around the room. “I know I owe you an explanation.”
“You sure as hell do.” Rising out of his chair, Peterson walked around his desk. “Can you tell me what the hell you were doing there?”
Pursing my lips, I countered, “You’ve had surveillance there, so I’m sure you’ve seen exactly what I’ve been doing there.”
“Up until today, the only involvement we’ve had has been through phone tapping.”
“Then how in the hell did you know about the guns if you didn’t have the clubhouse wired up?”
“We received a tip in the middle of the night. Because of the intricate detail of the information given, we deemed it to be reliable. I assembled a small team as quickly as I could. Since it was a weekday morning, I knew we would be dealing with the least number of Raiders on the property. Luckily for us, we got all the officers in one sweep. We’re working on the other members as we speak.”
My eyebrows rose in surprise. “Just a tip? You didn’t have any physical evidence tying the guns to the Raiders besides the tip?”
Peterson crossed his arms over his chest. “Would you like to tell me what you were doing there? Considering the spectacle between you and Bishop Malloy, I’m pretty sure you weren’t there in an official capacity.”
After jerking a hand through my hair, I sighed. “A week after Gavin’s murder I went to see Bishop. We’ve been talking every day since then.”
“Just talking?”
“This past weekend it became more.”
“Just exactly how much more?”
I threw up my hands. “I’m in love with him, okay? Somehow along the way as I was getting to know him, I fell in love.” Although I hated myself for it, my bottom lip quivered as I added, “And now he despises me.”
Peterson exhaled loudly. “How is it possible you fell for a man that you hated so much? Have you forgotten his involvement in Gavin’s death?”
I shook my head. “That’s just it. He’s not who I originally thought he was. None of the Raiders are.” At Peterson’s skeptical look, I continued. “Yes, at one time they did partake in illegal activity. But then they lost several of their members to violence, and then Deacon became a father and wanted a better, safer life for his daughter. Those factors made them choose to go legitimate. Because I spent so much time with them, I know they’re innocent.”
“If they are innocent, how do you explain the guns in their warehouse?”
“They were framed.”
Peterson scoffed as he leaned back against his desk. “I usually appreciate conspiracy theories, but I’m not in the mood today.”
“Bishop told me that there were members of their organization who weren’t happy with them going legitimate. He said they were the ones who orchestrated the shooting in Virginia. I think whoever has this bad blood wanted to get back at Bishop and the others, so they planted the guns there and then called the tip in to you guys.”
Scratching his chin, Peterson appeared thoughtful. “And where does this animosity for the Raiders come from?”
“I think it somehow all goes back to that deal with the Rodriguez cartel. I think that the Raiders wanted out of the gun business as part of going legitimate, so they gave their gun trade to the cartel. Then someone didn’t like getting cut out of the guns.”
“That’s an interesting theory, but do you think you can prove it?”
My heartbeat thundered loudly in my chest. “If you give me a chance, I can.”
“You do realize what a chance you’re taking on this case? If it falls apart, your career is over.”
While my stomach twisted at the prospect of never rising through the ranks at the ATF, I knew that I had to do everything within my power to see that Bishop and the others weren’t falsely imprisoned. “I am aware of what could happen.”
Peterson stared me down for a few seconds before he turned and walked back around the side of the desk. As he sat back down in his chair, I couldn’t help holding my breath in anticipation. “Look, I know you’ve had a hell of a time since Gavin’s death, but never would I have expected you to go so far as to hook up with Malloy.” When I started to defend myself, Peterson raised a hand to keep me quiet. He got up again, then paced around in front of the desk as if he was searching for the right words. “I’ve always trusted your instinct, Vargas. Always. You’ve never given