Chapter 64 – thiago
Sixty-Four
thiago
The elevator doors slide open onto the second floor of the Philadelphia Police Department, and I don’t break stride.
I’m not supposed to be here today. My duffel hangs from one shoulder, more out of habit than necessity, while every officer I pass offers a nod or greeting.
But I barely register them because my mind is still on what happened over the last two days.
Remi told me everything last night. Not the information I gathered from files and surveillance reports, nor the pieces Helios fed me when they sent me after her. She sat in front of me, terrified that the truth might change how I saw her, and still chose to tell me anyway.
She told me she’d killed people, confirmed what her family had been and the world they once belonged to, then asked me to come home with her to meet them.
She trusted me with it, and I’ll take every word to my grave rather than let Helios use any of it against her.
I should probably question what that says about my loyalty to the organization I’ve spent years serving, but whatever remained of it took a hell of a hit when I saw the bruises on Remi’s wrists and heard how helpless Grey made her feel.
Those bruises haven’t left my mind since Miami.
I shove open the locker room so hard that it rattles against the stopper.
“Braga?” Ryan calls out as he approaches me. “Thought you were off today.”
“I was.”
He slows as I pass him. “Hey, everything good?”
“No.” I keep walking, searching the rows of lockers until I find Grey standing in front of his. He’s pulling a clean uniform shirt over his head when he catches sight of me in the small mirror mounted on the door.
The fucker grins. “Braga.” He slams it shut. “Didn’t know you were back already. How was—”
I shove him, driving his back into the metal with a crash.
“What the hell?”
I step closer before he can recover. “You went to Sloane’s.”
His eyes narrow. “The gun range?”
“Don’t play dumb with me. You know exactly what I’m talking about.”
“Yeah.” He shrugs. “What about it?”
“You drew your weapon on them.”
His jaw tightens before he shoves me back. “We had intel.”
“You handcuffed innocent civilians.”
“We secured the scene. It was procedure.”
“The hell it was.”
Grey squares his shoulders. “You got a problem with how I handled my scene?”
“My problem is that you put your hands on people you had no business touching.”
His expression hardens. “Like I said, we got a call. We followed the lead and found four armed individuals inside.”
“In a fucking gun range, after hours.”
“They were still armed. You know the protocol as well as I do.”
“I know you had no probable cause to detain them.”
“We had enough to secure the scene until we knew what we were dealing with.”
“You knew exactly what you were dealing with. Remi told you she owned the place, agreed to show identification, and told everyone to put their weapons down.”
Grey gives me a hard look. “And everyone walked away.”
I grab the front of his uniform and shove him back against the lockers. “She had bruises around both wrists.”
His hands close around my forearms. “Maybe she shouldn’t fight the cuffs next time.”
I tighten my grip on his uniform. “There won’t be a fucking next time, you goddamn piece of shit. You’re lucky that’s all that happened.”
Grey has no idea how close he came to starting a war. If one nervous officer had fired inside Sloane’s, losing Remi wouldn’t have been the only consequence. The Cain family would have torn this department apart to reach whoever was responsible.
“Thiago, you need to calm down.” Ryan places a firm hand on my forearm.
“Were you there too?” I ask without taking my eyes off Grey.
Ryan’s hand drops. “No, I wasn’t, but—”
“Then you have nothing else to say.” I release Grey and step back. “Internal Affairs will receive a report.” Before my anger gives me yet another reason to stay, I turn away from him.
“It won’t change anything,” Grey shouts after me.
I keep walking.
“I get it, Braga.” He chuckles under his breath. “She’s a sweet piece of ass. I’d probably lose my head over her too.”
I’m halfway across the locker room when I turn and head straight for him. Ryan catches me around the torso before I reach Grey, and two other officers grab my arms.
“Fuck you!” I roar as I fight to break their hold.
Grey straightens and dusts off his uniform. “You’re the one who’s fucked.” He points at me. “You’re letting pussy get in the way of doing your job.”
I wrench one arm free, then the other, and Grey’s confidence evaporates as I start toward him again.
“Officer Braga.” The commander’s voice stops me before I reach him. "My office. Now."
The locker room goes silent.
I slam the office door behind me and stalk toward Elena’s desk.
She leans back in her chair as if this is just another day at the precinct, not as if I were seconds away from tearing Grey apart with my bare hands.
“You were the source of the intel, weren’t you?” I slam my fist on her desk. “Tell me. Was it you?”
She studies me before reaching for a cigarette, then lights it and takes a slow drag.
“I’ve been gone for weeks, Operative, waiting for you to fulfill your end of the deal you agreed to.” She exhales a stream of smoke. “Did you plant the devices?”
“Fuck the devices, and fuck this assignment. You’re not getting intel because there isn’t any to find. Remi knows nothing.”
She trusted me enough to share her family’s past, but none of it gives Elena what she wants.
The commander smiles around her cigarette. “Is that right, or are you compromised, just as I knew you would be?”
“I know her better than I did when you sent me after her. If she knew anything, I would’ve found it by now.
You want something on the Cains so badly?
” I step closer. “Then do it yourself. Walk into their house and take whatever the fuck you think is there. I dare you. But I’m done with this assignment. ”
She arches an eyebrow. “Fine. I’ll start your transfer immediately.”
When she reaches for her phone, I snatch it and hurl it at the wall. “I’m not leaving Philadelphia.”
“You don’t get to make that decision.” She rises from her chair and steps around the desk. “You’re in serious breach, Operative. You stopped sending useful reports weeks ago, ignored every check-in I issued, and never confirmed you planted the devices. Did you really think I hadn’t noticed?”
“What are you going to do?” I move toward her. “Put a hit on my head, too?”
Her lips press into a thin line. “Get out.”
“I’m calling HQ to request your transfer.
You’re out of control, Elena. This stopped being about justice a long time ago.
You’re out for blood, and I’m done helping you get it.
This isn’t what we do, and it sure as hell isn’t what I signed up for.
One of the kids you sent Grey after is only seventeen. ”
“I said, get out. Empty your locker while you’re at it.”
I point at her. “Stay away from Remi and her family.”
“Are you threatening me?”
I wrench open the office door. “No. That’s a fucking promise.”
“Do you really think it’s that simple?”
I stop with one hand still wrapped around the handle.
“You don’t resign from Helios, Operative.” Her voice remains calm behind me. “Helios decides when it’s done with you.”