Last Mile (Vicious Cycle #3) - Katie Ashley Page 0,41
to go off on him. When I was finally able to speak again without losing my shit, I said, “I know Bishop better than you do—he will talk to me. It can still work.”
Peterson shook his head. “It doesn’t matter, Vargas. The case is closed.”
“You’re the lead agent. You could reopen it.”
“How quickly you forget that we all answer to somebody. The higher-ups would have my ass if I tried to reopen the case by sending you in.”
With my anger rising again, I flicked the empty coffee cup with the back of my hand. It went sailing over the edge of the table. After it landed on the floor, I looked Peterson in the eye again. “I won’t give this up. I can’t. I have to find justice for Gavin.” When Peterson opened his mouth to argue, I shook my head. “It’s not just about Gavin. This case with the Raiders isn’t so black-and-white anymore. They were attacked today after an important meeting this morning. I have to find out the truth.”
Crossing his arms over his chest, Peterson sighed. “You’re a grown woman with your own mind, and after living with my wife and two daughters, I know I can’t tell you what to do. But hear me when I say that whatever craziness you have running through your mind right now isn’t going to work. No matter how much you want to honor Gavin’s life, you won’t do it if you end up blowing your career, or worse, if you end up dead.”
“What I do off the record is of no concern to the bureau,” I countered.
“It is if it interferes with a mission.”
“The case is closed—you said so yourself.”
“No, the undercover aspect is closed. We will still be monitoring and collecting evidence on the Raiders.” Peterson leaned forward to place his hand on my shoulder. “Once again, I have to ask you to forget whatever plans you’re concocting in your head. You have a bright future at the ATF, Vargas. I want to be able to promote you in a year or two. The last thing I want to do is stand beside you as you clean out your desk because you’ve been fired.” He grimaced painfully. “Or worse, to stand beside your casket.”
With a roll of my eyes, I demanded, “How many times are you going to give me the fired-or-dead scenario?”
“As many as it takes to get it through your thick skull,” Peterson growled.
I had opened my mouth to argue some more when the door opened. An agent I’d never seen before poked his head in. “The McTavishes’ flight is about thirty minutes out. We have a car waiting to take you to meet them.”
“Thank you, Agent Sunderland.”
After nodding, Agent Sunderland closed the door.
“Would you like to come with me?”
Seeing Gavin’s grief-stricken parents was the last thing I wanted to do. On the other hand, my only other option was to sit alone in the room with my thoughts. With a humorless smile, I asked, “You got anything left in that flask to help fortify me for the trip?”
“If I don’t, we can make a pit stop.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “What would the bureau think about that one?”
Peterson rose out of his chair and offered me his hand. “On this one occasion, I would tell them to fuck off.”
I couldn’t help being surprised when a laugh escaped my lips. “I never imagined you to be a rebel.”
“Desperate times call for desperate measures.”
After momentarily weighing his words, I slipped my hand into his. “Yes. I do believe they do.”
NINE
BISHOP
Hours turned into days and then the days into a week. It was as if all record of Marley vanished the night he was killed. All the contact numbers the garage had on file were disconnected. The apartment complex where he was supposed to live had no idea who I was talking about when I went by there. There was no obituary in the paper, nor was he listed at any of the local funeral homes. I didn’t know Samantha’s number, or I would have tried her. It was the strangest fucking thing I had ever seen or heard of.
It was hell not being able to be a part of his funeral. Of course, as a hang-around, he wouldn’t have been afforded any Raiders’ burial rites. But at the same time, I wanted my chance to say good-bye. More than anything, I wanted to be able to tell him that I was sorry.