Black Jack (Advantage Play #5) - Kelsie Rae Page 0,9

turns himself in while maintaining his claim to innocence. Less than two weeks later, we receive a shit-ton of evidence that his superior is the mastermind behind the entire ordeal. And while it might clear your name, it has only muddied the waters more for your unit. I’m going to need you to be honest with me. Do you think you can do that?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Why did you run?”

“Because I knew I was innocent.”

“Innocent men don’t run.”

“They do when they know they’re being framed by someone with a hell of a lot of power,” I counter.

“Then why did you come back? And where the hell did you go?”

“I wanted to see if I could find any evidence that would clear my name.”

“Such as?”

“I didn’t know,” I answer honestly. “I started thinking back on my work with Reed and how every time he was involved, Burlone would always slip away like he’d been tipped off.”

The chair opposite of mine creaks as Embry leans back and scratches his jaw.

“Hmm,” he hums after a few seconds. “It could just have easily been you tipping Burlone off.”

“It wasn’t. The one time I didn’t include Reed in the operation was the one time we were able to bring in multiple key players in the human trafficking industry.”

“Except Burlone,” Embry points out, unconvinced.

“Who was found a few days later,” I return just as quickly. “And you didn’t see Reed after the raid and arrests. He was…erratic. Emotional. Ready to snap. I noticed it, and I’m sure a few other agents on the task force noticed it, too, and will corroborate my findings.”

“Possibly. There weren’t any of your fingerprints on the phone found in your desk that had initially linked you to Dominic Castello, but it had been wiped down.”

“Reed must’ve wiped it before it was planted there.”

“I was with Reed the night the phone was found. How could he have planted it?”

My shoulders slump. “I…I don’t know.”

“Hmm,” he hums again.

This isn’t going well.

“Does the name Dominic Castello sound familiar?” he asks.

“Yeah, of course. He was supposed to be at the tournament with Burlone, Moretti, Carbonne, and Russo.”

“But he wasn’t. Do you know why?”

“No clue,” I answer honestly.

“The phone had been dead for weeks, yet less than twenty-four hours after you turned yourself in, it was pinged with another message. Does that sound like a coincidence to you?”

“I assume my arrest made the news. Maybe it was enough to convince Dominic to contact Reed again.”

“Hmm,” he hums again. The sound grates on my nerves, but I try to hide my annoyance from the bastard who’s interrogating me. No need to add fuel to the fire.

“Why didn’t you tell Reed about the tournament?” Embry demands.

“Because I started to catch on to the pattern and the fact that Burlone kept slipping away. He was always two steps ahead of us.” The lie rolls off my tongue with ease while a pit of guilt sits like a stone in my gut. I should’ve caught on to the pattern. I should’ve recognized the signs that Reed was a snake. But I didn’t. It was sheer luck that he was caught, but I’m not about to tell Embry that.

“Why didn’t you come to me and make a formal complaint against him?”

“You would’ve believed me?” I challenge. “I didn’t have any evidence, just a gut feeling.”

“A gut feeling that has backed you into a corner. If you would’ve come to me, this situation would’ve gone very differently.”

My knuckles are white as I dig my fingers into the wood arms of the chair. “And now, I have to live with the consequences.”

“Yes. You do,” he agrees. The silence that follows is stifling, but he doesn’t break it. He just stares at me from across the small office in an attempt to make me crack. He doesn’t know me, though. I won’t crack. I’m stronger than that.

“I want to believe you, Jack. I’ve always thought you were a good guy and a good agent. Until this is cleared up, you’ll be taking a leave of absence,” he decides. “You’ll keep your head down. You won’t talk to the press. You won’t leave the state. We clear?”

“Yes, sir.”

“Good. Your fiancée is waiting outside.”

My eyes widen. How the hell does he know about Bianca?

“You’re free to go.” He waves his hand toward the door.

Shaking off my shock, I stand up and head toward the exit when his cold, indifferent voice stops me. “One more thing.”

I glance over my shoulder. “Yes, sir?”

“How long have you been dating Dominic Castello’s