Chapter 10 Chloe
TEN
CHLOE
I typed away as quickly as I possibly could while using the bullet-pointed list of requirements that Agent Tightwad had typed up for me in some bullshit document.
I hated it when he did that. I hated it when he treated me like I had no fucking clue what I was doing.
I was so focused on pulling up that footage just so I could get out of there that I didn’t notice anything else going on around me.
Like, the fact that Chad stared me down from head to toe.
“Any reason why you couldn't meet up with me at the office?” he asked.
I furrowed my brow. “You’re the one that said meet you here. Doesn’t sound like a ‘me’ issue.”
“Yeah, because we pinged your cell phone and noticed you were scores away from your apartment.”
I slowly looked at him from beyond the outer edge of the laptop screen. “Did you have any particular reason to do that outside of being curious?”
He shrugged. “You know the rules regarding your informant contract. You know we can ping you at any time if we feel you’re in danger or somehow a threat to others around you.”
“So, which did you believe it was? Was I in danger to you? Or was I somehow a threat?”
He grinned. “So, why are you staying in the middle of nowhere?”
“I was on a retreat,” I said flatly.
“Uh huh. What kind of retreat? Maybe my girlfriend would enjoy it.”
I quickly changed the subject. “I’m almost done with the searches you’ve asked for. Five more minutes, at the most.”
He reclined back in his chair. “You know, you’ve helped us a hell of a lot on this case.
No matter what we do, we can’t seem to track these assholes down.
They keep siphoning money electronically out of people’s bank accounts into an offshore account, but we can’t back trace anything. There’s never any…”
Blah, blah, blah, blah, blah. He sounded like Charlie Brown’s teacher after a minute.
Cybercrime was always what they came to me for, and it was always the same fucking story: some asshat with a little bit of coding knowledge was fucking them over because the FBI was old-school and didn’t feel the need to come into the twenty-first century with how they did anything. So, they came to me half of the time.
“We’re even researching some hotels that have gotten hit lately as well,” Agent Baker said.
I snickered. “Hotels holding onto cash now, too?”
“No, but they do hold onto credit card information.”
That made me want to find the bastards even more. “Well, here’s all of the traffic camera footage. I even took the liberty of editing it down so you could look at the snippets your suspects are in.”
I turned the laptop around and shoved it toward him, but he didn’t take his eyes off me.
I hated it when he did that. I hated it when he looked at me like I was nothing but a disposable entity he might be able to sink his dick in.
But it was much better than rotting away in a federal prison for the rest of my life.
“So?” I asked.
His gaze finally dropped to the laptop. “Good work, Chlo.”
“Chloe.”
“Whatever.”
He pulled his vibrating cell phone out of his breast coat pocket. “That’s my boss, so I need to get out of here. I’ll have more information for you in a week or so. Stay by your phone.”
I shook my head. “My retreat is going t—”
He closed the laptop and answered his cell. “Hey there, boss man. What can I do ya for?”
And after he tossed me a wink, he brushed by me as if I were nothing but dirt on the bottom of his shiny black shoe.
I sat there for a few minutes and simply stared at the wall.
I didn’t want to move. I didn’t want to speak.
All I wanted was to envision a life where I wasn’t cooped up and I wasn’t having my strings pulled by a horn-dog FBI agent.
I needed to take a look at the contract I had signed with them.
I’d been informing them for years, and that had to count for something, right?
They’d gotten plenty of free work out of me; there had to be something in my contract that stipulated how long this needed to go on for before I had earned my life back.
Earned my freedom back.
“So,” West said as he plopped down in front of me, “how’s Mr. FBI Agent?”
His voice shocked me out of my trance and my stomach hit the floor. “West? Wh-wh-what—”
He leaned forward, his gaze never wavering. “What in the absolute fuck are you doing here with a man like that, Chloe? And I swear, if you’re not fucking honest with me, I’ll make sure the club leaves you behind. Got that?”
My guard immediately went up. “Great, another group of people I’m disposable to. Nice to know where you stand.”
“It’s not my fault you're in cahoots with some fucking FBI agent. Are you feeding him information on us?”
My eyes widened. “What the hell kind of person do you think I am?”
“Well, I thought you were the kind of person who would listen since multiple lives are at stake, yet here we are with you proving me wrong. So, answer my questions or I’ll make damn sure you’re not welcome back at that warehouse.”
I folded my arms over my chest. “I needed some air.”
“With a federal agent?”
I chewed on the inside of my cheek. “I can’t talk about it.”
“You can, and you will.”
“No, West, I seriously can’t.”
He shrugged as he stood. “Nice knowing you, rat.”
I reached my hand out and snatched up his forearm as I quickly stood to my feet.
“I am many things, West, but I’m no rat.
What I do with Agent Baker extends well beyond your feeble understanding of my life and how I’ve lived it up until this point, because believe it or not, you and that crew of yours aren’t the end-all-be-all of my life.
I had shit going on before you came into my world.
Before your life and Frost’s life fucked up my life and Natty and Lexi’s lives.
But don’t you dare come in here slinging around accusations when you’re pissed that the girl you want to get your dick wet with won’t listen to your measly commands. ”
My eyes fluttered up to his gaze and the anger that filled me forced adrenaline through my veins.
“So, just this once, I’m going to give you what you want. But don’t you ever come for me the way you just did. You have no right, whether you’re protecting me or not, so don’t get it twisted. You hold no importance in my life at all, got that?”
He wrenched away from my grip. “You gonna start talking or what?”
I drew in a deep breath. “I’m helping the FBI with a corporate fraud case as well as a cybercrime bank heist case. End of story.”
“And how can I trust that you’re telling me the truth?”
I shrugged. “Sounds like a personal problem to me. Maybe you can try hacking my email, see if you find anything there.”
And after pinning him with one more glare, I snatched my things up and made my way to the front door.
Because I sure as hell didn’t need to deal with his accusations on top of everything else.
“You think this is safe for Lexi and Natty?” West called out after me.
I paused before I slowly turned around. “You want to talk? We can take it to the van. But you won’t shout my personal shit over the airwaves without me shouting yours. Got it?”
He stalked toward me. “That a threat?”
I craned my neck back to keep his gaze in view. “No more of a threat than what you just threw down.”
He grabbed my arm and dragged me out of the diner. “We need to talk, and you need to tell me everything.”
I allowed him to drag me out until we were outside, but then I ripped away from him.
I made a mad dash for the van and heard him hot on my heels.
I tried to open the door and get behind the wheel.
If I could just crank up the engine, I could get away from him.
Just drive away and be done with all of the bullshit.
I had ways of falling off the grid. I had ways of covering my tracks so no one, not even the FBI, could find me.
But West grabbed my hoodie and pulled me back before pressing me against the side of the van.
“Do you think this is a game?” he roared.
I shoved him away. “Touch me again without my permission, and I’ll kill you without a second thought.”
Then, after glaring him down with daggers shooting from my eyes, I climbed behind the wheel of the van and slammed the door.
Before his voice barreled through the metal door. “Get back to the clubhouse or everyone comes after you. Got that?”
I cranked the engine. “Loud and fucking clear, asshole.”