A lump forms in my throat, and I force it away, squaring my shoulders. This is no time for feeling sorry for myself. I’m working.
I knock on the door of the FBI safe house, sending a text message from my phone at the same time. An agent opens the door, his gaze sweeping over me from head to toe.
“Nice ring,” he says, his eyes fixated on my lip.
“Where is she?” I give him an annoyed glare.
He closes and locks the door, then gestures to a hallway. “Second door on the left. But I need to see photo ID first.”
I take out the black leather case that holds my driver’s license and open it for him. I don’t carry anything that identifies me as a Greenlight agent. Normally, I don’t even carry my own license.
The agent looks at my photo and then at me. “You know Steve Bolding? I heard he was recruited by Greenlight.”
I shake my head and force myself not to roll my eyes. “I’m not sure what you mean. I work as the personal assistant to an executive in the city.”
My deadpan tone makes the agent arch his brows with surprise. “Really? You’re maintaining cover with me?”
“Can we not do this?” I ask, aggravated. “I came here for a reason.”
He shrugs. “You know where to find her.”
I turn toward the hallway and walk to the second door on the left, which is closed. I knock and push it open. Coco is sitting on the bed, her legs crossed. A female FBI agent is staring down at her smartphone.
“You bitch,” Coco says with a snarl. “I fucking knew you’d screw us over.”
She launches herself off the bed toward me, but the click of the agent’s handgun stops her.
“Stay back,” she says in a level tone. “Don’t touch her.”
I turn to the agent. “Can we have a few minutes alone?”
The agent gives me an incredulous look. “You want to be alone with her?”
“Yeah. Nothing I can’t handle.”
She shrugs and gets up, closing the door behind her. Coco lunges toward me, and I grab her shoulders, pushing her back against the bedroom wall.
“You listen to me,” I say sharply. “I’m here to get you, but I could just as easily leave you here a few more days. Don’t piss me off.”
Her eyes narrow. “Don’t piss you off? I’m gonna fucking kill you as soon as I get my hands on you.”
“You’ll never get your hands on me, you freeloading, dumbass wannabe.”
She kicks me in the shin, and it fucking hurts. I give her a knee to the stomach to shove her back against the wall.
“Bitch,” she says in a wheezing tone, still trying to suck air into her lungs.
“Tramp,” I say in her face.
“How the hell would you know? Did Nix say that about me?”
I don’t like her, but her crushed expression gets me all the same.
“No. Quite the opposite. Nix is the reason you’re going free.”
Her eyes light up. “He bailed me out?”
I shake my head. “No, he made a deal.”
