Parker leaned down to Cross’ ear and whispered something to him on a low growl.
Steven coughed a laugh and rubbed his throat when Parker released him. “Possessive much, are we?” he rasped.
“You haven’t seen anything yet.” Parker sat beside me, practically shielding me from the wandering eyes of our guest.
“Alright, gentlemen. Let’s focus on the issue at hand or next time, we won’t stop him,” I told Cross. I pulled a stack of folders off the seat beside me and placed them on my lap. Stroking my fingers over the cream material, I took a breath and smiled with my sweetest smile at Agent Cross.
“Uh….” His brows furrowed. “Why do I feel like you’re about to give me bad news?”
“Oh, I don’t know.” I shrugged. “Maybe because I am. You’ve been a bad boy, Agent Cross.”
“What the hell are you talking about?” His back stiffened but he made no further moves so I continued.
“You see, after you threatened me, I did some research.”
“I didn’t threaten you.”
I raised an eyebrow. “No? I seem to recall that you had a file on me, telling me that I wasn’t a good girl and all that shit. I don’t take kindly to threats, Cross. I was with Devin for years and even he never threatened me.”
“That’s because he just took what he wanted,” he mumbled under his breath.
“Watch your fuck—”
“Parker.” I squeezed his arm and turned back to Agent Cross. “What Devin and I had is between me and him. How would your wife feel if she found out that you were siding with the bad guys? Yes, he abused me but that is no excuse. You of all people should know that.”
He looked away, guilt written all over his face.
I opened the folder before me and smiled. “You’ve paid your informants off in more ways than one. Getting cozy with the ladies, are we, agent? I see that some drugs have gone missing from the evidence room. And some guns, too.”
His mouth fell open and he snapped it shut before shaking his head. A dark shadow moved over his face. “You don’t—”
“I do. I’d be very careful what I say next, Steven. I’ve had a very long morning and I’m in no mood to deal with your uncooperative shit. Your life is now in my hands.” Thankfully my voice came out stronger than how I felt because, in reality, my nerves were shot. It had been a rough couple of months and I was in no way ready to deal with this. But I had to. A war was setting in between all of us and Devin and his boys. I didn’t even know how many people he had working for him but I could only imagine that it was more than what we had.
“You have nothing on me,” Cross growled, a slight flush creeping up his neck.
“Just like you have nothing on me?” I asked, raising an eyebrow.
He didn’t respond.
“That’s what I thought.” I handed him a folder. “That can go away if you do everything that we say.”
“What do you need?” he asked, flipping through the file.
I glanced between Colin and Jones. Colin nodded at me encouragingly.
Parker squeezed my hand.
I met his gaze for a brief moment before turning back to Agent Cross. I finally said the only thing that I could think of. The only thing that all of us had needed over the past couple of weeks. “Freedom.”
CAN’T clear your records. I don’t have that kind of authority,” Agent Cross stated, keeping his eyes on the file in his hands. “I don’t…” He let out a heavy sigh, his shoulders slumping with defeat.
We had him. Right where we wanted him.
“How do you think I’m going to erase everything for you? I don’t have that kind of power.”
“Yes, you do. If we hadn’t stepped in, you’d bring Devin down on your own.” I smiled. “It would probably take you a couple more years but you would eventually succeed.”
His eyes popped up. “And you actually think that you could bring him down faster? What are you going to do? Kill him?”
I laughed. “That would be too simple. You see, I want him to pay for the shit he did to me when I was a young girl. I want him to suffer at the hands of fate as I stare into his lifeless eyes.”
“You said that you didn’t want to kill him.”
I shrugged. “I don’t. That man is a monster. He’s a