When He's Dirty (Walker Security Adrian’s Trilogy #1) - Lisa Renee Jones Page 0,18
do see the problem here, right?”
I scrub my jaw. “Yeah, I get that, Blake, and I feel like shit about misleading her, but she’s scared.”
“You think you playing games with her makes that better?”
“I’m not playing a fucking game. I’m trying to keep us all alive, her included. Either she’s afraid because witnesses are dying or—”
“Waters promised to kill people she loves if she doesn’t do his bidding,” he supplies.
“Exactly. I have to know which to know how to help her.”
“I’ll do some digging,” Blake says. “And if she calls me? Where do you want this to go?”
“She seems to think Waters got to some insiders. I led her to Walker as an escape, a way to protect her witnesses. If she calls, I’ll know she’s not compromised.”
“The DA has to approve the finances. I’m not sure that’s a good indicator.”
“I know Ed. He’s a self-serving, power-hungry bastard. It’s an election year and this is a giant case. He’ll approve it. And if I read her right, she’ll call you and give you a chance to help her sell it.”
“And when are you coming clean with her?”
“After we get Walker approved and on the case officially. Waters has to go down. We’re the way everyone who can make that happen stays alive.”
“If that’s how you want to play this, you can’t meet with Ed. Who do you want on this?”
“Adam. He’s a chameleon. He’s our man.”
“All right, but, Adrian—don’t drag this out. This only gets dirtier the longer you deceive Priscilla.” Pri, I silently correct, but it doesn’t matter. Blake disconnects and I curse. He’s right. I’m treading water here, about to drown in sugar cookies and Pri Miller. I let this get personal with Pri when it didn’t have to be, but somehow it’s fitting. Everything about taking down Waters is personal, including protecting Pri. She can hate me, but she won’t get rid of me, not until this is over.
***
With my resolve firmly in place, I head to the rental house Blake lined up for us, and until now I’ve given very little thought of. In a short walk, the two-story slate gray house with a steepled roof probably runs a cool million. In Austin, that doesn’t mean you get a lot of house, not in this zip code. In other words, Pri’s parents gifted her an expensive property. She left their law firm but stayed in the house. I don’t want that to matter, but if she were anyone else, I’d be thinking about her position on money. Once you have a taste, it’s hard to walk away, even if you think you can, but I rule that out as a concern. I heard her with her mother. She could go back to the firm and make money again.
Money doesn’t motivate her.
She can’t be bribed, which means Waters would either kill her or threaten to kill someone close to her.
I walk through the side gate of the house and around back, entering directly into the kitchen, and step onto the gray varnished concrete floors that flow through the entire house. The living room to the left is empty and I spy a bag of Oreos on the top of the large marble island with my name on them.
Adam charges into the room before I get the chance, his voice low, but his agitation tics along his jawline. “What the hell are you doing, A?”
Grimacing, I grab the Oreos and snatch one. “Eating a cookie. I’m starving.” I inhale my cookie, and I’m ready for another. I reach for the bag.
He snatches it from my hand and sets them out of my reach. “What are you doing?”
“I don’t know if I should be pleased or irritated that Blake works this fucking fast.”
“You know what,” he says, sliding the cookies back in my direction, “eat up. You need something to shut you up, Rafael.”
I ignore the cookies and open the fridge, grabbing two beers and handing him one. “I did what I had to do.”
“You think she’ll see it that way?”
“Not a chance in hell,” I say, and not because of the name game I’m playing. Because I was a devil, and I lived like one. Because while there are laws to protect me, I pushed those limits, and I know it. I need immunity to even take the stand and she’s going to have to give it to me. Which means Pri’s going to have to know my sins to forgive them.