The sounds of heavy footsteps broke them apart, and Jimmy found himself staring stupidly as a squad of cops flooded into the room. There were at least a dozen armed officers and two men with FBI emblazoned on their bulletproof vests.
“Freeze! Hands in the air! All of you!” the lead cop shouted, his weapon pointed right at Cold.
Tamerlane’s eyes were glassy and dark. He was already reaching for the guns at his hip, lost in a deadly trance. The other Gentlemen were also all poised to attack despite being grossly outnumbered.
Cold held up his hand, silently shaking his head.
Tamerlane bared his teeth, but backed down. He raised his arms as two cops immediately accosted him. They slammed him roughly up against the wall and took his guns.
“Hey! You pigs fuckin’ watch it!” Lorre barked furiously, grunting as one of the FBI agents grabbed his arm and twisted it behind his back.
Jules struggled when they came for him, and it took three men to keep him pinned to search him.
“Suspects are secure!” one of the FBI agents called out.
Detective Augustus Duplin appeared, marching through the crowd of officers toward them. Duplin was Jimmy’s adoptive father after David went to jail, and their relationship was complicated at best. The last time Duplin had come to the mansion was when Cold blackmailed him into helping him pull off his grand plan last year.
Jimmy was furious to see him waltzing so confidently into the bedroom. He pulled away from Cold’s embrace and glared at Duplin as he demanded, “What the hell do you think you’re doing here! You’d better have a freakin’ warrant—”
“Stay out of my way, Jimmy.” Duplin brushed right by him without another word. He refused to even look at Jimmy and stayed on course to face Cold. His expression was calm as he pulled out a pair of handcuffs, regarding Cold with a blank stare.
“Hello, Detective,” Cold said calmly, standing perfectly still as if his home wasn’t being invaded. “It’s so nice to see you again. I’m assuming this is not a personal call.”
“Roderick Legrand,” Duplin said sternly, “you’re under arrest.”
“Ah.” Cold smiled icily. “What took you so long?”
Chapter Three
“Don’t get cute, Cold,” Duplin growled as he slapped the cuffs on him.
“I only meant that it seemed to take you an awful long time climbing up all those stairs,” Cold taunted. “Years are starting to catch up to you, hmm?”
“Roderick Legrand, you’re under arrest for the murder of Marco Luchesi. You have the right to remain silent,” Duplin recited dutifully, grabbing Cold’s shoulder and steering him toward the doors. “Anything you say can and will be used against you in a court of law...”
“Rod?” Jimmy called out weakly.
