Chapter Three #2
The bottom line was that Daphne Carmichael had it coming for burning cops and helping a mob man do dirty things. Then, she had it coming for showing up in HIS town and burning two great guys to Gabe.
Fuck.
No.
When she answered, he played along, trying to sound like he wasn’t about to tap dance all over her badge—the ill-gotten one.
“Hey, the boss called. We have a case. Can you meet me in my office so I can update you before we head out?” he asked.
Her voice came over the phone, and it made him want to twist her head right off of her shoulders.
Or vomit.
He wasn’t sure which.
“Sure thing, Grey. I’ll be right there. Want me to bring coffee so we can talk?” she asked, pleasantly.
Yeah.
No.
“I’m good, but thank you, Sasha,” he offered, playing along.
Yeah, don’t drink anything that the ex-wife of a mob man brought to a party. It was going to contain spit or arsenic.
PASS.
When he hung up, he got down to business, preparing the file for her.
Oh, and she wasn’t going to like what was in it.
Not.
At.
All.
Thanks to the CIA computer, he had compiled a shit ton of things on Daphne.
It was bullshit that the CIA didn’t work inside the country because they had a file on the woman.
And he had friends too.
Once they had her real name, he’d been able to get the information on her. The CIA threw nothing out, even if the person was in the witness protection program.
ESPECIALLY THEN.
When she peeked her head into his office, he waved her in.
“Have a seat.”
She did, and she was smiling at him. From her well-coifed hair to the perfect smile, he was curious about one thing.
Basically, how could she live with herself after covering up the homicides of so many cops?
“So, what’s this case about?” she asked. “How many bodies are we talking?”
He went there.
“A few. We have dead cops.”
She sighed.
“Oh, no. Really? That’s terrible. What happened?” Sasha asked.
He played the game.
“Yeah, it appears they were taken down in a hit. Someone had it in for them, and their lives were snuffed out. You know how mob shit happens every now and again. We have a few mob assholes in Philly.”
As he spoke, she stared him right in the eyes and didn’t flinch.
Oh, she was foul.
That was ice cold to not even have an ounce of remorse.
Greyson knew a psychopath when he saw one. He didn’t need Ethan to profile that. A part of him was disgusted that he’d ever slept with her.
She.
Was.
Disgusting.
In fact, she might be the worst human being on the planet, and that was saying a lot.
“I’m sorry to hear that. We’ll get them justice,” she offered. “We always do. Will Ethan be handling this case? Gene?”
Greyson didn’t want his friends’ names in her mouth.
EVER.
AGAIN.
“No, I’m handling it,” he said. “Apparently, the killer thinks she’s clever. She’s been slinking around like the two-faced bitch she is.”
Sasha laughed.
“Oh, this one sounds personal. Someone pissed you off. This should be fun.”
Oh, it was going to be something.
That was for damn sure.
Sliding the file over to her, he got up and went and closed his office door. Then, he leaned against it so there was no way out unless she was crashing through the glass and taking a leap to her death.
The woman was a coward, so she’d never do that.
He hoped.
No, he wanted her to suffer for a very long time.
As she opened the file, he knew the second she realized the jig was up.
She looked up and stared straight ahead.
“It seems that the two-faced bitch we’re chasing likes to play name games,” he stated. “Right, Daphne? Or do you want to play a little longer with me, and go by Sasha?”
Her body was ramrod stiff.
Well, he wasn’t done.
Not.
Even.
Close.
“Not only does she like to play games, like falsifying autopsies to help her mob husband, but she also likes reporting to Gabe on everyone around her. So, she’s a filthy, dirty snitch.”
She closed her eyes.
This was bad, and she knew it.
“You burned us,” he stated. “You literally went to Gabe and told him about Ethan and Gene. You’re his fucking spy, and you turned on two people who have never been mean to you. They were your friends.”
That told her one thing.
If Greyson knew, they knew too.
Without a word, at first, she got up.
“I need to go.”
Oh, fuck no, she didn’t. As far as he was concerned, this wasn’t over.
Not.
Even.
Close.
The cage door was swinging closed, and she was in the trap—whether she liked it or not.
Fuck around.
Find out.
“Oh, not yet, Daph! Stay a while. You were so eager to weasel your way into our lives, that you can’t slip out of them quite yet. These are the ramifications of your actions.”
He watched her like prey.
The only reason he was more than happy to poke this POS, was that she didn’t have a gun. There was no doubt she’d shoot herself, and he’d be screwed.
Yeah, she was boxed in.
Greyson stayed where he was.
“See, you’re going to look me in the eyes, and tell me exactly why you did what you did.
You’re going to explain to me how you could burn people who never did a single fucking thing to hurt you.
Did you think before you cost Ethan and Gene their jobs?
Did you think about the outcome of this office being decimated and innocent people not getting justice because you’re a cunt? ”
She didn’t look at him, but she said one thing.
“I had no choice.”
He laughed, and it wasn’t a good laugh either. In fact, it was twisted with rage and betrayal.
If Greyson hated one thing, it was a liar.
Oh, he’d tolerate a lot, but someone who looked you in the eyes and lied was the worst kind of human.
They were the backstabbing assholes that didn’t deserve friends, or jobs, or…
ANYTHING.
“You had a choice. You could have GONE TO THE COPS when you found your husband was killing the police. Instead, you opted to help him by covering up the deaths. Ten cops, Daphne. You covered up ten murders by Hugo Carmichael.”
She said nothing.
At first.
“So, you know everything?”
He did.
“Yeah, I found you. See, there were just too many questions. Like why you were here. I started with trying to find Doctor Sasha Harper, and she doesn’t exist as a doctor.
Then, I dug deeper. How you ran hot and cold with me, and when you thought I was done, you changed up tactics.
I was a soldier, pumpkin. I can read a room when my life is in danger. ”
She was to the point.
“Gabe said that no one would ever find me. He said that he’d buried it.”
He laughed.
“Oh, well, here’s the thing, Daphne. He’s a liar too, or maybe he wanted The Scorpion to get what she had coming to her. I know if I was the boss, I’d enjoy seeing you crash and burn.”
She stared over at him.
“You have no idea what I’ve lived through.”
Honestly, he didn’t care.
There were rules, and you played by them. There was no way he’d cross into that gray area for his own profit. There was no way he’d burn cops.
There was no way he’d be…her.
“You helped create a monster. You allowed Hugo to make you into this nightmare. I have zero sympathy for you. You burned us. You ratted out your friends.”
She was to the point.
The chill in her voice did nothing along the way of Greyson taking it easy on her either.
“I had a job to do. It wasn’t personal.”
He laughed.
“Like it wasn’t personal how you made ten cops’ murders look like what they weren’t? Not personal like that? Not personal to their wives, husbands, and family members?”
She said nothing.
“I’ve seen some bad people in my life, but I don’t believe for a single, solitary second that you have an iota of good in you. What kind of person plays mob wife, and doesn’t see it’s evil?”
Yeah, he wasn’t feeling sorry for her.
As he spoke, she said nothing.
What was there to say?
“I did some research on your life. You lived in a mansion. You had nice cars, and you had furs. You had everything. I’m betting you did this because you didn’t want to lose that life.”
Daphne didn’t argue.
Because he wasn’t wrong.
Only, he wasn’t right either.
“So, stop with the pity party. I’m not buying what you’re selling. You’re a piece of shit and deserve everything that happens to you.”
She needed to know.
“And what are you saying?”
He gave nothing away.
“I don’t want to see you ever again in my city. As far as I’m concerned, you can fuck all the way off. You’re a cop killer, and a piece of slime. Call your handler, and tell him to get you out of here, or I’m going to the media. I’ll burn you like you burned Ethan and Gene.”
She stood there and there were tears in her eyes.
“You made choices that you should have paid for, but you didn’t.
Turning state’s evidence doesn’t buy you a pass with us.
Gabe will cover for you more, but you won’t work in my office.
Philly is mine. I’ve cleaned it up, and I did that with the two men you burned.
Your game nearly cost them their lives, and that is unforgivable. ”
She moved toward the door.
“Move, or this won’t end how you like,” she stated, fearlessly.
He didn’t move.
“One day, you’ll pay for what you did, Daphne. It might not be from me, but it will happen. When you’re dirty, eventually, you meet the wrong side of a barrel.”
She stared at him emotionlessly like she’d stared at the dead cops and did what she needed to do.
To survive.
After his warning, when he moved his foot and opened the door, she walked through it.
At the elevator, she looked back at him.
“And one day, Greyson, you’ll have the same outcome because no man is honorable. NONE. I hope you remember this moment because the world is not black and white. It’s all kinds of gray.”
And with that, she headed back down to the morgue.
The whole time, Greyson watched her go.
And he felt vindicated.
The trash had taken itself out.
Once and for all.
Sasha Harper, AKA Daphne Carmichael was no longer his problem.
Thank.
Freaking.
God.
* * * Blackhawk & Cantrell * * *
Damascus
The Rez
Callen’s Cabin
Friday Afternoon