Lucky cocked his head to the side. “I’m not following you.”Squirming won’t get you out of this.
O’Donoghue hoisted himself off the desk and strode across the room to stare out the window over the city of Atlanta. “I’ve been in law enforcement for one hell of a lot of years, seen all kinds of people. More often than not, once a man goes bad, he never completely mends his ways. I didn’t trust you.”
Lucky snorted. “Yeah, and look who you did trust.”
O’Donoghue turned around in time for Lucky to catch his grimace. “I deserved that. Now, I take the blame for much of this mess. If I’d trusted you, if you’d trusted me, we could have found and corrected the problem within our ranks without so much damage.”
“Every man you brought with you went bad,” Lucky pointed out, in case the fact eluded the DEA man.
“Not really. Rogers and Eustace are followers, not leaders, though they too have their place in the world. I underestimated Landry. He gave orders, such as keeping tabs on you. Even he was smart enough to know you were the biggest threat to his plans.”
“Bullshit! You don’t doctor the boss’s coffee cup or steal files from him without being a bad’un. And not speaking out after even if you thought it was going to be a prank? Phillip was in this up to his eyeballs, and Rogers wouldn’t have made a suicide run if he was a good guy led astray.”
O’Donoghue shrank back. “I swear, I didn’t know!”
“You expect me to believe that? Especially after you chewed my ass every time they fed you shit about me they’d gotten by tailing me or bugging my friends?”My friends.Yes, Loretta Johnson was his friend. He should have trusted her.
“You’re right. I should have known something was up, and if I wasn’t so ready to believe the worst of you, I’d have asked more questions. They were telling me what I wanted to hear, and I shouldn’t have been so happy to hear it. I’m sorry.”
Grovel, baby, grovel. “You’re not sorry, You’re pitiful.”
The schoolyard snark got out before Lucky remembered he might want to temper his reaction. Hell with it. O’Donoghue’d just gotten the most honest job review of his life.
O’Donoghue flinched but didn’t reply in kind. “I don’t expect you to believe anything of me. I suspect I’ve ruined any hopes of you and I ever sharing a good working relationship.”
“Every man you brought with you went bad,” Lucky repeated. If he spoke slowly and clearly, the fucktard would hearIf your mouth is moving, you’re lying.
Didn’t keep him from talking though. “I hope you’ll at least let me do my job and assist Walter’s replacement.”
Like he’d done such a fine job so far. “What about all the fraternization bullshit?”
“Mr. Smith… talked to me about that.” O’Donoghue gave the ghost of a smile. “You have powerful friends. I should’ve known a man like Walter wouldn’t give trust lightly.”
“No, he wouldn’t.” Lucky’d spent more years than he wanted to admit proving himself worthy of Walter’s trust. Maybe Victor had gotten that particular ball rolling, but Walter would have shut him down regardless if Lucky hadn’t lived up to the faith Victor mistakenly placed in him.
“I’ve come to admire your unparalleled loyalty,” O’Donoghue said, voice soft.
What the fuck?
O’Donoghue stuck out his hand. “I’m asking your forgiveness for my arrogance and the harsh judgement you didn’t deserve.”
The DEA agent who wouldn’t go away sure could look sincere when he wanted to. Lucky’d stopped believing in coincidences the second time his fourteen-year-old self lost all his cash to a three-card monte slicker.
Lucky took the man’s hand, briefly, and gave a shark smile he’d probably learned from Victor. “You screw me or Bo over and they’ll never find your body.” Nowthatwas sincerity: O’Donoghue should take notes, plus wonder if a tobacco farmer’s son knew how fast the wild hogs would take care of the evidence.
O’Donoghue pulled back like he knew how fast his hand would get chewed off. “You’d have to beat Mangiardi to me. He’s already sworn the same.”
***
Bo barely paused long enough to banish the dog and cat to the back yard and shoved Lucky roughly against the wall, pressing them body to body. He clasped Lucky’s wrists, pinning his arms beside his head, and descended for kisses bordering on violent.
“Ty?” Lucky managed enough wits to ask.
“At Mrs. Griggs’.”
Oh, right. “In that case. Carry on.”
With a low growl, Bo released his grasp and yanked Lucky’s T-shirt over his head.
