George wandered over carrying a silver briefcase, which I took from him before glancing at Avery. She seemed more preoccupied with the setup of the room than what I was holding in my hand.
“Ready?” I asked Avery, and she nodded just as George grabbed a loaf of cinnamon bread.
“It’s the best in the city.” He smiled at Avery, handing her the loaf.
“Thank you.” She bobbed her head and held onto the bread tightly. “I won’t be sharing it with him.”
Avery pointed in my direction, and George delighted in the revelation a little too much.
“See you in two weeks,” I told George as we left the room and entered the storefront.
“So, what’s in your briefcase?” Avery asked, flashing a playful smile.
“Wouldn’t you like to know?” I grinned, locking my fingers through hers and wondering why I was so driven to show her parts of my life she didn’t need to see.
Chapter Thirteen
Avery
I stifled a laugh at how inept the government suddenly seemed compared to the Volkovs. The Volkovs were completely unpredictable, and two steps ahead of our people at all times.
After Devin broke the nose of Ellis’ man, that observation became painfully obvious.
Ellis was glaring at me as if I’d been the one to throw the punch this time.
“His nose was broken in two places and he’s also nursing two cracked ribs.” Ellis tilted his head and studied me. “Both of his eyes are swollen shut.”
“That sucks.” I nodded. “But maybe if your man hadn’t called attention to himself in the club, it never would have happened. You’re dealing with men who are used to being watched, and you send a guy into Priva who sticks out like a sore thumb to follow me and deliver a message? Come on.” I shook my head. “Don’t blame me. I’ve been doing what I’ve been told to do by two different organizations. You put my life in danger with that miscalculation.”
Ellis pressed his lips together and nodded. “You’re right. He shouldn’t have called attention to himself.”
“Exactly.” I dusted the scone crumbs from the table. “Devin took a picture of your man. Granted, his expression was scrunched and he was whimpering, but he still took a shot.”
“Shit.” Ellis quickly texted something on his phone. “We’ll be sure to scrub him from the local agency.”
Probably too late for that. I took a sip of my latte.
“So, what is it you want me focusing on in particular?” I cocked my head slightly.
“We have reason to believe that Devin is responsible for the murder of this agent.” He pulled out a photograph and slid it in front of me. The agent was a female with curly brown hair and deep-set brown eyes. She looked to be in her early thirties. “If we can get him on this, we’ll be able to link him to a string of crimes that will bring down his entire family and Agent Archer’s death won’t be in vain.”
“And the guy that Devin kicked the shit out of had this information on him?”
Ellis looked uncomfortable.
“Unbelievable.” I pressed my lips together. “All it would have taken was for Devin to reach into his pocket or open his phone, huh?” My brow arched in disgust.
“It won’t happen again. Going forward, I’ll be meeting with you.”
“So, everything you want me to get you rests on linking him to this murder?” I asked, pushing down the lump in my throat. This didn’t sit right. “And you’re sure he’s responsible for her death.”
Anger darted through Ellis’ gaze. “One hundred percent.”
“The Volkovs seem to have a soft spot for women.” I tapped my finger on the photograph and Ellis whipped it away. “I find it hard to believe they would murder a female.”
“Is that so?” His brows shot up. “Why don’t you enlighten me since you have so many years of experience dealing with the Volkovs and mobsters in general?”
“I’m not saying that. I’m only telling you that I hope you’re not wrong and letting leads get cold while you pursue the wrong individuals.”
He clenched his jaw and sat up straighter. “You worry about doing your job and I’ll worry about the detective work. How about that?” He tilted his head back and crossed his arms over his chest.
This wasn’t what I had in mind when I agreed to this assignment, but I had no other choice. I couldn’t trust Lieutenant Davis, and now I was pretty certain it would be wise to keep my thoughts to myself around Ellis as well.
“I’m looking for things that tie him to Oyster Cove during this time frame.” He slid a document over to me with dates, times, and witness accounts.
“Don’t the Volkovs have a home in Oyster Cove?” It looked like he wanted to confirm that Devin was in the area four months ago, and if he had a home there, why wouldn’t he be in town? Merely being in the same town on the date of this agent’s death didn’t mean he committed the murder. So either Ellis wasn’t telling me everything, or I had a much bigger problem on my hands.
“Yes. There is a very large estate that has been in the family for generations. If we can tie him to this murder, it will implicate each of the men in other crimes.” Ellis smiled. “And that estate won’t be theirs any longer.”
I nodded, feeling a sick feeling in my stomach.
“His mother is no saint. She lives on the premises full-time, but she’ll be living in a cell if we have our way.”
Why now? The same question I had when I initially met with Ellis still lingered, and I knew I needed to know that before I tied any of the brothers to anything. I also understood Ellis wouldn’t be the one leading me to those answers.
“When we initially had our meeting with Lieutenant Davis, this was on your radar then.”
“Correct,” he answered flatly.
“How many other agents have you sent in to get close to Devin?” I questioned, thinking back to Jenn, Ashley, and Jackie.
“None. You’re our first.” He relaxed his arms and took a sip of coffee. “With Davis, we sent in six girls who all got turned away from Meta for some reason or another. You’re the first to make it through those doors and into Wolf Industries.”
I wasn’t sure I believed him.
“Well, this is going to take time. I can’t just pull up his calendar or ask him something like this off-handedly.”
“I recognize that.” Ellis looked at his phone. “You need to get in deep with them, and how you do that is up to you.”
I drew in a deep breath and felt my cheeks warm. Obviously, the other agent had informed him of what he’d seen.
“I assumed that to be the case once I took on this role.” I kept my eyes on him while my mind flashed back to the bakery a couple of nights ago. I was only seeing one side of Devin. The kind one, but it was hard to believe he’d killed this woman. I suppose if it was between his survival and someone else’s, he’d have no problem pulling the trigger, regardless of the sex of the person.
“Good.” He slid another piece of paper over to me. “This is the information I want you to feed Lieutenant Davis.”
I scanned a ship’s manifest.
“This will hold her off enough. She won’t pull you out if we keep feeding her just enough.
I nodded slowly. “I’ll report back to her.”
“Good.” He stood, lifted his coffee cup to his lips for one last swallow, and gave a wave as he left.
I let out a sigh and sat back in the chair. All weekend, I was certain that Jenn and the other two women were somehow working with Ellis. They didn’t strike me as undercover cops, but maybe they were and I’d guessed wrong. Folding my arms to my chest, I sank deeper into the chair.
I had to go back into the office tomorrow pretending to be someone I wasn’t while working for two agencies I no longer trusted. I couldn’t get Devin out of my head, and now he was accused of murdering a woman. None of it made sense, but I was determined to get to the bottom of the mess before I got pulled under.
It was imperative that I follow along with Ellis, Dav
is, and the Volkov brothers. I needed answers, no matter where they led. I slowly stood, feeling completely alone and utterly homesick.
And not for my other apartment, but for Idaho. For the first time in years, I no longer felt like running away from there. I wanted to go back and erase the world that hardened me, but I knew that wasn’t possible. I couldn’t just go back.
Life wasn’t that simple.
As I left the coffee shop, the crisp morning air greeted me with a newfound sense of freedom. There was no fooling myself into believing others would have my back or could be trusted. I had to rely solely on myself and that revelation was okay—better than okay, actually. It was liberating.
When I’d turned my back, I’d received a note in my grocery cart from one of Ellis’ men informing me to meet him here this morning. It was outside the city, and I’d managed to sneak out of the apartment this morning without ever turning on my lights.
The whole thing was odd. Yesterday, I’d only stepped away from the grocery cart while I was in the produce section, and it was quite unnerving thinking that someone had been following me closely enough to know when to leave a note, but that was precisely what happened, and for the first in a long time, I reveled in being free from peering eyes.
I scanned the sidewalk, side streets, and parked cars with a renewed sense of curiosity and skepticism. I didn’t know who I actually believed more, Ellis or Davis. Lieutenant Davis certainly had some incriminating photos that made me leery of her intentions, but there was something about the way Ellis delivered today’s news that had me cautious. It didn’t feel like only the bigger case was his focus. Something about it felt personal.
I let out a groan as I continued walking toward the train station. There was a small part of me that wondered what it would be like to hop on a train going in the opposite direction of the city.
What concerned me the most was that I had no one I could trust. One misstep and I would not only be out of a job, but my life would be in danger. I thought back to the bakery and shook my head in frustration. The side of the Volkovs I was seeing didn’t match what the rest of the world saw, but I fully recognized that image was why they’d gotten where they had. They were master manipulators.
By the time I got to the train station, I felt the first prick of tears surface under my lids. I missed my dad so much it hurt. He would know exactly what to do. He was the one person I trusted with my life.
Isolation coated my soul as I sat on the bench and waited for the train. I alternated between holding in tears and letting them go without a second thought. Every once in a while, someone would slide me a sympathetic glance, but they made sure to stay away, and I didn’t blame them.
I wiped my nose with my sleeve and chuckled as a memory of my dad forced its way in. When I was four or five, he ran into my bedroom holding up several shirts, waving them around, declaring we had a slug emergency, that slugs were invading, which had me completely panicked because I hated them.
Still do.
When I’d asked him how he knew, he showed me the sleeves of all of my shirts where the slugs had traveled. I remember giggling for hours thinking I’d fooled my smart detective dad into thinking slugs were invading. I never guessed that I’d follow in my dad’s footsteps. I’d always imagined I’d become a social worker or counselor.
I closed my eyes as the memory burned in my chest and I gave my sleeve one last slug trail from my nose. I was sure if anyone from the department saw me here on the bench, they’d think I’d lost my mind. . . and maybe I had. All I knew was that I hadn’t felt this level of isolation and loneliness since my father’s death. It was like all the emotions I’d mastered at tucking away were breaking me all at once. I sniffed and straightened my spine. I wasn’t going to destroy everything I’d worked so hard for by letting myself fall apart on a public bench.
Quickly dabbing my eyes with my other sleeve, I cleared my throat and pulled out my cell to text Jenn. I needed answers.
Who are you working for?
I impatiently waited for her to read my text. Unlike me, Jenn always read and responded to texts immediately. She lived with her cellphone in her hand.
I heard the announcement for the train to take me back to the city and got myself off the bench and made my way over to the correct terminal. By the time I found my seat on the train and looked back at my phone, a troubling sense overtook over me.
It had been fifteen minutes, and my text still hadn’t shown as being read, which left a cloud of apprehension over me. It was really unlike her. I let out a silent sigh. Maybe she was still sleeping.
As the train moved forward, taking me back into the heart of the city, I stared out the window and watched the endless blur of buildings meld into one another until my eyes closed and I accidentally fell asleep.
With the sudden lurch of the train, my eyes flicked open and I groggily stretched in my seat. I quickly found my phone and checked for a message from Jenn. There wasn’t one, and my text still showed as being unread.
By the time I made my way back to the apartment, worry lodged deeper into my abdomen. When I got inside my tiny studio and saw an envelope lying on the table, I became nauseous with worry. I just knew in my heart that something had happened to Jenn. I ripped the flap off the envelope and pulled out the card.
Your friend, Jenn, is dead. Her body was found this morning near the port, and I’d like to know why you think she was working for someone?
How did Davis see the text I’d sent so quickly? Had she been on the murder scene, and I happened to text at the exact right moment? The woman often had a knack for magically being everywhere at the right moment. Or was she scanning every single thing I sent in real time? I slid down into the chair and held my head in my hands.
It wasn’t that I knew Jenn really well, but she was a kind soul, and she certainly didn’t deserve whatever happened to her. I shook my head and blinked back a few tears. If I thought I felt alone an hour ago, this revelation drilled that last bit of hope right out of me. Hope for what, I wasn’t even sure, but I was without.
I stared at the hidden camera, certain Davis was looking at it. There was a part of me that wanted to march right up the stairs and barge into the surveillance room, but if the Volkovs were watching me along with everyone else, that would only endanger my life even more.
I sat up straighter and grabbed a pen. The world I’d begged to go into was now a game of life and death, and I intended on surviving. I grabbed a piece of paper, wrote out my note, and let the camera pick up the words before shredding it.
Jenn was at Priva on Friday night—her suggestion— and she knew my real name. I assumed she was one of yours.
Chapter Fourteen
Devin
“Avery, can I see you in conference room F?” I asked over the speakerphone. It was Friday afternoon, and the event unveiling our latest project was set to begin in only a few short hours, but with everything I’d found out this week, walking into a party and celebrating wasn’t high on my priority list.
I saw Avery making her way down the hall to the conference room where I was already waiting, and my breath caught thinking about Friday night with her. I’d never felt that much charged sexual tension from just a kiss. All week, I’d been avoiding Avery. It was the safest thing to do. I’d lost control last Friday and nearly pushed myself on her.
Granted, she was extremely receptive, but she was right. The ending to our beginning would eventually interfere with her working here, and as she stated numerous times, she needed the job, so I let Wednesday come and go without a word.
Avery didn’t say anything as she walked inside the conference room looking as gorgeous as ever. Her auburn hair was in a twist and she wore a pale blue dress. She closed the door behind her and took a seat, bringing her gaze to mine. The green in her eyes was even more striking than usual.
“You wanted to see me?” she asked. Even her voice did crazy things to me.
I pressed my lips together and paced at the end of
the table, rethinking my approach.
“Is everything okay?” she asked, moving to the edge of the seat.
“No.” I shook my head and pulled out the chair at the end of the conference table and took a seat.
Every foreign emotion from Priva flooded over me. Being locked in this conference room with her wasn’t a good idea. It was nearly impossible to keep my head on straight regardless of the information I was about to deliver.
“Was it something I did?” she asked, sounding leery as she tilted her head.
“No. Absolutely not.” I rubbed my fingers along my jawline. “The man who tried to attack you is an FBI agent.”
“What do you mean?” She looked frightened and confused, which I fully understood. “Why would an FBI person try to hurt me?”
Her eyes darted quickly around the room and she shoved herself up in the chair.
“I don’t know, but I’m going to find out.” I reclined and tapped my finger on my knee. Avery only knew what I’d shown her about Wolf Industries. She didn’t know about our extracurricular activities, but the agent must have assumed she had an idea. “Did you recognize the man from anywhere?”
“No.” She shifted in her seat. Her breasts rose and fell from her accelerated breathing. “That was the first time I’d ever seen him.”
“You never saw him wandering down your street or maybe when you went out to grab a cup of coffee?” I questioned.
She scanned the room, looking somewhat dazed before bringing her gaze back to mine. “Not that I can remember. It wasn’t like he bumped into me on purpose where I’d have a reason to remember.” She bit her lip and her eyes dropped to the table. “You don’t think it was random? Like, maybe he’s just a bad guy who happens to be an agent?”
“It’s definitely possible,” I acknowledged. “We have a few contacts at the local Bureau and they’d never heard of this agent.”
Devin: A Romantic Suspense (V Mafia Series Book 2) Page 12