“Enter.” I make sure the displeasure can be heard in my tone. It takes all my years of training to not show my surprise when Special Agent Sebastian Riley strolls into the office without a care in the world.
He’s dressed down today, in a pair of dark wash jeans, and a black T-shirt that matches his messy, inky hair perfectly. He looks more disheveled than I’ve ever seen, and I have photographic proof of his time with my son…
“What can I do for you, Agent Riley?”
He stops in front of my desk, his hands in his pockets, his vivid blue eyes watching me shrewdly. “It’s more what I can do for you, Senator,” he says smoothly.
“I believe your job is finished. You were set a task and you pulled it off exceptionally. If you’re here to try to extort money from me…” I give him a small smile, letting him see behind the mask.
Sebastian shakes his head. “No, no, you have this all wrong. I’ve come here to warn you, Senator. Your daughter’s absence…it’s been noticed. They’re days away from sending out the cavalry. When they can’t find her…it’ll be you and her ‘fiancé’ they’ll turn to. What will you say? Will you stand in front of the cameras and speak of how dangerous monsters took both your son and daughter from you? Will you use this as a platform to run on? Your term will be up soon, and there’s talk you’re running once again.” He grins. “Rather ingenious, really. You preach of being the do-gooder, of trying to clean up the streets fromcriminals, all while being the most dangerous one out there… Or are you?”
“I don’t have time for your cryptic bullshit, Agent Riley. Either get on with it or get out. Don’t forget, I have evidence that will ruin you; you don’t want to test me.”
He shrugs, unconcerned. “Have you checked in with your men from the mansion yet?”
I frown. “The explosives went off without a hitch. I saw it happen myself.”
“Did you?” He tilts his head. “Did you forget who the Council has on their side? Neither Hollis Maddigan nor Leandro Mason are slouches when it comes to technology. Did you see all of your enemies go up in flames, or only what they wanted you to see?”
“That’s not possible…”
“They had control of the cameras, your own people confirmed that, which is why you shut it off. But was that before or after they broke into one of your servers and altered the footage?”
He pulls a hand out of his pocket, along with a phone. After a long, stilted moment of typing, he hands the device over.
I don’t want to take it, to call his bluff, but…I have to be sure. With a steady hand, I take the device and hitplay. The video is the same one I saw hours earlier. The feed glitches for just a moment as the cameras inside the house are shut off, and my people switch to the street cameras… Only what plays on the screen now shows the final explosion going offafterTennant Mason and Cristian Amato carry their rescues outside.
“How did you get this?” I ask, deathly quiet.
“Lachlan had someone in the city camera feeds. They were able to save the original before it was deleted from the system. Don’t ask me how, as all the tech stuff goes over my head. I had it verified by someone in cybercrimes—don’t worry, they won’t speak about what they saw. So, I’ll ask again, Senator,areyou the most dangerous criminal in town?”
“What do you want?”
He laughs. “Nothing big. I can’t risk being in the field with Cecily missing. She was my training partner, my mentor…they’re going to bench me and watch carefully to make sure I’m showing the correct amount of concern over her death. When you finally announce she’s gone, they’ll be rushing to replace her?—”
“So, what, you want me to put in a good word for you to take the SAIC spot?”
He scowls. “I wasn’t finished. But no, that will prevent me from doing whatever I want. I’m not built for politics; not like your daughter was. I’ll be much more efficient if I’m able to still go into the field.”
Resting my arms on the desk, I study him. “Missing undercover work already, Agent Riley? Do you want me to put you back in play? Maybe infiltrate the Council next?”
“I already told you, they’re going to bench me until they either arrest Cecily’s killer or you destroy them. But…put in a good word with your contacts at the Bureau, put forth someone on this list,”—he slips his other hand out of his pocket and sets a sheet of paper onto the desk—“and I can guarantee you’ll have a direct line to my side of the law for the rest of your life.”
“What makes you think I trust you? Or believe this is all you want?”
Sebastian laughs. “Oh, Senator…if I wanted to destroy you, I would have done it when you first let me fuck your son. Don’t worry, I’m not that different from you…a simple man looking to leave his mark on the world. If I have to make a deal with the devil for that to happen, so be it.”
He snatches his phone from where I laid it on the desk and turns to leave the office.
“You’re still in contact with Lachlan?” I hate having to ask anything from anyone, especially this slippery snake.Guess my “Needs to Die” list has a new name.
“Minimally, but yes. He wants to lie low, at least until the news of Cecily gets out. I’m building him a solid alibi as we speak.”
I nod, not happy about it, but understanding the need. Right now, we don’t want to make any waves, too many eyes will make it harder to do what needs to be done. Especially since the banes of my existence won’t fucking die. Cockroaches, Cecily called them once, and she had never been so right.
“Tell him to meet me at Cecily’s house. We need to get our story straight, and I need updates about what’s happening on the ground.”
Sebastian scowls. “I don’t answer to you.”
