“First of all, I didn’t have the note. I was just able to get a snapshot of it over Wren’s shoulder through the camera. That couldn’t be used to get the warrant. Second of all, the feds aren’t just after Robert anymore. Ivan is the big fish they’re going after now. They want to take them both down, but news of Ivan surfaced a few years ago, which made taking Robert down a low priority. They kept refusing to move on usable evidence in hopes of him leading us to Ivan later.”
“Fuck, this is all such bullshit. They’re buying and selling guns,” Pete says angrily.
“And people,” Dex adds, hugging me a little tighter.
“And people,” Pete nods in agreement. “What else do they need?”
“It’s not that simple. Evidence needs to be obtained without breaching their privacy. They are hoping to catch them in the act. But they need to make sure that they are actually there when the shipment changes hands, or else they’d never be able to tie it back to them and make it stick.”
He turns to me as he explains. “That’s why I had to get you out of there. After seeing that note, there was no way I was going to let Ivan get his disgusting hands on you. Thank god, you immediately started packing. I had no idea how I was going to get you out of there if you weren’t willing to leave.”
I try to process everything he’s telling me. It’s like viewing my entire life through a different lens, one I didn’t even know existed. The FBI had been watching me for overseven years, and not once did they ever think I was worthy of help. My fists clench in anger. What right do they have to choose to sacrifice my life like that?
“I knew if I left right then, that my colleagues would figure out I’d taken you. I wasn’t exactly quiet about my need to get you out of there over the years.” He pauses, taking a second to consider something, his eyes looking at Dex’s arm around me again. “In hindsight, that’s probably what I should have done.”
“Why didn’t you?” I ask, needing to understand.
“I needed to erase any footage of you. I didn’t want Robert following. Not just from your home, but from the bus terminal, too, and any other security cameras that you were caught on. Otherwise, Robert would have used his own hacker to track you within hours.”
He scratches his fingers along his sharp jawline, one that has hardened since I last saw him. “I didn’t have a plan in place yet. But I knew I couldn’t wait around for the Feds anymore. They’d already taken seven years from us.” His eyes bore into mine, and I could see the pain and anger there. “I wanted to take down Robert… permanently, and trying to do that while taking care of you wasn’t something I’d be able to do. I needed help.”
He looks around at the other four before he continues. “Who better to help than the four criminals who seemed to already care about you. It sounds crazy when I say it out loud, but at the time, it was the best option I had.”
“You helped us escape,” Sly says, sounding like he’s piecing something together in his head.
“Yeah, my hacking skills and FBI clearance really helped me with that one. I wasn’t sure you would even know I’d unlocked your cell.”
Suddenly, realization sets in. The guys had explained how every door they tried seemed magically open.
“Dex didn’t know the passcode, did he?” Sly asks.
Elias chuckles. “No, it just took me a little longer to hack into those exterior locks. I enjoyed the looks of disbelief when you thought he did, though.”
“Wait—” I say, leaning forward. “You were controlling the locks at my house, too? Weren’t you? You kept relocking the front door.”
A small smile pulls at the corner of his lips as he nods. “Yeah, the guards would have seen you right away.”
“It was smart to use the light to guide me to the other exit.”
“You were smart to follow it.”
“And the car?” Dex asks. “That was you, too.”
“Yeah, I was able to stash my car for you overnight, but being away any longer, they would have been suspicious. Besides, I had to erase all traces of Wren and you guys from any camera feeds. I saw her board the bus for Colorado, deleted the footage then stashed my SUV for you. I’d hoped you’d follow the clues I left to find her.” He looks at me and smiles. “And you did.”
“A note explaining all of this would have been helpful,” Dex mutters.
“And what if someone came across the car and found it? It would have basically been a written confession of my treachery.”
“Why are you here now?” Sly asks the final question we all want to know to complete the story.
“I knew the team looking into your prison escape was narrowing in. They’d figured out someone had remotely unlocked the doors, and it was only a matter of time beforethey traced it back to my console. I had to get away before they traced it back to me.”
“You sacrificed your job at the FBI to save me?” I ask, realizing everything he’s running from. He was one of them, and by aiding the guy's escape, he not only put himself in danger but also labeled himself a traitor.
“Sweetheart, don’t you get it?” he asks, his warm brown eyes softening as he looks at me. “I joined the FBIbecause of you. I knew something wasn’t right with your brother, and when I started looking into him, the FBI found me.”
That was seven years ago. He’s been watching and trying to get me out this whole time? Meanwhile, I had been thinking the worst.
