Chapter Fourteen
Niel
HE TOOK the exit off the freeway into Baltimore with a clenched jaw and a tight grip on the steering wheel. The last thing he wanted was to be in Baltimore, but his damn operative hadn’t given him much of a choice. Not with the fuckup he’d just concocted.
While he’d kept an eye on Marco and Dante over the past year, he’d kept his distance from Marco because he knew he was the last person the man wanted to see. He couldn’t stay away, though. They were his family. The only one he’d ever really had. Losing them was one thing. Never seeing them again? He couldn’t do that.
Marco was slipping. His power over the city was waning and it was worrying him. If any of those bastards smelled weakness from Marco they might pounce, and he wasn’t so sure Marco would fight back.
He did what he could to protect Marco, and he knew Rome did as well, but Marco wasn’t letting either of them in. He’d closed himself off and it killed him. He hated that he was the cause of all Marco’s pain and suffering. If he could’ve switched places with Alicia he would’ve done it in a heartbeat. Marco could clearly survive without him but without Alicia? Everything was falling apart.
He tried to get his head on straight as he parked his car and headed toward the apartment building his operative was in. The man was as levelheaded as they came but he understood why that could change. He understood it better than most.
He knocked on the door and stepped back, unsurprised when his operative opened the door with his gun at the ready. The man stared at Neil for a moment then blew out a breath and pulled the door all the way open to let him in.
Neil walked through the door, eyes running over the living room he stepped into. It was sparse and lifeless except for the blue quilt draped over the couch and the rainbow-colored mug left of the coffee table.
“We don’t have a meeting scheduled.”
Neil turned, gaze clashing with his operative’s. They both knew why he was there. The man’s jaw clenched tight, and he looked away, whether in shame or frustration, Neil didn’t know.
“I know about the boy.”
Mike’s shoulders shot up and when he turned to look at Neil, the apprehensive look on his face told Neil he was right to be worried.
“What was I supposed to do?”
“Your job?”
Mike huffed. “My job is to save li―”
“ Your job is to gather intelligence. Your job is to turn foreign assets into agents for our government.”
Mike gave Neil a dark look.
“And here I though my job was to babysit Cade,” he snarked.
Neil took a step closer. “Let’s not pretend you haven’t grown attached.”
Mike was a phenomenal operative but as it happened to so many operatives when they were undercover for a long period of time, he’d gotten complacent. He’d formed attachments. He’d built a life out of a lie he didn’t want exposed.
Mike’s gaze turned unfocused, and his jaw ticked.
“Are you pulling me out?”
Neil held back a sigh.
“No. It seems your cover is still intact. For now.”
“I’ll make sure it stays that way,” Mike said, chin lifted.
“I’m counting on it. I need to know how Hughes’ operation is still running despite him being in a black site.” He met Mike’s gaze. “I need the Destroyers’ supplier.”
“I’m getting closer,” Mike said, gaze shooting toward the door to his bedroom. “Because of the kid we finally have concrete evidence that the State’s Attorney is involved.”
The kid was Aidan O’Connor. The State’s Attorney’s foster kid who he had handed over to his business partners the Destroyers MC to ‘take care of’ but he’d messed up. He’d given those bikers a commodity they were well-versed in selling: humans. They knew Hughes was involved somehow and Mike had been working to uncover the Destroyers’ partners and suppliers for close to a year now. He was in so deep that when he’d offered to buy Aidan from the bikers, they’d just taken it as any other paycheck. The only problem with that? They were expecting Aidan to be dead and buried and he very much was not.
“I’ll see if I can get Cade in. You’ll need the help,” he said, fully expecting the panic spreading on Mike’s face. He knew Mike saw Cade as family and wanted him far away from anything Hughes-related.
“Are you sure?” Mike asked, the slight tremor in his voice betraying his attempt at remaining impartial. “Two dirty cops might be hard to sell.”
Neil shook his head. “Not if he has someone vouching for him.”
Mike’s eyes went wide but he didn’t question him.
“But you need to be more careful.”
“Or I’m on my own. I know,” Mike said with a sharp nod.
Neil looked at the man for a long moment, decision already made.
“I’ll have a safehouse set up for Aidan.”
Mike blinked, surprise showing in his eyes for a moment before it cleared. “Thank you.”
Neil nodded and turned to leave, halting when he heard a set of keys jingling from the other side of the front door.
The door opened and Aidan stepped in. The kid had no situational awareness. He didn’t notice the two of them until after he closed the door and dropped his keys on the side table. He raised his head, a set of brown eyes widening when they landed on Neil. Fear slid across Aidan’s face, and he jerked back a step.
“It’s alright, Aidan,” Mike said. “He’s a friend.”
Aidan didn’t relax, nor did he move. Mike on the other hand? He was across the room in a second, pulling Aidan against him.
Watching Aidan practically melt into Mike’s embrace tugged at something deep inside Neil. Something men like him and Mike didn’t have a fucking right to.
Mike was whispering something, his mouth in Aidan’s hair. Aidan leaned back in his arms and Neil felt like an interloper as he watched them look at each other with something deep and meaningful in their eyes.
“Why don’t you go make some hot chocolate?” Mike suggested, smiling down at Aidan.
Aidan looked up at Mike and nodded. He threw Neil a cautious glance but walked past him to the kitchen.
Neil headed toward Mike and the wary look on the man’s face told him he was well aware that he hadn’t been able to hide a thing from Neil.
“The thing about playing with fire, Mike?” He stopped next to Mike, turning his head to look into the man’s eyes. “You will get burned.”
He knew from experience.