Mr. Alex turned to him, his brows raised in surprise. James ignored him, and Haley frowned up at her man, confusion masking her features. “Did she deliver the package?”
What fucking package? What the fuck is going on here?
John Alex nodded, “Ladies and gentlemen, this case is far from over. By shutting down those shipments, you have angered a lot of people. People high up in the government,” he explained.
“Are you saying we still have to deal with this shit?” Haley asked, rising from her chair. Her green eyes found her tainted agent’s and he shook his head.
“No, princess.”
John’s eyes seemed to soften as he watched the exchange, and that confirmed it for me. He knew about Haley and James all along. My heart skipped a beat.
“Just say it, John,” Dean said from behind me.
The man nodded. “Casey has been working closely on this for the last few weeks. She was able to hit a major breakthrough when Collin Stevens and Karina Jones gave you the information on the shipping containers. Several phone calls were made.”
“Casey tapped the phone lines?” I asked.
The director smiled at me. “I’ve had my suspicions for a long time.” He leaned on the back of the chair on his forearms. “Drugs and alcohol will always be smuggled into the country. That’s something the government was willing to overlook when it came to the mafia. Or so I thought. They were also overlooking flesh trafficking.”
“Are you saying Casey gave you a list of names? Of people involved with Romano?” Jer asked, coming up to the table.
John nodded. “You all will be safe. I have teams of people—ones I trust—like Agent Garner here— investigating these names as we speak. But we need to discuss Collin Stevens.”
My spine seemed to straighten at the tone in his voice. Haley shot me a look, her emerald gaze filled with fear. The gut twisting part? I was sure mine were, too. I leaned back against a solid chest and immediately, Dean’s arms wrapped around me.
“Collin Stevens is the most wanted man in the country, you all know this. However, Agent Garner has expressed his…concerns for the man’s future. And I, for one, know that someone needs to go to prison…”
He trailed off, and my body tensed. Collin didn’t deserve prison, no more than Dean and I did, or James or Jer. This man was standing in a room full of killers; no doubt he was one himself. If Collin went to prison, then we all should.
“Collin Stevens is not going to be that person,” he said softly. My shoulders sagged in relief, and Haley covered her mouth, tears brimming.
“Why?” Jer asked darkly, his eyes on the rain once more.
John Alex stared at my friend for a moment, studying him. “Probably the same reason you didn’t stay in prison, son.”
The room filled with a tension that remained until each of us finished our paperwork.
John assured us we were safe, and that Dean and I could bring our parents out of witness protection.
That was going to be a fun conversation…
Two hours later, we were done. After shaking hands with Mr. Alex one last time, Dean and I made our way to the hallway, Sullie and Dom following Haley out. James remained inside, discussing something with Jeremy.
Haley had her neck twisted, looking back at the two men talking in low voices. “Something happened between Casey and Jeremy. I can feel it,” she said as she turned back to us, wrapping her thick cardigan around herself. Dean snorted, and Sullie chuckled. Dom was just happy.
“About fucking time,” he said, which caused Sullie’s chuckled to become deepen.
“James doesn’t want that to happen,” Dean mused, running a hand through his beard.
“Too bad,” Haley smirked.
“Are we sure Jeremy can handle Casey?” I asked. “She's a spitfire.” And I fucking loved it.
“That boy is going to need someone to call him out on his bullshit,” Sullie boomed.
“Every man does,” Dean said, looking at me.
“Another wedding to plan,” Haley murmured.
