When He's Bad

by Jones, Lisa Renee

  Chapter Twenty

  ADRIAN

  I open the sliding glass doors and allow Pri to exit to the outdoor space that darn near wraps the house. I’m directly behind her, shutting out our audience. The day is a cooler Texas seventy-something, the scent of rain still a kiss in the light breeze. The clouds once again are a dark, turbulent smoky gray. Pri walks toward the railing, giving me her back, hands on the railing, miles of hill country along the horizon, while the horseshoe-shaped pool is directly below.

  I’m on her heels, right there with her, and when she turns to face me, she says, “The problem with that,” she says again. “The problem with you making yourself a bullseye is that I don’t want you to die.” Her voice cracks with emotion. “You don’t get to make me need you this much, and then go off and get yourself killed. You don’t get to do that.”

  The emotion radiating from her punches me in the chest. I capture her waist and step into her. “I’m not going anywhere,” I say, my voice low, rough, affected. Everything about this woman affects me. “I have too many reasons to live now. You, Pri. You’re all of those reasons.”

  “You can’t say that. You can’t make yourself a target for Waters and not think you can defy death. We need a plan that keeps everyone alive. I need to meet with Logan.”

  “No. Absolutely not.”

  “If he’s with them, with Waters and the Devils—and, Adrian, in my gut I know he is—I’ll offer him immunity for helping.”

  “You can’t trust him.”

  “I don’t plan on trusting him. I plan to force his hand. My father defends criminals, but I’ve always known him to walk within the law. He’s fine with manipulating the law to the farthest reach for the worst of people, but he won’t step outside it. I know Logan broke his rules. I know my father won’t appreciate that.”

  My lips press together, and I go to a place I know she doesn’t want to go, but I also need her to see beyond the moment. “He was okay with him fucking his secretary while he was engaged to you.”

  She barely blinks. “The whole ‘men will be men’ thing does not screw with my father’s finances. This does. This could destroy him.”

  “He’s your father’s golden boy, sweetheart. You don’t know where that leads.” I cup her face and tilt her mouth to mine, lowering my voice. “Let’s go to the bedroom and talk.”

  “We won’t talk in the bedroom,” she objects weakly, sounding breathless. I like her breathless.

  “We need a break.”

  “We need this to be over.”

  “But not us, Pri,” I say. “Not us.”

  Her fingers curl on my T-shirt. “What happened to the imminent ending where I hate you?”

  “I’m going to take every moment you give me,” I say and so I do. I take. My mouth closes down over hers, and I kiss her, drinking her in, tasting her, letting her taste the truth on my tongue. I’m not letting her go. Our lips part and I say those exact words. “I’m falling in love with you, Pri. I’m not letting you go. Not unless you make me.”

  “You’re—you’re—”

  “Yes. I am.”

  The door behind us opens and I turn to find Adam standing in the doorway. “Blake needs to see you, Adrian. Now.”

  His tone is clipped, pure steel. The kind of tone he speaks during high-stress combat situations. Pri catches on, too. “What happened?” she asks urgently, twisting out of my arms. “What’s going on?”

  He glances at her and then me. “Just come inside.”

  I draw in a breath and Pri is already storming toward the house. I follow quickly, dread twisting in my gut. Whatever this is isn’t good, which is exactly why I catch Pri’s hand and give a small tug, halting her, ready to prepare her for the worst.

  She turns to face me, steps into me and pushes to her toes. “Whatever it is, we’ll get through it. And just to be clear. I’m already, most likely, probably, in love with you, but I won’t admit it this soon.”

  Pri thinks she’s in love with me.

  There is a fire in the pit of my stomach and thunder in my ears.

  She’s giveth, and somehow, I know that gift is about to be taken away.

  I cup her head and kiss her hard and fast when what I really want is to throw her over my shoulder and carry her to the bedroom. She trails her fingers over my goatee and then she’s twisting away from me, already entering the kitchen. Adrenaline pumps through me, but I calmly follow her and soon we’ve reclaimed our seats at the island. The mood is decidedly somber. Savage, Adam, and Lucifer are all in stony, unreadable soldier mode which in and of itself promises this is about to get nasty.

  Fuck.

  What the hell is happening?

  Did Pri’s family get hit? Surely not. They’d warn me. Did Ed get hit? Maybe. Fuck.

  My eyes meet Blake’s, and I say, “What the hell, Blake?”

  And then he drops the bomb. “There’s a warrant out for your arrest.”

  “What?” Pri gasps. “No. That would go through me. That’s not possible.”

  “And yet it is,” Blake says. “It’s out of Chicago. The DA wants him brought in immediately.”

  “Chicago?” Pri demands. “You’ve got to be kidding me.” She looks at me. “Have you ever been to Chicago?”

  “Never,” I say, my tone flat, while my mind rages with the regret of letting Waters and Deleon live.

  “Well,” she says, “that’s where Logan is from. That bastard. What do they want to question him on?”

  “A charge of murder,” Blake states.

  “Murder?” she gasps. “No,” she says, recovering instantly. “No. He was an FBI agent. He has natural immunity. Damn it.” She turns to me. “I’ll fix this.” She’s already reaching for her phone.

  I catch her arm. “Who are you calling?”

  “Ed to start. Logan and my father are next.”

  “Wait just a minute, sweetheart,” I say softly, blood rushing in my ears, while her eagerness to defend and help me is both expected and unexpected. The unexpected part being of my own making. “Blake,” I say, holding her hand and eyeing him. “What else? Who did I kill?”

  His jaw clenches. “Your brother while you were both undercover inside the Devils.”

  And there it is. Pri now knows my brother was an agent. She now knows he was undercover with me. I release her without looking at her and press my hands to my legs, but in my head, I’m screaming, Fuck, fuck, fuck. “What else?” I ask tightly, calmly even, despite the rage of emotions punching at me.

  Instead of offering more details, he asks a question. “Was your brother ever in the state of Illinois?”

  “No,” I say, “at least not that I know of. This is Waters trying to discredit me as a witness. Obviously, we now know Logan’s involved. Had I just jumped off this case, this wouldn’t have happened.”

  “I’ll handle this,” Pri says again. “Let me do my job and protect my star witness.”

  I glance at Blake. “Let her do what she can do.”

  I grind my teeth and release her and she immediately eyes Blake. “Where is Ed right this minute?”

  “He just arrived at the Walker facility.”

  “Then he had better accept my damn call because he should have stopped this from happening.” She glances over at me. “I got this. You saved me, Adrian. I’m going to save you.”

  Only she can’t save me. That sin will haunt me for the rest of my life. And hers, too, if I’m selfish enough to stay in her world.

  Chapter Twenty-One

  PRI

  “I need a minute,” Adrian says, and then he leans on the island and stares at Savage. “If you let her do something stupid and get hurt, I swear to you, man, you think you’re an assassin? I will be your assassin.”

  He’s upset, a pulse of dark emotions radiating from him, but it’s me he’s worried about. I don’t know one other person in my life who would put me first in milder situations, let alone one of this magnitude.
<
br />   And for once, Savage doesn’t snap back. “I’ve got her back,” he says simply. “And yours.”

  And when Adrian’s gaze slides to Adam, Adam concurs, “Make that two of us.”

  “Three,” Lucifer says.

  “Four and a whole lot more,” Blake adds.

  Adrian draws a deep breath, pushes off the island, and doesn’t look at me. He just heads toward the stairs. I’m already dialing Ed. He answers on the first ring. “I need an all-inclusive immunity agreement for Adrian Mack and I need it now.”

  “I already know about Adrian Mack,” he says. “Chicago is pressing murder charges.”

  “Aside from the fact that he has immunity while undercover—”

  “Not as much as he did a few years back,” he interrupts. “Not in the world we live in today and you know it.”

  “He’s willing to testify on national television. His life will never be his own again, so don’t counter with that, Ed. You should have already told Chicago this is bullshit. He’s our star witness. Claim him.”

  “Murder, Pri. This is not a small charge.”

  “The Chicago team handling this is dirty,” I say. “Waters got to them and this is all about discrediting our witness. I need the agreement for Adrian. And I need you to call Chicago and make this go away.”

  “I’m not dirtying myself up for a killer.”

  “A killer?” I demand, adrenaline surging through me, all but making my hands shake. “He’s an FBI agent, a hero willing to give up his life to take down a monster. And I thought we were on the same team. I thought we all wanted Waters.”

  “I’m not giving him the agreement,” he snaps. “Not until I see how Chicago plays out.”

  “Then he’s not testifying,” I say. “You get that, right?”

  “Then I guess you’d better get to work making the case otherwise.”

  Unease curls inside me. This doesn’t feel right. “What don’t I know?”

  “You know what I know.”

  “He’s a member of Walker.” I hit the speaker button.

  “I don’t give a fuck about Walker,” he says.

  My eyes meet Blake’s and his gaze is downright cutting. “Then catch an Uber back to the airport,” Blake says. “You’re on your own.”

  “Who is this?” he demands.

  “This is Blake Walker,” Blake says. “I’m surprised you don’t recognize my voice, considering I’m the one who set-up your protective service. You asked for my personal commitment to your safety.”

  “Right,” Ed says awkwardly. “Blake. Of course.”

  “Right,” Blake comments dryly. “Of course. Let me tell you something, Ed. Adrian is family to Walker Security. And since I’m not one to force a man to make a decision, perhaps our protective services have become a conflict of interest. You need some space between us and you to allow you to think with a clear mind.”

  “I sign your checks,” Ed snaps.

  “Walker doesn’t need your money,” Blake says. “I’m sure our references have made it clear how in-demand we are.”

  “Pick up the phone, Pri.”

  My eyes meet Blake’s, anger in the depths of his stare that I feed off of, but Blake isn’t done. “Ed,” Blake adds, “I’ll have my men get you to the airport when we hang up.” Blake motions to the phone.

  Understanding his cue, I punch the speaker button and go private with Ed. “Yes, Ed?” I ask.

  “I do not like being cornered. If you want to keep your job—”

  “You’re threatening my job now?”

  “Respect me. Keep your job. We’ll be replacing Walker.”

  “Let me be clear with you, Ed,” I say, “Agent Pitt was murdered in front of me. Someone set him up and planned to kill me right along with him.”

  “I heard. I liked Pitt. He was a good man.”

  “They will keep killing us off until Waters walks. And if you don’t think you need Walker, then I question you in all kinds of ways.”

  “What the hell does that mean, Pri?”

  “I don’t need to spell that out. We both know what I meant. Do what is right or I swear to you, I’ll go around you.”

  “You think it’s that easy, Pri? The Governor is going to lose his shit when he finds out our star witness is being charged with murdering his own brother, a fellow FBI agent.”

  “If we lose Waters, the Governor might just lose his reelection. And if you let them drag Adrian through the mud like this, you’re no better than Waters. Get me the agreement. Stand by your witness that I will personally vouch for. Do what’s right, Ed.”

  He hesitates and then offers a partial concession. “I’ll call Chicago and ask to see the evidence. Then we’ll talk.”

  “There won’t be any evidence. This is a fake plot twist. When can I count on you calling them?”

  “It depends. Am I about to be out on the street?”

  My eyes meet Blake’s. “I’ll ask Walker to give you the night to find another service. They’re good men. They won’t want your blood on their hands. I hope we’re in this together, Ed.” I hang up on him.

  “You fought like a warrior,” Adam comments.

  “Fighting doesn’t matter,” I say. “Winning does.”

  “You think Ed’s dirty?” Savage asks.

  “I think Ed is weaker than I realized,” I reply, stopping short of any agreement on that topic.

  “Weak means susceptible to corruption,” Blake interjects, his attention sliding to Lucifer. “What do we know about the trip his secretary took?”

  “It wasn’t some prize she won,” he says. “Ed paid for it in full.” He looks at me. “Was he afraid for her safety?”

  “It’s possible,” I say. “But as you can tell, he’s not a protective sweetie pie, either. And when he’s busy, she’s busy. With the Waters trial and election season, he’s busy.”

  “Who’s helping him while she’s gone?” Blake asks.

  “No one that I know of,” I say, my brows dipping. “Which is odd, but Ed’s whole decision-making process feels off right now. I’ve always felt like he was on the right side of the story, which is why I took this job.”

  “Well, so far,” Lucifer says, “we haven’t proven he’s involved in anything nefarious. But we haven’t even figured out how Pitt made the connection that got him in trouble last night, either.”

  “Waters is a man of resources,” Blake adds. “He clearly has someone like us, even a team of tech whizzes working to cover up his shit. My concern with that is this: I’m someone who can track an electronic path. I’m also someone who can create a fake trail and make it look real.”

  I follow where he’s headed with this and I don’t like it. “You’re talking about Chicago and fraudulent evidence.”

  “I am,” he confirms. “My brother, Royce, and his wife Lauren are on their way to the airport now. Lauren’s going to represent Adrian. He just doesn’t know it yet.”

  “Is she good?” I ask.

  “Damn good,” Blake assures me, while the entire team chimes in with agreement.

  I try to take comfort in the team's confidence but I don’t quite get there.

  “Royce was high up the FBI chain,” Blake states. “He’s well-connected there and knows a few people on the federal team handling Waters. That’s why we knew Adrian was a good guy before we ever hired him. We’re all well-connected to some pretty high places. We’re calling in favors, and putting our resources to work, to get Adrian a federal pardon. We’ll drive over or through Ed to get there if we have to, but whatever you can do, would be good because—”

  “Any bump in the road,” I say, “especially at the holiday, could delay the trial. Not to mention, if we don’t get Adrian protection in time, I’ll have to delay the trial anyway. We need him to ensure a win. And a delay could mean more people will die.”

  “Exactly,” Blake concurs. “Pri, I know you need him, but we're talking about making him a hunted man
the rest of his life. He needs to limit his testimony. Behind a closed door, off-camera, whatever you can do to limit him.”

  “You’re right,” I say. “You’re right. I’ll talk to the judge. And I’ll see if we can arrange his sworn testimony sooner than later.”

  “Without him being arrested,” Savage says. “If he goes to jail, he won’t come out alive.”

  “I won’t let that happen,” I assure him and my gut twists with good reason—I know what I have to do. I know I have to make the choice between good and evil, right and wrong. And I know how close to home that hits. “Waters isn’t sloppy,” I say, glancing at Blake. “Do you have paper and a pen?” I ask.

  Blake slides both toward me. I write down three names, names I’ve tried to forget, and pass the paper back to him. “Connect the dots to my father,” I say, “and then I can make this Chicago problem go away.”

  Blake doesn’t look at the paper. “You’re going to threaten to expose your father’s secrets.”

  “Yes,” I agree.

  “You believe he’s in on this,” he states, and it’s not a question.

  “I believe Logan’s in on this,” I confirm once again, not willing to believe my father would betray me, even risk my life. “But my father controls Logan.”

  Blake still hasn’t looked at the paper. “You sure you want to do this?”

  “It’s painful,” I admit, “but my father is not a good man. Adrian is. So, yes. I’m sure. Connect the dots and then I’ll take it from there, but I’ll need to stay here. At least for now.”

  He gives me a small nod and I turn away from him, walking toward the stairs. He calls after me. “Pri.”

  I pause and glance back. “Yes?”

  “He is a good man.”

  “I know that,” I say. “I wish he did, but I’m working on that.”

  I leave it at that and head down the stairs, eager to find Adrian. We are both broken and bleeding through the cracks our mistakes have created. I know this. I don’t even try to run from this truth. I also know that broken people often erode within themselves, or into someone else. But maybe, just maybe, it doesn’t have to go that way. Maybe a lucky few connect with the perfect soul, the one that heals them. I don’t know which of these things awaits Adrian and me, or who we will become as individuals or as a couple. I just know that I need him. And he needs me. We need each other.