25. Chapter 25
Connor
“What the hell was that?” I shouted, slamming both my hands into Captain Hoover’s desk. My chest heaved more every time I replayed Grace’s betrayed look in my mind. The broken pearl necklace in my pocket was a constant reminder.
“I told you that you were too close to the girl.” Captain Hoover sat back in his chair like a weight he’d carried for a long time was lifted from his shoulders.
When I curled my hands into fists and beat them against his desk, he gave me a warning glance—one that told me to watch my next move. He didn’t know I didn’t care what would happen after.
“I didn’t have anything to do with this!” I glared at him, leaning forward. “You were so hungry for a fucking conviction, you didn’t even care it was the wrong one. They’re going to walk, and you are going to have ruined a decade-long investigation, because now my cover is blown, you dense fuck!”
“You better watch your mouth, Murphy.” The second warning.
I cocked my head to the side, willing to call his bluff. “What are you going to do?”
“I’ll tell you what I’m not going to do. I’m not going to let you get in your head and fuck up my case because your little girlfriend is mad.” His face turned a darker shade of red, and the vein in his neck that only showed when he was angry was screaming.
“Fine,” I said, pushing off his desk and taking a step back. “You don’t have a case anyway. You’ve got the wrong. Fucking. Guys.”
“Murphy…”
“No, don’t fucking Murphy me. You’re wrong, and you know it!
” My voice boomed. Anyone in the office could hear me if they wanted.
And I wanted them to. “I had this investigation under control. I was this fucking close, but you got impatient, as always. Got antsy and made a stupid move. Normally, I put up with it, but not this time. If anyone has ruined this case, it’s you! ”
Captain Hoover stood, knocking his chair at least three feet behind him.
When he stormed toward me, I held my ground.
“You never had it under control!” I was going to give him one chance to get his finger out of my face before I let the instincts I gained in the field take over.
Mickey and Luca would’ve never allowed for this. I won’t either.
“I always had it under control. You can act like me dating Grace ruined your messy little case, but really, you trusted Rob to put his ego aside and handle this? I guarantee you, he smells like Irish beer and dirty favors, and you can eat every bit of that when I prove it.” There was going to be something under the surface—the convenience of this sudden evidence was too great for there not to be something malicious.
“Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go fix your fucking mistake. ”
“I’m warning you, you better stop questioning me.
Do not forget who you actually report to.
It’s not those gangsters you’ve grown so close to.
You’ve let this assignment, this freedom to do whatever you want, and this girl go to your head, and if you’re not careful, you’re going to end up burying yourself.
” His chest heaved close enough to mine that I could feel the heat radiating from his anger.
“Thanks to you, I may not have to do the burying. There will be a number of people in line to do exactly that. I gotta go.” I took a step back, ignoring his huffs when I turned toward the door. “Go fuck yourself, Arthur.”
“Don’t you dare walk through that door.”
I grabbed the knob. “I have to,” I said, barely looking over my shoulder. “I have to go dig my own grave.”