I failed?—
My breathing flattens again.
“Why do you want the hat?” she asks.
But I can’t tell her.
I can’t tell anyone.
I need to focus.
I need to get out of here and then find Hedda and get the hat.
And the easiest way to get out of here is with a deal.
“I’m not telling you anything until the deal is signed,” I say, trying to switch back into my calculating nature.
“I have talked to the US Attorney’s Office. They are very hesitant due to the extent of your crimes?—“
“Alleged crimes,” I interrupt her, and she scoffs.
“They are uncertain about your honesty, which I have to admit, I am hesitant about, too. “Therefore,” she continues, “they might offer a deal under the following circumstances: you will be wearing an ankle monitor at all times, you will not be able to move away more than five miles from your home, unless you are with me or any other officer I advise you to. Any felonytaking place during this time will revoke the deal, and you will be prosecuted immediately for allallegedcharges by full force.”
I swallow. Hard.
Because hunting Hedda with an ankle monitor? Bringing her down with legal ways? Absolutely not happening. But I am also not walking out of here without it, either. Unless I break out.
I mean, I could sign it, cut the ankle monitor, and vanish. I can take on a new identity just as easily.
“And what is it I will do in return exactly to get this muzzle deal?” I say sardonically, because I can’t just agree. It would be too suspicious.
“You will help me solve the cases as a consultant,” she says plainly. “Meaning, you will give me insights on everything we don’t have access to.”
“You are asking for an awful lot for something quite small,” I say. “You are aware I could already run free if I wanted to.”
She chuckles slightly, and a soft grin appears on her face.
“You could, I am sure,” she says. “But you’d always have to watch your back.Always.Always be on your guard, always pretending, always becoming someone else, always hiding.”
A heavy feeling appears in my stomach.
“I was born for that life,” I say.
“Just because someone was born into something doesn’t make it their destiny.”
I stare at her.
She knows too much about me.
And I can’t have anyone know me well.
“Give me the paperwork,” I say, knowing that I will cut that ankle monitor the moment I have prepared everything for me to vanish.
6
REID
PLAYLIST: COME WITH ME NOW – KONGOS
