to explain what the fuck just happened, not mine,” Dean lectured before leaving to grab his laptop.
Fair enough, but this wasn’t going to backfire. The look Eli gave us when he agreed to the deal said everything.
He would give us exactly what we wanted, and then I would get rid of him for good.