Total pages in book: 75
Estimated words: 73302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 73302 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 367(@200wpm)___ 293(@250wpm)___ 244(@300wpm)
Zach studied me for a moment. “And what did you think?”
“That he made a mistake. That I loved him, and I missed him. Dante and I needed him, but I can’t tell him that because he already feels so much fucking guilt about it.”
“Do you think maybe when you screw up, he gives you the same benefit of the doubt?”
I shrugged. “I guess so, but you sure as hell wouldn’t think so from what he says to me.”
“Do you always say what you mean when you talk to your brothers?”
I thought of all the times I’d told Lorenzo I hated him when he tried to stop me from doing what I wanted, and all the times when “fuck you” really meant “I love you” or “thanks.” I shook my head. “No.”
“I bet he doesn’t either.”
“Maybe not, but we’re still not talking to them. I won’t put you in that kind of danger.”
“We’re looking for a man who doesn’t mind torturing children, and you don’t seem worried about my safety tracking him down.”
“That’s different. That’s your assignment, and I can’t stop him, but I can keep you away from my family.”
“So then, what’s the plan? We’re going to have to be more subtle. We need to do something to scare whoever else is involved enough to make them reveal themselves by turning up the heat or approaching you with the blackmail demands. What would do that?”
I tilted my head as I thought, and Zach smiled. Fuck, I wanted to kiss him and forget about Ivanov, but I couldn’t do that. Then the idea came to me. “An audit.”
Zach stared at me for a moment. “Fuck me. That’s perfect.”
“Nothing would scare an accountant more than an audit when they know they’re fucking with the books.”
“Especially an audit from the FBI.”
My mouth dropped open. “Shit. Are you with the bureau?”
Zach nodded. “Guilty.”
“I thought you were with some black ops agency who’d kill you if you revealed their name.”
His smile did distracting things to me. “No, just an agency I shouldn’t mention around career criminals.”
“This is so fucked-up.”
“It is, but I can play officious accountant in my sleep.”
I looked him up and down. “I bet you could, but you’ve been seen with me at the casino.”
“I’m going to need a disguise and a new persona, but I can handle that. Or rather, others in my office can. I’m way overdue for a check-in.”
“So I get to see you all dressed up in an FBI suit and shades?”
“You do.”
I wrapped one of his curls around my finger. “With the red hair that goes with this skin?”
“How’d you know?”
Was he serious? “Babe, your dye job wasn’t that thorough.” I looked down.
“Fuck. How had I not even thought about that? Maybe I’m not fit for undercover work anymore.”
“Not true. You just met your match.”
“I think I did.” Those words hung in the air, and I tried really hard not to take them the way I wanted to.
29
ZACH
Iarranged to meet Maria at a bar in Gretna. She balked about meeting in person but finally decided we were safe enough that far out of the city. I’d told Rafe that I would need her help setting things up, but really all I needed was a new ID and a convincing-looking badge. She didn’t like it when I gave her my request, but she told me she’d bring the documents; she wouldn’t promise to give them to me though. She wanted to hear my full story first.
What if I couldn’t convince her? Then I would have to get Rafe to get the materials for me. Did he have a way to do that easily without his family knowing? I doubted it. Maria was going to have to come through for me one more time.
She was probably starting to get that this was likely to be my last assignment. I wanted to put people like Ivanov behind bars—or, in his case, in the grave—but doing it under government scrutiny wasn’t working for me.
Right, because how can you date a mobster and be a fed?
I pushed that thought away. I wasn’t dating Rafe, and I certainly wasn’t going to continue dating him after this, no matter how much I wanted to.
Then why bother quitting?
I was quitting before they forced me out. I may not even make it to the end of this assignment.
If that happened, it happened, but I sure as hell wasn’t going to stop until Ivanov was dead. If I had to fight every other agent in the bureau, I’d get him. Rafe and I would get him. And if he was right and Xavier was on my side, then I didn’t really have anything to worry about.
I arrived at the bar wearing jeans, a T-shirt, and a leather jacket—clothes I’d picked out from my gambling con man cover, the shortest-lived undercover identity I’ve ever had. Not that anyone but Rafe actually knew who I was, and I might take it back on when meeting his family. He sure as hell wasn’t going to introduce me as a federal agent.