Chapter 12 #3
Summoning all the attitude she could muster so her resolve wouldn’t instantly melt, she jutted out her hip and flipped her hair over her shoulder.
“What are you suggesting, Rhett? That I stay here so you can babysit me? Leave my friend and associate out to dry while you land your case? I can’t do that.
I’m not a backstabber, so if you have a viable solution, let’s hear it. ”
The lines of his face didn’t soften. “I know you’re in a tough spot. I get that. You think Milo wasn’t three years ago when I gave him a way out?”
Her chest deflated. “That’s what you’re trying to do? Get me to walk away?”
He rolled his fingers into a fist. “No. But there’s a damn good opportunity sitting in front of you. Help me land Moretti and I’ll get you out.”
Interest defused the irritation sizzling her blood. “How?”
“Anything that’s on your record will be wiped clean and you’ll be granted immunity for anything you’ve been involved in up until the moment we shake on this deal.”
She shook her head, but the muscles around her throat flexed.
She could get out. She could be free like Dani.
No more would there be a giant wedge between her best friend and her.
No more would she feel inferior to everyone else.
Hope spun a ball behind her heart. Doubt unwound it.
Who was she kidding? She couldn’t be anyone different.
She hadn’t held down an honest job in her life.
Tears stung the corners of her eyes, but she kept her hand at her side and her elbow loose in his grip.
His eyes moved over her face. “C’mon, Priss. What have you got to lose? What’s holding you back?”
She laughed, but it came out as a snort. Embarrassed, she ran her palm beneath her eye and pulled away. “You wouldn’t understand.”
“Try me.”
She let her gaze wander over the knit blanket on the couch, the hand-painted pictures on the walls, and the knickknacks on the tables. Sadness sank into her bones. She wanted this. Family.
His arms came around her from behind and pulled her back to his chest. She brought her hands to his wrist with the full intention of tearing out of his hold, but instead, she anchored his forearm in place.
“You’re scared. I see that.”
She nodded.
“It’s different, right? Far from what you know.”
Those blasted tears rushed to her eyes again, and she clenched the muscles in her face. Thank god he couldn’t see her expression. She nodded again.
“It’s okay to be freaked out. You’re strong, Peyton.
Look what you’ve endured the last twenty-four hours alone.
You said yourself you want kids one day.
How are you going to do that and continue stealing?
Are you willing to give up being a mother for this life that will eventually land you in prison? ”
The tears finally dislodged themselves and rolled down her cheeks to coat her lips.
She sniffed and fought the urge to wipe her eyes on his arm.
The heat of his body warmed her back, melting away the stiffness that occupied her bones.
His chin moved next to her ear, and the stubble on it tickled her skin.
His scent, musk and wood, surrounded her, making her sink deeper into his embrace.
When she didn’t respond he gave her a small shake. “Is that what you want?”
She cleared her throat. “No.” The single word fell from her lips, taking with it a load of weight from her shoulders. The admission should have been harder to cough up. Instead, it was like releasing a lifetime of baggage.
“Then work with me. Please.”
She lifted her hand and mopped the tears away with her fingers. “What about Max? I won’t implicate him.”
“I’ll do whatever I can to keep him clear.”
She whirled around in his arms and planted the tip of her index finger on his chest. The muscle beneath didn’t budge, but he glanced down at her appendage and knit his brows together.
“He gets full immunity or I walk out that door right now.” Her voice shook on the words, but she wouldn’t relent.
She didn’t care how big of a fish Max was for the FBI, or what he’d done in the past. She wouldn’t betray him.
Rhett held up his hands. “Max isn’t here to strike the same deal, so I can’t promise that. Hell, I haven’t even gotten clearance from my lieutenant to secure our agreement, but I’ll put my badge on the line to make sure you’re clear.”
Some more of the tension left her body, but she didn’t remove her finger. She narrowed her eyes into blazing slits. “I can’t agree until I know Max is immune too.”
Rhett made a sound of impatience. “It’s not that easy.
” He dragged his hand through his hair, rumpling the mane.
“All right. I can promise that if we can avoid involving him, he’ll be safe.
But if it turns out we need him to give up the name of who hired him, he and I will have to come to an agreement. That’s the best I can do.”
She forced down a swallow and pulled away from his chest with one brisk nod. “Fine.”
He lifted his eyebrows in disbelief. “For real?”
She crossed her arms in front of her chest. “I wouldn’t lie. Not about that,” she said with a shrug.
His mouth quirked and he held out his hand. “Doesn’t count unless you shake on it.”
She planted her hand in his, and his fingers surrounded hers in a bear hug. “Deal.”
“Deal,” he repeated.
Why did it feel as though she’d just made a deal with the devil?